#Maimonides at it again

[the-lesser-light]

Sometimes Shabbat doesn't always feel as relaxing as it should.

We've all been there:

-The match broke or wouldn't strike.

-The candle wouldn't catch the fire and the flame traveled up the match too fast, burning my fingers.

-I knocked over the candles.

-I set off the smoke detector with the candles (That Havdalah candle is mean)

-The Challah burned or wouldn't rise.

-I got sick and could hardly get out of bed.

-An unexpected plan came up and I didn't get to have a nice relaxing dinner and instead had to go do something.

Times like these can be rough. We sit there feeling like we can't even do Shabbat right. We're supposed to end the week on a good note with praise and relaxation and love. Instead we sit here frustrated and frantically trying to do it all right because the Shabbat is the only thing that is certain.

When these things happen, take a minute. Just stop and take a step back.

Keva and Kavanah. Routine and Intention.

When the routine is broken, it is easy to let things spiral. Then we find ourselves simply performing Keva.

You have to stop and remember why you are doing this in the first place. What does the Shabbat mean to you?

Reset yourself. Do something out of order that brings you joy. If singing the Shehecheyanu make you happy then sing that first. Do you just love the Chad Gadya song but it's no where near Pesach? Belt out a line or two or the whole thing.

It's the Kavanah that really counts.

Maimonides once said, “Prayer without kavanah is no prayer at all. He who has prayed without kavanah ought to pray once more. He whose thoughts are wandering or occupied with other things need not pray until he has recovered his mental composure. Hence, on returning from a journey, or if one is weary or distressed, it is forbidden to pray until his mind is composed. The sages said that upon returning from a journey, one should wait three days until he is rested and his mind is calm, then he prays.”

If your Shabbat isn't going well, then redirect how your Shabbat goes. I'm pretty sure G-d won't mind if you do things out of order or sing holiday songs at the wrong time of year. If this is what you need to do to find relaxation and what you need to properly find your rest and devotion, then do it. If you need to read Ruth instead of the normal Halftorah, then read some Ruth.

There's enough stress going on right now for the Jewish community. You have to take one day a week to step away from it. Let yourself be happy. Let yourself say "Well that isn't going well. We're eating the Challah early today."

[girlactionfigure]

1 Nobel Prize in Chemistry - The Development of Multiscale Models for Complex Chemical Systems

2 Nobel Prize in Chemistry - Quasiperiodic Crystals

3 Nobel Prize in Chemistry - Decoding the Structure and The Function of The Ribosome

4 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences - Repeated Games

5 Nobel Prize in Chemistry – Ubiquitin, Deciding the Fate of Defective Proteins in Living Cells

6 Nobel Prize in Economics - Human Judgment and Decision-Making Under Uncertainty

7 Fields Medal Award in Mathematics

8 Turing Award - Machine Reasoning Under Uncertainty

9 Turing Award - Nondeterministic Decision-Making

10 Turing Award - The Development of Interactive Zero-Knowledge Proofs

11 Turing Award - Developing New Tools for Systems Verification

12 Vine Seeds Discovered from The Byzantine Period

13 The World’s Most Ancient Hebrew Inscription

14 Ancient Golden Treasure Found at Foot of Temple Mount

15 Sniffphone - Mobile Disease Diagnostics

16 Discovering the Gene Responsible for Fingerprints Formation

17 Pillcam - For Diagnosing and Monitoring Diseases in The Digestive System

18 Technological Application of The Molecular Recognition and Assembly Mechanisms Behind Degenerative Disorders

19 Exelon – A Drug for The Treatment of Dementia

20 Azilect - Drug for Parkinson’s Disease

21 Nano Ghosts - A “Magic Bullet” For Fighting Cancer

22 Doxil (Caelyx) For Cancer Treatment

23 The Genetics of Hearing

24 Copaxone - Drug for The Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis

25 Preserving the Dead Sea Scrolls

26 Developing the Biotechnologies of Valuable Products from Red Marine Microalgae

27 A New Method for Recruiting Immune Cells to Fight Cancer

28 Study of Bacterial Mechanisms for Coping with Temperature Change

29 Steering with The Bats 30 Transmitting Voice Conversations Via the Internet

31 Rewalk – An Exoskeleton That Enables Paraplegics to Walk Again

32 Intelligent Computer Systems

33 Muon Detectors in The World's Largest Scientific Experiment

34 Renaissance Robot for Spine and Brain Surgery

35 Mobileye Accident Prevention System

36 Firewall for Computer Network Security

37 Waze – Outsmarting Traffic, Together

38 Diskonkey - USB Flash Drive

39 Venμs Environmental Research Satellite

40 Iron Dome – Rocket and Mortar Air Defense System

41 Gridon - Preventing Power Outages in High Voltage Grids

42 The First Israeli Nanosatellite

43 Intel's New Generation Processors

44 Electroink - The World’s First Electronic Ink for Commercial Printing

45 Development of A Commercial Membrane for Desalination

46 Developing Modern Wine from Vines of The Bible

47 New Varieties of Seedless Grapes

48 Long-Keeping Regular and Cherry Tomatoes

49 Adapting Citrus Cultivation to Desert Conditions

50 Rhopalaea Idoneta - A New Ascidian Species from The Gulf of Eilat

51 Life in The Dead Sea - Various Fungi Discovered in The Brine

52 Drip Technology - The Irrigation Method That Revolutionized Agriculture

53 Repair of Heart Tissues from Algae

54 Proof of The Existence of Imaginary Particles, Which Could Be Used in Quantum Computers

55 Flying in Peace with The Birds

56 Self-Organization of Bacteria Colonies Sheds Light on The Behaviour of Cancer Cells

57 The First Israeli Astronaut, Colonel Ilan Ramon

58 Dr. Chaim Weizmann - Scientist and Statesman, The First President of Israel, One of The Founders of The Modern Field of Biotechnology

59 Aaron Aaronsohn Botanist, Agronomist, Entrepreneur, Zionist Leader, and Head of The Nili Underground Organization

60 Albert Einstein - Founding Father of The Theory of Relativity, Co-Founder of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem

61 Maimonides - Doctor and Philosopher

Source

@TheMossadIL

[vaspider]

Being neutral about genocide isn’t the take you think it is bestie

1) You're not my bestie. You are a creepy, creepy stranger. This is the second weird, presumptive, and invasive ask you've sent me within 24 hours without ever speaking to me before. This is peak parasocial garbage behavior. This will be the last ask you ever send me, though, because I'm blocking you. Do not ever contact me again.

2) Mistaking "I don't perform Good Jew on demand on social media" for inaction or neutrality is a particular Extremely Online Leftist brain rot. Please dig it out of your brain as quickly as possible.

