Category: Misc

I’ve Been Working From Home For Two Years

When Covid-19 washed onto our figurative and literal shores two years ago, the assumption was that the virus and the following quarantine were temporary. It would all blow over and we would return to our normal lives like nothing had happened.

I remember leaving work on that fateful Friday in March of 2020, thinking that it would be just any other weekend. I would return to the office on Monday and do my job. On Sunday, I decided to check my work email. The CEO of my company announced that we would all be working from home for the short term. Cut to two years later, and I have only returned to my desk once.

Recently, my company has re-opened the office, offering a seat to anyone who wants to come in. It would be nice to see another four walls. But I don’t want to. The extra hour of sleep helps tremendously, as does the ability to dress comfortably. I don’t have to worry about getting on the train and considering the idea that I might not get in on time due to unforeseen issues.

The one thing I did not understand until I started working remotely was how much more discipline I would need. I’ve always put my job first during business hours. But the thing I underestimated is how much temptation there was at home. There is always something else to do, something to watch on TV or streaming, a book that is waiting to be read, etc.

But as much as I would like to do all of that, none of those activities result in a paycheck. The only thing to do is to put the blinders on and do what needs to be done. If nothing else, I am grateful that I have remained employed for the last two years. There are many people who cannot say the same.

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Does Sarah Silverman Have a Point About Hollywood’s “Jewface” Problem?

In today’s media environment, representation is key. After too many years of the Caucasian, Christian, heterosexual male dominating our screens, the call for diversity has only gotten louder and will continue to do so.

Last week, comedian and actress Sarah Silverman called out Hollywood for “Jewface“. In laymen’s terms, it is when a non-Jewish actor plays a Jewish character (ala Kathryn Hahn playing Joan Rivers in the upcoming biopic). Her description of this phenomenon is as follows:

“It’s defined as when a non-Jew portrays a Jew with the Jewishness front and center, often with makeup or changing of features, big fake nose, all the New York-y or Yiddish-y inflection. And in a time when the importance of representation is seen as so essential and so front and center, why does ours constantly get breached even today in the thick of it?”

In response to Silverman’s comments, actor Tony Shalhoub, who plays Rachel Brosnahan’s father in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, (neither of whom are Jewish) said the following:

“We were trained to — at least I was — to not play myself, to play characters and so it’s troubling to me that they’re limiting actors.”

He is right. An actor’s job is to pretend to be someone else. As long as they can play the role, it shouldn’t matter what their ethnicity or family background is. The problem is that too often, a character who is a minority is either ground down to the base stereotype or the actor is Caucasian, but the person they are playing is a POC.

I think she has a point. The problem as I see it is both in casting and the writing. If every performer was hired solely based on their race, religion, or where their ancestors came from, dramatized fiction would be severely limited. While it would be nice to see a Jewish actor playing a Jewish character, I have to be realistic. For me, it comes down to the script. The person I am seeing on screen must be fully drawn. If the writer(s) rely on how they think a Jewish person (or anyone) thinks or feels without making them human, that is where the problem lies.

Thoughts on a 2nd Covid Rosh Hashanah

Our lives are busy. Between work, school, family, etc., the days easily get away from us. We can easily forget who and what is important as we go about our lives, focusing on schedules and to-do lists.

The Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah is next week.

This is the second year in which Covid-19 has changed the way we do everything. I know it’s extremely cliché, but the last 18 months have been difficult. Sometimes, we have to be reminded to stop and think about what and who is truly important as a pose to what we think is necessary. This virus has held up a collective mirror, forcing us to reckon with reality in ways that many of us have avoided.

Though I have had many troubles over the past year (my mental health issues among them), there are still things to be grateful for. I am grateful for my health, the people I love, my job, my writing, and most of all, the fact that I can still wake up in the morning.

To everyone celebrating, shana tova and may you have a sweet new year.

A Passover Challah is a Big No-No

Diversity, as we all know, is a huge thing these days. But diversity for diversity’s sake is meaningless and empty. The only way it works is if we truly understand why a certain culture or faith has certain practices.

Over the weekend, Jews around the world recounted the story of the Exodus via the holiday of Passover. Carly Friesen, a Christian Lifestyle coach, decided to have a “Christian Seder“. The meal was completed by “Passover Challah” and a prayer to the Christian Savior.

If there was ever a definition of cultural appropriation, this is it. Anyone who has any basic knowledge of Passover knows that bread, pasta, and other foods in that category are verboten during the eight days. She could have made a genuine gesture by at least trying to adhere to the traditional food rules of the holiday. The amount of resources she could have pulled information from is nearly endless.

Instead, she took some of the most precious and respected aspects of Judaism and this week and twisted them to fit her needs. It is not exactly a secret that some members of the Christian faith have not exactly been shy about taking everything, including our lives, from Jews at certain points in history. It’s 2021. It’s time to think about how we treat minority cultures and people, especially when it comes to their most sacred objects and traditions.

I’ve Been Working From Home For a Year

The first anniversary of Covid-19 is is one we will never forget.

March 11th, 2020 was the last time I was in the office. I took off for a long weekend and was not sure what the next Monday would bring. Returning home that Sunday, I saw an email from my company’s CEO that we had the option to work from home. I could have gone back to the office, but the signs were all pointing to working remotely, at least for the time being.

If there was a way to tell my past self that any and all interactions for the next year with my colleagues would be via the computer, I wouldn’t have believed it. I would have said maybe it would have been a month, maybe two. But not a year.

I am more than grateful to be employed with full benefits. The fact that I am able to earn my paycheck while staying safe is increases that feeling ten fold. But not everyone is so fortunate.

The truth is that I am ready to go back to the office. I miss the face to face interaction. I miss the non-work conversations that happen while in passing or in the kitchen. Of course it means getting up earlier, riding the subway, and having to put some thought into my clothes.

Readers, I would love to know your opinion. If you have been working from home, are you ready to go back to the office? Or are you content to stay in your home office?

In Spite of Everything, I am Grateful This Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the time of year in which we forget what we don’t have and remember what we are grateful. With everything going on this year, it is doubly easy to become negative and angry. But I choose positivity and I choose to look at what I do have.

To everyone celebrating, have a happy, safe, and delicious Thanksgiving.

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