#about me and my judaism

[wonderlandleighleigh]

Like you start to look at like all the super positive people on social media who talk about taking deep breaths and unclenching your jaw, or that you're going to do amazing things this week.

And you wonder if there is a silent addendum of "but not you, Jew."

Because that seems to be a pretty popular sentiment right now.

So you just stop trusting people, because like

What if that's the truth? It's happened before.

A lot of people been showing their antisemite ass these last few weeks. But I think there's a disconnect.

I think when a lot of Jewish people hear "free palestine" they also hear an unspoken addition of "and kill all Jews."

And you have to remember that paranoia has a basis in lived experience. That fear has been made real before.

"Free Palestine" is not antisemitic. But we are afraid that that unspoken bit is implied. Fear makes for an aggressive bedfellow.

I really struggle, personally, knowing that I support a free and just and safe palestine, but my support is unwanted by a lot of people. Cuz they'd rather I was dead.

And I've been thinking about that Golda Meir quote: "our secret weapon is we have nowhere else to go."

And that is

Well

True. Not that I think Israel was ever the best option. Or should have been an option the way the UN made it an option back in '48, but other Jewish people can yell at me for that another time.

You have to remember that when ww2 ended, there were these Holocaust survivors.

And no one wanted them.

No one wanted to take them in. No one really knew wtf to do with these haunted ghost people.

In a lot of ways we've generationally inherited that feeling, I think, and it's informed our lives in ways I'm not even sure any of us fully get.

[fromgoy2joy]

I love being involved with Jewish life on campus because I got to miss class once for “religious reasons” and the religious reason was that I went to this sick Purim drag show.

[shalom-iamcominghome]

I've been doing a lot of reflection as of late, especially after this past class.

This past class was about the Torah and Tanakh in general, and the way the rabbi talked about the commandments (specifically the ten commandments) has made me really reflect on how I interpret them, specifically the fifth commandment, or honoring your mother and father.

This is a commandment I have wrestled with for a long time - in fact, it brought me away from g-d at multiple times. I was severely abused when I was incredibly young by my mother, and I used to feel insulted at the implication that I were to honor her while she got to live a better life. It was hypocritical, in my eyes.

But this rabbi surmised that this particular commandment was because parenthood is an act of creation, something that is like the g-d from which we come from. My realization is this: I don't think we're necessarily meant to take even these commandments literally.

I this particular commandment is more of a call to honor creation - creation is a gift, and like any gift, many people simply will not like it and will discard it. The person who abused me created me, but she did not honor creation. She didn't honor me, but I can still honor it.

I have started to honor creation much more. I'm too young, too unstable, not mature enough to be a father (though I fantasize about it), but I create all the time. I create relationships, I create with my hands through crochet. I create memories, I create my world. And I can honor who I am and where I came from that made me who I am. I've been learning one of the mother tongues of my family (Italian, since part of my family originates there) and it was judaism that inspired me to do this.

I don't think g-d wants me to honor my abuser. I think He wants me to remember the Holy action of creation. When I am a father, that act of creation will be Holy, and indeed, I am already joyful about the thought.

I have seen many people struggle with this particular commandment, but I think this perspective helps me personally. I don't think I ever have to forgive my abusers (plural), and I don't think I am commanded to simply because they happened to be family. I am commanded to recognize the holy, to elevate the mundane. In doing so, I will remember g-d. Through creation, I honor g-d and everything he has done for us, for me, and for our collective people.

[hindahoney]

Wild and revolutionary concept: maybe don't treat converts like trash just because they're converts? And also don't ask someone if they're a convert in a public setting?

[pomegranateandhoney]

Just wanted to share a little resource today: Shabbat cards from Recustom, a platform with  tools and resources to help shape rituals that work for each of us. I like this very simple set of Shabbat cards, with the blessings in Hebrew, English, and transliterated.

Sometimes it can be really difficult, trying to figure out what we think makes our life Jewish -- what's important to us, what rituals are prayers feel necessary to us, which mitzvot feel most important to keep. It's a deeply personal journey.

For me, Shabbat feels immensely important and is the cornerstone of what having a Jewish home means to me. Keeping Shabbat started very small -- just remembering to light two tealights, as on time as possible, every Friday with my partner. Now we've added wine/juice, and rarely I remember to have bread. It's a work in progress. Little tools like these cards, which are easy to read and have on hand, can help make keeping this ritual possible.

