While many were celebrating Obama’s presidency on November 4th, racist opponents started responding with hate crimes on November 5th. Take a look at: “Election spurs ‘hundreds’ of race threats, crimes”. I went to a Taste of Limmud NY session on Thursday where racism was discussed. I was the only non-white person in a group session… Continue reading Spike in hate crimes
Attended my first poetry reading today. My husband was reading two of his poems at the first ever Riverdale Writers Reading Series at the Riverdale Y. Too tired to write anything more than a short summary: Poetry reading, good. Ugga ugga.
I am not the only Jewminicana. But when I decided to convert, I certainly felt like one. I was the poster child for Jewish Dominican relations in Washington Heights. In fact, I’ve been interviewed as such. But in Riverdale, after a couple of months of living here, my husband had an interesting encounter on the… Continue reading Jewminicanos Invade Riverdale
I attended a women’s Rosh Chodesh group last week in Riverdale (more on that later) where I stumbled upon a table full of incredible handcrafted jewelry from Israel. The designer, Sima Menora, was on hand to help us pick out the right pieces. I walked away with a daisy necklace and some psychedelic-looking dangling earrings.… Continue reading A little prayer, a little shopping spree
Ever since I converted, I’ve been racked with Jewish guilt. I never feel like I’m doing enough Jewish learning. It doesn’t help that I have a husband who studies “rabbi stuff” 10-12 hours a day. So, last week, after a year of trying to attend a local class on davening, I finally made it. The… Continue reading Getting some class
One of my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes (and I have many) goes something like this: “So be sure when you stepStep with care and great tactAnd remember that Life’sA Great Balancing Act.Just never forget to be dexterous and deftAnd never mix up your right foot with your left.And will you succeed?Yes, you will indeed!(98 and… Continue reading Juggling Badly
You know that strange feeling you get when you’re anxious and you feel like everyone is staring at you? When I get that feeling, everyone IS staring at me. I made an appearance today at the Bally’s pool for the first time. Not only were people staring at me, jaws dropped, whispers ensued and finally… Continue reading Living in the Spotlight
Rabbi Lookstein, who happens to have been the head of the beit din that converted me, is not too happy with the RCA’s new stance on conversion. I guess I should be happy, that according to an article in Jewish Week, Rabbi Lookstein is “on the list.” I think that means my conversion is “100%… Continue reading On the list
There is actually a guidebook for converts. Of course, I didn’t know this. I didn’t even think to look. I had to get through all 50 odd books that the rabbi listed on the curriculum, forget going out there and looking for myself. The thing is, as I page through many books about conversion in… Continue reading Finding my place in the world…
Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on the short story. The contest deadline is January 25th so I hope to have a finished piece out then to the Bronx Council of Arts. In other news: Binny Freedman, director of Isralight, spoke at KJ, where we went for Shabbat. I miss the UES. He gave… Continue reading Lost
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 