#We will dance again

[magnetothemagnificent]

People hate Jewish resilience. They hate us in general, but they *especially* hate our resilience.

[the-lesser-light]

"They're running towards the house on fire." -Rubin talking about all conversion students after Oct 7th.

A recent notion came to me about a month back. "I feel like a sleeper agent."

Something woke up my Jewish soul. It feels like it has always been there, waiting for me. Nothing has felt more like coming home than working on my conversion.

I've heard from a Rabbi in New York that Judaism's introduction courses have a seven month wait list and have doubled in size.

Hebrew classes have grown and the demand for them is growing still.

Hebrew reading comprehension courses are being introduced to learning apps that have long ignored Hebrew in the past. Prayer book study courses are increasing and attendance to the bigger services this year like Yom Kippur were quite massive compared to previous years.

Not only are we seeing more new faces in Synagogues of people looking to convert or who are curious, but OLD faces are starting to come back.

This past Friday the Rabbi stopped while looking out at the crowd and went, "I see some faces I have not seen in over ten years!!"

I spoke with a man that only appears at the holiday events and he admitted that it had been a while since he had done anything, but he was starting to hear a calling to come back.

Antisemitism is on the rise. Violence towards Israeli and Jews in the Diaspora is growing and there has been a lot of betrayal from former safe places and groups.

Yet there is a sold out Jewish Music concert happening downtown next week. Synagogue tours are still happening and Judaica decor is certainly on the rise. The Jewish Bakery near me today was having a special Hanukkah festival and the line was incredible.

The Jews are Tired. A saying that has been going around any time we read idiotic posts filled with Antisemitism. I think that table has turned. The Jews are Angry.

The Mountain is calling and it feels like so many more are coming home.

[loki-god-of-mischief-13]

The Nova site

[al-kol-eleh]

Vivid

[gaelic-symphony]

Feels so surreal that it’s October again. Last October was simultaneously just yesterday and several lifetimes ago. October used to be my favorite month, but now I’m starting to believe that it will never stop being October, and it fills me with a gnawing sense of dread.

[fdelopera]

I'm praying for Israel and all my Israeli friends. Stay safe. We love you.

Am Yisrael Chai. We will dance again.

[silly-little-zio]

it’s all i think about

[tikkunolamresistance]

hi i’m back to share a kindness i received today and some somber words:

a jewish tenant just came into the office and gave me a honey cake and prosecco to say thank you for helping her with rosh prep (getting her balcony cleaned up and some paint touch ups before the holiday) and to bring me some positivity and love on the one year anniversary of the October 7th Massacre.

i wasn’t going to say anything at all today because it’s just too much and there are far more eloquent people out here but this moment reminded me that even in our darkest times we have each other so why would i not share my thoughts with all of you.

today as i think about the last year, i am reminded of the strength of our bonds and the lengths we are willing to go to stay together. i am in awe of my community and how we have come together in the twelve months to fight for our ongoing existence in so many ways. i see how we have all been affected by this war so differently and yet we each take responsibility to stay true to our values in the face of hate and violence.

judaism isn’t just an ethnoreligion, we are a family. when one of you hurts i feel it too. when so many of us are hurt, we grieve together. we build back together, we grow together.

a year ago today, October 7th 2023, my friend evyatar david was kidnapped and today, October 7th 2024, is still being held in gaza as a hostage.

if there is ever a day to cry am yisrael chai, today is that day. i need to believe it.

i need him to hear it.

we will dance again.

we will bring them home.

am yisrael chai.

i love you all so fucking much.

please take care of yourself, be safe, and be proud of who we are.

[the-daughter-of-lilith]

Pro Palestinian activists need to address the obvious mischaracterization of Hamas as a "resistance" and watch the translated livestream footage of Hamas brutally slaughtering civilians on October 7th.

It's important to recognize the difference between a resistance army and antisemitism, instead of ignorantly promoting the death of Jews.

[mylight-png]

I know it's been over a week since Simchat Torah, but I have thoughts so I'm writing them now. First of all, this was probably my most meaningful Simchat Torah thus far. It was my first time celebrating with my university's Chabad and it was great to be dancing and singing with everyone.

However, the way the celebration was advertised was with things like "we're going to dance again" and "we'll dance for them". I follow a few different university Chabads, as well as a few Chabads from near where I grew up. All of their Simchat Torah posts had the same message.

