Mamzer Magic : Jewitch Voodoo Protection Powder

I want to share an interesting psychic protection recipe I've come across. I recently ran into an old friend who is on a unique spiritual path. When we were younger, we explored Paganism and Magic together at the tender age of ten. He wrote in my Book of Shadows, which I still have.

Mamzer at the Movies : The Secrets

I recently watched an Israeli movie called, "The Secrets". It's about a young Chareidi (Ultra, ultra Orthodox) woman, Naomi, who is a brilliant Torah student with limited options in her community. Her mother has just passed away, and she is being pushed into a marriage with a man she can barely tolerate, let alone love.

Is Judaism Dying?

Some people have an easy time connecting to their spiritual path. I've seen it in their faces. They have nothing to prove. They have a sense of peace and being at ease about themselves. I saw it in the Neo-Pagan scene I tried to join in my teens. I've seen it in born-again Christians and been upset because I knew I identified with them. In seminary in Jerusalem, I saw it in a friend who was relaxing into her frum-keit (Orthodox Jewish lifestyle). Although I have a long way to go, I, too, have made strides in opening up to my path in this last year.

It's clear that, even though our paths appear different from one another, we are actually walking the same path. We are walking a path of self-acceptance. I say self-acceptance because I think there is a natural, basic flow to the universe - a great harmony in which everything fits together. We are tapping into a part of ourselves that helps us "go with the flow". I could separate the aspects of this energy into categories of honesty, acceptance, truth, humility, etc... But they're all just temporary tools to help me grasp this harmony intellectually. If I try to hold on to the distinct categories for too long, they leak back into each other. That being said, this post is not about spiritual harmony. This post is about my ongoing struggle to find a way to connect to Judaism.

Mamzerim : Real People, Real Problems

The title of this blog , "Mamzer Hakodesh", literally means "The Holy Bastard", or even, "The Holy Abomination". I used it for several reasons, one is about being a Jewish-born Christian, one is about looking at the Torah and Bible with fresh perspectives, another about being from an inter-faith and interracial family. One is about the idea of Jesus himself as a bastard; also the idea that sacredness is found in profanity.

Round, Spiral...

Hello, and Shana Tova!

This post will be on how I'm feeling this year about Rosh Hashana. I'll also be presenting some interesting information on holiday customs, legends and such.

Rosh Hashana. Shana Tova. Another year trying to care about something I don't really care much about. Trying to care about something I cling to desperately due to identity and self-acceptance issues... fear of rejection and all that stuff. I don't believe the year is 5771, because I don't believe the world was created less than 6,000 years ago. In fact, I suspect Jews started in with this 5,*** year old world business at some time in the recent past; I should learn more about this calendar business at some point.

Fun Things To Do On Rosh-Hashana

Hello dahhh-lings!

I have a longer, rambling post about Rosh-Hashana to put up later on, but for the moment I'll content myself with sharing a short, fun activity to try on Rosh-Hashana:

Walk into your local Chabad shul (synagogue) on the second day of New Year's dressed in business pants and patterned top with cleavage showing. Run into that nice lady you met a month ago at an Orthodox Kabbalat Shabbat when you were wearing a long-sleeved dress in the oppressive summer heat. Get that 'hey-I'm-trying-to-show-you-a-friendly-face-but-your-dress-and-clearly-un-halachically-stringent-manner-are-freaking-me-out' smile from her.

Oops, I did it again....

Oops, I did it again. I spent another weekend trying to find some well-meaning, but rigid Orthodox Jews to fawn over me and to spend time trying to convince me that they're right. To hold me in value just because I was born of a Jewish mother.

So Much Happens In A Week...

So I was so determined to put up the second part of my book review of Bruce Chilton's "Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography" within a few days. And now a week has passed. I decided to go back to that synagogue for Kabbalat Shabbat. Then I decided no to because, Goddammit, I'm Christian. Then I decided to go. The people there were very sweet. I was welcomed. One woman asked me if I was a convert because, she said, she had thought she heard me say I was or something to that effect. But she was so nice I couldn't get mad at her. I was invited to Shabbat dinner, but I declined with embarrassment because I was going to celebrate a friend's anniversary.