I will not dance for people on demand. If you think that me not saying exactly what you think I should say in exactly the way you think I should say it when you think I should say it in the places you think I should say it means that I think or feel or am doing a particular thing all the time, that's your fucking problem, not mine.

Go read up on Maimonides and leave me the fuck alone.

[tzipporahs-well]

While OSP's videos are generally very good, they do fall a bit into the "Happy Dhimmi" myth.

Blue has an unfortunate tendency to gloss over Muslim antisemitism, and many of the wrongs of the Ottoman Empire.

Yes I would absolutely agree with that. I think some of it was addressed in the Maimonides (video made 3 years ago) and Medieval Spain and Al-Andalusia videos (5 years ago) where more fundamentalist Muslims (Almoravids and Almohads) started taking over, but there is still an overall sunny-ish outlook.

I think one of the problems is that it is a very prevalent myth that has been spread for many years where I see even history books pushing it (AP world history textbook looking at you) and academia debating if it was really that bad or if even The Pact of Umar was heavily enforced/strictly followed (it was really bad and saw variable enforcement dependent on the ruler’s whim).

Even our own history books pushed it, at least in the 19th century (see Heinrich Graetz) and/or play the comparison game (“it was not as bad as in Xtian lands.”) In the history book of A Short History of the Jews by Raymond P. Scheindlin (generally a good book; a book I had to read for my conversion), there is more about the “prosperous time” and our accomplishments in the chapter “The Jews in the Islamic World” (632 CE to 1500 CE) compared to the more negative stuff. Only later does it discuss how life for Jews severely deteriorated under Muslim rule even though dhimmi status was by in no way good. The fact that Jewish life in medieval Spain is even called the Sephardic Golden Age and a Sephardic Silver Age at all emphasizes how much our history…sucked.

I think one reason Jewish sources try to focus on “the good” is cultural. We are encouraged to look for and focus on the good even when our circumstances really suck. But when it is not based in truth, that’s where the problem lies.

We have to be willing to look our true history in the eye: the good and the bad. The way I see our dhimmi status in Muslim lands: we made the best of a bad situation where all options around us weren’t great especially by modern standards. We accomplished great things, but we still faced the yoke of oppressive dhimmitude.

The problem comes from when “not as bad as” (relative for the time period where treatment of Jews generally sucked and treatment varied dependent on state and ruler) turns into “good actually” especially in modern lenses, which is categorically untrue. If anything, the pattern of Jewish history in Muslim-ruled lands was eerily similar to the Xtian one (Aish). Jews were invited for a little bit as second class citizens under the ruler’s “protection.” Then when they got tired of us or we became too comfortable/“too big for our britches”, we got kicked out or killed…again.

At the very least, Muslim oppression of Jews was briefly touched on in the OSP summary video. It is an imperfect video while still better than certain other summary views on the topic.

Still, I do wish that the happy dhimmi myth was busted more.

[maimonidesnutz]

The poem is called the hadran alach and it's breathtaking. It's traditionally recited when you finish a tractate of Talmud, but some people say it for other books too.

it goes:

We will return to you, Tractate _ [fill in the name of the tractate], and you will return to us; our mind is on you, Tractate , and your mind is on us; we will not forget you, Tractate ___, and you will not forget us – not in this world and not in the next world. May it be Your will, our G-d, and the G-d of our fathers, that we should be loyal to Your Torah in this world, and it should be with us in the next world.

[alt text: tweet from maimonides nutz that that reads "The beautiful Jewish thing I learned today is that when we celebrate finishing a book we promise it that we will return to read it again."]

[eretzyisrael]

How Passover customs differ from one community to another

Passover begins on the night of 22 April, when Jews around the world sit down to the Seder, the ceremonial telling of the Exodus from Egypt. Communities follow remarkably similar customs at Passover, but there are differences, as Chabad explains. (With thanks: Leon)

Egyptian Haggadah in Hebrew and Arabic1. Avoiding Beans and Rice: While it is well known that Ashkenazim universally avoid eating beans, legumes, corn and rice on Passover (this class of food is called kitniyot), not everyone knows that many Sephardic communities keep (some or all of) this custom as well. For example, Moroccans do not eat rice but do eat beans. Conversely, some Bukharian Jews do eat rice but do not eat beans or peas.Read: Why So Many Jews Don’t Eat Beans and Rice on Passover2. Eating Soft, Chewy Matzah:It’s fascinating to note that some Sephardic communities still bake soft matzah, which is significantly thicker than the cracker-like variety that has become virtually universal in recent centuries.3. Dipping in Lemon Juice: The most common custom these days is to dip the vegetable (karpas) in saltwater. However, some Jews, such as those from Kurdistan, traditionally dip it into sour lemon juice instead!4. Passing the Afikomen: Among the Jews of the Holy Land, there is a custom to take the afikomen and wrap it in a white cloth. This is placed on the right shoulder and transferred to the left shoulder. It is thus passed around the table from one to the next, with the last one to receive it reciting the verse: “Their kneading trays were bound in cloths on their shoulders.”That person then takes four paces and is asked: “Where have you come from?” to which they respond: “From Egypt.” “And where are you going?” “To Jerusalem.”Then all raise their voices and declare together: “Next year in Jerusalem!”Read: Why Do Some People Hide the Afikomen?5. Asking the Four Questions in Arabic: There’s no getting around the fact that the Seder is essentially a conversation, with the children asking questions and the Seder leader providing the answers—which is why many people say (parts of) the Seder in Arabic, Ladino, Farsi, or even English. So if you’d been a Jewish child in Yemen or Syria a generation or two ago, in all likelihood you would have learned to say the Four Questions in Judeo-Arabic.Read: The Four Questions in Nine Languages6. Waving the Seder Plate: Those using the Haggadah as recorded by Maimonides begin with the words, Bibhilu yatzanu miMitzayim, “We left Egypt in a great hurry.” Many Moroccans have the custom of saying these words again and again, each time waving the Seder plate over the head of another person at the Seder. Only after everyone has had the Seder plate waved over their heads, do they continue with Hay lachma anya, “This is the bread of suffering … ”Read: The Passover Seder Plate7. Having the Kids Symbolically Leave Egypt: Many have the custom to give each child a bundle of matzah to drape over their shoulders and then take part in the following exchange (in Arabic):

Where are you from? From Egypt

Where are you going?

What do you carry?

Read: 14 Facts About Syrian Jews8. Watch Out for Those Scallions!

Among many Persian Jews, a favorite part of the Seder is playfully whipping each other with scallions. Why? To remember how the Jews were beaten by their Egyptian masters. Plus, it’s a great way to keep the kids awake and involved!

