The bed started shaking while I was lying leisurely in bed reading yet another book on writing. My first thought was to wonder what the hell those people downstairs were doing that could make my bed shake. Then I realized there were no people downstairs. There was no “downstairs,” I was on a first floor!… Continue reading Registering a 5.4 in Magnitude
Hi, my name is Aliza. I’m an Orthodox Jew. Sorry, but that doesn’t mean I’m a crazy religious fanatic. A reader emailed me an article from the Forward, “Invoking Rosa Parks, Haredi Women Move to Back of the Bus” The article details a situation that has Haredi women in Israel showing their modesty by choosing… Continue reading Fun with Labels
The New York magazine feature, “Escape from the Holy Shtetel” chronicles the sad story of an American Jewish Family. The would-be heroine of the tale is Gitty. Gitty escaped from her Satmar town only to have her daughter kidnapped and taken back to the town by her ex-husband. The tale paints a picture of two… Continue reading Escape from the Holy Shtetel
Someone asked me how my “health thingie” was going. I never know how to answer the question. Though I’ve had fibromyalgia since 2005, most of my friends still have no idea what it is. And the friends and family who don’t see me on a day-to-day basis have no idea how much it affects my… Continue reading Frustrating Fibromyalgia
An article published on YNET, a couple of weeks ago, disclosed that a rabbi on the Chief Rabbinical court once ruled that deaf people are ineligible for conversion to Judaism. No matter what the rabbi’s views may be, the whole matter comes off as a matter of discrimination against those with disabilities. And worst, this… Continue reading Deaf need not apply?
Circumcise Me: The Comedy of Yisrael Cambpell will make its debut this month on The Jewish Channel. The film features ultra-Orthodox Jewish comedian Yisrael Campbell, formerly Chris Campbell, doing his hilarious stand-up comedy routine and discussing his journey to Judaism as well as his life in Israel since converting to Judaism (three times no less).… Continue reading Circumcise me
Red Canna by Georgia O’Keeffe An article in today’s New York Times, In Europe, Debate Over Islam and Virginity, explores a debate over Islam and virginity that has broken out in Europe recently. In France, a Muslim man asked to have his marriage annulled when it came to light on his wedding night that his… Continue reading Getting my virginity back
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 