#judaism and women's history

[lightdancer1]

In dealing with Biblical archetypes of women, it's best to begin as always in the beginning:

In terms of Biblical archetypes, there are many examples to choose from and as always, the beginning is the best place. And that means in this case not Eve, but Lilith. In Genesis, the first chapter says "And Elohim made man in His image and in His likeness, male and female He created Them." And then the second chapter presents the creation of Adam and Eve entirely differently. Traditional Rabbinic scholarship took this to mean that there was not one creation narrative of men and women but two (and in this avoided one of Christianity's many self-inflicted theological problems).

Lilith evolved in this sense as an archetype of all that's evil in traditional Rabbinic concepts, while having parallels in the broader Middle East as a demoness of the dangers of childbirth. This archetype began with her daring to assert equality with Adam, the first man, and Adam going "LOL LMAO fuck off." To the compilers of the Talmud this made Lilith evil and monstrous by default. To modern Jewish feminists it makes her endearing.

Lilith stands as a classic of the reclaimed Biblical 'bad women' reclaimed, if a specific case of one who's directly Jewish, and has no parallel in Christian anything. This is also a good example of how and why the 'bad women' of the Bible can be demonized in two very different contexts in Christianity and Judaism, and sometimes are demonized in one but not the other.

[nesyanast]

On November 23, 1909, more than twenty thousand Jewish Yiddish-speaking immigrants, mostly young women in their teens and early twenties, launched an eleven-week general strike in New York’s shirtwaist industry. Dubbed the Uprising of the 20,000, it was the largest strike by women to date in American history. The young strikers’ courage, tenacity, and solidarity forced the predominantly male leadership in the “needle trades” and the American Federation of Labor to revise their entrenched prejudices against organizing women. The strikers won only a portion of their demands, but the uprising sparked five years of revolt that transformed the garment industry into one of the best-organized trades in the United States.

[thebrightestwitchofherage]

A brief History of Mizrahi Jews in Arabic countries and Their expulsion

A\N: While I am an Ashkenazi Jew, I have done A LOT of research, and have both Iraqi friends and relatives to corroborate this with. Also, I'm petty - an Iraqi user who comments regularly on my posts seems to forget about his own country's Jewish history... Well, I hope he forgot instead of the more likely reality: It seems like Arabic people nowadays aren't aware of Jewish history in their countries since they either killed to expelled them all. Thus is born the constant argument that all Jews originated in Europe and are merely settlers in the Middle East.

I realized that what may be obvious to me won't be obvious to others since I'm a history nerd who grew up in Israel with plenty of rich archeological evidence and resources surrounding me. I'm happy to make these posts in hopes of educating others and contributing my part to ending antisemitism and prejudice. ___________________

You might have seen the following picture in one of my previous posts:

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Unfortunately, in this case, it concludes hundreds of years of discrimination, violence, and exile for Mizrahi Jews. * It is important to note that numbers are slightly varied between sources, but the meaning is clear.

In a nutshell- all throughout history, the fate of Jewish people in countries where they weren't the religious majority was the same:

Discriminatory laws, blood libels, being blamed for disasters > violence & murder > Pogroms * > and eventually- exile or mass murder AKA ethnic cleansing \ genocide.

Pogrom-  the term refers to violent attacks by local non-Jewish populations on Jews in the Russian Empire and in other countries.

Every Jewish community has its own Pogrom. While my side of the family might immediately think of the Kristallnacht or persecution & pogroms in Hungary, it is different for Jews from different backgrounds. You can read about a few cases of forced conversion to Islam here.

A brief History of the land of Israel

The land of Israel has always been considered a strategic passageway, and so many empires throughout history have conquered it:

* I simply cannot accurately write 3000+ years of Jewish history in the land of Israel. I found that this video summarizes it perfectly.

Exile from the land of Israel

Jews were exiled from the land of Israel numerous times since the Assyrian empire conquered Israel in 732 BCE, to what we call "the diaspora" גולה. It was not by choice and we were persecuted everywhere we went.

Jews were not allowed to legally return to Israel until 1948 when the British mandate over the land of Israel ended and Israel was formed. Yes, even during the Holocaust.

The Jewish answer to exile - Aliyah עליה There have been 5 waves of illegal immigration from all over the world to the land of Israel before 1948, recorded in modern times.