Read: 10 Facts About Persian Jews9. Smearing the Charoset on the Doorpost: Among some Moroccan Jews, it is customary to take some of the charoset left over after the Seder and smear it on the doorpost. It has been postulated that this is to recall the smearing of the blood on the Jewish doorposts back on the night of the Exodus (the very first Seder), as well as in anticipation of the Messianic era when, (according to the Book of Ezekiel,) sacrificial blood will be smeared on the doorway of the Holy Temple.1Read: 19 Facts About Moroccan Jews10. Announcing Moshiach to the Neighbors: If you were from Djerba, you may be accustomed to having one of your neighbors walk through the neighborhood with the afikomen tied up on his back, calling out, “Moshiach, son of David, is on his way!”May it happen soon!Read: 15 Moshiach Facts11. Gathering for Mimouna After Passover:

Moufleta pancakes and sweets at a Mimouna

After Passover concludes, Moroccan Jews hold a special celebration called mimouna. People visit each other’s homes to enjoy elaborately set tables, especially a crepe called moufleta.

The word mimouna means “luck.” On Passover, many people do not eat at each other’s homes since not everyone has the same standards. The post-Passover socialization demonstrates that there are no hard feelings.

Read article in full

[gaelic-symphony]

hi!! :)

i hope this isn't weird, but i love reading your posts about judaism to learn more from it. i don't follow any religion but i love getting to know them from people who do

and if you don't mind me asking, what are your favourite things about it? <3

i hope i have expressed myself well and you don't mind this 🫶🏼

I actually love this ask, and I'm so glad you sent it! There are so many things I love about Judaism, it would take me forever to come up with a list of them, but here are a few of my favorites:

I love our everyday rituals. I love keeping kosher and going to the kosher supermarket. I love that every time I eat or go grocery shopping, I'm affirming my connection to my people and my ancestors. I love that we have blessings for the most mundane human activities like washing our hands. I love ending every week with Shabbat. I love how it gives us a day to rest and reflect and be thankful before we start a new week, and I love having the weekly marker of Shabbat to track the passage of time. I love that you don't have to subscribe to any particular version of Jewish theology or believe that we do these things because Hashem commanded us in order to participate fully in these rituals. You can do them just because you find meaning in them. You can do them just because you're proud to be Jewish and follow the traditions of your ancestors.

I love our holidays. So many of them commemorate our survival against those who tried to wipe us out: Purim, Chanukah, Passover. Every year, we tell the story of our peoples' perseverance. We reflect on the strength and courage of generations of Jews before us that allowed our continued survival into the present day. Other holidays are seasonal markers of time. Tu B'Shvat is a little over a week away, and it's our "new year for trees," the time of year when the earliest trees start to bloom in the Land of Israel. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur mark the end of the old year and beginning of a new one, and give us the chance to leave our mistakes of the past year behind and learn from them moving forward as we start fresh with a brand new year. Sukkot is a traditional celebration of the annual harvest. And other holidays, we're just so happy to be Jewish that we need to throw a party about it! Shavuot celebrates the Israelites receiving the Torah from Hashem at Mount Sinai, and then we celebrate the Torah again on Simchat Torah, when we read the very last verses of the book of Dvarim and start all over again with Bereshit.

I love our music. Our daily prayers are set to music, with special nusach (melodies) for Shabbat and holidays. When we read from the Torah or the books of the prophets, we chant the words to the same melodies our ancestors have done for centuries. We sing as a way to connect with each other and with Hashem. We sing the psalms of King David, and we sing wordless melodies we call niggunim. We've developed our own styles of secular, non-liturgical music and dance: klezmer and canciones, the horah and the Yemenite step, and many, many more!

I love our scholarship. Our scholarly tradition is one of questioning and arguing, neither of which are viewed negatively in Jewish tradition! We love to ask ourselves "what if" and "why," and the point isn't so much finding a singular answer as it is the process of engaging with the text. Does it really matter as a real-world issue whether there are any Pokemon that would be kosher to eat? Of course not! But that's exactly the type of thing we love to argue over, and if the ancient rabbinic sages like Hillel and Akiva and Rashi and Maimonides were alive today, I guarantee you they would have opinions on the matter.

I love our joy. There is so much joy that comes with being Jewish, a joy we feel just for being alive against all odds. Most of our prayers are not asking Hashem for the things we want, but thanking Hashem for the things we have. We have a brachah we say specifically to thank Hashem for the opportunity to fix what is broken in this world. Our history has rarely been a happy one, but we have always found reasons to rejoice. We danced and sang and celebrated our holidays and life events even in the Warsaw Ghetto. This past December, during one of the saddest, heaviest, and scariest times for our people since the Shoah, Jews all over the world celebrated Chanukah like we always do. In the midst of our mourning, we found joy. Literally and figuratively, we came together as a tribe to create light in the darkness.

[gatheringbones]

[“Maimonides begins the second chapter by looking at the big picture. “What is complete repentance? The [case of] one who had it in their power to repeat a transgression, but separated themselves from it and did not do it because they had repented.” That is, true repentance happens at the moment when a person comes into a situation similar to one in which they had previously committed harm, and this time, do it right. The second (or fifth, or twentieth) time around, when you finally behave in accordance with your values and ideals? That’s tshuvah.

But a person might reasonably ask: Why would you end up in the exact same situation as the one in which you had previously screwed up? Who gets an instant replay like that?

My own rabbi, Alan Lew, used to say something like, “Well, if you haven’t done the work, you’ll get back there.” That is, a person who hasn’t faced their problematic traits and unhealed wounds, or grappled deeply with harm caused in the past, or done the work to change processes and structures, will undoubtedly manage to find themselves in some variation of the same situation over and over—whether the harm in question is chronically sabotaging relationships, lashing out in anger, serially abusing those with less power, or using institutional or even governmental resources to quash dissent or preserve the status quo.

The United States of America, for example, has never reckoned deeply with its enslavement of people of African descent, so the country continues to find opportunities to commit the same sins of white supremacy again and again and again: from slavery to lynchings, from Jim Crow to redlining, from mass incarceration to voter suppression. The precise nature of the harm may be different—just as the sabotage and lashing out in relationships may not look exactly the same each time—but the patterns are undeniable. According to Maimonides, only when a person does the work needed to become a different person can they, naturally and organically, make a different choice. The person (or institution) that has done harm must become the kind of person (or institution) that doesn’t do this thing anymore. They must engage in a profound process of transformation.”]

rabbi danya ruttenberg, from on repentance and repair: making amends in an unapologetic world, 2022

[rebel-21]

@luci-j OC Benji

In the Jewish tradition, repentance is called teshuvah , a Hebrew word translated as “returning.” One of the Hebrew words for sin is chet, which in Hebrew means “to go astray.” Thus the idea of repentance in Jewish thought is a return to the path of righteousness.

