Seth J. Frantzman tells you what really happened when one Ethiopian woman’s conversion was annulled after a run-in with a cold-blooded but connected yeshiva student in “Terra Incognita: Where’s the justice for a working-class heroine?” “High Court to rule on yeshiva student’s acquittal” makes you wonder if about the additions that could be made to… Continue reading Justice
All Jews are white or Eastern European. (And eat kugel and gefilte fish and cholent every Shabbat because otherwise, they wouldn’t REALLY be Jewish.) Jews don’t welcome converts. (Is this a myth? Alright, in some communities it is. But in others, as we’ve seen in Israel and South America, it’s a fact. A sad, sad,… Continue reading Jewish Myths
Rabbi Avraham Sherman, one of Jewcy‘s “Haredi’s Most Wanted: The 5 Worst Offenders”, has the magical power to turn non-Jews into Jews and back to non-Jews to Jews to non-Jews. Oy, I’m confused, are you? “No one will be willing to go through the trouble of converting if there is a real fear that, sometime… Continue reading Conversion News Roundup: Keeping you informed or scared out of your mind?
Mini Jews of color at play. Last year, I begged my husband to take me to the Jewish Multiracial Network retreat. I think he rolled his eyes, asked me how much it cost and then rolled his eyes again. In the end, we didn’t end up going and a friend told us it was for… Continue reading Reflections on the Jewish Multiracial Network retreat
Bobb’e J. Thompson, the scene-stealing, hilarious little guy in the film “Role Models,” wants a “Bro Mitzvah” for his thirteenth birthday. No, he’s not Jewish. A friend sent me this clip with a note “I didn’t find it funny and I have a big sense of humor.” I certainly smiled while watching it but Bobb’e… Continue reading A Bro Mitzvah? Que es eso?
I have been crying for 15 minutes. My chest hurts, my stomach hurts. My heart hurts. I feel like walls around my heart are caving in and my lungs feel smaller, tighter, like the air has been sucked out of them. Do I look like your f$%^ing priest I want to say? Do I look… Continue reading When every friend’s just a little bit racist….
In “10 Questions with Author Ernest H. Adams”, I got up close and personal with author Ernest H. Adams about his memoir, “From Ghetto to Ghetto: An African American Journey to Judaism.” Adams had some noteworthy things to say about his experiences during Jim Crow, living in the Jewish community and what he thinks about the… Continue reading Q&A with From Ghetto to Ghetto Author
My latest piece is up on the OU website. Check out “Conversion is So Not Original”.
Alysa Stanton, a Conservative convert (previous articles said Orthodox) who practices Reform Judaism and has been previously featured on this blog to much fanfare, will be the First black female rabbi to take N.C. pulpit”. Diane Tobin, Associate Director of The Institute for Jewish & Community Research and founder of Be’chol Lashon (In Every Tongue),… Continue reading Taking North Carolina By Storm…
With Shavuot looming, all eyes seem to be on conversion! The Book of Ruth, which we read on Shavuot, has some competition this year. Internet-trained conversion hopefuls less likely to pass” Apparently, getting a PHD in Chabad.org and Aish.com is not enough learning to convert to Judaism. That’s why I also studied Simpletoremember.org. Analysis: The… Continue reading Conversion News Roundup
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 