Simchat Torah is special for two reasons (well, for many reasons, but I'm bringing up two). Firstly, it's supposed to be the happiest day on the Jewish calendar. Not just a happy day. The happiest. Second, it's not a "despite" holiday. What I mean by that is it isn't one of the "they tried to kill us, we survived, let's eat/celebrate" holidays. Simchat Torah is about the joy of being Jewish, the joy of having the Torah. It's a celebration directly between us and Hashem. There is no "despite". (Of course, I am not a rabbi or a scholar, so if I'm wrong in this feel free to correct me, but this is what I was taught.)

What Hamas did was turn the happiest day on the Jewish calendar into the eternal anniversary of a tragedy. What Hamas did was take this holiday that was about our joy and love of Torah and being Jewish, and turned it into a "despite" holiday.

This is yet another thing they stole from us.

We dance despite what happened. We sing despite our heartbreak.

I found myself thinking, will Simchat Torah ever be untainted again? Will it ever stop being a "despite" holiday again?

Will we ever dance without thinking of those who couldn't, and never will again? Will we ever dance without thinking of those who were taken from us, either killed or not yet returned?

We will dance again, but will we dance the same?

[ineffablecrisp]

One year ago today, my whole world shattered. What should've been the happiest day of my life instead felt like the world turned its back against me and the rest of the Jewish community. Today on my birthday, I am choosing to celebrate the resiliency of the Jewish people. Many people tried and failed to eradicate us, but we are still here. I am still here. Am Yisrael Chai.

[magnetothemagnificent]

In the Jewish calendar, the anniversary of the Simchat Torah pogrom hasn't happened yet. Simchat Torah is in a few weeks. But if the rest of the world is going to desecrate the memories of those we lost on this day, we must commemorate the pogrom on the Gregorian calendar as well.

I will never be the same person I was before October 7th. We as a people will never be the same. But that's what has allowed us to survive all these millennia - we don't try to go back to how we were: we rebuild, we move forward. When the first Beit Hamikdash was destroyed, we began to set our calendar. When the second Beit Hamikdash was destroyed, we began to record oral Torah. Through thousands of years of successive colonization, genocide, and exile, we have recontextualized and reiterated to ourselves and to the world what it means to be a Jew.

We are Ivrim- people from the "other side", never fully part of the dominant society, but proud of who we are.

עברי אנכי ואת ה' אלוקי השמים אני ירא

"I am an Ivri and I revere YHVH the Lord of the Heavens"

[Yonah 1:9]

We are Yehudim- descendents of the majesty of the united sovereignty of Malchut Yehudah, yearning to return to the time of peace and unity under David and Shlomo.

ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה וששן ויקר

"The Yehudim had light and joy and happiness and esteem"

[Esther 8:16]

We are Bnei Yisrael- all descendants of the man who wrestled an angel and conversed with G-d

ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת לעשות את השבת לדרתם ברית עולם

"And Bnei Yisrael shall observe the Shabbat to establish the Shabbat for their generations as a forever covenant"

[Shemot- Ki Tisa 31:16]

We are a small nation scattered across the globe, united time and time again by immense loss. But there will come a day when we are united with one heart and one soul not by tragedy, but by joy.

We will rebuild. We will survive. We will dance again.

✡️עם ישראל לעולם חי🎗️

[nonjewishzionist]

Me, a leftist and a feminist since I remember, seeing all the antisemitism from the left and the feminists and be like:

[hebrewbyinbal]

As I sit down to write this, I find myself grappling with emotions that are still raw, still painful.

It feels as though time has both dragged on and stood still.

We are 365 days away, but it feels like we are still living in the shadow of that single day.

That morning, like so many others, began with routine but quickly descended into a nightmare that would echo for months to come, leaving behind pain, uncertainty, fear, and heartbreak.

Over the past year, it has been incredibly hard. Hard to process, hard to heal, hard to make sense of such senseless darkness.

Some days, I feel like I’m simply moving through the motions, doing what I can to keep going, but always with the weight of that day pressing down.

Other days, the pain is so sharp it feels like it just happened.

I know many of you feel the same, that these 12 months have brought little relief, that the pain lingers, not softened by time but deepened with every passing day.

It’s been a year of trying to balance between continuing with life, while always carrying the awareness of loss, of uncertainty, of hope flickering in and out of focus.

It has been a year of realizing that behind every name lost, taken, or forever changed by trauma, there is a world of dreams cut short, of families waiting for news, of memories being replayed but never added to.

Some names were taken from us forever, some still remain, and yet, we are left in this limbo of waiting, praying, hoping for answers.

For the 101 still in captivity, as a community, we carry the weight of their absence, and it leaves us grappling with emotions too big to name. There are days where the sadness feels overwhelming, and there are days when the anger bubbles up, a reminder of the injustice we are witnessing in real-time.