Teshuvah can be done at any time, but the High Holiday season, and Yom Kippur especially, is considered an especially auspicious time for it. The process of repentance, as laid out by Maimonides, includes three stages: confession, regret and a vow not to repeat the misdeed. The true penitent, Maimonides says, is the one who finds himself with the opportunity to commit the same sin again yet declines to do so. Prayer, charity and fasting are also said to help one win forgiveness.

[psychologeek]

Prompt 04.01.24 - Friendship (isn't magic, it's hard bitter work)

You know what I want to see?

I want to see Ra's Al-Ghul and Magneto friendship.

I want to see those men who saw too much and lived through the the losses of everyone (over and over again) interact.

I want to see Ra's who's tired of humankind and just all of this (*point out at the world*) that he's also stopped trying to change anything. Sort of "let them burn the world. I've seen it happen and I'll see it again" kind of tired. Ra's who's not an "evil for evil single minded terrorist" but a person who got tired of the world and humans and his main goal is to either keep all the knowledge (my hc) or try to prevent humans from destroying everything on this globe (he unfortunately has to share with them) and has a secret place for animals considered extinct.

Give me a Magneto who's lost and tired and abandoned hopes from humanity. Give me a Magneto who's rightfully disgusted from everything humans did and do and continue to come up with. Give me a Magneto that's only going through bc of spite and the desperate need to create a safer place for the next generation.

Give me a Magneto that every once in a while will go to visit the strange old man he met when he was younger, and spend days just. Finally screaming and being able to get some empathy from someone that also look at the world and goes "yup. It's crap."

Give me Ras that hoards knowledge like a dragon letting Magneto read one of the original writings of the Rambam (Maimonides). Or Ra's keeping some of the missing pieces of Keter Aram Tzova (the oldest Torah) And Magneto crying, because

(It's old, and part of his culture, and it survived. Through the fire and being burned down and half lost, it made it through.)

Give me a Magneto showing up at Nanda Parvat at 3am in the pouring rain and 3 kids with him, just like "hi, I thought you might have a place for them? It's not safe."

(one of them is visibly different. Very different. Like, Kurt or Hunk or Angel different. One is a baby, just gives the worst vibe, feels OFF (Eldritch way). The third is fully covered, and as Ra's give her his hand, she flinches.

"it's not safe," she cries with eyes wide with horror. "Don't touch me! I make people die!"

Ra's just shrugs.

"Good thing our pool can fix it."

She just blinks, and he turns around, telling them to enter and close the god damn door behind, "there's a drift!"

And he tell one of the servents to get dry clothes and make hot Sachlav for his guests.

Just... give a Ra's and Magneto friendship. Not romantic. Just two frustrated men, tired of this world, that keep an unlikely friendship despite all of their differences.

(Give me Ra's, still sitting by the chessboard they played, offering Erik to stay.

"You know why I can't," the younger smiles sadly.

"I'll keep asking," the old man warns. "It would be such a waste to lose you."

And the young man's eyes narrows, funding and sad. "I won't tell you to stop."

Give me a Ra's, seeing the young turn into old. Slowly watches as hair turns grey and face slightly change and trying not to think of the ticking clock.

"I could make you young again," he suggests, almost begging. "I could make live forever!"

The younger man put his Tea down.

"why the HELL would I want that!?"

Ra's freeze.

"The child I was died there, with my parents. The man I was died with Magda and our child. I watched my world burn, over and over again, leaving me in the ashes."

"I lived with the death for as long as I can remember," there's a distance look in his eyes. "Why would I see it as anything but an old friend?"

Just

Give me Ra's and Magneto friendship, with many arguments and countless disagreements and completely opposite opinions on many things, but they are still friends.

(+Bonus points if there's no white washing or Christening

++ If they have terrible arguments BUT THEY TALK ABOUT IT and still stay friends (/at least communicating)

+++ if they can live with "our opinions our differents"

++++ if they can put disagreements aside to co-op for important things.)

Just

Give me friendship and communication. Despite and through it all.

Thank you

[pathwinding]

Jewitch Self-Analysis: Theism & Personal Conceptualization

I've already monologued about my relationship with belief. I'm going to try to set it aside in order to focus on my current perspective on HaShem. I see this as perhaps one of the most--if not the most--critical sticking points about the awkwardness of combining Judaism and witchcraft. "Aren't you using non-Jewish spiritual practices that HaShem forbids? Do you think you can control HaShem with magic? Do you not trust HaShem to let things happen as they are supposed to?"

I'm... ready to wade into the controversial pool here. I feel like people can get HaShem wrong. And in an way that could be argued to be idolatrous. I'm not going to say that with absolute certainty nor authority-- I'm just one drop of opinion in an ocean of people with actual acclaim after all--but I'm still going to talk about it.

Jews generally recognize that references in the Torah to HaShem's arm or face or whatnot are intended to be metaphorical. We humans anthropomorphize things in order to better understand them. If people try to apply physical form to HaShem or act as if a physical thing is divine in a serious way, however, this is a form of idolatry. And so I argue that anthropomorphizing, trying to fit HaShem into a human box in any kind of serious way, is a form of idolatry (albeit perhaps a far less severe form). It comes easy to people, both because of the psychological phenomenon I mentioned (of making HaShem easier to understand) but also because it's an effect of living in a very Christian-dominated society which frequently depicts images of Gd in a human-adjacent form or mortal Jesus as Gd.

But HaShem is Ein Sof, Without End. HaShem is not human. For as easy as it is for me to apply human traits, it's equally difficult for me to not feel as though this application is disrespectful or inappropriate. It even feels wrong to say "melech" during brachot, and I have a little mental asterisk in my head that says "but not in a human way though."

It would be easy for me to say that HaShem would forgive us for this act of idolatrous anthropomorphizing because it is not intentional idoltary. And then that right there would be an example of the anthropomorphizing I'm talking about. Saying that "HaShem would forgive" implies HaShem has emotions the way humans do, makes choices the way humans do, interacts with the linear progression of cause and effect the way humans do. It's a set of assumptions we make because we are human and only truly understand how humans act. On an intuitive level, we have the barest understanding of how other animals act, try very hard to understand plants and fungi, and don't even see anything else as having a deeper understanding to it at all. And yet, we think we have a decent understanding of HaShem?

