#post pesach things

[koshercosplay]

me immediately after passover: oh my god I love bread so much I literally have never tasted bread this good in my entire life all bread is god tier like I will never have bread this good ever again

also me, literally every single other day of the year: oh my god I love bread so much I literally have never tasted bread this good in my entire life all bread is god tier like I will never have bread this good ever again

[fromgoy2joy]

99.96 percent of the year when I go to a museum: oh my gosh! Egyptian artefacts . What a complex society. Love their things with cats!

Me in the two week lead up to Pesach, staring daggers at random pharaoh 8,789’s bust, gripping the visitor’s guide in my hand: oh you fuckers.

[unclewaynemunson]

easter and passover coinciding is making me think about interreligious steddie having to juggle holidays: Steve always makes a whole schedule of family visits and all the necessary preparations and Eddie hates that even on their days off they have to get up at 6am for that g’ddamn holiday marathon.

Easter brunch with Dustin’s mom, shul and seder meal with Wayne, church service with Steve’s parents, Pesach celebration at the Byers, egg hunt with the party... It’s all fucking exhausting and they kinda need extra days off to recover from their actual holidays, but neither of them want the other to cut back on their family traditions. And at the end of the day, they love getting to share in one another’s heritage and rituals. But their favorite ritual has got to be their very own “ninth day of Pesach,” when they finally get to sleep in and spend the whole day with just the two of them, doing exactly nothing except stuffing themselves with leftover Passoveaster food while listening to old records in their sweatpants.

[native-n-jewish-thoughts]

Being Jewish: a two person household getting a 5Lb box of matzo crackers and eating them all over the eight day time span of Pesach festival.

[pepprs]

um… bad jew moment 💃🏻

[jjmej]

Pesach is starting soon, and my bottle of oat milk is half full. wish me luck, cuz I AM GOING TO FINISH IT

edit: i failed 😔

[xclowniex]

I feel like people forget context is a thing which is important.

I have been seeing posts saying that zionists don't get to celebrate pesach/passover because zionists bad. These posts are mainly from goy.

Firstly, pesach is literally about jews returning to our homeland after being freed from slavery in Egypt to give the briefest history on the holiday. Whilst it's not a holiday about zionism as zionism is about having a modern day state and it's celebrating our return historically, it still is ignorant as fuck.

Secondly and more importantly; goy, you do realize that you are going "jews i dont like have lost the right to participate in their religion in my eyes".

Like you do realize that someone's political opinions or even their actions do not suddenly remove their religious rights.

You are literally going "I don't like your political view so you deserve less rights"

Pesach is a holiday which all jews have the right to observe.

And that's all jews. Zionist jews, antizionist jews and non zionist jews. All jews are equally valid in their jewness and can celebrate whatever Jewish holidays they want to.

[perimsmouse]

I didn't grow up practicing Judaism. The first time I can remember any Jewish practices was when I was visiting a friend's house on Friday night. 

The first time I celebrated Pesach was a seder held by the campus Hillel. 

For many years, my only practice was going over to a friend's house for Shabbat eventing. 

For a year or two before the COVID pandemic started, my partner and I had been going to a fertility clinic. We're getting older, and it wasn't happening naturally. In late 2020, we became parents for the first time.   

That was a time of reflection for me. During this pandemic shutdown and those first months of motherhood, I thought about what I wanted to pass on: what traditions should I teach?

As much as I try to use reason, I often go on emotion. I went back to something beautiful, lighting the Shabbat candles. I looked up the local synagogues and made plans to go. That was a week or so before Purim. That year, by Pesach, I was learning everything I had never been taught about Judaism.   

One of those things was counting the Omer. What a simple act it was! Forty-nine days of minimal daily practice when I didn't even know how to pray my nightly prayers. I could recite the blessing and count the Omer.   

When you see my posts about the Omer, it's not just pretty. It's not just "whatever Jewish thing is current". It's me remembering my very shallow roots. 

Tonight starts the 4th day of the Omer. Come, be Jewish with me.

[prismatic-bell]

If you have ADHD or any other neurodivergence (including physical brain damage) that causes forgetfulness and disorganized thinking, THIS POST IS FOR YOU. (If this doesn’t describe you, it might still be useful to you, but it’s aimed at my fellow forgetters.)