But through it all, we are still here. We are still standing. We are dancing the dance of life, as awkward as it may be.

The weight of the past year hasn’t crushed us, though it has certainly tested us. And there’s comfort in knowing we’re not alone in this. There’s comfort in the messages I receive, in the conversations I have with so many of you who have shared your own feelings, your own struggles, your own small moments of resilience.

I think what has gotten me through most is that quiet strength we draw from one another - our close loved ones, and people we've never met who reach out to say "you are not alone".

Knowing that even in the worst of times, we continue to show up for each other, whether it’s in small acts of kindness or simply in echoing the names and faces of those who had their tragic encounter with today's darkness.

I know that for so many, this past year has been filled with questions that have no answers, and pain that feels unending. And I want you to know that whatever you are feeling right now, you are not alone.

Whether you are angry, lost, heartbroken, or just exhausted, you are seen. I see you. We see you. This year has been unbearably hard, but we have carried it together.

As we mark one year to the day, I invite you to remember with me. To honor those who are still missing and those who are no longer with us. Let us hold space for their families, their friends, and for each other.

Let us remind ourselves that even in the darkest of times, we still have each other to lean on, and we still have the resilience to keep going.

Take care of yourselves in the coming days. It’s okay to feel, to grieve, to sit with the pain.

It’s also okay to find moments of joy, of comfort, of hope, even when it feels hard to do so.

I hope that we can continue to draw strength from one another as we navigate this journey, not just today, but in the weeks, months, and years to come.

Sending you all strength and love as we remember, as we mourn, and as we hope for better days ahead.

Inbal

[weemietime]

Why the FUCK are you bringing up the Iraq war to defend Israel

That's like saying "oh you think ISIS is bad? Did you know America dropped agent orange on Vietnamese?"

Nigga we think both of those things are fucking terrible

Why the FUCK are you bringing up the Iraq war to defend Israel

Read my pinned post, for it explains in excruciating detail why it is important to treat every person and every country on Earth with equity and dignity. It is that fucking simple.

we think both of those things are fucking terrible

The problem is that you don't, actually.

Because you treat equivalent situations (actually, the Iraq war was far worse) with different standards. Which means that you don't actually have a problem with the situation, but rather with the parties involved.

It is not my fault that you are unable to read and comprehend the very plain and clear explanations that I have already laid out for you. But just in case you didn't get the memo, here are some posts I have made in my private friend group that elucidate it clearly to you fucking imbeciles.

Honestly it's an emotional thing for me because I've seen a lot of the unrwa materials for schools in Gaza that actively teach kids to cheer for dead Jews, sinwar was found with a unrwa employee tag, unrwa members participated in Oct 7th, the UN is being very quiet about condemning the sexual abuse that happened during this pogrom. They did finally say they found it credible but this was instantly buried and is never brought up by any UN officials any longer, the UN first didn't even admit to complicity and now are saying they want immunity for their unrwa employees who were complicit, countries like Russia and China are using their seats at the UN to push the narrative of genocide with no evidence and zero pushback while the UN platforms their voices and refuses to condemn their genocidal actions and it just feels like, you know, part of the intergenerational trauma of the Holocaust is that the international community at the time, the league of nations, was also very lackluster about condemning the genocide against us and did indeed have many member states who openly supported and participated. I mean this was an attack that was planned for 15 years by people who pretended for generations to be the friends of these peace activists and shit. It's just a theme of betrayal and the feeling that we Jews are alone. Because the loudest voices from every country are shouting from the river to the sea lol. Is it a totally factual statement, is it a cognitive distortion, probably. But there is a real sentiment behind the words that is born from pain, not just shit posting