Chart taken from Wikipedia (their chart was the best I could find in English)

Forced Conversion

Whether in conquered Israel or in exile, Jews were often forced to convert to either Christianity or Islam. The choice was between conversion or death.

*You can read more about some of the forced conversion of Jews during history here and here.

First Case study- The last jew of Peki'in, Margalit Zinati

Peki'in is an ancient village in the upper Galilee, Northern Israel. Nowadays, its population is mostly Druze.

Peki'in has had a Jewish presence since the Second Temple period, until Arab riots in the 1930s*. Meet the remaining member of the Zinatis, the only family who returned. (aish.com)

*Read more on the Arab riots of the 1930s here and here. Margalit is currently the last Jew living in the village of Peki'in . She is the last direct descendent of the Zinati Cohen family. The Zinati family's origins are dated back to the Second Temple era. The former Jewish community of Peki'in maintained a presence there since the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). That is when the polytheistic Persian Empire conquered the land of Israel. For reference- that was approximately 500 years before Jesus was even born! "During which the Second Temple stood in the city of Jerusalem. It began with the return to Zion and subsequent reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, and ended with the First Jewish–Roman War and the Roman siege of Jerusalem." (Wikipedia)

As an adult, Margalit chose to not marry so she could stay in Peki'in and continue her family's Jewish legacy in Peki'in. She later became in charge of the ancient synagogue in the village and turned her basement into a visiting center \ museum of Jewish history in Peki'in- "House of Zinati". in 2018, she lit up a torch as part of Israel's 70th Independence Day Torch lighting ceremony (which is considered an honor given to influential and trailblazing people).

-Margalit Zinati pictured in the Peki'in Synagogue yard, 2016 Picture taken from Wikipedia, uploaded by Deror Avi.

Second Case study - Iraqi Jews (Babylonian Jews \ יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים)

Iraqi Jews are one of the oldest documented Jewish communities living in the Middle East. It is estimated that they originated around 600 BC.ת

The Farhud الفرهود הפרהוד

Unfortunately, Iraqi Jewish history ended in the same pattern I've described earlier. The Farhud was the violent mass dispossession against the Jewish population of Baghdad, Iraq between 1-2 June 1941. was the pogrom or the "violent dispossession" that was carried out against the Jewish population of Baghdad, Iraq, on 1–2 June 1941, It immediately followed the British victory in the Anglo-Iraqi War.

Background for the Farhud:

WW2- At the time, many Arabic countries in the Middle East agreed with Nazi ideology.

History of violence towards Jews.

The Anglo-Iraqi War (2–31 May 1941) - caused rising tension, and as usual, it was turned on the Jews.

personal family ties to the Farhud My relative was born in 1939 in Iraq, to a big upper-class Jewish family. Unfortunately, the mass exile of Jews in the 1950s didn't skip her family: she was stripped of her belongings and exiled to Israel along with her family. In the 1950s there were approximately 140,000 Iraqi Jews. As of 2021, there are only 4 left.

----------------- Please feel free to add anything I missed in the notes. And as usual - remember I am a human being. If you cuss or harass me, I will block and report you.

______________

Online Sources: * https://www.israelhayom.co.il/article/865383 - Hebrew article, Title means "Sad ending to a magnificent history: Only 4 Jews left in Iraq".

What was the Farhud https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farhud

History of the Jewish community in Baghdad https://cojs.org/the_jewish_community_in_baghdad_in_the_eighteenth_century-_zvi_yehuda-_nehardea-_babylonian_jewry_heritage_center-_2003/

What are Pogroms?https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/pogroms?gclid=Cj0KCQiAkeSsBhDUARIsAK3tiedM7DuwIaSQX-kRxvXTgCDxN6-zqeo_DNNFgyanSYGyGOhwu_0vfrkaAg6REALw_wcB

The last Jew of Peki'in, Margalit Zinati https://aish.com/the-last-jew-of-pekiin/

Arab riots of 1930s- https://www.gov.il/en/Departments/General/ben_zvi_30 https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-1936-arab-riots

Israel's history from ancient times & timeline : https://www.travelingisrael.com/timeline-land-israel/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=iiUIWnU-Ofk

Second Temple era - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Temple_period

Forced conversion of Jews across history- https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt18mvnct.7?seq=4

https://academic.oup.com/book/32113/chapter-abstract/268043723?redirectedFrom=fulltext

[throughtheages]

Jewish (Sephardic) couple from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1910.