I cannot urge you enough to try going analog.

Look at this.

Of the six things I needed that aren’t crossed off (the fruit butter was optional and I was only getting it if they had plum): three have to be purchased at an ethnic grocery, two of them this store didn’t carry my brand, and one of them I prefer the onion selection at my regular store (this store had really tiny ones). You’ll notice none of these are “I forgot it.” They’re something I need to go to another store for, and that’s it.

There are four things in this cart that weren’t on my list: kosher chicken broth (which I know I’m out of and is always good to have on hand as a staple), a yahrzeit candle for my grandfather whose yahrzeit is coming up, an extra bag of sugar because I’m about to do my Purim baking, and a bottle of red wine vinegar because I know I’m also out of that and while it’s not technically a staple I do use it A LOT. You can literally look at my cart in this photo and match everything (except the chicken broth and red wine vinegar) to the crossed-off items on the list.

Everything on this list is going into planned meals for which I have the recipes on paper. And the dates they’re needed are written on my very analog calendar, hanging on my cupboard.

Compare this to digital lists, where I tend to forget half of what’s on them and fill my cart with stuff I don’t need, resulting in a ton of snacks and disparate ingredients that don’t actually make anything. During Covid I accidentally hoarded 40 rolls of toilet paper, and if you’re wondering how one accidentally hoards 40 rolls of toilet paper, it’s because every time I went to the store I went “…did I buy toilet paper? Better get one just in case, the shortage is still going.” I DIDN’T NEED TO BUY TOILET PAPER FOR A YEAR AFTER THE VACCINES STARTED ROLLING OUT. I was never sure if I’d bought it or just forgot to put it on the digital list. Analog forces me to stop, slow down, and pay attention instead of typing things in at the speed of light.

There’s actually a scientific explanation for this, and I learned it a long time ago so I’m going to ask forgiveness for being kinda vague on specifics here, but the basic version is that you use different parts of your brain for typing and writing, and the writing part is more closely linked with the memory part, so you’re more likely to remember something you’ve physically written down.

And remember: you don’t have to be ~*~*~aesthetic~*~*~ about this. I bought my grocery pad on Etsy because I’d rather give a small business my money than fluff Walmart, but the only reason the pens are two different colors is because the pen I carry in my purse is black and the ones in my mail caddy aren’t. That’s it, that’s literally the only reason. My calendar is color-coded, but it’s not complicated (red is bills going out, green is money coming in, blue is celebrations and events, brown is my work schedule, gray is non-bill deadlines, and turquoise is anything the roommates are doing that I need to be aware of). And it is making a tangible difference in my life. For the last two and a half months—in other words, since I started doing this—my bills haven’t just been paid on time, they’ve been PREPAID. I have the payment in BEFORE IT’S DUE. I’m more cognizant of what I have, what I need to save, and what I need to spend. This coming month is Pesach and my Pesach cleaning is going on there so I can get it all done correctly and timely. The calendar hangs on my tea cupboard so I have to look at it every day and the grocery list is right next to it.

This may not work for you. But pick one thing—a shopping list is an easy one to start with—and try it, just for a month. You might be stunned by how much it changes for you.

I certainly was.

[starlightomatic]

you may have seen that post going around that's like "if jesus were alive today he would be palestinian and would not be allowed into jerusalem for pesach."

and i get their point but also feel the need to point out:

defining jesus in terms of the current power dynamic in israel/palestine isn't straightforward, because the split between jews and palestinians occurred after his death. it's not that jesus was a palestinian in the modern sense and also happened to be jewish in a modern sense; it's that these weren't distinct groups yet.

if jesus were a random baby born in idk the 90s in bethlehem, he would not be jewish. there are no jews in bethlehem to my knowledge.

if jesus were alive today and jewish, he would be allowed access wherever because the apartheid system privileges jews. he would not be classed as a palestinian. that is sort of, uh, the whole thing. trying to make a point about israeli apartheid without knowing that basic fact is nonsensical.

if jesus were alive today and jewish, he would not need to go to jerusalem for passover, because we no longer have pilgrimages to and sacrifices at the Temple there, because it was destroyed 1,954 years ago. again, a basic fact.

