1. Old Testament–Just offensive. We prefer the original and only testament. (But calling it the Hebrew Bible is okay, too.) 2. Can I see your horns? 3. Have you considered Jesus as your personal savior? 4. Why do you hate Palestinians? 5. How come you only eat food blessed by a rabbi? Can’t you just… Continue reading What not to say to Jews
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
Here is a comment I made in response to questions about my last piece. I thought I would upgrade it to a blog post: I am not a posek, not any kind of rabbinical authority, and anything I discuss with my rabbi is between him and me (and not just because he tells me not… Continue reading Not a Rabbi, Not a Celebrity
My energy level is dropping quickly but I hate to finish the day without remarking on my talks at Brooklyn College today. A really cool professor there had me come in to speak to his students, another professor’s students and the broader Brooklyn College audience. Incredibly, I was representing the Judaic Studies, Latino Studies and… Continue reading Brooklyn College Take Two: Ruminations on my latest talk
My first boyfriend was gay and when he came out, it caused me permanent damage. He had used me in his attempt to live out a lie, to survive in our cruel high school world. My world went upside down suddenly when I realized my best friend, my boyfriend, was not really either of these… Continue reading Gay and Orthodox
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
Can you be loyal to more than one homeland? I think it’s a pretty interesting question considering the fact that I feel connected to three. In “A Question of Loyalty”, David Bogner discusses his connection to Israel and America and why he doesn’t think they conflict. Meanwhile, in other news, “IDF Rabbinate Corps Appoints First-Ever… Continue reading News: Loyalty and Madame Rabbi
The WEDDING I can’t sleep. I went to a wedding last night. No worries, I think I did very well. I didn’t notice myself doing anything embarrassing, though I’ll admit that isn’t the best way to make sure since I’m not the best barometer on these things. Oh, one confession, I used a bad word.… Continue reading Where are you from ORIGINALLY?
I suppose that technically all those Limmud conventions were Shabbatons. Also, we sort of held a Shabbaton before our wedding by sequestering our guests from Friday through Sunday. But really, technically speaking this past weekend at Brooklyn College Hillel was my first taste of a real, live Shabbaton. Because my husband was away on internship… Continue reading My First Shabbaton
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
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 