#goyim

[coffeelovinggayidiot]

I'm honestly heartbroken that someone, a friend of mine for the last year and a half, had to have me Explain to them multiple times that the word Goy isn't a slur.

[golem-brigadier]

When people, especially pro-pal revisionists, like to ignore that it's very common for regions to have multiple names, just look at Germany and Japan.

[spale-vosver]

Every time goyim bring up "well ackchually the Bible doesn't SAY man it says YOUNG BOY" I go a little more crazy because

1) that's the Greek translation, which is NOT THE ORIGINAL

2) the assumption that we as religious Jews must 100% follow the law of the Torah today as they were written is incredibly reductive and Christocentric

3) they're not actually interested in critically engaging with religious material beyond using it as a "gotcha"

[elder-millennial-of-zion]

Having conversations with my intelligent, well read, well meaning non-Jewish friends who assume that everyone is as intelligent and well read and well meaning as they are 😆

“Of course October 7 was horrible. But Netanyahu’s response-"

"Do you have any idea how many leftists think October 7 was a good thing and simultaneously a false flag?”

"Wait, what?"

[ind1g3n0us-lev1t3]

@elenajones23 first of all, who are you, a non Jew to lecture me about what my religion does or doesn’t allow? Who are you to tell me, as someone who doesn't practice the same religion, that I can or cannot do things?

The Torah isn’t a simple set of guidelines and commands, it’s far more complex than that. It has different interpritations, so saying the torah doesn't allow it is blatantly false. The name "Zion" (Promised land) is mentioned 154 times.

“It isn’t your land and it never was your land” bullshit.

We absolutely do have a land, if we don't, then why do we have holy sights in Jerusalem? Why are names like "Jaffa" and "Haifa" Hebrew?

The land of Israel is where my ancestors came from, it is where they lived, it is where they had a connection to, and it is where they suffered under the romans and were exiled.

We were never welcomed in Europe, we were never welcomed in the rest of the middle east.

These are ancient scrolls called the "Dead sea scrolls" which are a set of ancient Jewish writings dating from the 3rd century BCE.

This is all of what remains of our ancient temple, this is what it once was:

The first temple is Solomon's temple, the second one is Herod's temple, which was destroyed in 70CE by the romans. centuries later, the Muslim caliphates built the Al Aqsa mosque which was built on top of our temple mount. Today, the west wall is all we have left of this historic holy place.

The name "Palestine" was given to the land of Israel by roman colonisers who exiled most of us from the land of Israel, took many of us slaves, and scattered everyone else through western Europe (Some moved further east).

Now about the Nazis = Zionist argument. The Nazis originally made a deal with German Zionist Jews (The Haavara agreement) to bring about a mass migration from Germany to Israel, it should be mentioned that this was because Hitler and the Nazis wanted a Jew-Free Europe, not because the Nazis supported Zionism.

This deal was criticized by both Nazis and Zionists. Zionist criticised it because it made a deal with the devil, and the Nazis criticised it because it went against their philosophy.

The Nazis were extremely antizionist, the belief that they were Zionists is soviet cold war propaganda to demonise the state of Israel and the broader Jewish community. They believed that Jews were biologically incapable of running their own state and were too inferior. Hitler had a "Palestinian" friend (Amin al-Husseini) who campaigned in Berlin, fought for a Palestinian state, and even CONTRIBUTED TO THE HOLOCAUST. They also lead a boycott of Jewish businesses in "Palestine".

So, you're wrong. So very very wrong. You can try to lecture me about the history of my own people and religion all you want, but you're wrong.

Please, kindly fuck off and read a history book. Please attend a Synagogue service and learn more about our religion before you come spewing false bullshit about it.

[iwieldthesword]

Listen, I’m sure some other Jews will disagree with me but I’m always uncomfortable when gentiles refer to themselves as a goy/goyim

Like first of all, they almost always get it wrong grammatically (“I’m a goyim”), but it also doesn’t make that much sense culturally. “Goyim” translates to “nations” which historically was used for both Jews and gentiles before becoming a word that specifically means in “people from other nations/cultures” or simply “not-us”. It’s an in-word to describe an out group. So it doesn’t really track to call yourself “person from not-our culture” because you’re not part of the “our”.