there are palestinians who celebrate pesach: samaritans. they do still maintain the custom of sacrifices at a central location, but not in jerusalem. rather they do it at mount gerizim in the west bank near nablus. if you want to make your palestinian jewish jesus modern au, make him samaritan instead (though you'll need to talk about nablus, not jerusalem)

[keshetchai]

I think the silliest thing about: "how can you do an anti-zionist Seder?? It ends with next year in Jerusalem! What are u gonna say, NEXT YEAR IN BROOKLYN?? /loud scoffing"

— is that it's just obviously the stupidest pile of words strung together. Like gee, idk:

The seder ends with "L'Shana Haba'ah B'Yerushalayim," and the haggadah text is over 1,500 years old. Do you think Zionism is equally as old somehow?

Do you think Zionism owns the Jewish connection to Jerusalem?

Do you think Jerusalem completely stopped existing at any point since the fall of the second temple?

Are you confused about Jerusalem continuing to exist, whether or not you are any flavor of Zionist?

do you genuinely believe that if the government of Medinat Israel was dismantled completely tomorrow, and it was fully a Palestinian state, or it was a new binational state, or even if it was two states, or some other thing — do you believe that Jews would simply stop caring about or visiting Jerusalem?

If you don't think Jews would suddenly break a 1,500+ year old tradition of saying "L'Shana Haba'ah B'Yerushalayim," if the state of Israel stopped existing suddenly, then do you think Palestinians would somehow systematically prevent Israeli Jews from doing so? If you believe that, have you considered why you believe they would be able to go from significant disenfranchisement, oppression, and ethnic cleansing directly to being a police state against Jews overnight? What does that say about you? Why is that your assumption? If you believed this, why would you support it? If you don't, then what is the point you are making here?

Basically if we imagined an anti-zionist, post-zionist, or non-zionist future — what, exactly, would be preventing Jews from still saying "L'Shana Haba'ah B'Yerushalayim,"?

Do....do you think Jews only ever moved to Israel was because of Zionism?

Do you not realize the phrase is also indirectly influencing the idea of returning to Jerusalem for pesach for a rebuilt, third temple? Because there is no temple now. So there is no requirement for people to spend the festival in Jerusalem. Are you confused about the fact that we don't currently complete ANY of the pilgrimage festivals, because it's impossible to do so?

Did you think "L'Shana Haba'ah B'Yerushalayim," was a Zionist statement somehow? Why?

[flagbridge]

“Ne me touchez pas”

Chag Pesach Sameach! Starting next week, During the 40 days of the Omer between Pesach and Shavuot, I’ll be doing 40 days of POTO content. Mostly things that live rent free in my head. It could be gifs of boots, cosplay WIPs or shoots I haven’t posted, fanfic, art, etc.

Today I can’t stop thinking about how Erik has “DONT TOUCH ME” embroidered in gold thread on his Red Death cape.

Your honor, my client is guilty as hell but he looked great doing it.

Follow the POTOMER tag for the content!

[date-a-jew-suggestions]

Missouri was my home, and I can’t go back because I’m trans.

Before the rest, I want to clarify: I do not get my hrt through a Missouri healthcare provider. This will not impact my medical transition, and I am so very lucky to not have to worry about that. Many, many transgender people living in Missouri do not have that luxury. However, I am hurt, and I am scared. I was not intending to move back to Missouri, because I am a lot happier where I am now. However, I’m very scared about the precedent that this sets. Missouri is the first state to pass legislation that restricts access to medical transition not only for minors, but for ADULTS. I would be very surprised if this was where their anti trans legislation stopped. Based on how they seem to be leading the charge against transgender rights in this regard, it seems very likely to me that within the next few years, trans peoples rights to public spaces in Missouri will be legally restricted. If this happens, I will not be able to visit about half of my family members.

The rest of this post is me coming to terms with that.

I flew to my home city, St. Louis Missouri for Pesach recently. I was so excited to spend the holiday with my family. Several members of my family were unable to get off work/school on the actual holiday, so I flew home on Easter weekend and we had our Seder on Easter. This is because in the USA, Easter and Christmas are federal holidays that get automatic off days, unlike Jewish holidays. The Seder happened at my grandma’s house and my entire extended family was invited, as is our family tradition. I had a lovely weekend with my family.

