#cult of the blood gods

[melonbear51]

VTM V5′s Cult of Shalim, the concept of Holy Darkness, and its ingenious (and respectful!) connections to Judaism

So for the past year or so I have fallen head-first into the World of Darkness and have been studying up on the amazing lore present. I recently got my hands on the Vampire: The Masquerade v5 supplement, “Cult of The Blood Gods.” The book as a whole is an amazing guide to vampiric religions, cults, and ideologies, but one of the most intriguing sections for me was the section on abyss-obsessed Cult of Shalim. (This is going to be long, probably formatted horribly, and a bit rambling, but I promise I have a point).  For those of you who aren’t aware, I’m Jewish. Well, Jew-ish; I was raised in a rather secular home, and while I observe the big holidays, I have always considered myself more culturally Jewish. I’ve been reading up more on my faith though, in an attempt to connect more to my heritage and traditions. Now, I’d noticed when looking at Jewish prayers and such that light plays a big part in Judaism (I’m not scholar here, so if anyone wishes to correct me please do so). We praise the light of God, praise God for fashioning light, ask to enjoy its splendor, etc. We also, of course, have Hanukkah, the festival of lights. So when I read “Cult of The Blood Gods” and saw The Cult of Shalim being tied to Judaism via the character of Rabbi Basaras and the Hebrew in the name, I was confused. 

Then I accidentally stumbled into articles on the Ayin-Yesh, the Ein Sof, and Tzimtzum, important concepts in Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, and the connection hit me like a truck. I reiterate, I am no expert on Judaism as I am still learning, and VERY MUCH NOT AN EXPERT on the complicated subject of Kabbalah, but this is some fascinating stuff and I’m going to try and explain my mental connections.

The Ayin-Yesh, Ein Sof, and Tzimtzum

To give a very basic (and probably underdeveloped) summary on the Ayin-Yesh and Ein Sof, the Ayin is considered to be the nothingness from which our universe or “something” (Yesh) emerged. Inhabiting, or being present alongside, the Ayin is the Ein Sof: the immaterial manifestation of God before God manifested themselves as part of creation. Ein Sof is also associated with the concept of infinity and endlessness. The Ein-Sof and Ayin are often tied together due to the proximity of the primordial nothingness and the immaterial form of God. Additionally, God is said to have created the world by Tzimtzum, or contracting, to create a vacant, hollow, conceptual space from which to craft the world. 

In other words...

HOLY DARKNESS/NOTHINGNESS IS VERY MUCH A CONCEPT IN JEWISH MYSTICISM! The Cult of Shalim, spearheaded by the faith-shrouded Lasombra, who worship and wish to rejoin the abyss, oblivion and nothingness, would naturally find this concept and use it for their own purposes in order to justify their twisted agenda.

While you could discredit this as being a coincidence, I very much doubt it! I think Renegade Games did their research, and managed to take steps to tie the very Catholic-coded Lasombra to another faith in a very cool way. I also applaud them for providing more Jewish representation and opening the door for more Jewish characters, both good and evil. 

Think about it! You could have a Jewish Hunter: The Reckoning character who saw their temple become corrupted by the Shalimites and decided to fight against it. You could have a corruptor figure like Rabbi Basaras. You could have a vampire character who is desperately in search of something to believe in after the embrace, only to slowly fall into this perversion hidden under the mask of an Abrahamic faith.  To all those who’ve read this, thank you very much. For the rest, here’s a TLDR: The Cult of Shalim from “VTM V5′S Cult of The Blood God” ’s ideologies draw from Jewish mysticism in a way that perfectly compliment the Lasombra’s penchant for taking advantage of mortal faith, while also opening the door for more Jewish characters.  If anyone with a more knowledge on Judaism and Kabbalah would like to contribute or correct me, please don’t hesitate! 

[kattudime]

It's hard being a field medic for the god of war, huh?

[lotussart]

Sacred

[bamsara]

hey. wait a minute

[eliza-forget]

Shamura's death

– Bishop AU -

Cw: BLOOD, body horror, agony

Other plot stuff:

First meeting

[donutfloats]

What if

How far would a god go to protect the ones they love? Sacrificing their body to be twisted and warped by the deep Eldritch magics that lay deep within the crown?

[ninjasmudge]

loving the idea of red mortal blood becoming black godblood ichor and vice versa, like the exchange of godhood

[narikill]

aughdhshfjjsjcjdjfjsbgsknfjs <- leshy in this art probably

[the-one-with-spider-brainrot]

May have made Yngya a bit of a dick

Meanwhile, with the Witness Babysitter:

[fanofthelamb]

wowowowow awesome look at me doing... things... idk when ill finish this, or how long it will take. i just know id rather be doing this than being in anchordeep because DAMN!!!

Next

[howlsnteeth]

and are you really okay? are you really okay?

[liskobot]

"what is loveit?" (warning for gore in linked music vid)

this song has been stuck in my brain ver. without the border below

[littl3d0ll-art]

To be consumed is to be loved

[fizpup]

soon..

[magikk8ball]

Finally checking off my “Dionysus Bernard” fanart bingo square

Inspired by the fic let’s get mischievous by @tomateosoup , it’s absolutely wonderfully written, seriously check it out amigos

[pinetreespants]

Leyens your deckers (my turn on the narilamb Leyendeckers ride)