About Neille Ilel
From Iranian Exile to Mayor of Beverly Hills
The new mayor of Beverly Hills is a Persian Jew. This is a watershed moment: For decades Beverly Hills was a city populated and run entirely by Ashkenazi Jews, people descended from the Great Wave migrants who left Europe and … Read More
Like a Virgin: Work
There was a time when I’d quit a job every year. It wasn’t a planned renewal, but it sure helped me freshen up my career when it felt stale. Of course, one can do that sort of thing for a … Read More
Like a Virgin
The high holidays are a time for new beginnings—a kind of reset button on whatever you’ve gotten wrong in the past year. Services take care of your spiritual crimes, allowing you to wash all the grime off your metaphysical windows … Read More
Magic and Mayhem
I saw a huge contrast between the rich and the poor everywhere I went in India, but it was most pronounced in Delhi, where the Plaza Hotel bar rivals any in Los Angeles and little children with bloodied arms bang … Read More
Going out With a Bhang
My serenity and sobriety ended abruptly when we boarded the train to Jaipur. The trip took ten hours. Jeff and I calculated our average speed to be hovering around 20 miles per hour. At least we smoked the cows. Perhaps … Read More
Where Are All the Indian Yoga Students?
I started with an Iyengar yoga class at the giant ashram down the road. The teacher was not a smiling bearded Indian yogi, but a tiny, angular, frowning American woman. Karin O’Bannon was all business. Rumor had it she was … Read More
The Enlightenment Industry
Karma I realized I probably wasn’t going to find enlightenment in India about four days into my trip. I was drinking chai in the restaurant of the Shiva Hotel before a yoga class, talking with Iryse, a snarky Belgian woman … Read More
A Jewish Girl’s Guide to Genetic Testing (Part Four)
[This is the fourth in a four-part series published on Fridays.] In the six weeks I spent waiting to hear whether I tested positive for the cancer gene, I refused to think about the results. Perhaps I was just as … Read More
A Jewish Girl’s Guide to Genetic Testing (Part Three)
[This is the third in a four-part series published on Fridays.] My mother and I made a deal. I would get tested for the breast cancer gene, and in exchange, she would go to therapy for at least six months. … Read More
A Jewish Girl’s Guide to Genetic Testing (Part Two)
[This is the second in a four-part series published on Fridays.] I visited my mom in the hospital only once after she had her hysterectomy. I was 12, and the only thing I remember is being jealous that she could … Read More
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