I feel like I'm just reiterating Maimonides' theistic conceptualization, in a way. I'm almost not even sure why I'm bothering to write this post, now that I'm re-reading the article I just linked and finding it a lot better worded without throwing around accusations of soft idolatry.

I think the place I diverge is when I start stepping away from Maimonides' very rational "negative theology" the article describes, and start adding something in again. (With the asterisk of "I don't fully believe this nor disbelieve this, please refer to the 'secret third thing' in my previous post on belief," of course.)

I agree with Maimonides that, logically, something came before the universe. I can't be satisfied with the Big Bang Theory alone, because something must have surrounded it, initiated it. Our world has a logical progression to it, and the only thing that could have predated it is something that is incomprehensible, something to be forever grateful to for helping/allowing/initiating the universe. And it seems to me that there is no reason to think that this Supreme Being vanished, or was eliminated by the universe coming into play. In fact, it seems very reasonable to think that this Supreme Being used Its own self (inasmuch as It has one) to create the universe, and as such is part of every little thing that lies within. We are still surrounded by Oneness.

So. I guess I currently conceptualize HaShem as the neural network of the universe. Not material, but the thing inhabiting and driving the material. Not thinking, but nevertheless acting. Everything connected on an immaterial level, and affecting one another like dominoes. Perhaps if we were able to somehow rip ourselves from our material forms we may perceive a pattern suggesting human-like intent or at the very least perceive the general direction of the universe, but that's not possible. At best, we have the chance at finding this understanding if/when we are reintegrated with HaShem at the end of the universe.

As a visualization, I see HaShem as the light behind the starfield of the universe. The waves of energy that seep from the stars emanating in all directions, and clinging to/supporting everything perceivable. Creeping tendrils of that energy reaching into the material, including my body and the chair and the air, with branches that are more numerous for more complex material things like life. All tendrils connecting to one another in a complex network, pulsing between each other. While my mind is limited to my branching tendrils, I am nevertheless part of this neural network and affect/am affected by each nearby component. I glow with the light. HaShem is Everything and I am part of Everything.

And here's the witchery part of this: If we are part of an immaterial neural network, we should be able to trigger effects in this neural network. Certainly I can cause the most perceivable effects with my material self (directly talk to someone to get their help), but I should also be able to cause effects if I can invoke those immaterial connections (invoking our connection so that a person feels suddenly inclined to ask me if I need help).

The closest I can perceive of immateriality, as a human, include my emotions and belief and intent and overall abstract thought. Perhaps I can better control my surroundings by engaging these most immaterial aspects of my self. Stronger connections can help me with that, and repetition (habits but also utilizing aspects of shared languages & culture) strengthens those connections. Following things that I associate with the immaterial because other people also do, the witchy-like things, may give me a better chance at successful invocation.

There's part of me that feels the universe is inevitable. The very concept of gravity dragging things in a specific direction suggests that all actions will happen along a predetermined linear path. Even if invoking the immaterial is possible and works, there remains a possibility it was also inevitable that things would happen upon my invocation. But this doesn't nudge me to quit. Because no matter the truth of the nature of the universe, I am tapping into something sacred and mysterious and worth acknowledging. I am reaching within and finding HaShem's light.

Say I do believe in this wholeheartedly, and wasn't stuck on my "secret third thing" belief. This is not at all traditional Judaism. And it may even seem an arbitrary thing for me to assign Jewish interpretation as the "correct" interpretation of That Which Existed Before The Universe As We Know It. I don't know if it's "correct." Everything is passed through humans in order to communicate such abstract concepts like this Ultimate Abstract Concept, and there are most certainly errors as we attempt to comprehend the Incomprehensible. I can't even bring myself to truly see the Torah, our most sacred document, as directly from HaShem because of all the humanness involved that is necessary for it to exist. So why continue with Judaism? Why not just start anew with these fringe thoughts?

I think it's because, at the end of the day, I'm still a human who needs home and community. And Judaism is this for me, more than fringe witchcraft alone could ever be. It is the truest monotheistic religion, it is the religion that I grew up with, and it is a set of beliefs that I can adhere to in such a way that makes me feel as though I still am doing something good and true. It feels right. I am ever-grateful to HaShem for my life, and perhaps by performing halachot, my sacred obligations, I can effectively express that feeling.

The short of it is this: Judaism gives me the strongest spiritual connection to the immaterial neural network of the universe, and invoking this immaterial through witchcraft makes me feel closest to HaShem. It gives me balance, and meaning. And through this I am fulfilled.

[tenmillionad]

A CONVERSATION WITH DOCTOR MAIMONIDES

The golden retriever was talking to me. His mouth was moving in such a strange way. It was far more smooth and natural than it had any right to me. A dog, who claimed to be my doctor, was talking to me!

I did the only thing I could think to do.

"Um, it's a pleasure to meet you," I said.

The dog, Doctor Maimonides, gave me that sweet dog smile and said. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. This process is always different for every person. As it should be!"

I could help what I said next. I said, "Doctor... you're a dog!"

Doctor Maimonides barked a bark that could almost have been a laugh. He replied, "That I am. Surely though, are you so shocked that in the future, the beings of Earth have come a long way? It didn't hurt that your species, once it rejected war against one another, began a campaign to uplift other beings."

I said, "Is that why you can talk?"

He replied, "Not exactly. Being uplifted allows my species to think and process information at a human level. Buy I volunteered to have a very complex surgery done to allow me to speak like this to humans. I've always been fascinated by you rational bipeds, and I knew I wanted to be a human doctor since I was just a little pup!"

This was way too much for me. I decided not to ask my Doctor any more questions on this line of thought. Instead, I remembered to question burning within me.

I said, "Sarah! Is my Sarah here? My dear wife died from a horrible aneurism a year before me. Is she alive?"

The doctor tapped my leg with his paw in a comforting gesture. He said, "Yes, Sarah is alive again. You two will be reunited. But we need to talk a bit more first. I have to make sure you're psychologically stable. Additionally, I think you have some more burning questions."

Part of me was quite convinced the only thing I wanted to know was Sarah's location. Still, I had apparently been resurrected from the dead, and now I was chatting with a doctor who happened to be a golden retriever. How could I not have questions?

I looked again at the strange wall decorated with geometric symbols. I breathed in the floral fragrance. I could still hear the naturalistic humming of the bizarre living computer.

"Ok...Nurse Harper told me you could explain the science of resurrection to me better than he could."

The doctor sat thoughtfully for a moment before saying, "Nurse Harper may overestimate my abilities, but I'll try my best. First of all, forgive me, but I don't know history well, but have the people of your era come to understand that the workings of the brain create your individual consciousness and personality?"

I shrug and say, "That's what some folks believe."