Secondly, it’s weird because it’s just not your word. It’s very specifically Jewish, it’s a Jewish word, so why are y’all tripping over yourselves to use it when gentile is much more neutral? Like I’m betting most non-Hispanic white Americans would probably not call themselves gringos, so it’s hard to not see gentiles being so into it as an offspring of “haha, Yiddish word funny” that happens in American English, or the desperate need for leftist gentiles to prove that they’re ~in on~ Jewish culture (often without examining their internalized antisemitism but I digress). It’s definitely not cultural appropriation, but it is very weird to me.

And that’s the thing where tbh a gentile calling themselves a goy signals to me that they’re actually not keyed in to being an ally to Jews. Because while y’all can call yourselves whatever with impunity, Jews regularly face overt antisemitism for using the word goy despite it being our own fucking word. See: goy is a slur. See: Jews have sneaky secret words for us. See: the goyim know. It’s fucking loaded and sometimes actively dangerous for us—growing up in an antisemitic part of the word, my sister and I were fully taught not to use the word goy around gentiles because of how easily it was used as justification for antisemitism. So gentiles using “goy” as if it’s a cute word that shows how ~in~ they are with Jewish culture actually tells me that they don’t know much about historic or current antisemitism, or that they’re uninterested in unpacking their privilege to as non-Jews. Idk, it just feels like a slap in the face for gentiles to hold up a banner that says “I can use your language/culture more openly than you can because I won’t face horrific violence for it” and then like… expect extra special ally points for it.

Just say gentile. It means the same thing, it doesn’t come with baggage and you’re less likely to embarrass yourself using it incorrectly.

[crunkcommie]

PLEASE READ THIS.

as a jewish person in america, i find myself fearing for the safety of myself and my fellow jews.

antisemitism is undeniably on the rise.

we are not overreacting. and anytime we speak out against modern antisemitism, we're told we are.

please, for the love of g-d, listen to jews and educate yourself.

here are some websites i find helpful, especially for goyim looking to educate themselves.

antisemitism education

symbols of hate

glossary of extremism

antisemitism online

jewish solidarity (carrd)

antisemitism activism (carrd)

fight antisemitism (carrd)

if you have any other resources, please share !!!

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

[unsolicited-opinions]

I'd like to try to clear up chronic (sometimes willful) misunderstandings about the words "goy" and "goyim."

I think the confusion is mostly from the assumptions of cultural Christians and cultural Muslims that Jewish culture shares Christian/Muslim views of other religions - so most of this is about how each of those religious traditions regards peoples of other faiths.

(Jews, Christians, Muslims - I'd welcome comments if I have misrepresented facts about Christian or Muslim belief/history and would welcome elaborating comments)

(TLDR version: Christians and Muslims sometimes assume "goy" is derisive because "infidel" and "kafir", their terms for those who don't share their faith, are derisive.)

Where does "goy" or "goyim" come from?

In the Torah (the first four books of what Christians call The Old Testament), in the book of Bereshit (בְּרֵאשִׁית‎), which Christians call Genesis, appears the first known written use of the Hebrew word for "nations," and that word is "goyim."

The first recorded usage of goyim occurs in Genesis 10:5 and applies to non-Israelite nations. The first mention of goy in relation to the Israelites comes in Genesis 12:2, when God promises Abraham that his descendants will form a goy gadol ("great nation")

If you like, you can see many translations of what Christians call Genesis 10:5 here.

You'll see that translators to English sometimes translate "goy" as "gentile," a word which comes from Latin and describes someone outside of one's own tribe/clan/nation. To me, that's often not a particularly bothersome translation. (I'm trying to be mindful of my own biases as a GenX USAmerican who has lived in the diaspora his entire life. I think most of my generation of US Jews was taught that "gentile" was an inoffensive word to describe non-Jews in most contexts.)

Other Christian translations, however, sometimes translate goy/goyim as "heathen"/"heathens," which does not generally align with Jewish thinking about other faiths. So for this to make sense we need to touch briefly on how Jewish thought views Jews and how it other religions.

Okay, how do Jews regard themselves in relation to other peoples and religions?

You've probably heard that Jews call themselves "The Chosen People," and you've almost certainly heard misinformation/disinformation about what that means. You've probably seen it suggested that Judaism regards Jews as superior to non-Jews. This 100% false assertion is profoundly dangerous. There is no Jewish supremacy in Judaism.

