SHTETL MAGAZINE

BJ Loomer unearths an obscure jazzy version of the Megillah in this first edition of MishMash: a semi-regular blog featuring random thoughts, partial impressions and musical preoccupations.

Why does Jesse Toufexis seem to always fail at bringing Yiddish into WASP culture? After another failed attempt at this year’s Superbowl party, Toufexis does some soul searching to get to the bottom of this inadequacy.

How did Holly Gauthier-Frankel find her inner Miss Sugarpuss? Shtetl speaks with this Montreal burlesque bombshell and gets the inside scoop.

“For better or for worse, I am very comfortable on my back with my legs spread, but my annual pap is an exception to the rule.” Find out what intriguing surprises await the young woman in Best Pap Ever! Happy V-Day everyone!

In this memoir, candid author Lick My Knish lets us in on the emotional roller coaster that was her worst pap ever.

Crossdressing came in very handy in Turkish-ruled Palestine, as Meir Arber a.k.a Delice, was easily able to cross borders dressed as a Bedouin woman.

Brooklyn-based punk-polka-rock gag band Schmekel weighs in on the ups and downs of crossing the gender divide. From dating,to being mispronoun-ed,to eating hamentashen off-season,band members Lucian, Ricky, Nogga and Simcha are 100% trans-parent.

This picture of my Eastern European Jewish Drag King persona was taken by my father…In Toronto, I posed in the neighbourhood where my great grandfather worked as a Rabbi, after the family emigrated from Eastern Europe.

In this piece the author takes us through her “education” as a Jewish girl in Montreal. From class issues, to the Holocaust, to adolescent awkward phases, interfaith dating, bad bar-mitzvah outfits and awful camp experiences, we are privy to a young woman’s struggle with her Jewish identity.

In 2011 I was gifted with a whack-load of worry, a solid dose of hypochondria and a nudging sense that I am either too Jewish or not Jewish enough. But more important: What were famous Jews complaining and catastrophizing about this past year?