While I was visiting, I stayed in my grandparents house. Growing up I spent nearly every weekend there. My grandparents have always done their best to make me feel at home there. I have countless memories at that house of Shabbat with my grandma, playing games with my cousins and sister, climbing the big tree in the backyard, play dates with friends, doing all sorts of arts and crafts projects with my grandma, teaching myself to use a sewing machine on the living room floor, playing d&d in the basement, and big extended family gatherings for every Pesach, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur every year. It is one of the places that makes me feel the safest out of any place on earth. I would consider it my backup home. And as always, our Passover Seder was amazing.

This trip home coincided with my parents selling the house I lived in until I was 18. This has been in the works for a long time, so it did not come as a surprise to me. Even so, both my grandma and grandpa reassured me repeatedly throughout the weekend that I would always have a home at their house. That I could always come back, to visit or stay as long as I need. That this place would always be my home.

One of the things I did while I was staying there was make sure I had copies of all of the family records that my grandma had saved. Things like family trees, Ellis Island immigration records, death certificates, writings of long deceased relatives. I want to preserve as much of our family history as I can, because too much Jewish history has been destroyed by those who hate us. I already knew that my family has lived in the same city in Missouri practically since they immigrated, I think it’s something like 4 generations. Looking through these documents and reading things the previous generation of my family has written was fascinating and deeply moving to me. It cemented in my mind the fact that my family history is completely intertwined with the St. Louis Jewish community.

And of course, the synagogue I belonged to growing up is in Missouri. Where I spent the high holy days, where I was bat mitzvah’d, where I went to hebrew school every week. My Hebrew school teachers. My rabbis. I’ll be visiting it soon for my cousins Bat Mitzvah, and I’m hoping I might get a chance the day after to sit and talk with my rabbis. I feel like I need to say goodbye to them.

I can’t go back to any of these things. It has taken me a long time to write this post because this is so painful for me. I love my family so very dearly, and I have a big family. My cousins were like extra siblings to me growing up, I’m close with all of my second cousins and their partners and kids, my aunts and uncles, my great aunts and uncles, and my great grandparents when they were alive. I don’t go back to St Louis for the city, I go back for them. My grandparents have lived in St. Louis for their entire lives, and they aren’t going to move. Nor do I want them to have to, they’re so happy there. They have carved out a very comfortable and safe place for their family and friends. It’s just not a place I will be welcomed in for much longer, and that is out of our control. They will travel to visit me once in a while, but I know that me not being able to visit Missouri would drastically cut down on the time I can spend with them. And realistically, they are getting old. I don’t know how much longer cross country travel will be safe and feasible for them.

My family took a long time to get on board with my transition, largely because they were lied to by politicians and mental health “professionals” who were unqualified to treat transgender patients. I don’t want to spend too much time talking about that. To me what matters is that they unconditionally support me as a trans man now, and even though they were misinformed and said and did things that hurt me, they have always loved me. And they have made an incredible and effective effort to not only apologize for the harm they caused, but to change the way they treated me in order to express that love. My grandpa, previously the most old fashioned, socially conservative, and transphobic member of my family, will now call me to say things like “the other day this meshuggenah tried to tell me trans people are dangerous, I told him my grandson is transgender and to shut the fuck up. You shoulda seen the look on his face.” My grandma and mom both flew across the country with me to help me prepare for and recover from my top surgery. I could not have asked for better people to care for me post op.

Despite how supportive they are now, it’s only fairly recently that I’ve repaired my relationship with my family enough to enjoy spending long periods of time with them. It is still hard for me to talk to certain family members because I am trans. But the last few trips home have been the first times in a long time I have had a wonderful time with my family, which is something I missed and needed for so long.

I think that is going to be taken away again very soon. And it’s being pushed by the very same people who lied to my family and drove a wedge between us in the first place. This time it is out of our control.

To say I’m heartbroken would be an understatement. It’s hard for me to even conceptualize the concept that my ability to see my family is being slowly taken from me by the Christian zealots in our government. It feels like just now that I’ve been fully accepted and embraced, I’m being forced out again. And once again, it is under the guise of protecting people like me. They expect me to believe that this is for my own good. That all of the bullying and abuse and dysphoria I was forced to endure for my entire childhood was for my own good, because g-d forbid I be transgender and happy.

