It might surprise some of you that this self-described Jewminicana actually has a Puerto Rican great-grandfather. I am 7/8 Dominican and 1/8 Puerto Rican. My great-grandfather Demetrio Marrero-Vasquez (pictured below with me in his lap) was a Boricua through and through. I am often asked by people, both Dominican and not, who wonder aloud that… Continue reading Get matched & help a family in Puerto Rico
Another head covering eaten by my afro. Yes, dear, I owe you a blog post. There have been many recent developments I’d like to share. Unfortunately, none of them mean coming back to blogging full-time as I am still trying to recover from the downturn in my health since April 2010. But there’s plenty of… Continue reading I.O.U.
More than once, a friend has confused me for someone who believes in Creationism. They see me as an Orthodox Jew and therefore, as a “fundamentalist” and so, of course, they figure I must believe in Creationism like some of the Christians they’ve heard of and fear. As non-Jews or even secular Jews, they can’t… Continue reading The Big Bang Theory & Judaism
My friend Hadassah, who is an awesome daily blogger, just wrote a post defending converts and their right to privacy. Please visit the post, it’s called “Conversion is Private” and please weigh in with your personal thoughts. Especially if you agree or disagree! In my responses, I mentioned Jews of color, including converts of color,… Continue reading CONVERSION IS PRIVATE!!!!
This Rosh Hashanah, I was accused of un-Rebbetzin-like behavior by a stranger who didn’t even know me, who didn’t even talk to me, at a local minyan I attended. I don’t know this person. I don’t know this person’s name or anything about him or her other than the casually uttered harsh words this person… Continue reading To Those Who Judge Unfavorably…I am NOT a Piñata!
Hope you had a great Rosh Hashana and are gearing up for Yom Kippur this upcoming Shabbos. Ug, I hate when Yom Kippur falls on Shabbos but after all the food I had over Rosh Hashana, which this year fell so close to Shabbos it created a 3-day yom tov, I think I’ll be fine!… Continue reading My Jewish Community Heroes
Rosh Hashana Plush Set from Brochin’s The Jewish new year is upon us again! Boy, in some ways that went by really fast and in other ways…painfully slow. I can’t believe Rosh Hashanah is back though already and I’m hoping, as always, that next year will be better than the last. Rosh Hashanah starts tonight… Continue reading Get in the Rosh Hashanah Spirit!
Beverly Hills High School, one of the best public high schools in LA, has a large Jewish student population. If you talk to laypeople in the Orthodox community about the conversion crisis, you’ll note very quickly that most of them are living under a rock and don’t even know what you’re talking about even in… Continue reading The Growing Implications of the Current Conversion Crisis that nobody seems to know about
And now (because I’m so Jewish) I will turn into a matzoh ball! Okay, HOW did I miss this video of MaNishtana that pulls in interviews and pieces from his most infamous and awesome videos? The funny thing about moving to New York Los Angeles (Sorry, folks, that was just a homesick typo, I’ve never MOVED… Continue reading And now I turn into a matzoh ball?
I must confess, it wasn’t until fairly recently that I heard the term M.O.T., as in member of the tribe. But then the person who asked if the guy I was telling him about was an MOT, probably had never heard of JOCs, as in Jews of color. I’ll never know. I didn’t ask when… Continue reading Are you a Member of the Tribe?
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 