Email received on PurimDear Aliza: I had to share this with you! It’s about the always annoying question: “Are you Jewish?” So, yesterday I went to a Purim party with two of my friends, one who is an Israeli Jew and another who is Dominican and Catholic. I am also Hispanic, though not Dominican. We… Continue reading Hispanic for Purim
Event: Celebrating the Musical Tradition of Turkish JewsDate: Sunday, March 7, 2010Time: 2pmPlace: JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Avenue at West 76th Street, New York, NY 10023Admission: $20/$25 (Purchase tickets in advance) Details: The diversity of Turkish culture is reflected in its rich musical traditions, among them the music of Jews who lived during the Ottoman… Continue reading Cool Jewish Events: Celebrating the Musical Tradition of Turkish Jews
So, we’re walking out of shul when we see a woman with a baby hoisting her baby carrier up the stairs. Mom is dressed up as Dorothy in a very short dress and red glittery heels and all. My husband turns back and says to me, “Do you think the baby is dressed as Toto?”… Continue reading Purim Culture Clash
I’ve always been a very open, outgoing person. In so many ways, this has led me to connect deeply to so many people. I think people are often surprised by how much they’re willing to share with me, even readers who feel that I have already shared so much with them. Early on, I made… Continue reading There is such a thing as too open
According to the Ramban’s Thirteen Principles of Faith, we, Jews, believe that “that the dead will be brought back to life when G-d wills it to happen.” Okay, but what happens if you remarried and your first wife comes back? Dum-dum-DUM! (That’s eerie music playing in the background, duh.) Anyway! Will it be, like, before… Continue reading Does G-d Believe in Comic Books?
Today, at the little corner store, I survey the calling cards behind the counter and ask the (Indian?) guy to hand me the “el Dominicano feliz” (The Happy Dominican) card. He slides it over hesitantly. “You’re Dominican?” I let him go on for another 5 minutes. He has that utter look of disbelief I know… Continue reading But you’re "too" X to be Dominican
Can I tell you a secret? “Sure,” I say. Was that TMI? (TMI=Too much information) “I’m a Rebbetzin (almost). There’s no such thing as TMI with the Rebbetzin,” I say. Then I get quiet for a second and I add, “Plus I’m Dominican, what’s TMI?”
An improvised joke I made at a recent speaking engagement…. I spent the first 26 years being told “funny, you don’t look Dominican” and I’ll spend the next 36 being told “funny, you don’t look Jewish.” Since I am Dominican and Jewish, clearly I look nothing but puro Jewminicana. What do I have to get… Continue reading You don’t look…
Haiti: If I wasn’t entirely too exhausted to blog, I would write something deep and heartfelt about the recent devastating earthquake in Haiti. (Please check out my fan page and Twitter feed for links about the earthquake and how you can help the people of Haiti.) The capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, is far enough from… Continue reading Earthquakes and Jewish Art
Someone suggested that when I go to any Jewish function, I should just give everyone a two-minute bio about myself so that people will stop staring and acting totally bizarre if they think I don’t “look Jewish.” But often when I tell Jews that my family is from the Dominican Republic (and I was born… Continue reading But why don’t you just tell people you’re Dominican?
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 