I had to move across the country to escape unsafe living conditions caused by white Anglo Saxon Christians, and now I’m uncertain of my ability to visit the family members I left behind. Ironically, this is a very Jewish experience. I imagine this is a much smaller version of the pain my ancestors felt when they immigrated to America and left their family behind in Russia and Poland. In a way, this experience connects me to my Jewish heritage in a profoundly painful way.

This was a long and rambly post. I’m just hurting a lot right now, and I needed to talk. Thank you to anyone who read this far.

[thebrightestwitchofherage]

Things to notice at your campus' pro-Palestine protest

A\N: I'll try to keep this concise as people here ignore long posts, and I've talked about most of these issues in the past.People here will believe the most outlandish claims about Jews, especially if they're Israelis. -Protect your Jewish friends. -Stop spreading blood libels and non credible images about this war. please check your sources.

Antisemitic rhetoric, blood libels and misinformation

I'm a secular Jew, but the amount of misinformation and antisemitism in those protests is just exhausting. At this point, people will believe anything about Jews Zionists.

2. Nazi- like rhetoric is making it's return Just replace the word "Zionist" with "Jew", and you'll get Nazi propaganda.. Examples: Pro- Palestine doing sieg heils in protets, describing Zionists as animals (pigs, rats, insects..), "Zionists control everything\the banks\the news", Zionists have "tentacles"...

STOP CALLING JEWS NAZIS! What is wrong with you people?? 3. Revisionism- rewriting history to fit the Anti-Zionist narrative. Check what is being said, in a neutral source as people are apparently now editing Wikipedia articles about Jewish holidays and history. PLEASE- stop trying to correct us and teach us about our own history, you're wrong 99% of the time.We're constantly being accused of revisionism, while the opposite is true...We're constantly asked to cite our sources and show "proof", while the source is simply our personal experience, our family's history.

4.Double Standarts I'll start with the best example: It's not a war- it's a genocide. I get it , I don't like war either and I am literally living through this one.

Again- I'm not denying the deaths and definitely not supporting them. However, it is important to note that the numbers and stories are often exaggerated (either by heat of the moment or knowingly ). 5. Using Jewish culture against us

Many protest try to incorporate Jewish elements, and even "celebrate" Pesach (in some cases, they did this a week late lol)... However, all of this is simply Dog- whistling and a try to use our culture against us.

You can't do this and then harass Jews on campus, target Jewish events or prevent access from them. You're pro-Jewish when it's comfortable for you: You can not wish us a happy holiday or try to be inclusive, and then chant "from the river to sea" or spread misinformation...

Anti zionists are treating this like a trend: Just like the war in Ukraine and treatment of women in Iran. Only in this case, the sentiments quickly turned into Antisemitism in the guise of Anti Zionism.

Supporting Palestinian businesses, trying traditional food and apparel is all great- just don't erase or mock Jewish Culture while you're at it.

6. Look out for problematic Sources and stop telling Jews to "educate ourselves"

-Suddenly Western media (which is heavily biased against Israel and is inaccurate) isn't trustworthy. Do you want them to just call us all killers? is that it?

Ironically , when actual Israelis (like myself) tell you about our actual experiences and link credible sources, it's dismissed as propaganda.

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

Since my previous post didn't turn up anything comprehensive like I was hoping for, I'm just going to do an informal writeup of advice on how to approach traditional Jewish observance with limited funds. I am not a rabbi or formal educator or anything official, nor is this in any way exhaustive. This is just based on my experiences as a 30ish year old adult who converted Conservative with no prior familial connections to Judaism and did so on a limited budget. I strive for traditional observance and would describe my practice as leaning more traditional egalitarian or Conservadox rather than what is most common for typical Conservative Jews in the US.

Okay? Okay.