The retriever nodded and said, "Good. So, I don't have to explain all that. Well, these semi-devine beings you call "computers" are able to calculate the exact position of every sub-atomic particle in all of history within this solar system. There's also a Dyson Sphere involved. Anyway, we simply mapped out your brain at the exact moment of your death and boom! Resurrection!"

I thought for a moment before asking, "But...it it really me? Or...am I just a copy?"

The doctor said, "If you sleep deeply without consciousness, are you a new person when you awake? If a person awakes from a coma, are they not the same person who went in? My dear Alex, you are your memories, personality, hopes, dreams, and loves. The specific matter making you up isn't who you really are. What emerged beyond the substrate of matter is you. Do you understand?"

I didn't, and he could tell.

The Doctor said, "Well, its no matter. Anyway, let's begin your tests..."

A few hours later, I was dressed in ordinary American clothes. Doctor Maimonides, who I resisted petting with all my might, brought me to the hospital cafe.

When I saw who was waiting for me, my heart stopped. Time slowed down to nothing. Suddenly, there was only one other person in the whole universe. There, sitting at a table, was my Sarah.

She could see me too. Dear reader, the way we jumped into each other's arms was like nothing any romance novel could ever describe. I will only say that joy and tears ruled that moment as I embraced my wife in this world of resurrection.

[ruiniel]

Prickly thorns, tender roses

Fandom: Castlevania series (2017-2021)

Rating: Mature🔞

Relationship: Alucard/Original Female Character

Characters: Alucard, Original Character(s)

Summary:

Set after the events of Castlevania (Netflix) Season III. After the betrayal of his young apprentices, Alucard feels barely alive in his lonesome castle. Days wear on, chipping away at his mind and sanity. And what is the son of Dracula to do with this unwanted visitor, suddenly come at his doorstep? Often the prickly thorn produces tender roses - Ovid

Chapter tags & warnings: Dark Romanticism, Inspired by Castlevania, personal interpretation of post-season III Alucard, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Castlevania Season III, Illness

V. Once was enough

She was being carried purposefully into an unknown direction by a stiff and grim lord of the castle. When he had removed the manacle trapping her ankle and leaned over her, the first impulse was to cower away in afeared suspicion. But her weakness was so great Ravenna could do nothing when his hands slipped beneath her, lifting her off the bed.

“Where are you taking me?” That he was not dragging her away in chains partially pacified her. It meant she may not be heading to her death after all.

“To a place with fewer odds of killing you,” his voice vibrated against the side of her face.

She tried breathing evenly but crumpled in on herself, her head falling heavily against him, despite her unease. “There is such a place here?” Ravenna asked, another bout of coughing the punishment for her wit.

A stubborn smile made its way to his lips, one she thankfully did not see. “Believe it or not,” Alucard replied.

Ravenna fell silent, aware that she would be incapable of fighting against him even if she tried. And so the woman renounced any thoughts of bravery and let her body go soft in his hold, feeling weaker as time wore on. She discerned a flat, repetitive thrum; the beating of a heart? She faintly wondered if vampires functioned as humans did. Were they not undead, by all means? A scientific explanation for their traits must exist, but unfortunately, it lay shrouded in mystery. In the minds of most denizens of the world today, these undiscovered laws of existence were the makings of arcane and loathsome magic, to be feared and destroyed.

They reached a spacious room where flames burned in an enormous stone fireplace, and Ravenna saw a few pieces of furniture scattered across the chamber. Most of it was in disarray, as with everything else she had seen so far.

He laid the ailing woman onto a long divan and turned away. Ravenna listened to his footsteps receding as she lay there, facing the flames. She had to admit this place was better indeed, and the warmth was welcome, the fire drying to her damp skin.

When the stranger returned, she heard objects being placed onto a table somewhere behind her in the fire-lit study. He neared her again, running up the sleeves of his white shirt, his gaze sweeping over her with utter indifference. The strangest being she had ever met then went and washed his hands in a basin placed on a table in one corner before he approached, carrying a bowl. He set it down on the floor within reach of her and stepped back, crossing his arms.

Ravenna looked to the contents, and what appeared to be strips of wood shavings.

“Willow bark,” she rasped, finding his gaze.

“For the pain and fever.”

“I know,” she coughed. Her shaking hand reached for the bowl, and she brought a few pieces into her mouth, chewing slowly.

“And do you know what you have?” came that same, unnervingly calm voice as he turned away again, only to return, holding a wet cloth.

“Short breathing, harsh cough... and pain in the side... fever,” Ravenna counted weakly. “… pneumonia. As per Maimonides… estimated year... 1200 AD.”

“You know your books.” Somehow, he succeeded to make that sound insulting. He placed the wet cloth on her forehead. “Then you also know you may die from it, and I am no physician on human ailments.”

“You know of physicians?...” The surprise was great.

He nodded, then looked towards the window, clearly not disposed to say more.

“Why are you helping?” Ravenna had to know, searching his face for any changes.

The scourge turned his blank gaze on her then, and it was so empty she felt a different type of chill, deep in her bones.

“I asked myself the same only moments ago. Is it your wish to be left to die?”

“No, of course not—” Ravenna managed, too weary to be incensed by his manner. But all of this came in such contrast to the... adornments set before his gate.

“Then rest,” he said, “And there is water.” He pointed to an ewer placed at the foot of the divan.

Ravenna was so depleted all other questions drained from her mind, and despite her fears, soon enough her eyes were closing. She fell into a long, troubled sleep.

When the young woman awakened, the burning had subsided from what she could tell, and her limbs felt less heavy. Ravenna reached for the water by her side and drank heartily. Once she was sated, her red-rimmed eyes flitted across the room, finding its other occupant. He had taken his place in a high armchair facing the hearth some distance away, on the opposite side of the divan. Silent, motionless; his elbow propped against the armrest, his face resting in his palm.

This was quite the turn of events. First, he prevents her demise, then he frightens her, threatens her, and now that she fell ill, he is… tending to her? This volatility was distressing, but what other choice did she have now? Here she was, trapped at the whim of a moody vampire. It was possible her previous thought would ring true. Maybe not for long, came the stab of doubt, if her newly gained affliction had anything to say in the matter.

“How are you…. how are you immune to the threat of daylight?” A good start as any to a conversation, considering the circumstances of their encounter. Or so she thought.

There was no reaction or response, as if her question went unheard. Ravenna looked at him, still sunken into his seat, looking utterly tired and worn. She seethed, retreating into silence. Hours passed, and the woman drifted in and out of awareness, coughing on her side from time to time. She felt the compress being changed, and the renewed chill on her forehead felt like a blessing each time.

