Judaism

Time to be funny! Turn things upside down! It’s really Adar this time. I promise.

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Okay, so for those who have no idea what the title of today’s post means, I’ll clarify:

Don't you wanna dress up for Purim?

Don’t you wanna dress up for Purim?

The Hebrew month of Adar contains the wacky holiday of Purim. The thing is, when there’s a leap year, there’s an entire extra month of Adar–because if you’re going to have a month that comes twice, it might as well as be the one that’s known as the happiest of the year. But there’s only Purim in the second Adar.

After a month of tolerating a giant “SIKE!” the second Adar of 5774 started yesterday. Jewish kids everywhere are going crazy. Continue reading →

My thoughts on Tablet’s article “Do Jewish Children’s Books Have a Problem with Gender?”

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Emily Sigalow, in Tablet this week, published an article entitled “Do Jewish Children’s Books Have a Problem with Gender?”

While she does make one point I agree with, that awards committee’s tend to favor Jewish picture books with male lead characters and that the females tend to be engaged in traditional roles, she seems to learn from that that Jewish children’s books as a whole have a problem.

I have to disagree with the overall picture Sigalow paints, though.

You can see my comments on the article if you visit Tablet (scroll to the bottom of the page), but I’d like to make a few more thoughts.

Jewish children’s books do have problems. Actually, many secular books have the same problems. Continue reading →

Ready for me to reveal more embarrassing truths?

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I’m making appearance on Tablet again this week. Not being a shirker, I’ve revealed yet another embarrassing detail of my personal life: I am a reverse snob. (This is along with watching Afterschool Specials, being somewhat vain, making choices I can never really take back, and believing in ghosts...I know, I’m a bit of a head case.)

At the time a friend first accused me of being a reverse snob, I had no idea that such a label existed. It turns out that not only does it exist (there are definitions for it both on Dictionary.com and in the Urban Dictionary) but I indeed was one. At first I was proud of being  a reverse snob…until I did some soul-searching.

The good news is that I’m now in recovery.

Has anyone ever accused you of something that initially you were proud of, but later reconsidered? Please share your story in the comments below! And don’t forget to check out my essay on Tablet.

When it rains, it pours!

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I’m having a crazy week, and not just because of the upcoming Thanksgivukkah extravaganza we’re experiencing here in the U.S. My latest essay on Tablet popped up on their front page at 12 am EST. No trolls yet, but no comments either…

I have a Chanukah story for kids in this week in Binah BeTween, also, and Naomi Elbinger’s My Parnassa blog is featuring a guest post by yours truly about writing for Jewish magazines and making sure you get paid.

Here’s hoping you all have a crazy week, to0–in all the best possible ways! And a lichtige Chanukah, and/or a fabulous Thanksgiving, as well.

How Jewish do you sound? Learning the lingo as you learn the ropes

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I promised a full-length review of Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism by Sarah Bunin Benor (Rutger’s University Press 2012)  a while back, but I (embarrassing to admit!) lost the book before I completed it! (Yes, I feel guilty.)

becoming frum

Becoming Frum, recent winner of the Rohr Prize

Thank G-d, the book re-emerged from the piles on my desk recently, and I finally completed it over the weekend, allowing me to at long-last fulfill my promise to review this book, which recently won the 2013 Sami Rohr Choice Award for Jewish Literature

I first became acquainted with the work of Sarah Bunin Benor when she looked for volunteers to complete an online survey of language use among Jewish Americans several years back. When Becoming Frum came out a year ago, I was even more interested, partly because of my sociolinguistics coursework as part of my graduate-level anthropology program, partly because of my own status as a “BT” (someone who “returned” to Orthodox Jewish observance as an adult).

Becoming Frum draws on Benor’s extensive research among both “black hat” and “modern” Orthodox communities. Continue reading →

What? No love triangle? How books for Jewish teens fit into current YA trends

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If you ask observant Jewish teens here in the U.S. whether they overall prefer Jewish books or secular ones, most of them will tell you secular books (trust me, I write for teens, so I’ve asked). Sad, but true.

Why most Orthodox teens prefer secular books

Interestingly, some of these teens will tell you that they wish there were more Jewish books for teens that suited them. Others will tell you they don’t like either Jewish or secular novels — the former don’t engage them, and latter conflict with their religious beliefs.

Thursday, I caught an excellent article on CNN about the history of YA novels in the U.S. You can read it here. There was little that was news to me in the article, but it did make me think about something that’s troubled me for a while — namely why so many Jewish teens are enthralled by secular books that don’t necessarily reflect the values of their families.

Let’s consider why secular YA books are currently selling like hotcakes. Continue reading →