Taking up traditional observance on a limited budget

So you're looking into traditional Jewish observance for the first time, either as a reclaimant, baal teshuva, or convert. One of the the first things you probably realized is that this lifestyle - especially the initial startup costs - is expensive. If, like me, you started reeling from the sticker shock but don't want to let that dissuade you out of stubbornness, commitment to Torah, or both, you're probably wondering where to go from here. Here is a list of things that you will need or want for an observant lifestyle that could cost money (some of this may be different based on your community and/or gender):

Ritual use (and practical use) items:

Mezuzot with a kosher klaf inside for each halachic doorway

Shabbat candles and candlesticks

Kiddush cup

Havdalah set

Challah cover

Tzedekah box

Tallit

Tefillin

Handwashing cup (and basin)

Tzniut clothing (this may be incredibly community specific) that is also practical

Tallit katan

A legitimate and covering rain coat

Walking shoes that you're not embarrassed to wear at shul (no really)

Kippot (and any other relevant head coverings, depending on your community)

**Replacing any kitchen utensils, appliances, and dishes that cannot be kashered if you're starting from scratch in keeping kosher, possibly ×2 or even ×3 depending on whether you intend to have a dual kitchen (or a meat, dairy, and pareve set of kitchen items)

Sukkah/building materials and decorations

Lulav & Etrog (these are plants; they are for ritual use but you will need to buy them each year obviously)

Menorah & Chanukah candles

Pesach dishes and kitchen utensils (noted separately because not everything is likely to be able to be kashered over for Pesach from year round) and any additional cleaning and covering items (so much tin foil lol)

Seforim (religious books)

Siddur

Bentcher(s)

Chumash

Tanakh

Practical halacha/practice guides and other basic reference books

Ongoing expenses:

Tzedekah (including special holiday giving such as mishloach manot and extra tzedekah for Purim or maot chitim for Pesach)

Shul membership fees

Kosher food is often more specialized and therefore more expensive, especially Pesach food

Wine or grape juice for Shabbat

Extra food if you're hosting people for Shabbat or potentially to bring to your host's home if you are invited over frequently

Specialized food for holidays (e.g., special fruit on Rosh Hashana, blintzes on Shavuot, brisket or matzah ball soup on Pesach, etc.)

Mikvah costs if you are married, menstruate (or have a spouse who does) and are shomer taharat mishpachat and/or if your community has a tradition of men using the mikvah before, e.g. Shabbat and holidays. Even if you don't need the mikvah for personal reasons, you will still need to pay a fee to immerse for conversion (if relevant) and to toivel any new kitchen items. You will also need bedika cloths for taharat mishpachat.

Housing in an area that allows you to walk to your shul, ideally within an eruv

Day school/Hebrew school if you have kids, and summer camp during the summers

Fees for certain classes and events; especially if you are a convert, you will likely need to pay for an Intro to Judaism course through your shul or at another local shul.

Other things that are extremely helpful, make observant life much easier and more pleasant, may help you fit into your community better, and/or enable more advanced participation, or are just nice to have:

Timers for electronics on Shabbat and Yom Tovim

Light switch covers for Shabbat

Hot water carafe for Shabbat/Yom Tovim

Plata or other type of warmer for Shabbat lunch and/or seudah shlishit

Specific laundry dealibobs (idk what they're actually called) for keeping your tzitzit in good condition

Shabbosdik watch

Shabbos key (especially if you live outside the eruv, but it's good to have for if the eruv goes down anyways)

Light box and/or thrip cloth for bug-checking produce

Bedikat chametz set

Purim costumes

If, like me, you owned exactly zero white clothes before now, you may want to invest in a white outfit for Yom Kippur &/or a kittel

Shofar (if you plan on contributing to your shul that way)

Etrog container and lulav transport bag

Machzor

Haggadot

Aramaic dictionaries for Talmud study

(Depending on the community) some amount of the Talmud

Commentaries

Tikkun

Talpiot

An extra bookshelf for all your Jewish books (not a joke)

Hebrew language classes and learning materials (which are extremely helpful in getting you integrated and up to speed)

This list doesn't even touch on things you might just want, like attractive judaica (hiddur mitzvah), jewelry, Jewish art and decor, etc.

(I also didn't touch on things that are part of major simchas such as bnei mitzvot or weddings, or travel to Israel, or studying in seminary, or other significant but highly specific expenditures that are unfortunately outside the scope of this one layperson's tumblr post)

Oy, that's a lot! This list (with a few exceptions) was generated by me going through everything I've had to invest in over time and ongoing expenses (or that I've had to find a workaround for), or things that are on my list for later when I have the funds.