The first Jews came to Sarajevo, later called "Little Jerusalem", from the Iberian Peninsula in the early 16th century, bringing with them the Ladino language and Sephardi customs. A prosperous Jewish quarter with a synagogue was erected in 1577 under the pasha Siavush. Known to the Bosnians as tchifut-khan, the Jews themselves called it El Cortijo (the communal yard). Making up more than 20% of Sarajevo' total population, they maintained excellent relations with their Bosnian Christian and Muslim neighbors and held renowned positions as merchants, weavers, tailors, blacksmiths and hatchims (from the Arabic-Turkish Hakīm, "doctor"). With the Holocaust, this rich Jewish life and history tragically came to an end.

[regulusrules]

Yo, I saw your post about orientalism in relation to the "hollywood middle-east" tiktok!

How can a rando and university dropout get into and learn more about? Any literature or other content to recommend?

Hi!! Wow, you have no idea how you just pressed a button. I'll unleash 5+ years on you. And I'll even add for you open-sourced works that you can access as much as I can!

1. Videos

I often find this is the best medium nowadays to learn anything! I'll share with you some of the best that deal with the topic in different frames

• This is a video of Edward Said talking about his book, Orientalism. Said is the Palestinian- American critic who first introduced the term Orientalism, and is the father of postcolonial studies as a critical literary theory. In this book, you’ll find an in-depth analysis of the concept and a deconstruction of western stereotypes. It’s very simple and he explains everything in a very easy manner.

• How Islam Saved Western Civilization. A more than brilliant lecture by Professor Roy Casagranda. This, in my opinion, is one of the best lectures that gives credit to this great civilization, and takes you on a journey to understand where did it all start from.

• What’s better than a well-researched, general overview Crash Course about Islam by John Green? This is not necessarily on orientalism but for people to know more about the fundamental basis of Islam and its pillars. I love the whole playlist that they have done about the religion, so definitely refer to it if you're looking to understand more about the historical background! Also, I can’t possibly mention this Crash Course series without mentioning ... ↓

• The Medieval Islamicate World. Arguably my favourite CC video of all times. Hank Green gives you a great thorough depiction of the Islamic civilization when it rose. He also discusses the scientific and literary advancements that happened in that age, which most people have no clue about! And honestly, just his excitement while explaining the astrolabe. These two truly enlightened so many people with the videos they've made. Thanks, @sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog

2. Documentaries

• This is an AMAZING documentary called Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Villifies A People by the genius American media critic Jack Shaheen. He literally analysed more than 1000 movies and handpicked some to showcase the terribly false stereotypes in western depiction of Arab/Muslim cultures. It's the best way to go into the subject, because you'll find him analysing works you're familiar with like Aladdin and all sorts.

• Spain’s Islamic Legacy. I cannot let this opportunity go to waste since one of my main scopes is studying feminist Andalusian history. There are literal gems to be known about this period of time, when religious coexistence is documented to have actually existed. This documentary offers a needed break from eurocentric perspectives, a great bird-view of the Islamic civilization in Europe and its remaining legacy (that western history tries so hard to erase).

• When the Moors Ruled in Europe. This is one of the richest documentaries that covers most of the veiled history of Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). Bettany Hughes discusses some of the prominent rulers, the brilliance of architecture in the Arab Muslim world, their originality and contributions to poetry and music, their innovative inventions and scientific development, and lastly, La Reconquista; the eventual fall and erasure of this grand civilization by western rulers.

3. Books

• Rethinking Orientalism by Reina Lewis. Lewis brilliantly breaks the prevailing stereotype of the “Harem”, yk, this stupid thought westerns projected about arab women being shut inside one room, not allowed to go anywhere from it, enslaved and without liberty, just left there for the sexual desires of the male figures, subjugated and silenced. It's a great read because it also takes the account of five different women living in the middle east.

• Nocturnal Poetics by Ferial Ghazoul. A great comparative text to understand the influence and outreach of The Thousand and One Nights. She applies a modern critical methodology to explore this classic literary masterpiece.

