Okay, so I’m Dominican but I think my husband is a militant Dominican. What do I mean? I think he’s about force fed everyone in the family some yucca and plantains this Pesach. And no, I didn’t cook any of it. He cooked the stuff himself. It’s all part of his make-sure-wife-doesn’t-starve-without-rice-and-beans plan. Now, if… Continue reading Militant Dominican
My sister is in New York missing out on the Passover festivities. When I told her we would be going away for Passover, she asked where she was supposed to go for her seders. And no, my sister’s not Jewish. She called me up to tell me she’s watching Season 2 of Buffy the Vampire… Continue reading Did you hear the one about…?
Oy. Now I have to practice my Spanish, learn Hebrew and Ladino. I’m going to need a good long life for this kind of venture. I’m actually doing much better in Ladino than Hebrew. Can you guess which Pesach song this is?
I am on a plane to Los Angeles where I will be spending Pesach/Passover. Oh, the happy times we will have together trying to digest matzah. Prune juice: good. Matzah: bad.
In case you missed it on Twitter, my husband says I would sell my soul to the devil if only the devil listened to me. WELL! Meanwhile, I’m getting ready to pack for my Pesach (Passover) in Los Angeles. In case, I need to unwind, I know I’ll be packing my Aqua Modesta swimsuit. Laugh… Continue reading Swimming Pretty
The Israeli rabbinate has been quiet on conversion lately and in its stead, the Interior Ministry has decided to make news. A recent article (“Fresh Rift Seen Over New Israeli Conversion Rules,” February 25, The Jewish Week-New York) says that stricter guidelines will be imposed for diaspora converts wishing to immigrate to Israel. Conversion must… Continue reading 350 Hours of Oppression
She lives in a Jewish neighborhood and she caught a parade of Jewish people wandering around the ‘hood dressed in costumes. Here’s what I told her: Purim is a crazy little holiday. 🙂 Like Chanukah, it’s one of the holidays where we can work and use phones and stuff (unlike Shabbos and some of the… Continue reading My Aunt Wants to Know What Purim is
A friend of mine is doing some Passover outreach this year. She’s volunteering at an organization that gives money to needy Jewish families for the big holiday. She’s swimming in piles of applications and making sure the neediest get help. This week, she watched the director, a Conservative Jewish woman almost ready for Social Security,… Continue reading Converts are not Jewish
Here’s a rough draft of a cultural criticism essay assignment for one of my writing classes. No one talks about what Sammy Davis Jr. contributed to Jewish culture. Nor do they talk about what the newly converted Isla Fisher, star of the “Confessions of a Shopaholic” film and baby mama to Sacha Baron Cohen, is… Continue reading Rough Draft: Beyond Sammy
The number one question you want to ask a convert is exactly the question you shouldn’t ask. Asking someone why they converted, just after meeting them, is a little like asking to see their underwear. Don’t you realize you’re asking us to get very naked about something deeply personal in a crowd full of strangers?… Continue reading What to say and what not to say to a convert…(Rough Draft)
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 