#Maybe one day I'll do write up on the issue with orthodox and reform

[judaismandsuch]

On...This Nonsense

So, I saw this graph in a group I am a part of, and it is so increadibly wrong that I need to rant about it:

K, this is dumb for .... a lot of reasons. I am sure Muslims and Christians can see a load of issues that I can't, but that aint my focus.

I'm just going to talk about the Jewish religions, the flow, and use Christian and Muslim religions as comparisons.

First of all, the term of the parent religion: "Judaism". The term comes from "Judean" or basically members of the tribe of Judah.

The first definite use of it as a general term for Hebrews is in the Scroll of Esther where it calls Mordechai "a member of the tribe of Benyamin, a Jew" (paraphrased for clarity). That takes place around 480-350 BCE (scholars argue about which Emperor is the one mentioned).

(the term is used elsewhere/earlier, but usually a refrence to a member of the tribe of Judah, or else in a way that could go either way).

Now the reason I mention that, is because:

"Northern Tribal" would never have used the term, as they are from the ten lost tribes, and had a separate kingdom (Israel) VS Binyamin and Judah who had the southern kingdom (Judea).

Samaritans consider themselves to be descendants of the tribe of Manasheh and Ephraim, so wouldn't use the term either.

So the top religion should really be Bnei Ysrael, or Hebrew, or Isrealite.

Next: what the fuck is "Northern Tribal"? The split b/w the ten tribes and the 2 was political, not religious. They remained the same religion until they stopped existing/were lost/ the Samaritan split happened.

I even googled "Northern Tribal Judaism" (and variations) and couldn't find jack shit. It really shouldn't be on there.

Now, when/how Samaritanism and Judaism split is both a theological and historical debate. (to the point that talmudically there were issues with drawing lines between the 2). Hell, I have hear people use the term "Samaritan Jew" before. But tbh, it is innacurate, and insulting to both religions imo.

But either way the first split should be: Judaism-Samaritanism

On the same level in the chart it has Saducee, Pharisee, Eseen, and Christianity.

Which is bonkers. There were difference between the three groups, but they were not on the level of being schisms or seperate religions like christianity.

If you wanted to argue that they are, then Christianity would be descended from one of them (or all three). Because there wasn't a monolith religion for all 4 of them to come from. The split was there when Jesus was born.

So After Judaism you either have "Christianity" Or you have "Pharisee" "Saducee" "Essene" and then a line below you get christianity.

Next Line: "Karaite" "Orthodox" "Sephardic"

That is the most bat shit thing I have seen in my life.

First of all: "Sephardic" isn't a religious movement or theology. It is a culture and set of traditions. Putting it in a flowchart as its own heading, the same way Christianity and Islam do is insane.

Secondly, even if you do so, the others in the split should be: "Ashkenazi" "Temani" "Mizrachi" and a couple of others. not "Karraite" and "Orthdox" Next, while Karraite does deserve it's own spot (I can do a dive into the theology of it later) It Should be as a descendent of Pharisee with the other branch being Rabbinic.

Next: "Orthodox" with descendents of "reform" "conservative" etc.?

No! The term "Orthodox" exists as a counter to those! And only (until very recently) in Ashkenazi Judaism!

Now maybe the reason that they divided Sphardic it's own heading was to indicate that they don't have sects like the Ashkenazi do, but still, wtf?

And Splitting Hasidic that way? like it is equivalant to any of the splits in Christianity or Islam is batshit.

So really after "Rabbinic Judaism" you should get: "Ashkenazi Sectarianism" and "Not that"

And put all that shit under Ashkenazi Sectarianism.

Anyway, this graph sucks, Maybe I'll improve it later.

[fdelopera]

Anon who asked about the comic, thanks for the info! I was already kind of suspicious when I heard about the comic, but was hoping maybe they'd get it right. I hadn't realized that was the concept they went with, and that description of Marc's "mental health" made me grimace.

Even apart from the deep ableism of refusing to write a system as a system, I think it says quite a lot about a writer's skill set that they can't manage to write three protagonists. You would think any writer would jump at the chance to write three well-rounded characters that could approach any topic from such vastly different perspectives.

The fact that they can't/won't, and don't seem to know what to do with it, says...a lot.

totally agree, Anon! any quality writer worth their salt would jump at the chance to write an engaging story about headmates in a system! authors who fixate on one headmate to the exclusion of the others demonstrate their own ableism and bias against people with DID/OSDD.

i say "quality writer" … because David Pepose has already demonstrated himself to be, well, not that.

he's written for Moon Knight before. he co-authored volume II, issue 2 of Moon Knight: Black, White and Blood, "A Hard Day's Knight".

it was .. decent. not great. certainly doesn't hold a candle to the best of Lemire or Mackay. it did feature a conversation between headmates that had a few insightful moments, especially where Marc was concerned.

but his story fell apart in the way he wrote about MK System's Judaism. these two panels in particular.

there are a few problems with this. a couple are relatively minor, but one is egregious.

first, this is a clunky, uncanny valley way to say, "this character is Jewish". no Jewish person in the history of ever has said, "well, back in Hebrew school" as as way to measure time. i was shocked to learn in his interview that Pepose was actually proud of writing that line. there are so many better ways he could have written about their Jewishness in his comic. for instance, since Mackay in his run has established Jake as being more observant, perhaps he could have mentioned needing to clean up the blood before they go to shul.

also, in the comics, the Spector family are Orthodox, so Marc and Randall wouldn't have gone to Hebrew School, which in the US is an after school program for Reform and Conservative Jewish kids. Orthodox families usually send their kids to yeshiva. Pepose is Jewish, so he should have known this.

but the worst part of these panels is that Jake compares the "punks" he dealt with in Hebrew School (i.e. Jewish kids) to a demonic rat creature called The Vermin, that … let's just say it, commits blood libel. this creature kidnaps and eats children.

it is absolutely inexcusable for a Jewish author to have written this. not to mention, the artwork makes it even worse, since the way the Vermin is drawn echoes antisemitic caricatures of Jewish people.

so … i'll buy Pepose's series for Layla, but i'm not happy that he's the one writing it.