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Beaded Torah Mantle, Jewish Museum, New York.

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I will never forget the car ride where my dad was trying to convert me back to Catholicism, after I'd told him that I was actively pursuing Judaism.

He was waving one hand, when he professed- "Joy! You have to look for the signs from G-d! From the universe! Everything pulling you back in- back home!"

Then, the car rattled, crapped out, and rolled to a stop on the curb. Literally right outside was a synagogue with a huge Magen David stain glass window.

We were stuck there for an awkward two hours

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Another post for JVP Boston I made and am quite proud of! I may do a sequel if requested because there are so many more great people we could cover:

Judith Butler

Jamie Margolin

Rabbi Alissa Klein

Miriam Margolyes

Avi Shlaim

If you have any more suggestions let me know!

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- angels know every language but Aramaic

some angel facts for tonight courtesy of Rabbi Isaacs: 

- in Torah angels never do anything supernatural. They just show up and say stuff and then leave. Or maybe fight you if you’re Jacob. It’s the prophets who start assigning them miracles to do 

- we don’t say the blessing for the new month before Rosh HaShanah because we don’t want to remind the angel of death what day it is, he is bad at calendar (also hates loud sudden noises, i have a lot in common with him it seems)

- one time an angel drop-kicked a dude off the temple porch and we know it was an angel because it left a hoofprint on his shoulder. Angels have hooves specifically like baby cattle, we learn

- the seraphim lost a set of wings when the temple was destroyed! it was the pair they used for singing! OH NO!

- angels just look like whatever God wants them to look like at the time, which is why so many of them (all of them in the Torah) show up looking like men (aside from their calf feet, presumably). There’s no particular suggestion that an angel who looks like a human is “in disguise,” it’s just that’s what the angel needed to look like to do that job, I guess. Sometimes people who are special notice that a dude is an angel but not necessarily because they see anything other than a dude who happens to be an angel 

(if their job is to be screaming and on fire they’re shaped like a thing that would scream and be on fire???)   

- demons hate peas 

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(hosea 8)

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(hosea 8)

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Whats this? More cute girl crowdfundin?

YOU BETCHA

HI PALS! my storage unit has told me I need 800 quid by the end of the week. I have 300 from the gov coming in but no other forms of income. I previously asked the storage people to value and sell many of the items there however this clearly was not completed and now the bill is payable in full

I am an out of work disabled trans woman. I have received 0 support over the last 6 months and have been waiting on lists to receive these support. This is all to say I am unable to work or have another form of cash flow

Please every bit helps. In the unit I have every childhood stuffie, book and memorabilia and also some other very meaningful items like my first cane and sword and comic collections.

IF YOURE IN THE UK NEARISH TELFORD AND WOULD LIKE A VERY CHEAP DESK OR SOFA PLEASE DM US!

Pref paypal donations due to its instant nature but go fundme has been updated with this new goal in mind.

Thank you all for the support let's hope this is the last time. Xx

@stellarstarsjar

https://gofund.me/73aa4058

Thanks again much love xxx

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גם זה יעבור

This too shall pass. Bad times. Good times. Through it all we'll keep going.

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Wilhelm Wachtel (1875-1942)

Lighting the Shabbat Candles

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Sword of a Dagestani Mountain Jew, North Caucasus, ca. 19th century

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G-d really is in the cake of life. Gd like cake has many delicious layers

What a coincidence that the Torah and the humble Torta are so linguistically close. Truly God is evident in all things.

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14th century Jewish prayer in the shape of a dragon

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the midwest princess!

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““The Hebrew word for ark, “Teivah”, also means “word.” When G‑d says (to Noah), “Come into the ark,” He is also saying: Enter into the words of prayer and Torah study; there you will find a sanctuary of wisdom, meaning and holiness amidst the raging floodwaters of life.“”

— The Baal Shem Tov (via beismordechai)

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וַתֹּ֤אמֶר רוּת֙ אַל־תִּפְגְּעִי־בִ֔י לְעׇזְבֵ֖ךְ לָשׁ֣וּב מֵאַחֲרָ֑יִךְ כִּ֠י אֶל־אֲשֶׁ֨ר תֵּלְכִ֜י אֵלֵ֗ךְ וּבַאֲשֶׁ֤ר תָּלִ֙ינִי֙ אָלִ֔ין עַמֵּ֣ךְ עַמִּ֔י וֵאלֹהַ֖יִךְ אֱלֹהָֽי׃

"And Ruth said: Do not try and coerce me to abandon you, to return to being behind you, for wherever you shall go- I will go, and wherever you sleep, I will sleep. Your nation is my nation, and your G-d is my G-d."

בַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר תָּמ֙וּתִי֙ אָמ֔וּת וְשָׁ֖ם אֶקָּבֵ֑ר כֹּה֩ יַעֲשֶׂ֨ה יְהֹוָ֥ה לִי֙ וְכֹ֣ה יוֹסִ֔יף כִּ֣י הַמָּ֔וֶת יַפְרִ֖יד בֵּינִ֥י וּבֵינֵֽךְ׃

"Where you die, I shall die, and there I shall be buried. Thus shall G-d do to me and thus shall He continue to do so, for only death shall place a separation between me and between you."

[Megillat Ruth, Chapter 1, Verses 16-17]

In a few days is the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which among many things is the celebration of the wheat harvest. On Shavuot, Megillat Ruth (the book of Ruth) is read in synagogue. Megillat Ruth is the story of Ruth, a Moabite convert to Judaism. The defining moment of the story is when she and her mother-in-law Naomi are on the road to Israel, and Naomi implores her to leave her and return to Moab where she was held in high esteem. Ruth tells her that she will never abandon her, and that her nation (Judaism) is her nation. Ultimately, by the end of the book, we learn that a descendent of Ruth is King David, and in turn the entire Judaic Dynasty. King David passed away on Shavuot, and the main events of Megillat Ruth take place during the wheat harvest. For these reasons, the Megilla is read on Shavuot.

Megillat Ruth is especially important to Gerim- converts to Judaism, and many of the laws we have today about conversion are derived from Megillat Ruth.

More recently, the LGBT+ Jewish community, especially the lesbian Jewish community, has claimed Megillat Ruth as part of their story. The relationship between Ruth and Naomi is an ambiguous one- Naomi is Ruth's mother-in-law, but homosexual in-law relationships are not uncommon in history. Additionally, a lot of the language Ruth and Naomi use for each other can be interpreted as romantic. In fact, when Ruth has a child, the language the Megilla uses is that Naomi became the adoptive mother of the child.

Ultimately, we'll never know for sure what the nature of Ruth and Naomi's relationship truly was, but we do know that it is a story many LGBT+ Jews take comfort and pride in.

This year, as in most years, Shavuot falls in the Gregorian month of June, which is observed as LGBT+ Pride Month in the US many other parts of the world. In many cities, Pride Parades fall out on Shabbat or Shavuot, too often for it to be a coincidence, excluding LGBT+ Observant Jews from participating in Pride celebrations. I know for myself it's something I feel very hurt by, and something I think LGBT+ gentiles need to address and take accountability for.

But, I will still take comfort in Megillat Ruth, and the beautiful and loving relationship of Ruth and Naomi, who are part of my history and heritage as an LGBT+ Jew.

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