“Do you want something to eat?”
“No, thank you.” He pushed the newspaper away from him and pointed to the refrigerator, where Uncle David had taped a picture from the last family reunion. “Who are those people?”
I pulled the picture off of the refrigerator and put it on the counter between Sami and me. “That’s my uncle, and that’s my mother, and that’s their sister Beth.” I pointed as I spoke, “And that’s my grandmother. Over on the left is my father, and my brother, and that’s me.”
“That’s you?” Sami picked the photo up to look more closely. “How old were you?”
“Thirteen, maybe? I could have been fourteen, but I think it was before my birthday.”
“And that’s your brother?” He pointed at Ari.
“Yes.”
“How old is he now?”
“Now? He’s twenty-one.”
“How old are you?”
“I’ll be nineteen in two months.”
Sami exhaled at that, and put the picture back on the counter.
“How old are you?” I asked, although I thought I knew, roughly.
“Twenty-five,” he said and looked at me. I shrugged, and pointed back at the picture, realizing his age had never even occurred to me as being problematic.
“And that’s my Aunt Beth’s husband, Jack, and their son Joel.”
“You only have one brother?”
“Yes.”
“And no sisters?”
“Just me.”
Sami was quiet, and looked back down at the picture. “Where was this picture taken?”
“In California, where my grandmother lives.”
“You don’t live in California?”
“No, I live in Chicago.”
“With your brother and your parents? But not your uncle or your grandmother?”
“Right.” We were quiet for a minute, and the coffeemaker clicked and whispered behind us. “Do you have brothers and sisters?”
Sami laughed. “Yes. I have three sisters and five brothers.”
“There are nine children in your family?”
He laughed again. “Yes. I’m the oldest.”
“Wow. So tell me about them.”
“About my sisters and brothers?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“I’m interested.” I smiled and leaned towards him slightly, amazed at how easy it was to flirt, how naturally it came with this man who was strange to me.
“Tell me about your brother.” He was smiling back at me, but his eyes were confused, or worried.
“You go first,” I said, and brushed some hair behind my ear, watching his gaze follow my fingers.
He told me about his family. Twin sisters who liked dancing, and a younger brother who wanted to be an architect. The brother just younger than him who wanted to study law, the sister who hated school, and the mute brother who had been silent for all of his fourteen years. We drank our coffee and moved to sit on the couch in the other room. The music continued for a while, and then, after a rousing version of ‘Tuxedo Junction,’ the room was suddenly quiet.
“Where do you live?” I asked, resting my chin on the heel of my hand.
“In the Old City.” Sami scratched the back of his neck and then looked at me, waiting for my reaction.
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
I attended and participated in last month’s Jewrotica event. The engaging performers and Ayo, our inviting host, inspired the audience to feel like one big community. What a great way to inspire our community to embrace sex as a beautiful thing that can be fun, exciting, sacred, sensual, ridiculous, scary and everything in between!
My opinion on Jewrotica is: It’s sexy. It’s awesome. It’s Judaism to the next level. It’s what we should all be getting into!
I’m so glad that Jewrotica is represented here at Jewlicious! It’s bringing voices that need to be heard in the Jewish discussion and Jewish climate environment.
At Jewrotica’s Evening of Bedside Readings, students declaimed monologues on sexual encounters that had a Jewish twist. At Columbia/Barnard Hillel, the speakers pushed their own boundaries by performing a range of explicit narratives that challenged how the audience thought of the relationship to Judaism and sex. During the speakers’ preparation, the arguments about which narratives would be appropriate forced students to take a stand and voice their opinion on their own beliefs about Judaism an… Read more
Bedside Reading with Jewrotica was funny, sexy, and hot all at once. The readings were honest about all kinds of sexuality, but the highlight of the evening was definitely the confessions, written by audience participants. Nobody knew who wrote them, and most were tell-alls that would make your bubbe blush. Unless your bubbe was very, very cool. Then maybe she’d make YOU blush!
I had a great time deejaying at the Jewrotica event at Columbia University. The live readings were hilarious, informative, and in some cases, deeply moving. I know that I, along with many of my AEPi fraternity brothers, loved being able to connect our Judaism and our sexuality in a way that made all of us feel comfortable and welcome. I look forward to being a part of this again in the future!
While many people fear the “sex talk,” Jewrotica offers an opportunity for writers and audiences to speak about sexuality in a open and safe space. When I attended a Jewrotica reading, I heard stories that reminded me that love takes many forms, and that expressing it is a vital part of who we are as a people.
Jewrotica is inspiring Jews and erotica with holiness and coolness, and is the pride of progressive Judaism. Jewrotica – awesome!
You may not tell your mom that you’re going to a live Jewrotica reading (or whatever clever name you will dub these events) but you will tell your friends. However, both would be jealous if they find out that they missed it. I think it will only be a matter of time before Jewrotica helps us reclaim the term “Dirty Jew” the way rap music has done for “The ‘N’ Word.” I know I am now proud to be a Dirty Jew!
I stepped out of my comfort zone to be a part of this. I was glad to open up the topic of sexuality in my community. We are trying to build a safe space to talk about sex. The result I am most happy about coming from this event is that hopefully now my friends know they can come and talk to me, that I can be their ‘safe space’.
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