Of course it's a lot. Even one is too much. But every time these dipshits talk they say "Israel killed 40,000 children." No, the official number given by Hamas and the UN is 7,797. Plus 4,959 women. That's 12,756 civilians. Out of a 40,000 death toll, that is 27,244 Hamas combatants killed meaning the ratio of combatants to civilians dying is 2.25:1. This is an INSANELY good C/C ratio and is the numbers that Hamas has given. The normal C/C ratio is 9:1, the USA C/C ratio in Iraq was 4.46:1 out of 174,000 meaning a 77% civilian casualty rate. And look at how people talk about the war in Iraq and Iraq war veterans and Americans and tell me that matches how people are discussing Israel. You know? I'm not blaming people for being antiwar. For being horrified. For not wanting to send ammunition or weapons. For being appalled at Israel's use of Lavender. But the double standard is very devastating because when 9/11 happened the world mourned with the USA. When Oct 7th happened, a literal pogrom, people literally spit in our faces, shut down universities, scream at us on the streets, fire bomb our synagogues, gang rape our children for being Jewish (happened in France), cheer gas the Jews, you will not replace us, Zionists are rats, kicking us out of cafes, interrogation us to see if we're a "good Jew". Like you don't understand how the atmosphere has changed in North America and how virulently antisemitic its gotten. Our memorials for our dead have to be held in secret. Because people deface them, vandalize them, and show up to protest screaming through a megaphone that we are baby killers while we are crying over our babies being killed. And eighteen year olds are being sent to fight in war in our behalf because every country around our homeland has declared they wish to exterminate us. And that taps into the very real intergenerational pain of the Holocaust.

I've seen protests that look no different than Nazi Germany protests against the Jews. It is wrenching. Most Jews I know have lost their entire friend groups literally over night. Lost their living arrangements. Have professors fail their work if it's about Jewish history. Teach that Zionism means Jewish supremacy and conquering the middle east because we are all from Poland. It hurts. It hurts. And I know that Palestinians are suffering, too. 12,000 innocent people were killed. And I mourn them as much as I mourn my own people. But no one else is going to mourn our dead but us. The world has shown that they cheer when we die. And that hurts.

If I say "I'm grieving the actual people that I PERSONALLY KNOW WHO DIED IN A POGROM" people turn around and scream at me that I am a pedophile rat Zio Nazi genocidaire baby killer. When this first happened I posted the article "bombs fall in sderot" and joked "haha idk if my friends are safe." well my friend wasn't safe. She fucking died.

Ppl don't understand how small the Jewish community is. Whenever Jews meet up we play Jewish geography and we ALWAYS find someone we know in common. When Pittsburgh happened people in my community bc we are conservative Jews too, knew the victims. Ppl I know post about having to go to a bomb shelter all the time, their friends dying in terrorist attacks, experiencing terrorism as children etc these are innocent people who have nothing to do with fucking ben fucking Gvir

My friend is a gdmn [redacted] she deserves to die???? Okay all Americans deserve death because of Iraq. All Russians deserve death because of Ukraine.

Conscription is wrong and we should be protesting against it but no not every Israeli deserves death just as no Palestinian civilian deserves death even tho many of them are radicalized as children to want Jews dead and to join Hamas and get conscripted as well. THIS SUBJECT IS COMPLICATED. and anyone who reduces it to one side vs the other good vs evil is full of fucking shit.

Like I always say the settler colonial language I feel is misguided in some ways because of the whole Israeli population we have 70% Jews, 61% of that 70% were not migrants during waves of Zionist aliyah they were expelled and murdered and ethnically cleansed from Iraq Afghanistan Iran Ethiopia Yemen (every single Jew in Yemen was expelled to Israel) and they literally have no place to go.

Which is why from the river to the sea, means they will end up being literally pushed into the sea lol. And then 20% aren't even Jewish they are Arab, where will they go if Hamas takes over Israel and tries to enact extremist fundamentalist religion when they're used to living in secular democracy? They go into the sea too. Now 31% are European descent of those, many are from Russia which means they were kicked out and not Zionist oleh as well. But then we get into the west Bank where Israeli Jews are literally living as settlers and literally calling themselves settlers and perpetrating violence. The legal terminology of this all is also twitchy. Technically it isn't apartheid because Palestinians aren't Israeli civilians but we cannot ignore Hebron where Israelis literally dump piss and shit and garbage on their heads so they had to build a fucking net. Okay maybe it's not legal apartheid but it's obvious fucking degrading and they are not free to move or work or have the same rights regardless of who is in charge and we need to fix that. We also can say ok it's not a genocide in Gaza bc the numbers suggest of 40k, 12k were civilians according to Hamas themselves giving a 2:1 civ casualty ratio. The normal ratio is 9:1 so it legally cannot be called genocide. But Lavender is indiscriminate targeting civilians and bombing the place to fucking rubble which is a war crime and the Israeli government must be held accountable for this. Hamas does war crimes too they fired 20k rockets per year for 20 years into Israeli residential zones

[10:38 PM] Anyone who reduces this conflict to one side good one side bad is a fucking idiot. There is harm and suffering and complexity on both sides and both sides must be held accountable and then work for peace and prosperity

In conclusion: if you have nothing constructive to say, you can do everyone a favor and shut the fuck up.

[chanaleah]

tote bag I made (a few days ago)