I'm sure there's plenty I forgot. Where to even start?

Well, the first thing to note is that what I have took seven and a half years (and counting) to obtain, so don't expect to compile this all at once, and don't worry that you'll have to have all that money/resources marshaled up front. It will take time, and that's okay!

The other good news is that while some of this is nice to have, there's a lot that is not immediately (or ever) necessary for most/all folks to personally own, even if it is common for observant folks to own them.

A reality: Sometimes you're going to feel poor, and there will likely be a lot of people in your community who just, won't get it. Sometimes those people are in leadership. Yes this sucks and is sometimes really painful.

A counterbalance to that reality: A lot of people and communities are extremely generous and kind, even if they don't quite get it. Tzedekah is a huge mitzvah, and it is an added bonus for a lot of folks if that tzedakah goes toward enabling another Jew to observe more mitzvot. Hosting is also a major mitzvah. By accepting other people's help and being a guest at their Shabbos table, you are actually doing them a favor by giving them an opportunity to give tzedakah and host. Drill that into your head now, and early; don't be ashamed to ask for and receive help.

Now that I've laid all that out, some general advice. I will follow up later with specifics for each item from the above lists to the best of my ability in a later post.

Skip the judaica store for anything you can get at a thrift store. Candlesticks? Goodwill. B'samim jar? Find a cute container and throw some spices in there. Kiddush cup? Get a cute cup or wine glass at Target.

Start small, and take on one mitzvah at a time. It can be frustrating to have to wait, but it will help you pace yourself in reshaping your lifestyle, which is actually a very good thing. Also, before you take up a particular new mitzvah, learn deeply about it first so that you understand what is actually required, and what is customary (minhag) or stringency (chumra). You may not need the specialty pre-approved [read: more expensive] version of the thing if you know enough of what you're doing.

See if your shul, another nearby shul, or JCC ever has a community rummage sale. If so, check that out for secondhand menorahs, tallitot, siddurim, etc. (If not, consider suggesting that they do to leadership that organizes events or offer to organize it yourself if you're on that committee.) Also check out thrift stores and secondhand bookstores in particularly Jewish areas.

Talk to your rabbi about your needs. Your rabbi may have good suggestions that are specific to your area/community, may have discretionary funds to help, or may know folks who would be willing to pass on extra judaica they don't need.

Your shul may also have items you can borrow. I was able to, for example, borrow a machzor for the high holidays, and borrow a set of tefillin for nearly two years while I saved up for my own set. (And even then, the rabbi helped cover half of the cost from discretionary funds when I did purchase my own set, and was happy to do so.)

Honestly, just borrow whatever books you can until you can get your own. You can do this from your shul, your shul's library if they have one, or even the public library for reference books and certain commentaries. I would buy them in the following order: the siddur your shul uses, a chumash, a Tanakh, and then whatever else you're interested in. Sefaria.org is an incredible free online resource, but you'll want these for Shabbat and Yom Tovim sooner rather than later.

Talk to your rabbi or shul leadership about reduced membership fees, or join a shul that has a pay-what-you-can fee structure.

Look for classes that are free, have a sliding scale fee structure, or scholarships. If you're dead-set on a particular class and it doesn't advertise reduced fees or scholarships based on need, reach out to the organizers and ask. They might not have advertised it, but would be able to ask if someone would sponsor a student or give you ideas of other funds you could apply for.

Keep a wish list updated, and if friends or family are buying you birthday or holiday gifts, ask for important (and specific) items. I recommend an online registry so that you get the specific thing you need/want.

For specialty kosher food, see if your area has a kosher co-op so you can buy for bulk prices. (This is especially helpful for Pesach.)

These are general suggestions, but there's a lot more. Stay tuned!

[redditantisemitism]

Here’s an interesting one-is this antisemitism? I think so. Let’s discuss:

First, the context. This comment was left on a post containing this meme, poking fun at the messianic “Jews” (they aren’t Jewish) and antisemitic Christians that appropriate Pesach.

Now. This person does make a few correct statements, and I’ll give them credit. They’re right that a lot of Christians and Christianity are antisemitic. But with that out of the way, let’s look at the myriad of ways they’re so very wrong:

I'm not going to pretend to know a lot about Passover

User admits that they are not qualified to be making judgements. As a Christian it isn't their place to tone police Jews anyways, but especially since they admit that they have no idea what they're talking about.

