My newfound love for Mika Brzezinski

Like many good NPR listeners, and New York Times readers, we often watch "Morning Joe" with our coffee. For many reasons, this show is not necessarily my favorite, more of a lesser of morning news evils. But there it is, most weekday mornings, while the caffeine slowly enters my bloodstream and I clean up the remainder of last night's dishes. Glamorous, I know.

Though I could offer various critiques of the show's content, the thing that has really gotten under my skin has nothing to do with editorial choices or left/right balance. Each day, as I made sure my kids had their coats zipped, boots and gloves on, hoods at the ready, as I buttoned up my big winter coat (over my sweats) to take them to the bus, there was Mika, in a shift dress and four inch heels. What the f#%&?! Why was she perpetually dressed for a Memorial Day wedding? 

I found her clothing so distracting that I realized I wasn't listening to the discussions that were taking place during the show. I literally recall the grey sleeveless dress with the pink piping that she wore repeatedly as I shivered under a blanket a 15 minute drive from her home. Is the weather really different there? And, in my experience, uber-skinny women like her are always cold. 

So why the skimpy outfits? I felt it really diminished her as a journalist. How could I take her seriously if she couldn't take herself seriously enough to PUT ON A SWEATER? Then, slowly, the news began leaking out. Mika's notorious obsession with food might be a symptom of a larger issue. Turns out Ms. Brzezinski has an eating disorder. And in her attempt at healing, she gained 20 pounds. Now, I don't know for a fact that this is the reason for the big wardrobe change that ensued. And I in no way intend to diminish her struggles with her personal demons. Eating disorders are serious business. But, recently, as the weight crept on, it seems to me some more blood has been flowing to Mika's brain as well. 

I hope her newfound love for sleeves is not an indication that, having gained a few pounds, Mika is now ashamed of her (slightly larger) body. Besides the fact that she is still, by any measure, quite thin, that would be a disappointing outcome. She should continue wearing her short sleeveless dresses to garden parties and beach destination weddings and shopping in June on Madison avenue. But, onscreen with a bunch of men in sweaters and 3 piece suits and tweed jackets, she ought to dress for the season.  Her opinions should do the speaking for her, not her buff upper arms. Now about those shoes....

What my bully was thinking

In light of all the controversy lately over whether bullying is an effective governing tactic, here's my latest Huffington Post blog on bullies.

-Leah Bieler

I was bullied as a child. Not the relentless, unbearably cruel, sickening kind of bullying that you read about only after the victim has taken her own life. It was the run-of-the-mill mean girl bullying that left me crying at home after school and being ever-so-slightly more reluctant to speak up in class -- and beyond. Truly, it sucked. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But, since more than a few kids will recognize the story, maybe even identify, here goes.

In sixth grade I was, like most girls, in flux. A straight-A student, I spent all of my hours outside of school (and studying) at the dance studio. I was an early developer, though, and was slowly coming to a disappointing realization. I was unlikely to grow taller than my statuesque 5'1", and my once-smooth dancer's body was becoming a little more Dolly Parton each day. No matter how well I pirouetted, I was never going to be a ballerina.

See more

if a tree falls in the forest...

I get a lot of "views" from my articles and postings on other sites. But, it felt like it was time to put it all together in one place. That way, if anyone is crazy enough to want to spend a whole afternoon reading my writing.....

It's possible that fewer people will read this blog than on those established sites. Hopefully a few of you will. You know, if a tree falls in the forest and all. Please invite your friends, (and family, and neighbors, and plumbers) to be part of the conversation. The more the merrier. So, here goes nothing.

-Leah Bieler

How annoying is this? Rabbi Avi Weiss is given a reprieve by the Rabbanut, his testimony about who is a Jew is once again to be honored. There is dancing in the (Modern Orthodox) streets! All is reverted back to the way it was, the way it should be. Big Jewish communal organizations, like the ADL and AJC, who publicly fought for this result are now drunk with power. We can force the hand of the Israeli religious establishment! We have proven our significance. 

It is worth noting that these organizations, like most of the biggest Jewish Communal groups, are staffed and funded largely by Conservative (and Reform) Jews. So, why, for the last 20 years or so, while the testimony of literally every Conservative and Reform rabbi was being rejected by the Chief Rabbinate, did these groups hold their tongues? Why no fighting when we, ourselves, are the victims? 

I called this blog Radically Conventional for a reason. It expresses how I've felt for a long time in my Jewish life and beyond. Betwixt and between. I am someone enamored  of tradition, always interested in preserving the old way of doing things. But I am also a radical. I want those traditional avenues, which I love so much, to be open to everyone who wants in. Corporate America truly open for women. Jewish life available in all its richness to LBGT searchers. The American dream attainable for kids growing up in the projects. Because I truly love all those old things, but I can't really love them if they're only there for the few. So, I balance on the edge, teetering from one side to the other, not always sure where I'll land. 

In this spirit, I hope these communal organizations will reconsider. Determining who is a Jew is serious business in a Jewish State. And women and liberal Jews fighting for recognition are only asking to be insiders in the most conventional game in town - organized religion. That's what's funny about lots of radical social movements. They like the establishment so much they want to BE the establishment. They are radically conventional. And so are many of you. Or so I hope.