Not sure how to feel about the latest Jerusalem Post piece on conversion, “Conversions down by 20 percent in 2009”. First, wow. I didn’t realize there were thousands of people converting to Judaism every year in Israel. I wonder if anyone’s keeping track of those numbers in the States. I would be interested to hear… Continue reading Thousands?!
Now, it’s time to go turn into a pumpkin. At least, that’s the funny phrase my sisters came up with for what happens when I cut away from the world (no phones, no Internet, nothing but Torah)! for a Jewish holiday or for Shabbat. It’s rainy, I haven’t had enough exercise and my whole body… Continue reading Happy Shavuot!
Louis Ferrante was born an Italian Catholic and was a former member of the Gambino crime family. Now? He’s a Jew. Read “Q&A with Louis Ferrante” and check out his memoir, “Unlocked: The Life and Crimes of a Mafia Insider”
Hazkeni Voice drops an album in June.
“Conversion is not political football” according to Haaretz. Unfortunately, it certainly looks like it’s playing out like a soccer game to the rest of us. This is a beautiful article, namely because it tries to remind us of something people often forget. Converts are individuals. We are not one collective, united group though we are… Continue reading Goal!!!!!!
Jews of color and shul can be a bad combination. Many Jews of color are reticient or downright scared off by the idea of walking into a synagogue. The stares, the stupid questions…it can get pretty uncomfortable. But one Jew of color, Celeste Jackson, insists that Jews of color need to overcome these barriers because… Continue reading Stepping up to Shul
It’s not so easy being a Jewish poet. Between the anti-Semitism from non-Jews and being called ‘an angry black man’ by an Orthodox Jew, Vanessa Hidary, the Hebrew Mamita, has a lot to say and I’m certainly glad (I hope you are too) she hasn’t let these crazy people silence her.
My latest piece is up on the OU website. Check out “Conversion is So Not Original”.
I don’t know how many times or how many ways I have to say it: Benjamin Cardozo was not Hispanic, not Latino. Let it go, Jewish folks. And if you’re still unconvinced, read “Cultural Ettiquette: Why Jews Should Respect Sotomayor as the First Possible Latino/a Supreme Court Justice.
My rebbe says I am not allowed to schedule posts to go up on my blog in advance during holidays when I will be decidedly offline and unable to post for the day. So, I won’t. But like the good Modern Orthodox Jew I am, I have figured out a way around it, as you… Continue reading This blog is under rabbinical supervision
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 