Call Me Shoshynsh
Jack L. Schwartz
March 17, 2005
One of the worst things to say about an American Indian is that he or she acts like they have no family.
Category
Personals
A Daf a Day
Dr. Warren Klein
March 3, 2005
Growing up religious in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, I didn\’t have much choice when it came to religious studies: it was full time till I was 18. I always felt it was being shoved down my throat.
So I stayed away from religious studies for about a decade — from college, through marriage, a year of service in Vietnam and three children.
During that time I stayed close to religion through observance, community and friends, but I avoided any formal religious study.
Family Time
Howard Nemetz
February 24, 2005
I recently returned from Florida, where I spent the Kwanzaa break (I\’ve coined a new name for the winter break that I hope will sweep the nation) with my parents. Actually, they used to be my parents. Now they\’re my son\’s grandparents. I was once my mother\’s middle child, her youngest son, one of three apple-cheeked children around which her world revolved. Now I\’m just the thing that brings the grandchild during the Kwanzaa break (I think the name is catching on).
Keeping My Hair Under Wraps
Judy Gruen
February 17, 2005
Recently, I found myself spellbound while watching \”Girl With a Pearl Earring.\” This film, based on the excellent Tracy Chevalier novel, is a fictional account of the history behind Vermeer\’s famous painting of the same name. The novel revolves around a servant girl, Grete, who became a secret assistant to the painter in his studio. In one scene, Vermeer accidentally glimpses Grete with her hair uncovered. The moment is electric. Grete, like all women of her social station, covered her hair at all times. It was as if Vermeer had caught her unclothed.
Shouldering the Burden of Incest
Jewish Journal
January 27, 2005
When you go to the synagogue, you just might be sitting next to someone who sexually abused his daughter. You might be shaking his hand, admiring his charming demeanor, thinking how lucky his family is to have him.
The Sham of It
Wildman Weiner
January 13, 2005
We\’ve just paid $3,000 for a new mattress.
\”It\’s not a mattress,\” the salesman sniffed. \”It\’s a sleeping system.\” His accent
Boom! Water Shot Through the Beach
Paul Alan Smith
January 6, 2005
I was on the island of Koh Lanta on Dec. 26. Koh Lanta is just east of Phuket and Ko Phi Phi Island and part of the province of Krabi, Thailand.
The island is made up of Muslims, Christians and Buddhists. I had visited this small island earlier in the year, and was blown away both by the kindness of all the inhabitants, as well as its natural beauty.
You Are What You Eat
Howard Nemetz
January 6, 2005
I am a vegetarian. I know there was a big controversy brewing over kosher meat, but I\’m not sure what the Jewish position
on vegetarianism is. I suppose as long as the vegetables are pulled from the ground in a quick and humane manner, no one can object too strenuously to it. I know God created animals, but I can\’t imagine He\’d be offended if I didn\’t eat them. I\’d hate to think of God pouting in His room saying, between sobs, \”I worked so hard on that lamb and Nemetz doesn\’t even touch it!\”
There’s No Santa, but Keep It Quiet
Julie M. Brown
December 16, 2004
It was in 1998 that my son, Sammy, broke out of his cocoon and started kindergarten at our neighborhood school. Up until then, he had spent his entire tiny life surrounded by Jews.
Having left his Jewish preschool behind only a few months prior, he had little knowledge of his own minority status in the world, not to mention in our South Bay community. But that didn\’t matter to him, at least as far as I knew.
When Xmas Enters the Classroom
Sharon Schatz Rosenthal
December 16, 2004
Five days a week during this holiday period, Jodi Braverman sits in a room that conjures up images of the North Pole. The walls are covered with pictures of jolly old St. Nick, and not one, but two miniature Christmas trees serve as obstacles to the seating area. From time to time, Yuletide carols serve as background music.
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