What being Chosen means to religious Jews is that Jewish people have a covenant with God which requires of them special responsibilities which other peoples are not obliged to observe. Religious Jews believe God chose the Jews to obey the commandments of the Torah, and that the Jews, in turn, chose the Torah. These resulting special responsibilities do not make the Jews more loved by God than other peoples and they do not privilege Jews over other peoples.

Jewish thought explicitly regards peoples/faiths which share the values of the Noahide laws as "rightious." Roughly, these are the Noahide laws:

Don't  worship idols (worship God only)

Don't curse God (don't desecrate the holy)

Don't commit murder

Don't commit adultery or incest

Don't steal

Don't eat flesh torn from a living animal (animal cruelty is bad)

Establish courts of justice

These values are nearly universal among the world's major religions. Christianity and Islam share these values.

Sidebar: One could certainly argue that religious Jews might prefer the Muslim prohibition of visual idols to what looks in Hinduism (to religious and uninformed Jewish eyes) like rampant idolotry, but any serious study of incredibly complex and varied Hindu practices reveals that Hinduism is certainly not idolotry when seen from inside its own belief system.

So the broadly held view of the overwhelming majority of the world's Jews is that God loves non-Jews and regards them as rightious if they are ethical and moral in how they interact with other human beings. They are Chassiddei Umot ha-Olam, pious people of the world. The Jewish word for non-Jews simply means "other peoples of earth" or "non-Jews." Theres no judgment or condemnation in it. There's no Jewish drive to make the world Jewish, to convert non-Jews to Judaism, or to condemn people of other faiths for being something other than Jewish. Such behaviors are forbidden. (I'd like to note here that I have seen video of ultra-orthodox haredi in Israel insulting and spitting on Christians. This is wrong, upsetting, and disgusting. Most Israelis and most Jews condemn such behavior. All fundamentalist movements, in my view, suck, including such haredi. They represent Jews as much as the Westboro Baptist Church represents Christians.)

Okay, but aren't Christians also okay with other religions?

Many forms of Christianity require Christians to proselytize, to "spread the good news" and to convert non-Christians to Christianity whenever possible. Many kinds of Christianity regard this as the greatest of good deeds, because non-Christians are doomed to the eternal torment of Hell, so if they offend a non-Christian with their efforts to convert, it's for the non-Christian's own good. In some places and times, conversion to Christianity was forced. (A huge topic for another time.) Generally, Christianity regards other religions as false and wrong, even if they are pro social, share similar values, and are not a threat to Christianity. Non-Christians (including the Jews from whom Christians drew their monotheism, Muslims who share their monotheism, and competing Christian movements) have been referred to by Christians as unbelievers and infidels.

Where "goy" simply means "non-Jew," "Infidel" does not simply mean "non-Christian." It is unquestionably a judgement and a condemnation.

How do Muslims regard other faiths?

In the same way that most Christians believe that faith in their Christ is the only way to attain the kingdom of heaven, polls show that a majority of Muslims worldwide believe that Islam is the only path to heaven.

Muslims say that Islam is the only religion that leads to eternal life in heaven in most countries surveyed in the Middle East and North Africa, including Egypt (96%), Jordan (96%), Iraq (95%), Morocco (94%) and the Palestinian territories (89%). Somewhat smaller majorities take this view in Lebanon (66%) and Tunisia (72%).

Muslim culture has its own specialized word for non-Muslims, "kafir." The Quran uses the word to describe early polytheistic antagonists of the Islamic movement and some verses stress the difference between kafir which are hostile to Islam and kafir who are not. Later, the word was used for any non-Muslim and became derisive.

In 2019, Nahdlatul Ulama, a large organization of Indonesian Sunni Muslims, called for their co-religionists worldwide to cease using the word.

“When someone calls you a kafir, that means you’re considered someone who is godless,” said Alex Arifianto, an Indonesian political scientist with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

“Or you’re someone whose religion is considered inferior to the Islamic belief,” he said. “That’s why this is so significant. The largest Muslim organization in the world is saying, ‘Look, we have to treat non-Muslims as equals.’”

So if "goy" simply means "non-Jew" without condemnation or judgment, why are so many Christians and Muslims ready to believe that the word is derisive?

