I believe we were talking about stereotypes...not reality.  I'm certain there are also plenty of Jews who do not have curly dark hair or are even"smart as a whip".  I was responding to the reasons Ismail gave for why others assume he's Jewish.

Thanks Tamar!  This was great.  And now I don't feel so bad that my hamentaschen, although quite yummy, always "open up" in the oven and never retain that perfect triangle shape.

chag purim!

(now...can you write something about Vashti?) 

Couldn't leave you all hanging...dinner turned out great!  Best roast ever!  Maybe I should have my husband turn off the oven every time I cook :)

So true!  Homemade challah is def the way to go.  And, although it takes 3 hours, you don't have to stand there and watch it rise.  Only 15 minutes to make the dough, then go do whatever it is you have to do while it's rising!  

Here's a great recipe (I put honey on the top of my dough before baking--really amazing this way!)

http://www.modernjewishmom.com/recipes.htm#challah 

Meredith Jacobs

I had thought the next Bat Mitzvah in my family was going to be my daughter's.  It was amazing that it was my mother's.  She told me that when she was 25 and her father (my grandfather) died, she was troubled that she couldn't read the words of the Kaddish in Hebrew--she felt that they would somehow mean more in Hebrew.  And she promised herself that one day she would learn.

 But the demands of raising her daughters and owning a business with my dad gave her little free time.  It seemed b'sheret that after she and my dad retired, their synagogue offered an adult b'nai mitzvah class.  It was not easy.  I think it's much harder learning as an adult than as a child.  She would call me after class to tell me what she had learned.  It was strange feeling like I knew more than my mom.

I cannot describe how proud I was watching her read (truly read) her Torah portion.  She's already asked if she can read at Sofie's (my daughter, her granddaughter) Bat Mitzvah in 2009.

And, I guess in the end I still don't know more than my mom.  She had just taught me that it's never too late, you're never too old and parents can bring much nachas to their children! 

Meredith Jacobs

I've started seeing Havdallah ceremonies incorporated into b'nai mitzvah parties (kind of the transition between the cocktail hour and dinner).  My daughter's bat mitzvah is 2 years away (yes, already planning) but would love to figure out a beautiful/meaningful way to have havdallah with our guests (and eliminate the horrid "candlelighting ceremony").  BTW--her Bat Mitzvah is also on Sukkot!  Any ideas would be very much appreciated!!

Meredith Jacobs

Yes, I was standing on a soapbox--maybe not so much offended by her ignorance (you are right there)--maybe just annoyed by it.  And, used her as an example (sorry Rachael). 

 And, yes, advertisers advertise to make money, BUT, I do think I would be more likely to support a company/product that advertised in a Jewish resource over one that didn't (all other things being equal).  The reporter I spoke with did discuss advertisers support of cable networks and magazines targetted specifically to the gay community and made the comparison to the Jewish market.  Again, here is a community that is also being reached through mainstream vehicles and one could view advertising in both as redundant, but the idea is that a company could win allegiance by throwing some ad dollars to the niche market.

In the end, it's still about making money (the Jewish population is still a good market to go after), but you also win points for helping to fund a resource.