I wish I were a more adept woman that was used to managing a million things, but I'm not -- I am forgetful, I can be a little lazy after a long work day, and I struggle with the balance between my spiritual and modern lives. And that's okay.

[ljbrary]

So my town always puts up a Christmas tree and menorah in the center of downtown every year.

I just walked downtown after coming back for Thanksgiving, and they have the tree up, but there is no menorah to be found.

And I think we all know why.

[fumifooms]

Btw is it just me or does Dungeon Meshi have some cool religious christian imagery?

The Winged Lion, Falin and Laios. The Power, the white dove and the messiah. The dungeon as the sacred land?

Cannibalism as an act of love and gratitude. Eating (god) as worship and communion.

Becoming a dungeon lord like ascending to godhood, being the chosen one, the divine messenger, the one through which God acts.

sorry I just think about this Numbers 13:32 Bible quote like all the time thank you youtuber The Sin Squad

[otter-pup]

hi i hoped i wouldn’t have to clarify this but antisemitism isn’t welcome here!! any kind of shit equating Jewish people to greed and selfishness etc, or Judaism to Zionism, etc, none of that shit here!! thanks!!!

[slyandthefamilybook]

#postalproud

[spoondrifts]

in an ideal world i would be spending xmas writing fic and getting chinese takeout with my jewish friends, but here i am instead, going to be lighting my hanukkiyah for the first time with my non-jewish family that barely understands me and will probably crack some stupid jokes at my expense while insisting that xmas is secular and actually pagan in origin so it's fine for me to celebrate

[lolcatsdeamon13]

Hey friends!

Yiddishland California is a cultural center and museum that puts on excellent classes and events, including Yiddish Theater classes, Intermediate Yiddish reading circles, and even beginner's Yiddish yoga! They are committed to keeping the wonderful and vibrant language alive, including the culture and community that surrounds the language.

They are in trouble! There was some sort of issue with being able to stay in their location, so they need to raise $100k by the end of the month to stay open!

Please join me in donating (Here). I gave my tzedakah this month to them, and I hope you do too!

If you're in the Southern California area, they're having a relocation party on January 21st, 2024 from 5-8pm. Come visit to see great art and support such a great organization!!

For the rest of us that can't get down to California and want to support not just by donating, please consider buying something from their Etsy shop! They have a bunch of rare books and vinyl and your purchase will help the organization!

[shalom-iamcominghome]

Person with no whimsy: Why are you trying to trick g-d with loopholes? 🙄🙄🙄🙄

[hindahoney]

Jews are allowed to hate Christianity 🤷🏻‍♀️ You know how many Jews have been killed by Christians? How many thousands of years they have persecuted us? How they're still, in many ways, persecuting us because they're angry they didn't supercede us? Christianity has done a lot of harm to us, and so have individual Christians who try to convert Jews on a daily basis.

[herotune]

The Path We Share — Jonah, Abraham, Isaac, and The Goat

Shanah tovah everyone! (Yes I realize Rosh Hashanah is over, but it's still the high holidays ok!)

This is an illustration I made for our high holiday liturgy books this year. If you're curious, I put the artist's statement I wrote for the book under the cut:

This illustration represents aspects of three different stories we revisit on the high holidays—that of Abraham and Isaac, Jonah and the giant fish, and the scapegoat sent into the wilderness, carrying away the sins of the community. Abraham falls back as Isaac walks up the mountain, following the goat, and Jonah follows a similar path, by sea.

Each of them, whether by land or by sea, up the mountain, to the wilderness, or to Ninevah, whether knowing of their fates or not—walk the same path we do as we head into the high holidays. Along the path set to them by G-d. Did Isaac know what would happen as he walked up the mountain? Did the goat led out to the wilderness know what it represented? Would they have chosen to follow that path had they known? Would they have been given a choice?

Each year, we revisit these stories, and each year, we walk the same path together, into an unseen future—knowing we are not alone in the journey.

[glownery]

wishing everyone who celebrates a happy easter and an even happier transgender day of visibility 🐣🪩🫶🪽