#that she just. Asked for the talmud

[mos6502]

sister's friend (not jewish) came over last night and i hung with her and my sister for a few hours before deciding to go back to my area and go back to reading as i was earlier, and my sister's friend asked me what i was reading, so i told her i was reading some books that go over the talmud. she asked what that was and i told her it was a very important and very large jewish text documenting the commentating and arguing and etc of a bunch of ancient rabbis, and after clarifying that you can in fact just find and read the talmud, she was like "can you send it to me" so now my google drive storage went from 80-something% full to 90% full because my talmud download was too big to send in an email normally

[mariacallous]

For the first time since World War II, one of Prague’s most historic synagogues has held a Jewish worship service.

Kol Nidre, the introductory service of Yom Kippur, took place in the Klausen Synagogue on Friday night, ending a hiatus that lasted more than 80 years and encompassed both the murder and suppression of Czech Jewry.

Originally erected in 1573 and rebuilt after a fire in 1694, the Klausen Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Prague’s Jewish Quarter and once served as a central hub of Jewish life. It’s known as the home of several prominent rabbis and thinkers, from Judah Loew — a 16th-century Talmudic scholar also known as the Maharal of Prague — to Baruch Jeitteles, a scholar associated with the Jewish Enlightenment movement of the 18th and 19th centuries.

But for more than 80 years after the Holocaust decimated Czech Jews, the Klausen Synagogue held no services.

That was until Friday evening, when about 200 people poured in for a service led by Rabbi David Maxa, who represents Czechia’s community of Progressive or Reform Jews. That community was joined by guests and Jewish tourists from around the world for Yom Kippur, according to Maxa. He saw the moment as a sign of Jewish life resurging in Prague.

“It’s quite remarkable that there is a Yom Kippur service in five historic synagogues in Prague,” Maxa told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Under German occupation in World War II, the Klausen Synagogue was used as a storage facility. Although the Nazis and their collaborators killed about 263,000 Jews who lived in the former Czechoslovak Republic, they took an interest in collecting Jewish art and artifacts that they deemed valuable enough to preserve. The Jewish Museum in Prague was allowed to continue storing those objects, and the synagogue became part of the museum’s depository.

After the war, there were not enough survivors to refill services in the synagogues of Prague. The country became a Soviet satellite in 1948, starting a long era in which Jews were often persecuted and surveilled for following any religious practices. The last Soviet census of 1989 registered only 2,700 Jews living in Czech lands.

“During Communist times, it was very difficult to relate to Jewish identity,” said Maxa. “People who visited any kind of synagogue were followed by the secret police, and only after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 did it become possible for people to visit synagogues without the feeling of being followed and put on a list.”

After the end of communism, some synagogues returned to use by the few Jews who still identified as such. Two of the six synagogues that still stand in the Jewish Quarter now are in regular use as houses of worship.

But the Klausen Synagogue, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1982, remained part of the Jewish Museum, hosting exhibitions about Jewish festivals, early Hebrew manuscripts and Jewish customs and traditions.

Museum director Pavla Niklová said returning the synagogue to use for Yom Kippur happened almost by accident. Maxa was asking if she knew about a space large enough to host his growing congregation, Ec Chajim, for the holiest day in the Jewish calendar — its own space, which opened four years ago about a 20-minute walk away, could not accommodate the crowds expected for Yom Kippur.

Since the museum had just taken down its exhibition in the Klausen Synagogue after 28 years, she had an answer. The clean, empty space was ready to be refilled with Jewish life.

Visiting the synagogue just before Yom Kippur, Niklová said she was awed to see the building returned to its original purpose. She hopes that it will continue to be used for large services.

“I felt like the synagogue started breathing again,” she told JTA. “I believe it was a good move to take down the old exhibit, and now we can start anew.”

For many in Prague’s Jewish community, which is largely secular, Yom Kippur is the single most important service of the year. Even Jewish families that suppressed religious practices under Communism often passed on the memory of Yom Kippur, said Maxa.

Maxa founded Prague’s Progressive Jewish community in 2019, responding to a growing number of people who sought to explore their Jewish roots. The community currently has 200 members and adds about five more every month.

