From a prospective convert whose “father is Jewish and mother won’t admit she is.” Can you say…complicated? But she’s less concerned for herself than her biracial children. My oldest son is under the impression that being light-skinned is the norm for the Jewish community and he is having difficulty wanting to be Jewish (although he… Continue reading How do I show my children they can be biracial and Jewish?
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=6243682&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=ffffff&fullscreen=1 Parshat Ki Teitzei from G-dcast.com More Torah cartoons at http://www.g-dcast.com © 20
My mother used to slap us if we spoke slang. And while she never sat down to help us with our homework, as far as I can remember, she would slap us, too, if we didn’t get it done. Acting ghetto and talking ghetto alike were a big no-no in our household. My mother thought… Continue reading A Broader Definition of Family
If you’re as observant as I am, you probably haven’t noticed the changes I’ve made to the blog. I went into someone’s house the other day and for 15 minutes, they had me look around and “Guess what’s different!” I never did. For a writer, my attention to detail is really quite awful. So, what’s… Continue reading Getting with it Blogging
Recently, I met someone who is interested, toying with, the possibility of conversion to Judaism. But the first meeting with the rabbi went steadily south. In fact, that’s an understatement. It was downright awful. The rabbi even made some racist comments. Whoa. But despite one rude rabbi, this person’s interest in Judaism was not deterred.… Continue reading The Internal and External Pressures of Conversion
Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot about “Jewish food.” The phrase seems to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue. The phrase troubles me because when people talk about “Jewish food,” I’ve noticed they seem to only be talking about Ashkenazi (Eastern European) food. So you can imagine my distress when I stumbled upon ”A… Continue reading What’s Jewish food?
For the second year in a row, my husband and I spent our summer in Los Angeles. Again, my husband was playing the role of rabbinic intern at a local Orthodox congregation, Bnai David Judea, where he, in fact, had his bar mitzvah. And while he was off learning to be a rabbi, everyone wondered… Continue reading Leaving Los Angeles
Just another day around the Shabbat table…. “Wow, you’re so exotic-looking!” the host gushes. Everyone turns to stare at me. “Not really,” I reply casually, trying to contain my eye roll. “There’s a whole island full of people who look like me.” “Oh, the Dominican Republic?” the host asks knowingly with a laugh. “No,” I… Continue reading I just have one of those faces
My response to a piece on Benjamin Cardozo in last week’s Jewish Week made it into this week’s issue. Check it out: My Letter to the Editor.
Jewish Infighting “Who will carry the torch for Jewish unity?” (The Jewish Chronicle) Simon Rock asks, “How can we preserve Jewish peoplehood if we can’t agree who is a Jew?” A very good question! His article gives a good, if long-winded, look at the obstacles that currently impede Jewish unity. “Racists, Fascists, Self-hating Jews and… Continue reading Jews in the News: The Latest on Conversion, Jews, Movies and More
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 