Bluntly, it's because the Christian and Muslim words for those who do not share their faith (Infidel and kafir) are derisive, are judgemental, and are condemning. Cultural Christians and Cultural Muslims assume that these elements of their faith and culture have clear analogs in Jewish thought. Here's the thing: They don't.

You're saying that Jews have never used "goy," "goyim," or "goyishe" derisively?

Absolutely not! I can't and won't pretend that theres no tribalistic bigotry in Jewish history. Jews learned over the last 2000 years to expect better and fairer treatment from other Jews than they'd expect from gentiles, and that shows up in language. "Goy" has unquestionably been used derisively. One of my Yiddish-speaking grandparents said that a "goyishe kop" (gentile head) was someone who didn't think ahead, or who lacked compassion, and that's undoubtedly a derisive use. It's beyond question that "goy" can be used derisively, I'm only arguing that this is the exception, not the rule.

(In the only Jewish nation on earth, the political, social, legal, and religious freedoms of the 20% of Israeli citizens are not Jewish...are identical to the rights of Jewish citizens- because that's a Jewish value.)

As for me, I don't use "goy" in mixed Jewish/gentile company because I live in a very pluralistic society and do not wish to inadvertently give offense, even if that offense is rooted in someone else's misunderstanding of my heritage. That's my choice.

At the same time, I have not with my own ears ever heard a Jew I know use the word derisively.

Your mileage may vary, your practices may vary, your experiences may vary. I have lived my entire life as a 2% minority in a majority Christian country where diasporan Jewish culture evolved to take pains to avoid insulting the majority and that is not a universal Jewish experience.

The hill I'll die on here is that unlike in Christian and Islamic thought, Jews do not regard the people of other faiths as inferior, wrong, broken, or in need of rescue.

Jews do not attempt to convince goyim to become Jews, Jews do not preach to gentiles from Jewish scripture or attempt to force them to pray as Jews pray. Jews do not believe that goyim are cursed, doomed, or unloved by God.

Those are Christian and Muslim takes on Infidels and Kuffaar, not Jewish takes on goyim.

Lastly, please know this: Christianity and Islam both took their basis from Judaism, but discarded many fundamental Jewish values.

The disrespect, condemnation, disparagement and disenfranchisement which Muslim and Christian nations and cultures have inflicted on those they called(/call) Infidels and Kuffaar were not derived from their Jewish origins.

[honesty-my-policy]

I'm not even Jewish...

but coming on social media every single day is life and soul-draining. Why? Because I refuse to quiet or nice about things anymore, especially after not hearing from the friend I made when this all started. It's been over two months since I last heard from her.

I can't imagine actually being Jewish in this world right now, it must be so incredibly scary that even places outside of Israel you are deemed a monster, when you have nothing to do with the decisions Israel makes.

But I'm not going to take a break from social media and I also understand why those of you who are Jewish refuse as well, who else will defend you? Who else will call out the garbage spewed by those claiming they hold no hate in their hearts?

Instead, I'm here to offer a shoulder to lean on and if it comes to it, a place to hide from the mass of hysteria that's taken over the world. My family is one in this decision, we will protect you.

One day, if my family should need the same, I hope you would return the favor. But even if not, that's okay, because to be quite honest, the world has not done enough for the Jews and I wish there was more I could do.

[golem-brigadier]

[rabbiaharon]

”Can a Goy be among the Chasidei Umos Haolam (righteous among the nations) if they believe in one G-d, but have never heard of the Torah.” I’ve been asked this question recently in a few different places, I’d like to iron out my answer in brief. I’ll divide my answer into a section in the theory of the issue, and a section on the practicality of the issue.

In theory, a non-jew is held responsible fully for not keeping the obligations set out for them in the 7 Noahide Laws, regardless of whether or not they’ve had a chance to learn about them. This is outlined in many places in the Talmud, as well as in midrash, such as the section regarding the stones placed by the Jordan River by the Jewish people in their passage, on which the torah was written in 70 languages so that the non-jews could come and learn for themselves, and seek out the correct action. The midrash then comments that the Goyim will come before Hashem when Moshiach comes to judge them, and complain that they weren’t told the proper course of action, and that the answer to them is that the Torah was made public to them, and the responsibility of “not knowing” ultimately falls on them. This theoretical, higher expectation for responsibility comes in stark contrast to the responsibility placed on a Jew who does not know about the 613 commandments we have been charged with, as a Jew who does not know about the 613 is not held responsible. There may be a variety of reasons behind this, I’ll leave that issue for another day.

