In case you can’t believe an Indian version of Hava Nagila exists, you should check out Sadia Shepard’s book, “The Girl From Foreign: A Search for Shipwrecked Ancestors, Forgotten Histories and a Sense of Home,” about rediscovering her Indian Jewish roots. This blog has apparently inspired a trend. Swing over to the MyJewishLearning.com blog, Mixed Multitudes… Continue reading Indian Hava Nagila
How does the Associated Press even know I exist? This is a question I asked myself last Friday when I got an email from one of their writers asking me if I would mind being interviewed for a community profile on Riverdale. Of course, I said “yes” but I still assumed it was a joke… Continue reading Um, ‘kay?
I’m reading through “Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe”. Having some trouble with the humor because I have a big cultural gap when it comes to Jewish humor. It’s an interesting mix of Jewish fun facts, totally-out-there crazed content, debatable Jewish stereotypes…all told with an irreverent tone. Don’t know if… Continue reading Am I a Cool Jew?
Alysa Stanton, a Conservative convert (previous articles said Orthodox) who practices Reform Judaism and has been previously featured on this blog to much fanfare, will be the First black female rabbi to take N.C. pulpit”. Diane Tobin, Associate Director of The Institute for Jewish & Community Research and founder of Be’chol Lashon (In Every Tongue),… Continue reading Taking North Carolina By Storm…
With Shavuot looming, all eyes seem to be on conversion! The Book of Ruth, which we read on Shavuot, has some competition this year. Internet-trained conversion hopefuls less likely to pass” Apparently, getting a PHD in Chabad.org and Aish.com is not enough learning to convert to Judaism. That’s why I also studied Simpletoremember.org. Analysis: The… Continue reading Conversion News Roundup
After becoming buds with “Mixed Jew Girl” on Facebook and seeing all the wonderful things she posts there, I coerced her into starting a blog. She’s posting some great things there! In her latest post, she’s discussing “Ashkenazi Privilege and Ethnicity” and that answering that age old question I get during my racism talks, “why… Continue reading Hot Blogger to Watch!
Yes, I live in Riverdale. The Riverdale where the synagogues were almost blown up. Because converting to Judaism means now worrying about being blown up during prayer. An email from my local synagogue: “Last night, the New York City Police Department and the FBI apprehended four terrorists whom they were tracking for many months as… Continue reading Riverdale in the News? What?
“Leap of Faith” is another documentary focusing on conversion to Judaism. The trailer places a particular emphasis on the responses of Christian family members. This is not especially extraordinary considering that one of the top questions people ask converts is: “How did your family feel about it?” I think this film will go far towards… Continue reading Another Conversion Documentary
In my email inbox today… “JOFA celebrates an historic moment for the Jewish people – the ordination of Sara Hurwitz as a full member of the Orthodox clergy followed by the establishment of a new school to ordain female rabbinic leaders. We are grateful to Rabbi Avi Weiss who has recognized the need to formally… Continue reading JOFA Celebrates New Orthodox Female Clergy
It never fails. I get into the Seaman Car Service taxi and tell the driver where we’re going in English. Then I switch to Spanish. At which point, the driver turns around and says, “You speak Spanish?!” And I say, “Yes, I’m Dominican.” At which point, the driver turns around again and stares, “YOU’RE DOMINICAN!”… Continue reading Obviously
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 