“Often, I meet people who simply want to learn about the culture, tradition and religion of their grandparents,” said Maxa. “They say, my grandmother and grandfather were Shoah survivors — can I come and learn more about Judaism? We offer a wide range of activities, including of course regular services, but also educational courses to help these people reconnect with the tradition.”

Maxa, who himself grew up in Prague with little connection to his Jewish roots, wants to revive some of the rituals that threaded through Prague’s pre-war Jewish world — including a tradition of organ accompaniment in the city’s synagogues. On Friday, Jewish organist Ralph Selig performed during his service.

Like many of his congregants, Maxa’s family history intertwines with the losses of the last century. His father came from Prague and survived the Holocaust. He does not know if his father visited the Klausen Synagogue, but he knows it was a familiar part of his world.

“It means a lot for me that the tradition was not exterminated, and that this is coming back, even to a place where no services were held since World War II,” he said.

[germiyahu]

Actually don't listen to me. I'm an impulse buyer with credit cards. You want a nice looking pitcher and basin to perform the hand washing mitzvot? That's an excellent opportunity to go thrifting! You might even find Judaica there, like a Chanukkiyya perhaps?

You don't want to wait 8 years for Shabbat candles to arrive from Israel? Ask your rabbi! When I asked her if you can reuse a Havdalah candle, she sensed I was worried about the cost of buying all these candles and said her shul has tons of extras.

You absolutely do need a Chumash, a Tanakh, and probably a study Bible too... but Sefaria has all that and more! Especially the Talmud and other Rabbinic sources! It literally blows my mind that this site exists and is free.

But what about all the books on Jewish history and philosophy? What about textbooks for Modern and Biblical Hebrew? See if there are scanned versions online, or go to your local library. Invest in notecards, you're going to want to write down prayers and such, this will especially help if you don't own the books you're studying from.

It's a good idea to have a Siddur, but your shul will most definitely have their own, and as others have told me, you can ask your Rabbi if you can borrow one to take home (make sure to treat it with reverence).

If you want to start baking Challah and are living on your own, or maybe in a dorm room, see if there are community cooking spaces so you don't have to buy your own materials, or just ask your parents if they can gift you some kitchenware because "You want to get into baking."

You literally don't need anything other than a cup that you think is pretty and has meaning to you for the Kiddush. And don't splurge, I've seen hundreds of very attractive Kiddush sets and candle holders and all that for modest prices.

And take it slowly! Don't buy everything at once. We're nowhere near close to Chanukka right now, so don't even put that in your mind. If you want to acquire holiday items, focus on Pesach and worry about other festivals in their due time, let your wallet recover a little. This also goes for Shabbat! You don't need a pristine set of everything all at once, I'm just an idiot. You can slowly build up your perfect beautiful intricate table as the months go by.

[anniflamma]

This isn't a question, but rather a love letter to your art<3.

Thanks to you, I've started enjoying Greek mythology and the Bible again (I mean from a point of artistic, mythological, historical, and theological analysis; my status with any kind of religion is being agnostic XD).

And I already enjoyed Epic the Musical, but I really love the designs you make, how you empathize with the symbolism and lore of the Gods when designing them, and how you make Odysseus so human with his crude expressions that makes me empathize with him (And he's one of the characters I hated the most from Greek mythology lol)

And then there’s your art about the bible, I have to admit that I tend to avoid the biblical religion because of the weight it still has on our daily lives, the damage it has done from the past to this day, and how they deny it with current hypocrisy (I live in Spain, there the official religion is catholic), but your lgbt drawings have really encouraged me to open the bible and see it from an objective and neutral point of view, and just enjoy it as another book and not as something I’m forced to follow.

Also I didn’t know there was so much LGBT content in the bible XD Seriously, thank you so much, if you had a patreon, I would pay you for the amount of happiness and culture you have given me (^///^)

By the way, reading your posts I found out that you recently experienced an internet drama that has become so popular lately. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry that both you and that poor artist had to go through this, that human hypocrisy has no limits or shame, and that I agree with everything you say. Just because we like a character or an author doesn't mean we agree with their crimes or ideologies.

I hope you have a nice day<3

Hi! I’m sorry it took me a while to respond! I mean it, I’ve read this over and over, and it makes me so happy. I’ve been thinking about how to respond, but sometimes it's hard to get it out into words.

It makes me so happy that my biggest interests make others interested in it too. Heck, when people ask questions, I get all giddy!

