hey there kids.
so this past week, colleague and friend aliza hausman was interviewed by the jewish press about her choice about conversion, her blog, her experiences and such. it was a nice quaint interview. i myself read it whilst sipping a cup of hot cocoa by the fireplace. however, whether she’s on her own blog, guest starring on someone else’s, or just a quick cameo, it seems our favorite jewminicana is just an eternal hate-magnet. a couple of lovely comments included accusations that she “lambast[es] the frum community”, “[doesnt cover] her hair to make a statement”, “constantly criticizes, mercilessly at times, our [jewish] community”, “makes us [converts] look bad”, and that ms hausman is generally a “misguided vengeful individual.”
[shakes head]
im sorry, maybe you dont realize it, but a lot of jews? especially frum ones? SUCK.
as ppl.
generally speaking, you dont know how to treat YOUR OWN, let alone jews of COLOR, let alone CONVERTS, let alone CONVERTS of COLOR. clearly ur iffy on the dynamics of “cause and effect” so let me just inform you that that tends to make for rightfully angry ppl, whether ffb, baal teshuva, or convert. what else do you think is one of the reasons for judaism losing adherents more than any other religion yearly?
and as for “misguided and vengeful” im sorry that ur so offended that there is someone out there who doesnt allow you to hide behind the puss-covered blanket of “lashon hara” that allows the bedsores of sexual abuse, housing scams, organ harvesting, herpes spreading mohels,and sexually propositioning conversion rabbis to fester. maybe if there were more ppl “constantly” “mercilessly” “criticizing” and “lambasting” the frum community, it wouldnt be in the shambling hypocritical state its in.
to aliza’s fellow convert [also dominican, as i recall] who lamented that aliza made all converts “look bad”: congrats. you really ARE part of the jewish ppl. here’s your ticket. just wait right there and an usher will guide you to your seat in the “you should have left us in egypt” section of the theater. stones are complimentary. also, yes, aliza is making a statement by not covering her hair. in short, it goes something like “i have fibromyalgia you fucking moron and if you’d BLINKED in the direction of my blog just ONCE you’d have noticed the NUMEROUS times i’ve mentioned the pain im constantly in, how excrutiating it is to cover my head, and ALSO that i have a HETER from my rabbi.”
also, my personal favorite, someone pulled out that famous go-to chesnut from yevamot 47b: “proselytes are as hard for israel [to endure] as scabs”. wow, you guys LOVE that one, dont you? so its time for a lil bio lesson here, since you seem to be a lil bit fuzzy on the purpose of a scab:
scab
 (skāb)n.
|
see where im going with this? scabs are there b/c you’re wounded and they’re there to heal you, idiot. their purpose is to fix you. inconvenient? yes. but its not THEIR fault that you’re wounded. that ur careless. that you dont know how to take care of ur body. [ill trust everyone to be savvy enough to make the correlation/metaphor about the state of the jewish “body” and “soul” and converts being “scabs”. after all, we’re still in exile, right? so clearly things aren’t all peachy with the jewish ‘body”].
at any rate, i hope all you “scab” types arent the same ppl wishing “next year in yerushalayim” at the seder. b/c according to you guys, “scabs” like, say, ruth, wouldnt be welcome. though i hear she has some bigshot offspring or something–this “mashiach” guy ppl keep going on about. of course i guess if it were up to you he’d never get to exist.
right?
–MaNishtana
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MaNishtana 
Bravo!!!!!!!!!
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Those idiots who cite Yevamot conveniently forget that God declared multiple times that She holds geries in higher regard than bornies.
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“She”?? whoa-ho, tryna get me in trouble here.
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tell it!
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On the button, Hutton.
Always good to hear from you,
Jenny
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Well said!
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clap clap clap clap clap
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I’m torn here, really…
on the one hand, the JP , and what it represents (in terms of its targeted readership) generally sickens me; thus the typical reader talkback from that demographic will also nauseate.
On the other hand, merely disagreeing with Aliza seems to draw calls of “hate”, sexist, racist, etc.
One can genuinely (even adamantly) disagree with her hashkofic positions, and not be any of those.
Because to to try to stifle dissent by de-legitimization (which is the end result of labeling disagreement with such titles) is, by definition, “Stalinism” (or something like it).
So, Aliza should keep up the fight…but realize its ok to disagree.
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oh i definitely agree. aliza and i have disagreed on occassion. but never have those disagreements devolved into character assassination. that “extra step” to me seems to imply something more than whats being disageed with on the surface.
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I was sooo heated when I first read that article and its comments. Now the fires have subsided a bit. Or maybe I’m just whooped from the Pesach cleaning.
Nevertheless I realized what really upsets me about this whole thing. I mean it is not about disagreements; I disagree with many people that I love all the time. No, this whole thing holds a stench that is unfortunately all too familiar. And the root of this stench is a little something we’ll call ‘disrespect’.
You see, converts SHOULD have a great deal of respect coming their way from born Jews (and even other converts). However for some strange reason, the opposite tends to occur. So what do you get when you disagree with someone that you don’t respect? Well, you can see for yourself, right there in the comments to that Jewish Press article.
Don’t believe me? Ok, well imagine that Peyton Manning sits down with you and the two of you swap fitness tips. He proposes some crazy workout routine that you think is hazardous to your health quite frankly, but you would probably just ‘respectfully’ nod and just take it. Because after all, he is Peyton Manning, and YOU haven’t won any superbowls.
And THAT is what gets me. This people feel so justified, so right, in speaking their piece. They want to say it without any regard or RESPECT for the receipient of the subject matter involved. This also happens all to often when people start moaning about how Black people should just get over the whole ‘racist America’ thing, and live like every other American. Well there is no such thing as ‘every other American’ and if you had any clue whatsoever…you would know that!
Now I’m off to eat my grain-free lunch. Chag Pesach Sameach Ma Nishtana!
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And as many of us know, Rishona, the person is quickest to dismiss another person’s (or group’s) hurtful experiences by saying “just git ova it,” is the one who is apt to view their own grievances as hallowed and untouchable.
Why is it so difficult for some people to recognize that offering a little bit of a respectful ear might help them gain the same thing for themselves?
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Chag Pesach Sameach……
As always you are “Right On”!!!! This topic is never ending but you stated it wonderfully!!!
Mariantha
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well hello stranger!
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There is an interpretation of the “scabs” statement that goes, why are converts as hard for us as scabs (or sores)? Because they are so enthusiastic in the performance of mitzvos that they put born Jews to shame in comparison!
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Yasher Koiach Mishtana! You are such a bright guy. I truly feel that things will not change for the better in our community unless Jews change themselves first. Aliza is such a wonderful human being and should be respected as such. One of the reasons I left Judaism was that I was so fed up with the baseless hatred that continues to rise in the Jewish community. I never understood why the so called children of G-d hated themselves so much. I wonder what Hashem has to say about all this.
Chag Pesach Sameach!
Robert
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Oh Robert you smart man. Its funny how one can go from being a non-Jew who respects them to a Jew who doesn’t. 😦
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