• The Question of Palestine by Edward Said. Since it's absolutely relevant, this is a great book if you're looking to understand more about the Palestinian situation and a great way to actually see the perspective of Palestinians themselves, not what we think they think.

• Arab-American Women's Writing and Performance by S.S. Sabry. One of my favourite feminist dealings with the idea of the orient and how western depictions demeaned arab women by objectifying them and degrading them to objects of sexual desire, like Scheherazade's characterization: how she was made into a sensual seducer, but not the literate, brilliantly smart woman of wisdom she was in the eastern retellings. The book also discusses the idea of identity and people who live on the hyphen (between two cultures), which is a very crucial aspect to understand arabs who are born/living in western countries.

• The Story of the Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole. This is a great book if you're trying to understand the influence of Islamic culture on Europe. It debunks this idea that Muslims are senseless, barbaric people who needed "civilizing" and instead showcases their brilliant civilization that was much advanced than any of Europe in the time Europe was labelled by the Dark Ages. (btw, did you know that arabic was the language of knowledge at that time? Because anyone who was looking to study advanced sciences, maths, philosophy, astronomy etc, had to know arabic because arabic-speaking countries were the center of knowledge and scientific advancements. Insane, right!)

• Convivencia and Medieval Spain. This is a collection of essays that delve further into the idea of “Convivencia”, which is what we call for religious coexistence. There's one essay in particular that's great called Were Women Part of Convivencia? which debunks all false western stereotypical images of women being less in Islamic belief. It also highlights how arab women have always been extremely cultured and literate. (They practiced medicine, studied their desired subjects, were writers of poetry and prose when women in Europe couldn't even keep their surnames when they married.)

4. Novels / Epistolaries

• Granada by Radwa Ashour. This is one of my favourite novels of all time, because Ashour brilliantly showcases Andalusian history and documents the injustices and massacres that happened to Muslims then. It covers the cultural erasure of Granada, and is also a story of human connection and beautiful family dynamics that utterly touches your soul.

• Dreams of Trespass by Fatema Mernissi. This is wonderful short read written in autobiographical form. It deconstructs the idea of the Harem in a postcolonial feminist lens of the French colonization of Morocco.

• Scheherazade Goes West by Mernissi. Mernissi brilliantly showcases the sexualisation of female figures by western depictions. It's very telling, really, and a very important reference to understand how the west often depicts middle-eastern women by boxing them into either the erotic, sensual beings or the oppressed, black-veiled beings. It helps you understand the actual real image of arab women out there (who are not just muslims btw; christian, jew, atheist, etc women do exist, and they do count).

• Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. This is a feminist travel epistolary of a British woman which covers the misconceptions that western people, (specifically male travelers) had recorded and transmitted about the religion, traditions and treatment of women in Constantinople, Turkey. It is also a very insightful sapphic text that explores her own engagement with women there, which debunks the idea that there are no queer people in the middle east.

---------------------

With all of these, you'll get an insight about the real arab / islamic world. Not the one of fanaticism and barbarity that is often mediated, but the actual one that is based on the fundamental essences of peace, love, and acceptance.

[gliklofhameln]

Elaina Rothman and Miri Lawrence preparing to be ordained at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, St John’s Wood, London • Jewish History Association of South Wales

Miri was a rabbinic student at Leo Baeck College and was ordained in 1992. She gained a Masters in Jewish Studies the same year. Miri was Rabbi at Ealing Liberal Synagogue from 1992-1995 and subsequently part-time/visiting Rabbi for a number of congregations.

Elaina Rothman first served as a student Rabbi for two years at the Cardiff New Synagogue in 1990. She went on to become Minister of the Synagogue, later retiring in 2002. She was a rabbinic student at Leo Baeck College and was ordained in 1992.

[greenflower21]

For women’s history month I’ve decided to draw Jewish women from the Torah.

Here’s Sarah ❤️

I used Golda from Fiddler as a reference. I’ve always imagined her wearing Red. Sarah is a woman who laughs, even at Hashem. So I’ve drawn her smirking just a little bit, with laugh lines around her face. She is married here, which is why her hair is covered, but you can still see a few grey curls, still dark with the remnant of her youth.