Talking about biblical/christian saints, greek myths, history, different cultural views and changes was kind of the whole point of why I started this tumblr blog. I have so many drafts filled with random info about LGBTQ+ saints..... Now… I post mostly thirsty drawings of greek gods with hairy chests... T.T

And I sympathize a lot when it comes to religious trauma. I consider myself lucky in these matters, my mom is Catholic, and she has her views that I don’t agree with and hurtful. Yet she still supports me in her way and watching my bible retelling animatics, everytime I post a new bible animatic, she writes me: "What have you done to Daniel..."

I also have my hurts and anger towards hypocrisies too, and I guess this is my way of countering that?

LGBT content in the Bible is something that really fascinates me. I think it's important to keep in mind that people from about 2,500 years ago had very different views when it came to gender and sex compared to how we see it today. In a way, the Bible does have strict social gender expectations, and if you didn’t fit in, then you weren’t considered part of that gender. But at the same time, it acknowledges that your sex. I think it’s in the Talmud were it discusses the fact that, throughout the Bible, there were about eight genders:

Zachar: male.

Nekevah: female.

Androgynos: having both male and female characteristics.

Tumtum: lacking sexual characteristics.

Aylonit hamah: identified as female at birth but later naturally developed male characteristics.

Aylonit adam: identified as female at birth but later developed male characteristics through human intervention.

Saris hamah: identified as male at birth but later naturally developed female characteristics.

Saris adam: identified as male at birth but later developed female characteristics through human intervention.

Some scholars even believe that Abraham and Sarah were Tumtum. A Tumtum is not considered to be very distinct but rather flexible between male and female sex/gender—"sometimes he is a man, and sometimes he is a woman." The simple fact that God said Abraham had a womb and from it, he would have children. Some say that this is why he is a Tumtum, while some historical linguists argue that ancient Hebrew didn’t have the vocabulary for male genitalia yet. Both arguments are valid, and I like them both!

There’s tons of stuff I could bring up—Joseph with his princess dress, Naomi and Ruth, David and Jonathan, and the discussions around whether Daniel was a Saris Hamah or a Saris Adam. We know he was called a saris, but we’re just not sure which. And then there's Jael, whose story is filled with a lot of phallic symbolism, and even her name is very gender-neutral.

I think I’m going to end here. I could yap about these things forever! But thank you again taking your time writing to me and I hope you also have a nice day! <3

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Jack Elbaum

Political commentator Candace Owens said on her YouTube show on Tuesday that the Star of David originated from an evil pagan deity and has only become associated with Judaism within the past few hundred years, continuing the prominent provocateur and media personality’s recent focus on Jews and conspiracy theories associated with them.

“Do you know the history of the Star of David?” she asked on her show. “I thought that that was associated traditionally, somehow, with Judaism.”

The right-wing firebrand went on to argue that, in truth, the Star of David only became associated with Judaism when European Jews decided to adopt it as a symbol comparable to the cross a few hundred years ago. Then, when the Zionist movement adopted it in the late 1800s, that is when it became the symbol people think about today, she claimed.

However, many Jewish ancient artifacts have been found to have the Star of David on them. There were also other cultures, including pagan ones, that used the symbol. Additionally, the term “Magen David” — the “shield of David” — is referred to in the Talmud, although not specifically as the six-pointed star symbol.

Owens said that the true origin of what is today called the Star of David was actually the Star of Remphan, a pagan god worshiped by the Canaanites and who was regularly offered child sacrifices. As proof, Owens showed a picture from the internet that claimed to depict the Star of Remphan as a six-pointed star. However, there is no agreed-upon idea of what the Star of Remphan is actually supposed to be.

She went on to link these stars with demons and sorcery.

It appears Owens gathered much of the information to make her argument from Wikipedia. “If it’s on Wikipedia … that just must mean that it’s such an irreversible fact,” she said.

[seldarinesorcerer]

Ipcha Mistabra

In the Talmud, in Tractate Bava Metzia, Abaye and R. Pappa, two 4th century Babylonian rabbis, got into an argument. And like many arguments in the Talmud, what they disagreed about was which of two earlier authorities held differing opinions on a matter of Jewish law. You could see it either one of two ways – say you have an argument with your brother, for example, about a disagreement that went on years ago between your great aunt and your great uncle. You say it was your great-uncle that loved the Red Sox and your great-aunt who loved the Yankees, but your brother says it was the other way around (she loved the Red Sox) – and then he throws in the fact that Ted Williams was a better baseball player than Joe DiMaggio, now you have a full-blown rabbinic kerfuffle.