The practicality of the matter is quite different. The Rambam in Hilchos Malachim (The Laws Concerning Kings) discusses that in order for a non-jew to be considered among the Chasidei Umos Haolam, they must not only keep the 7 laws according to their proper details, but that they must do so because they were (re)received by Moshe at Mount Sinai in order to teach to the nations. Keeping them because they are logical, or because they are forced to keep them by their government (an unusual possibility indeed, as I don’t believe there is any government on Earth who enforces all of the 7 equally and without exception) does not qualify them as “Chasidei Umos Haolam”, and they will still be considered among idolaters in halachos which govern the way we interact with them.

There are other poskim which argue on the Rambam concerning the importance of intent to the classification of non-Jews in their observance of the 7 Laws, all agree that theoretically a non-Jew must keep all the laws, including all of their details (which are far more than 7), in order to be classified as “Righteous Among the Nations”. Ergo, someone who does follow the 7 commandments in all of their details, while they are classified as a noahide (insofar as the technicality of not being responsible for the violation of those commandments), they aren’t classified as “righteous among the nations”.

Nevertheless, many poskim (such as the Chazon Ish in Yoreh Deah) suggest by implication that there may not be a difference - in terms of Hashem’s mercies - between a Jew who was raised with the knowledge of a goy (no knowledge of halacha or torah), and a non-jew who lives in a situation where there is no accessibility or knowledge base for accessing the Torah, conceptually or practically. Hashem ultimately holds someone only responsible if they have the ability to learn, or if they have access to someone who can teach. If a non-jew in a corner of the world separates from and nullifies his idolatry and expresses his belief in the one G-d, they may still be considered a noahide, even if they have no access to a learning base to understand that they have an obligation of the 7 noahide laws. In modern times, there is certainly more access and learning opportunities than any other era, with the advent of the internet. However, as we have seen socially and politically, it can sometimes be extremely difficult to sort through information and disinformation on the internet to come to a single, true set of facts, so the existence of the internet may not, in fact, alter the equation in this situation.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe outlines our responsibility in educating the non-jews of the world in the observance of the 7 Noahide Laws in all of their details, and regardless of how I personally feel in light of the past years’ events, the spreading of knowledge of the 7 laws remains an integral part of preparing the world for Moshiach. Through our hard work in this area, and through Hashem’s great mercies upon those who do not know what to do, we should merit to see the world in it’s ideal state, as the Rambam concludes in the Mishnah Torah: “The world will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem like how the water fills the seas.”

[abislwise]

I've been thinking about this all night, and I've come to a conclusion:

I have not met a single goy in my life that knows the least fucking thing about Judaism.

I'm serious. Even the experts who have put us under microscopes still don't know anything more than a handful of trivia they've been able to memorize. They don't know. And there are so many different books and movies and TED talks and whatever trying to explain, and they literally cannot get it.

The further we get from October 7th, the more I never want to talk to anyone who isn't Jewish ever again.

It may surprise you to learn that I am not interested in goyishe thoughts on this.

[jloisse]

Écoutez Netanyahu s'adresser aux survivants de l'Holocauste :

"S'il est possible d'obtenir l'aide des Goyim, je suis toujours partant.

Goyim est un terme péjoratif qui signifie "non-juif".

[diasporangael]

Eating is racist, white man.

Just die, goy.

[saffity]

Saturday thoughts

I have somehow, through various fandom follows, ended up on the Jewish side of Tumblr.

I am not Jewish, I am… let’s say a follower of the teachings of Jesus, because I don’t really follow any denomination and very much prefer more progressive takes.

The break downs and teachings and explanations that a lot of people are putting on here for free is amazing. It’s making me see where my thoughts and beliefs are not as loving and open as I would wish them to be and that I have a lot of work to do yet.

I also feel like it’s helping me to understand the teachings of Jesus better because you can’t remove Judaism from Jesus without completely corrupting and perverting what he taught.

So thank you to everyone who is putting the time, effort, mental and emotional labour to post these teachings and spread the true understanding of your faith.

I, for one, am really learning a lot.