I remember when I used to stay with my girlfriends for Shabbos in Washington Heights. There was a point, right before candle lighting on Friday night, when all the girls would squeeze in together between the wall and the big claw-foot tub to put on their makeup in front of the medicine cabinet mirror. They… Continue reading Shabbos Makeup…Whoa.
Sorry, dear readers. I haven’t felt up to writing very much and I find, that amazingly, I have very little to say. My health keeps me much too preoccupied so aside from my little updates on books, articles, TV and film I’m keeping up with, I don’t have much going on. I don’t know if… Continue reading Are you reading my husband’s blog?
Rabbi Marc Angel answers: Is it permissible to study cultures where people traditionally are not dressed according to our standards of modesty e.g. various tribes in Africa, aborigines, peoples of tropical cultures? Like this video? Check out IDEALS: Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals and sign up to receive their amazing print journal, “Conversations”. The website… Continue reading Naked? Not Naked?
When they say it almost never, ever rains in Los Angeles, what they don’t tell you is that when it does, it rains all at once like G-d is trying to pull that Noah’s Ark business all over again. And that’s the kind of rain that hit here this Purim. Rain is my kryptonite (okay, how is… Continue reading The Purim Curse?
Some great quotes: “And from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the entire Earth.” (Gen. 11:8). What was the sin of the Tower of Babel, and why was it necessary to scatter them and create many languages? Are not geographical distance and the differences of language and culture the primary bases of… Continue reading How Jewish Unity that is really Uniformity Becomes an Evil
“Jewish tradition is exceptionally clear: The vulnerability of converts mandates us to treat them as equals. If it is forbidden to remind a convert of his or her past, shouldn’t it be forbidden to make them (proverbially speaking) register for marriage on the back of the bus? The solution suggested by the chief rabbi puts… Continue reading Converts as Equals
Yesterday, I turned 30 years old. Thanks to the fan who donated $25. She didn’t even know it was my birthday but it was the perfect present! Of course, now that I’m 30, I will be telling people I’m 25. Until I’m 40. Anyway, now that I am 30, I look back on how far… Continue reading I’m 30!
Where in the world is Aliza Hausman? Honestly, I’m starting to feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience. I am neither here nor there. And I’m definitely not quite sure where I’m going to be in the next few months. I know where I wish I was…Los Angeles, Israel or the Dominican Republic (in no… Continue reading Where in the world is Aliza Hausman?
My husband’s tribute to my good hair day and the hair covering that was swallowed up by it. Most people are socially appropriate enough that they don’t or won’t comment on what’s going on with your hair unless it’s on fire. I think that’s pretty fair. I mean, if you’re having a bad hair day,… Continue reading The Hair Covering Adventures of Me and My Rastafarian Beret: An Afro-tastic Report
A little girl in Israel I met during the conversion process emailed me this week to ask me if I’ve ever met anyone famous living in New York. In Israel, we used to walk to Blockbuster together and then watch films together. During our movie fast around The Three Weeks, we commiserated together over our… Continue reading BIG CITY MOVIE STAR MADNESS
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 