Getting back to the case of Abaye and R. Pappa, they were attempting to establish the basis for determining a fair market price for olive oil, which was a precious commodity in the ancient near east. It turns out that olive oil was sold filtered, no sediments were supposed to be in it; and the authorities carefully watched the seller’s and the purchaser’s assumptions about how much of this excess material got through the process anyway, got mixed in, and they’d establish the price based on their divergent assumptions. 

So after Abaye lays out his reasoning, lines up which side took which role in the argument, R. Pappa turns around and says “You’ve got it totally backwards - how they argued it out,” and he offers an 180-degree differing explanation about who (more than a century earlier) took which position and what was motivating them.

"Ipcha Mistabra" – the Talmud says. It’s Aramaic for “Things can be understood the other way around.” It’s the Talmud’s way of saying, hey, you might think that, here, this is the logic behind a certain dispute, but guess what! I’m going to illustrate an opposing, maybe counterintuitive, way of looking at the disagreement. You can see it from a different angle entirely.

Ipcha Mistabra

An editorial writer in Haaretz on August 1st this past summer (Haaretz being a totally secular newspaper) used the term to make his point. He suggested that in political circles we should all be asking what may be counterintuitive, even shocking – about why Netanyahu would assassinate the political leader of Hamas in Tehran, if the guy was a key player in negotiating a diplomatic solution to the hostage crisis and ending the war? (Keep in mind this was before the assassination of Nasrallah and the Hezbollah decapitations in Beirut!) The guy who got killed, Ismail Haniyeh, was a bad guy, for sure, but do you assassinate one of their chief negotiators? At the time, most commentators just drew the conclusion that Israel may have overshot its goals, made a tactical blunder. But the same writer went against the grain, by suggesting that Netanyahu intended it, he did it deliberately – he “outsourced” a tenet of Israeli escalation domination strategy to Iran – by calling its bluff – letting Iran figure out at what level – it would decide to retaliate. The reasoning for this, he continued, is that the Israeli prime minister actually wanted Iran to bear the risk of confronting the US. Force Iran to think about a larger war it can’t control by upping the stakes for itself and its proxies and sucking America into it. And, at the same time, the Israeli prime minister would divert attention away from the war in Gaza!

But I’m not bringing this up to get into politics, we have enough of that. See, what I’m curious about is this way of thinking – going with what’s counterintuitive that’s happening right in front of us. We’re often so sure about how things have reached the stage they’re in right now – but just suppose we pause to ask an alternative set of questions? In the dazzling novel Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, a young woman from East Berlin falls in love with an older married man from the “other” side, only a year or so before Germany is reunited. As the wall falls, her reality and her fantasies disintegrate, better yet, are subsumed within a new mental mapping – and all that remains of a long, illicit affair is a ritual they go on performing whenever they part company (in Erpenbeck’s words): “When they leave a place together, he holds out her coat, she slips into it front-wise, briefly holds him in her arms, then slips it off and puts it on the right way.”

Ipcha Mistabra

I can remember, when I was a child, I used to walk down this (what I thought was a) long hall and peer behind the thin glass of a mirror on the wall, to see if there was something there looking through it – back at me.

Getting to the Truth is more than simply arguing the other side of a debate (that’s hard enough, standing in someone else’s shoes); sometimes it’s looking at the obverse of what we think we know – for everything we commonly think of as true and solid – there may be, in fact, something more unsettling to it. 

At the end of July, it was reported that William Calley died in a hospice in California. For those of you born long after the Vietnam War, Mr. Calley was synonymous with the My Lai massacre, the mass murder of a village filled with defenseless women and children, although in so many ways his conviction told us something more. It stood in for a senseless war fought by Americans for a regime that was terrible and corrupt – a war that our society eventually came to realize it should have no part in. It unmasked a larger issue: that something in our own society was rotten, had failed, and we needed to look ourselves in the mirror. Coincidentally, the same day that it was reported that Calley died, it was also reported that a Palestinian prisoner was abused in the crudest way by Israeli soldiers, and were it not for a whistle-blower, there was a likelihood that others would get away with this abhorrent behavior, and, in fact, probably already have. And yet, there were loud protests in Israel by people who think it’s somehow unfair to accuse prison guards who, after all, are put in charge of the worst of the worst.