[haggishlyhagging]

The religious historian and folklorist Chava Weissler, who has studied the extensive Yiddish devotional literature written for and by women, has uncovered evidence of the hidden voices of women in a variety of expressions. In particular, she found in 17th- and 18th-century collections of tkhines—prayers usually recited by women in the home evidence of efforts at upgrading women's religious significance. In a commandment for women's observance, "taking hallah," separating portions of the bread dough, the prayer compares the acting out of this ritual to the service performed by the high priest which caused sins to be forgiven. The woman prays: ". . . so also may my sins be forgiven with this. May this mizvah [good deed] of the hallah [making of the holiday bread] be accounted as if I had given the tithe." Thus she associates herself with the ancient biblical tradition of tithes and with the high priest. In the tkhine for candle lighting in the same collection the woman prays that her "'mizvah' of the candle lights be accepted like the mizvah of the high priests who kindled the lights in the dear Temple."

In their domestic prayers which flowed from the mundane activities of wives and mothers, Jewish women expressed their connectedness with the sacred and ancient traditions, which many of them came to know only by oral transmission. In a number of the prayers to be recited during the domestic ritual of preparing the candles for Yom Kippur, the women appealed not only to the patriarchs, but also to the matriarchs, Sarah, Rebecca and Rachel. They did so with an important difference: the patriarchs were mentioned formulaically, as passive recipients of God's aid, while the matriarchs were described as acting to save their children and therefore were appealed to as advocates. The prayers affirmed and celebrated the women's power as mothers to save the people of Israel.

-Gerda Lerner, The Creation of Feminist Consciousness

[dragoneyes618]

The orthodox tend to argue that one cannot pray with women at hand because of sexual distraction. The dissenters tend to retort that the orthodox are perpetuating an iniquitous inequality of women. As usual with popuar debating points, these assertions glance around the main issue. I have no doubt that men are able to pray beside their wives in all solemnity, if the religious impulse is on them. I have seen extremely inattentive worship in pews holding only men. The inequality argument will scarcely wash any better. Anybody who has read the Bible knows that the Semitic common law which preceded the Torah held women as chattels, and that Moses gave them in large measure property rights and independence; Talmud law and subsequent common-law decisions brought women to the status of our mothers and grandmothers, practical equality if not dominance.

In the matter of divine worship, Jewish women hold a privileged place that many young seminarists groan for, in the morning at chapel call. They are excused. Our common law frees women from all commands that have to be performed at scheduled times. It doe not ask the mother to put aside her infant and don phylacteries; nor the woman preparing the holy day feast to leave her work, on religious compulsion, and go to the synagogue. If she has a maid, or if, as our mothers did, she can plant a stretch of clear time, she comes to worship. But in a faith which takes devotion so seriously, and which so loads the days and the years with acts of service, the freedom of women from scheduled prayers seems natural. I cannot imagine that new legislation will ever impose the schedules on them.

- This Is My God, Herman Wouk, pages 132-133

[dailyhistoryposts]

On This Day In History

December 27th, 1935: Regina Jonas is ordained as the first female rabbi in the history of Judaism.

[anonymousdandelion]

This week in Cool Facts Dandelion Should Have Known Already: the Vilna Shas (the standard edition of the Talmud and commentaries that is still used today) was compiled and produced under the direction of a valorous woman named Devorah Romm.

[lightdancer1]

Astarte is most famous not by her Canaanite/Punic name but by its Hebrew translation of Asherah

Astarte is perhaps the most famous concept of the Goddess, not least for her translation into Hebrew as 'Asherah.' In that form She is the most reliably demonized Goddess in the Bible. As Asherah she is also mentioned in an inscription from Samaria as the wife of the God of Israel. Astarte, as with all the other forms of Inanna/Ishtar retained Her association with war as well as sex, and in the Biblical narrative, as well as history, was seen by polytheists among Israelites as the wife of the God of Israel.

This unfortunately means that Her associations as a Goddess of Canaan get drowned out in controversy over the historicity or lack thereof of Biblical texts, much like how 3,000 years of Egypt gets boiled down to 'pin the Exodus on the Pharaoh' and 'Cleopatra: Hot or Not?'.

