Am I a Jewish artist?

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I don’t wake up (or go to sleep) thinking of myself as a Jewish artist. But should I? Hard to say. I spent the winter polishing up a new (debut) novel for young readers called The Beat on Ruby’s Street. Set in Greenwich Village in 1958, the novel is focused on eleven-year-old Ruby Tabeata, who is growing up in the midst of Beat Generation artists and poets and wants to be a poet herself. On her way to a reading by the poet Jack Kerouac, Ruby is waylaid by a blood orange, accused of stealing it and hauled off to the police station. Continue Reading

Minnesota House passes Marriage Equality bill, the Jewish perspective

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The mood at the Minnesota State Capitol today was one of pure joy when the House of Representatives passed the marriage equality bill 75-59 on Thursday. The bill will now go to the DFL controlled Senate for a vote on Monday. Should it pass the Senate it will go to Governor Mark Dayton (DFL), who has said he will sign the bill should it reach his desk. Continue Reading

More than a nosh: Burch Steak

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For nostalgic reasons, I have a hard time being objective about Isaac Becker’s restaurants. Long story short: After moving here, my wife and I went to 112 Eatery for our anniversary, and we’ve now gone there every year since. So dedicated we are, we mark June 12 on our calendars to remind us that that was the day we could make reservations. So when we were able to get to Burch Steak in the Lowry Hill neighborhood, we were ecstatic and came away planning our next visit. But not for the reasons you’d expect. Continue Reading

There is no good way of explaining hate to your children

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My husband and I were both born and raised Jewish. We both identify strongly with our Jewish faith. Our children attend/ed Hebrew and religious school and all four will be Bar/Bat Mitzvahed (two down, two to go). Yet for many reasons, the most prominent being that we had family members attending, we made the choice to send our children to an Episcopalian school. A school that explains in its mission statement: “Our goal as an Episcopal school is to nurture the spiritual development of each person and to welcome everyone to our community.” And for the most part, we have all found this to be true. Continue Reading

New Jew in town: Meeting a “real” writer

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I was running late to Federation’s Young Leadership happy hour one evening last November, which meant I was able to skip the awkward but necessary introductions and small talk. Instead, I hijacked my way into a conversation where someone said, “Daci, this is Rebecca! She’s a writer too.” Continue Reading

Jewish Community Action’s immigrant Seder celebrates freedom

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Each year at Passover, Jews come together to tell the story of Exodus and celebrate our emancipation from bondage. For the past ten years, Jewish Community Action (JCA) has shared this tradition with our neighbors at the annual Immigrant Freedom Seder, where we host our friends and allies and reflect on our community’s modern-day triumphs and struggles. Now in its eleventh year, the Immigrant Freedom Seder weaves together the elements of a traditional Seder with storytelling, music, and activities, and brings us together with our allies to share the holiday’s message of freedom and rededicate ourselves to eradicating all injustice from our community. Continue Reading

My martenitza: A story of hope in Bulgaria

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It’s March 1st today. Until 1998, when I made my first trip to Bulgaria, March 1st didn’t mean very much. Today, however, March 1st, 2013, some 15 year later, I will share my discovery of what March 1st means to me all over the University of Minnesota campus. I will do it with Hillel students as we give martenitzas to anyone who will take them. Continue Reading