Ipcha Mistabra

What do these moments mean for our hopes and illusions in a larger sense? How do they speak to our commitments to one another, to making a better world? Can we, in these Days of Awesome, marshal the fortitude to peer behind the hell-scape of the kibbutzim that were devastated on October 7th, the charred remains of homes, the wreckage of a dance festival? Is there a way to see behind the mirror – or maybe it’s for this very reason that we cover the mirrors in a house of mourning? And then there’s the cruelty to the hostages that keeps us looking away.

Ipcha Mistabra

Have you read Percival Everett’s great literary invention, called James? It takes Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and turns it around, so that we explore, we come to know what’s behind the opaque figure of a slave, however benevolent, the character of Jim is in the original famous book. In Everett’s telling, that same Black human being, invested with dignity and chutzpah is brazen enough to steal… a pencil! He’s hidden it away deep in his pocket, because if he’s caught with it, he’s liable to get hung. The pencil is more valuable than anything else – and in Everett’s words, he writes “himself into being.” In fact, James’ supple use of language is his character’s animating force – he’s not just intelligent, but he’s a human being with his own desires and imagination. What you get is there’s another side to Twain’s story. And, I’d also go so far as to say that Huckleberry Finn in each telling of the story is a child who’s a tabula rasa – he’s malleable, sympathetic, not yet formed, our humanity without the artifice of race, that reflects what could someday be true of all of us. But in the meantime, it’s James who comes into focus in this new telling. 

Ipcha Mistabra

The same pattern of obfuscation-and-recovery holds true for Viet Than Nguyen, the writer of the wonderful novel from a few years ago, The Sympathizer, but who also wrote a scholarly nonfiction work entitled Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and The Memory of War. He calls attention to the design of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, its shiny black granite surface, as bringing not just the names of those lost American soldiers front and center, but, we, the viewers, see ourselves observing it. The wall provokes anxiety – there’s a mirror effect – and suddenly we are implicated; and it subverts the patriotic American framing of this war being our tragedy. We’re looking away! We’re omitting the memories of millions of dead Vietnamese, after all. He calls it a “disremembering”.

I was talking to a rabbi in my community about this, and he told me that he and his wife had taken a trip to Vietnam this past spring. He said that he was hoping naively, as a Jew living at a time when our own prospects for tomorrow are in question, to understand how and to what extent the Vietnamese have come to terms with the past and embraced a different future... But in wishing to see things all “repaired”, he very well could have been disremembering too. I wonder how the Vietnamese will write “themselves into being” again? 

So we know right now we’re standing at a crossroads in modern Jewish history. It’ll take decades to sort it all out: what we in the Jewish world should want, whom it is we think we serve, whom we fail to serve, and the memories that cloud our vision. There’s that mirror we hold up, as does Sarah in Genesis 21, with the opening line:

ויהוה פקד את־שרה כאשר אמר ויעש יהוה לשרה כאשר דבר 

It’s translated “G-d remembered Sarah just like God had said,” but it’s more than remembering – the verb פקד means “G-d performed an accounting, (as if there was something yet owed).” And the commentator Malbim explains that although G-d had predicted the birth of a child in Sarah’s old age, to her it was – until this point – lacking in credibility, unresolved – what with her passive husband yielding to her jealousy, nonchalantly leaving Hagar with her toddler out in the cold, the family in turmoil. After all, Sarah famously laughs out loud, she finds G-d’s prediction funny, even a bit disturbing. In this troubled Torah narrative, amidst her doubts, the future hangs in the balance.

Nachman of Bratslav teaches that when we are despairing, at odds with the people around us, we can become like a blank slate, a book that’s empty – Every one of us can be like “a human being,” שאין לו ספר. There’s nothing in the book – it’s vanished! An empty Torah scroll! So, he says, we begin, this is where we find ourselves, at this place of no place, but we still have this blazing desire in our hearts, a yearning to learn! Maybe we forgot something? 

