This is what my husband hopes our kids will look like, of course. Confession: I get a kick out of saying blessings. It was one of the first things I started doing after I converted to Judaism. I like the idea of saying “Thank you, G-d” as often as I can, even when I’m not… Continue reading Bless the hair, please.
Cough. Cough. I am sick. This isn’t unusual, is it? I mean, technically with fibromyalgia, I am always sick. I am stuck in bed. Again, also not unusual. It seems like every other day chronic pain exiles me to life between the sheets. I woke up 24 hours ago with an itchy throat which I… Continue reading Coughing My Brains Out
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)
Yes, I have been writing a lot about race lately. This is much to the ire of one friend who keeps trying to convince me that race is meaningless. Check out the “Ashkenazi Privilege Checklist” another friend forwarded to me. Ashkenazi Privilege Checklist The checklist was created by Corrine Lightweaver, Sasha King, and the Jewish… Continue reading Ashkenazi Privilege Checklist
In an article in Newsweek, “Beyond Just Black and White,” Raina Kelley writes about wishing her biracial son looked black. It was an utterly honest, perhaps controversially honest, portrayal of one African-American woman’s hopes for her half-white, half-black son. She ended the piece beautifully when she discovered that her son‘s skin was neither black nor… Continue reading Brown Baby
http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-2980522193469128149&hl=en&fs=trueHere I am practicing for a promo of an upcoming speaking engagement. A thoughtful friend forwarded an article to me called “Unmasking ‘Racial Micro Aggressions’” featured in the Monitor on Psychology. It was a good read since I’m gearing up to speak again in the coming weeks on subtle racism in the Jewish community. Microaggressions… Continue reading Getting Aggressive about Microaggression
What’s a Jewminicana? Well, for one, a Jewminicana is an American girl of Dominican descent who converts to Judaism. Are you still with me? Well, reverse that because I’m a Jewish Latina…in that order. I’m fusing my identity together with American glue. And just because I put my religion first doesn’t mean I think my… Continue reading What’s a Jewminicana?
Here’s an oldie but goodie, an old hair piece revised for mass consumption. I’m hoping it will be picked up by a women’s magazines. Don’t mind your prayers over it! Thanks! Kinky Love My mother taught me to hate my hair. She learned this from her mother, who learned it from her mother before her.… Continue reading Kinky Love: Breaking with Family Tradition and Embracing Curly Hair
I’m hoping to enter this piece in a contest or submit it to one of the magazines that it’s my goal to get my work in this year. I recently received a devastating rejection from one magazine. The editor was wonderful about it and she gave me a connection to another editor. We’ll see what… Continue reading Second Draft: A Survivor
Here’s a piece I’m still working on…. I’ve always had this intense relationship with G-d. I prayed all the time growing up. And I don’t just mean the on-my-knees “As I lay me down to sleep…” kind of prayer I was taught as a Catholic child or the structured three-times-a-day prayer that comes with being… Continue reading Working draft of ‘My Love/Hate Relationship with G-d’
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 