I would refrain from throwing all Christians under the bus

I'm sure they would. That isn't what is happening though, and framing it like this highlights their defensiveness- they aren't trying to have a productive conversation, they just don't like seeing Christianity being portrayed this way. Playing the victim, and not for the last time.

The Catholic church has largely been the main culprit here

Interestingly, there is a Catholic elsewhere in the thread blaming the Protestants. Typical Protestant vs. Catholic stuff, and this user is using it to attempt to distance themself from the "bad" Christians. Also, in my experience, almost every Christian "seder" I've seen or heard of has been held by a Protestant sect of some sort.

it's important to know that all the while the persecution was happening to jews by christians, there have been other christians speaking out against it.

More of the same, see above. "not all Christians!"

Please don't forget about the Christians who are willing to lay down their lives for the Jewish people.

Here's where the fetishization starts. Also, literally nobody asked you to do that, don't use us to feed your martyr complex. Also also, where exactly are these Christians, because they've been doing a shitty job.

Christians like myself are perfectly capable of seeing Yeshua in the Passover without changing it, or preaching to you up and down about it.

And this is where the explicit antisemitism starts, as opposed to the red flags we've been seeing. This person, based on their language, seems to be some sort of "Torah believing Christian"- something inherently appropriative and antisemitic.

Furthermore, YOU SHOULD NOT BE SEEING JESUS IN PASSOVER. That is, at best, idiotic, and at worst, actively antisemitic. It's certainly supercessionist. JEWISH TEXTS DO NOT PROPHESIZE JESUS. Christians should not be touching Pesach uninvited in ANY way, regardless of if they change things or not.

Yeshua didn't change it and neither should we

This person demonstrates an astounding level of ignorance. Any modern Seder would HAVE to be different than any Seder Jesus might have held (assuming he even existed), because it is impossible to do it like him. There is no temple to offer animal sacrifices at, like there would have been at the time. Regardless, not only should Christians not be changing seders, they shouldn't be touching it.

They then rant for a while about how Easter is bad. Which. My dude. That's your holiday. Go fuck around with that and leave Jews alone.

Please have patience and a soft heart for Christians who believe that:

More "not all Christians", this time with an added level of playing the victim. Hard pass.

-Jews don't need to be converted

Even stopped clocks are right twice a day.

-Christians have the holidays and events wrong

Uh? No? Is this some weird Christian intracommunity thing? Your holidays are your holidays, leave ours alone.

-the dietary laws were upheld by yeshua

Regardless of if this is true or not, Jesus was Jewish. This poster isn't. Kosher is for Jews. Christians aren't entitled to Jewish practice just because they worship a Jew.

-all of the torah was upheld by yeshua

see previous bullet point.

-the Jews are the chosen people of God

Typical Christian misunderstanding of "Chosen". "Chosen" to uphold the mitzvot, not to be better, or put on a pedestal. This is another example of how they fetishize Jews, and it does not get better.

-the Jews come first

See previous bullet point. Fetishization like this is disgusting and harmful. It removes humanity and personhood from Jews, instead presenting us as some mystical object of worship that we never claimed to be and can never live up to. We are not a zoo exhibit, we are a vibrant and living culture.

-salvation is of the Jews

See previous bullet point. We are people, not a tool for your salvation.

-the Jews have been entrusted with the words of Yah*weh

See previous bullet point. Also super disrespectful to just throw that name around in Jewish spaces, but I don't know what I expected from an antisemitic, philosemitic Jew fetishist.

-we should be suffering with the Jews, not against them

WE ARE NOT FUEL FOR YOUR MARTYR COMPLEX. Plenty of Jewish suffering would be alleviated if Christians like this person would just leave us alone. But they don't actually want Jewish suffering to stop, because then they'd lose a tool and a way to play victim.

they end with a plea not to lump all Christians together with the "bad" ones- something literally nobody was doing. Once again, it's a lot of "Not all Christians!!!" and their own self-victimhood. They say not all Christians are "like that", which is true. But this one certainly is.

Chag Pesach sameach everybody, and stay off the fuss bus.