And how does Nachman set it up? He says it’s like this: that somewhere out there in the world there are two tzaddikim, two righteous people, they’re conversing with one another, however – the only thing is – they’re walking along on two separate paths, this one tzaddik over here on this side of the world and this other tzaddik miles and miles away. Maybe it’s a bit like being online? But he goes on to say that this one tzaddik over here poses a question and the other one over there offers an answer, a way to figure it out. A question and an answer, but again – it’s just speech, our voices, often cacophonous, nothing more than that – but they can add up. It’s the vibrations that unite, and they can produce the purest Sound, the Voice of G-d. And it’s this Voice that ultimately connects one to the other, Nachman says – it’s this Voice that then gets written down as a ספר זכרון, we call the Book of Remembrance. We remember!

We may have during a long, hard year forgotten something about ourselves, what we really stand up for. It’s possible. We may have, on the arduous path – amidst our arguments, our public statements, our gatherings in solidarity or in protest – lost track of who we are, where we can vibrate with the Truth – where the Truth of humanity is. James Baldwin said it: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” 

Ipcha Mistabra

Things can sometimes be explained the other way around, in a way we have as yet not fathomed, or refuse to see. We may never have expected it, we may never have imagined an entirely different future, or maybe we disremembered it all along! – but somehow, in seeing things differently, it might yet help us to get at the Truth. 

On this Yom Kippur, may we loosen the shackles of ideology, slacken just a little bit the cords of fear and recrimination and sanctimony, and help our adversaries, our neighbors, even the ones we love who’ve hidden their faces from us at times – to write ourselves “into being”. May we all be written and sealed for a year that gives us new life and hope and, G-d-willing, a focus on peace.

Amen.

[jedi-enthusiast]

Y’know, one of the things that’s giving me the most whiplash- (in a good way) -in regards to going from being raised Christian to trying to convert to Judaism is that…Jews are just allowed to ask questions??? And debate what they think something meant???

What???

One of the only things I remember from when I still considered myself Christian, which is like 9 years ago now, is learning about evolution and being a little confused because I—like many kids with religious parents—was taught that G-d made everything.

But I was only confused for a little bit because my brain then jumped to the next logical conclusion—aka G-d must’ve made all of the beginnings of evolution knowing what it would all evolve into, since he’s omnipotent, and the “7 days” thing was either just a metaphor or time may just pass differently to G-d and “7 days” to Him could be millions of years to us.

This seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to think, right?

And, obviously, this conclusion doesn’t seem to be anything against the existence of G-d or the idea that He made everything, right?

Well, tell that to my mother because—when I told her about my conclusion and I expressed confusion about why Atheists and Christians argued so much about whether evolution or G-d made everything, when both could be true—she promptly grounded me and lectured me about how I “shouldn’t question G-d” and I was wrong and it was a sin for me to suggest that maybe the Bible wasn’t being literal in its description of creation.

And, similar to that, anytime I ever tried to ask anyone in my church questions about why G-d did something, or what a passage meant, or if the Bible was being literal in some of the stuff it said…all I was met with was anger and lectures on how me asking these questions was sinful.

So now, when I’m doing my research and reading the Torah and the Talmud, to find out that you’re allowed to ask those questions??? And Rabbis have literally debated these things and kept records of it??? And being curious or confused about this stuff isn’t treated like a sin???

Like…idk, it’s definitely a different feeling to know that I don’t have to be afraid of reaching out to someone if I have questions—it’s really nice, actually.

[iswearbyalltheflowers]

What does the score distribution for your jewish quiz look like? Ive only ever met one practicing Jewish person (that’s how I knew whiskey sours were kosher!) but I’ve seen The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and I got 25/32. I feel like most of these are just things I picked up from pop culture. Like Mrs. Maisel spitting out her food when she realizes it’s Yom Kippur or Charlotte becoming Jewish on SATC. I just feel like more Abrahamic religions are in the cultural background enough that even though I grew up an atheist in the Bible Belt I can’t imagine anyone getting half of them wrong without trying.

I did not create the quiz, ShammaiIntl on twitter created it a few years back to have non-jews take it before talking to jews about judaism.

Their original results were that the average jewish score was 27 and the average non-jewish score was 20.

On all 32 questions, most jews answered correctly; on only 22 questions did most non-jews answer correctly.