Ravenna opened her eyes, late after another bout of fitful rest, to see the vampire crouched before the fireplace, stoking the fire. The light of red flames crawled up the chamber walls and gleamed on his pale-gold hair. No more than a ghost, he seemed, though Ravenna could not deny the distracting nature of his appearance. He was… perhaps about her own age in years? But she knew that with vampires these things were relative and deceiving more often than not.

“Well,” she broke the silence anew, “Since you are attempting to help me, or at least I think you are, I don’t suppose your design includes spiking me before your gate?”

He stilled his movements, if only for a breath, and looked over his shoulder at her. “That depends.”

“On what?...” Ravenna decided to bite.

“On whether or not you cease asking questions,” he grumbled softly, rising to his feet.

Ravenna scoffed. He had settled on being the fifth wall in the room. So be it. Her eyes roamed over the enclosure for anything of use, for any answers as to this place and the nature of its owner. She noticed a peculiar object, propped against a desk close to the armchair. A painting. It was the portrait of a young, golden-haired woman. She wore a violet dress and carried a bouquet of white lily flowers, her face fair and joyful; there was a strange familiarity to it, but Ravenna could not place it. Not the usual furnishing to be found in the lair of a vampire.

The woman watched him retake his seat, allowing the armchair to swallow him. His shirt was still rolled up to his elbows, and a pale forearm fell lifelessly over the armrest.

He appeared young, but then so old as if tied to an ancient sorrow that reminded the woman of certain Greek tragedies of old she read in lonesome seminars, during her formative years. Was this the burden of age, or that of the malice these dangerously superior creatures carried about them? Her eyes were closing on the last thought.

“You said you sought something here.”

Her eyes snapped open, but it was her turn to be silent now. He would not even give her his name, and now…

Moments passed before she heard a long-suffering sigh, and Ravenna turned her head to see him pinch the bridge of his nose, frowning as though he were utterly spent. Perhaps he was.

“Adrian is my name.”

An unwieldy smirk made its way onto her tired features. One step forward. “I come from Styria.”

“Styria?” he asked, gazing into the fire with a thoughtful mien. “You speak the local language well.”

“I was fortunate enough to have access to the right resources.”

“Reading is a powerful skill,” Adrian murmured absently. “I believe this world would do much better if it were a widespread practice.”

“Maybe someday,” Ravenna chimed, before catching herself. It was strange how disarmingly open he had been mere moments ago. Perhaps there was a way.

“I answered your question,” the vampire drawled with a slow flick of his wrist.

Ravenna was taken by a cough again - a long, throat-hissing endeavor that left her gasping and shivering. She barely felt something soft and warm cast at her feet and rose slowly to reach for the thick throw he had placed there, dutifully pulling the material across her frame. When she calmed well enough, Ravenna continued as he retook his seat.

“I seek a prominent family of monster hunters. They call themselves the Belmont Clan.” She watched him for any change in his expression, but there was nothing. “Surely you must have heard of them? We think they possess vast knowledge gathered through the ages in their trade, and I need their help. By word of mouth and research, I discovered my way into this area on my quest.” She paused, waiting for any sort of acknowledgment, but there came none. “… as I left the inn from the last village, a score of those insane traveling monks roaming these parts of your land pursued me. They must have overheard my questions, though nobody would answer them, which was strange to me. They thought me a witch or who knows what else. It was then I learned the Belmonts are not so well-liked here. The rest you know.” She waited.

For a good while, there was no sound but the crackling hiss of the fire as the flames of the hearth danced lazily in his golden eyes.

“The Belmonts are dead, and their home was destroyed. Your journey is in vain,” the soft words struck her, laced with icy bitterness.

Ravenna frowned. Trust a vampire to say such things. “What... what happened to them?” she asked, either way, fearing the answer she was already suspecting, her hope stubborn in the face of his dismissive manner.

“People happened.” Sharp words, like shards of broken glass. “As usual.”

“I do not believe it.”

“That is your folly,” he muttered, his head falling back against the armchair.

Disgruntled and disappointed, the young woman cursed it all. She cursed her long journey and her eager hope, she cursed the group of waylayers who had chased her to kill her for values they were unwilling to understand, and she cursed this vampire, who sliced through her purpose with his careless words. Pressure grew in her chest, up her throat, and stubborn tears of frustration beckoned but were blinked away. Her body and mind yearned for more rest, and so Ravenna slumped into the divan, sighing as her eyes rolled back, surrendering to another bout of restless sleep.

It was the middle of the night when he rose from his place. Slow, hesitant steps took him to where the woman lay abed. He bent and lifted the fallen throw at the foot of the divan, carelessly throwing it back over the sleeping stranger. She looked less feverish, and her breathing sounded marginally better.

Once again, at the crossroads, he thought, the memory of pleading faces and hopeful eyes causing a wrenching tug. The one once calling himself Alucard stood still for a mere second turned endless moment, watching the only other soul trapped in the shell of the past that was his home. Just then, her lip quivered and Ravenna frowned in her sleep, wrinkling her nose at a rebel strand of hair tickling her face. When he failed to rein a smile, he shook himself.

Fool.

He had learned a costly, no less important lesson well enough the first time. And once was enough. His gaze strayed to the window; not too far away, the remains of the Belmont estate loomed wretchedly among towering trees, the ruins kissed by the light of a grey moon.

Yes, once was enough.

NEXT

[ourladyofomega]

For the get to know me asks: 25, 31, 34, 52

Tough ones. But, you picked them, so I have to answer. That's the game I signed up to play.

#25: Any role models?

To be honest, I've had no role models at all. Never thought to have any.

#31: Three random facts about yourself.

I wrestled a female opponent in high-school, and was the very first one in the high-school team's history to do so.

I share a birthdate (September 20) and birthplace (Brooklyn) with one of my favorite musicians: jazz bassist Eric Gale. I don't know which hospital he was born in, but if it is mine (Maimonides), then that's the Triple Crown.

I'm a straight-edger who has dated a full-blown heroin addict. Still am to this day.

#34: Your most embarrassing moment.

I'll give you two; both related.

When my uncle learned I was 15, he then treated me to "go get laid", and he did this in front of my dad and my dad's long-time friend. They all looked at me with smiles on their faces, waiting for me to say "yes". Instead, I staged right, walked out the front door without answering, and left them all hanging. I never spoke to my uncle ever again after that.

The second: I had a so-called "friend" who offered to set me up with a newly-divorced mother (of two kids) that he knew. He wanted me to "spend 15 minutes with her and get it over with". Even worse: he posted it on my social media where everyone I knew would see it.