[magnetothemagnificent]

Chana (known elsewhere as Miriam), was first mentioned as nameless mother of seven sons in The Book of Maccabees II, Chapter 7. She and her seven sons were captured by Antiochus. Seeking to make an example of them, he orders her first son to consume pork. When he refuses, he tortures him to death. The woman has to watch each of her sons be tortured and killed before her eyes. When he reached her final and youngest son, he offers to spare him if he would only comply to his demands. The woman urges her son to refuse him, and he does, and her final and youngest son is murdered brutally. Overcome with grief, the commits dies. In Eicha Rabbah 1:50, the woman's sons are instead commanded to bow to an idol instead of eat pork. (Personal note: This version makes more sense. One is not required to die rather than eat pork, it is not something one is required to be martyred for). In this version, the woman is named Miriam. As her seventh and final son is taken away, she instructs him to speak to Avraham in the afterlife, to tell him, "Do not be overly impressed with yourself and say: I built an altar and sacrificed Isaac, my son. My mother built seven altars and sacrificed seven sons on one day. Yours was an ordeal, mine was an action." After her final son is killed, Miriam throws herself off of a roof in grief. In the Book of Josiphon, she is named Chana, in association with the stanza in Chana's prayer in Shmuel I 2:5, reading, "While the barren woman bears seven, The mother of many is forlorn." In modern times, the woman is known best as Chana.

Chana and her sons' martyrdom is recounted on Chanukah. Here in my portrayal of her, I associate her seven sons with the seven flames of the Menorah in the Beit HaMikdash. Chanukah is known in popular culture as a celebration of the "Miracle of the Oil", and while that is a big part of the celebration, Chanukah is also a celebration of a military victory over the colonizing Greeks. Many, many people died in the process. Most of the original Maccabees themselves died by the time the Greeks were fully driven out of Judea, and many more unnamed heroes did too.

The miracle of the seven flames of the Menorah lasting for eight days would not have been possible without the sacrifice of many, including Chana's seven sons.

Remembering the sacrifices of those who came before us and how so many were lost in the fight to make our world a better place is a lesson we can all learn today.

[id in alt text]

[thebrightestwitchofherage]

the way middle eastern ppl have the NERVE to talk shit about israel and zionism as if they're devil incarnate is insane to me. are you really gonna disparage Zionism an ethnonationalist ideology as if your own country wasn't founded by Arab nationalist ideals? As if you didn't expel any Jews you could from your countries? like sure, let's talk about how harmful ethnostates are but israel is the least problematic middle eastern country in that regard

Period!! I agree with every word 🙌🙌

It always seemed so hypocritical to me!

Whenever I get into an argument with a non Israeli Middle Eastern person ,their argument usually is that Israel shouldn’t exist.

I always reply to that with “ok if Israel shouldn’t exist, where are your Jews then? They were in fact either killed or expelled in X and now there are nearly none left in your country“ . It’s not like Jews can exist peacefully in Middle Eastern countries other than Israel…

How can you say Zionism is evil incarnate when you don’t allow Jews to live in your country?

You made Zionism necessary and then proceeded to say it’s evil.

This logic doesn’t allow Jews to exist in the Middle East by any form .

Due to antisemitism and & Islam being the major religion of the Middle East , Middle Eastern have this sense of superiority and entitlement to the region. (Ie people claim Judaism has no place in it).

-You can also argue that since Judaism predates Islam and originated in the Middle East - Jews deserve a place there in it as well.

[jidysz]

Currently reading:

Małgorzata Niezabitowska - "Światłość i mrok" (Light and Darkness)

Love against the rules in a multicultural world. The year is 1939, near Łuck. A wedding in front of the synagogue gathers the entire shtetl. Chana, the bride's sister, and Jan, a friend of the groom, meet for the first time and fall in love as if struck by lightning, causing a scandal when they dance together at the wedding—against the ironclad rules. Everything separates the Hasidic woman and the landowner's son: religion, upbringing, customs, and Talmudic law. Will Chana dare to break these laws, even risking death at the hands of her father? Will Jan, despite all obstacles and the actions of his own family, find a way to unite with his beloved?

[hebrewbyinbal]

Express in Hebrew when things are really bad!

Hebrew speakers and Israelis use this slang expression to say how bad it is.