I'm not one for treating women as disposable objects, and I'm way above doing private things for others who look to high-five their buddies or for their own benefit. Degenerates like them make me the preferably-more-serious person I am today. I cut people out of my life for good when they put me on the spot like that. No refunds, no callbacks.

#52: Something I'm talented at.

Selling. I've done it for ten years, and for five of them became the #1 salesperson in my store. Four of those were consecutive. It's what makes me money, and I love doing it. I love it even more now that I do it all at home and don't have to deal with the entitled public.

Thank you for the asks!

[bemotu]

A Cold Freezing Night

Cold was an understatement; that night was frigid, so unusually freezing even for a city like New York. People in the building had brought out reinforcements– heated blankets, space heaters, and the like, anything to brace the winter that had seemed to slip its way into each apartment. At some point in the night, a spark caught; the occupants of the apartment it started in rushed out as soon as they noticed, carelessly leaving their front door wide open for the fire to spread. I was asleep when it happened, peacefully dreaming of whatever six-year-olds dream about when I felt myself being quite literally ripped from my sleep; I don’t think my eyes were even fully open when my mother pulled me out of bed, rushing us out the door.

I could smell the smoke, feeling it burning at each individual membrane of my sinuses, the sensation making me tear up a bit out of discomfort. Amidst the panic of the residents of my floor, including my own parents’, I became separated from them. I stood disoriented and scared on what I think was the 4th floor hallway, the walls and ceiling quickly becoming engulfed with smoke, the distant crackle of fire feeling like it was growing closer; I ducked to the floor, remembering what I was taught in class during fire safety. It felt like hours passed, but it must have only been less than 30 seconds in reality, when the room felt a heaviness lift from it suddenly– I could feel some sort of heat ahead of me, looking up hesitantly to see if the fire had finally reached me, waiting to swallow me whole…

But it wasn’t the fire, in fact, the smoke seemed to have lifted completely. I stood, eyes wide staring ahead at this light in front of me… a figure, something almost otherworldly– No words in any human language would be able to accurately describe this incarnation of sunlight that I stood before. It had no features as far as I could tell, but I could feel it looking at me, peering into my mind, body and soul. It never spoke, never made any noises, but something in me almost like a soft voice coming from my subconscious was reassuring me I had nothing to be afraid of; It didn’t stop me of course from being incredibly intimidated by this ethereal being. Time seemed to once again pass slowly as we both remained in place for god only knows how long… Until eventually, it extended its arm, reaching its hand out in front of me. Unsure of what to do, I paused, staring at it like a child stares at the moon upon seeing it for the first time. The same soft voice from within me reassured me once more, telling me that I could take it’s hand, that nothing bad would happen… So I did. And then the world went black.

After that, everything was fuzzy. I remember hearing muffled yells and being lifted up by thickly gloved hands, bits and pieces of the ambulance ride to Maimonides, the feeling of a cold, heavy bracelet on my wrist, one that hadn’t been there before. From what I was told, I was unconscious for the remainder of the night, but completely unharmed. Despite being in that building for a grueling 13 minutes or that fact 7 other people lost their lives that night; even with the soot on my skin and singed pieces of my nightgown, there was no evidence of any burns or smoke inhalation. Doctors told my parents it was nothing short of a miracle, but knowing what I know now, that’s the last thing I would’ve called it.

I woke up early the next morning, long before the sun had even begun to rise. My parents sat sleeping in hospital chairs, probably exhausted after the traumatizing events that had only taken place hours before. I was hooked up to some equipment, don’t ask me what it was because I couldn’t tell you, but the bed was close enough to the window for me to scoot over and look out. The window was cold against my fingertips as I leaned against it, peering out onto the street below. It was so peacefully empty, the only presence of life being the few nightshift nurses out on a smoke break, wrapping their cardigans around themselves to shield from the light flurry of snow that had started.

As the fog of sleep lifted from my brain, it instead began to rapidly fill with thoughts. I unfocused my eyes, pressing my forehead against the cool window– At the time I questioned if what I saw in the hallway was real or if had just been some near death hallucination; of course I know the truth now, and how that was probably my first time in the labyrinth, but for a long time I questioned everything, making excuses for it all. The bracelet was just a gift, the light being was a hallucination, all the nightmares just a symptom of ptsd, the things I saw for years after… I was just crazy.

But I wasn’t in that moment. Then, I was just a kid, confused but grateful to be alive, enjoying fidgeting with the sword charm on my new bracelet as I watched the snowflakes outside floating around… And if I squinted just right? I could swear, they almost looked like small white butterflies.

[betty-bourgeoisie]

The question that keeps coming up for me as I read On Repentance and Repair is the question of whether or not Maimonides' teachings on the subject can be applied to my own animistic world view. Should I even try to apply them to an animistic world view? Like is it even appropriate to try and make such distinct paradigms work in tandem? And if it isn't, are these two belief systems that can both be held by one person in a meaningful way?

I find Maimonides' steps of repentance to be very compelling and practical, but I keep rubbing up again the question of like... If I view plants and animals as having a "soul" (for lack of a better word sense that's not exactly how I would describe it) don't I then have an obligation to repent and repair harm with them, as well as with other humans? And sense I am obligated to eat plants and animals to survive, I will inevitably harm them, but I also am not physically capable of following the steps of repentance to their conclusion in that case by changing my ways because doing so would cause me to starve to death (not something I am currently interested in doing).

There is no set Pagan belief system, but for the most part Pagan animists tend to resolve the conundrum of having to eat other living things with the ideas of reciprocity, minimizing harm, and being at peace with your place in the food chain. That is to say - humans are just animals, all animals must harm other living things in order to survive, we can acknowledge and accept this, but also try to minimize our own impact and engage in reciprocity with other living things by only taking what we need and doing things to give back to the land that we are on.

This is, in my mind, a relatively healthy way to contend with the disproportionate impact humans have had on our natural environments sense the industrial revolution, while also not allowing yourself to be overcome with guilty because you ate a salad or accidentally stepped on a bug. There is a balance - but I guess what I'm getting at, is that I'm having a hard time fitting the steps of repentance into that balance.

And maybe I'm not meant to! Maybe it's enough to say that these are steps intended only for relationships between humans and that's okay. Maimonides was not, to my knowledge, speaking from an animistic perspective, so it's not necessarily fair to expect his work to fit into one.

With that said, I can see how his steps of repentance could be used in grappling with climate change through a more animist perspective, and I guess that's what has me thinking about this so much. Because there is some applicability to an animistic world view, it's just doesn't work 100% of the time.

Anyways this is all just half thought out rambling, and I absolutely recognize that I'm not an expert on this stuff, so if people have thoughts, or even corrections, I would love to hear them.