The question non-jews were least likely to answer correctly was the final question about identifying which story is in the Talmud (27% correct, basically the same as would get it guessing randomly).

The question with the biggest gap between jews and non-jews answering correctly was the question asking which jewish object is the largest (94% vs 44%). The most selected wrong answer from non-jews for this question (27%) was the Sefer Torah.

Also non-jews were only half as likely as jews to get the number of jews in the world question correct (39.5% vs 78.5%).

Keep in mind there's quite a bit of self-selection bias here: most people would not see let alone take this quiz unless they had some interest in judaism already.

[the-fire-within0]

Hey idk your history or anything but Lilith is closed to non-Jewish people.

Hey there, anon. I'm open to discussing Lilith, but whether Lilith is a closed practice for non-Jewish people is a bit complicated. First, I'm not sure about your background. Second, I don't know your intentions behind asking. Third, I'm unsure about your research on Lilith or your own beliefs. I'm not trying to be rude; I just want to clarify a few things before we proceed to avoid any potential misunderstandings.

I believe it's important to understand Lilith both as a specific figure and as a symbolic one. Although I rarely engage with Lilith in my practice, I acknowledge her occasional presence. While modern portrayals frequently depict Lilith as a feminist icon and "goddess of fertility," or "mother goddess," these views do not trace back to traditional beliefs about her or what she was associated with. She is represented as the complete opposite of these newer tellings.

Regarding that, there is archaeological evidence of Aramaic incantation bowls and amulets used in Semitic regions to ward off Lilith or demons. She is a demon associated with lust, miscarriage, and child abduction, with her name's etymology linked to screech owls, night bird, night creature and the night ("laylah," Hebrew). She is primarily a figure in Jewish apocryphal works. However, it is possible that the inspiration for Lilith came from the Mesopotamian demonic goddess Lamashtu, who in which, bears much resemblance to her.

In Mesopotamian mythology, "Lil," "Lilītu," (Akkadian) "Lilû" (masculine version) refers to a group of disease-bearing wind spirits/demons rather than a single demon. Additionally, the image on the Burney Relief plaque is unlikely to be Lilith, as scholars have suggested that it might represent Inanna/Ishtar or her sister Ereshkigal instead. Another aspect to mention is that "ardat-lilî" refers to the ghosts of young women who died without experiencing sexual fulfillment or marriage. Therefore, they would attempt to seduce young men. The term "ardat-lilî" translates to "maiden lilî"/"phantom bride." They were described as a troubled and restless spirit associated with negative sexuality and the wind. They are suggested to be a form of succubi, believed to possess the ability to fly and enter houses through windows. There's a bit more of an explanation of ardat-lilî within the book Women in the Ancient Near East. (You can just ctrl + F to search keywords).

Another thing to point out that Lilith within the Hebrew bible is only mentioned once in

Isaiah 34:14, NRSV, "Wildcats shall meet with hyenas; goat-demons shall call to each other; there also Lilith shall repose and find a place to rest."

However with this translation alone, scholars suggest that it is associated a type or class of demon (similar to the Lilītu). Lilith can also be identified in the Dead Sea Scrolls as a "singular entity" but there isn't much detail that goes further than that.

11QpsAp, "And I, the Sage, sound the majesty of His beauty to terrify and confound all the spirits of destroying angels and the bastard spirits, the demons, Lilith. . ., and those that strike suddenly, to lead astray the spirit of understanding, and to make desolate their heart."

In this translation, there is a reference to Lilith in the Songs of the Sage (4Q510–511). For more information about 4Q510-511.

In rabbinic literature, the Babylonian Talmud, during the exile, Lilith poses much more of a threat to men if they were to sleep alone,

Shabbat 151b, "It is prohibited to sleep alone in a house, and anyone who sleeps alone in a house will be seized by the evil spirit Lilith."

There are mentions of the appearance of lilith (lower-cased on purpose), with depictions of having long hair and wings.

Niddah 24b, "Rav Yehuda says that Shmuel says: In the case of a woman who discharges a fetus that has the form of a lilith, a female demon with wings and a human face, its mother is impure with the impurity of a woman after childbirth, as it is a viable offspring, only it has wings."

The notion of Lilith as the "first woman" primarily stems from satirical literature like the Alphabet of Ben Sira.

Honestly, interpret this however you like. There are countless theories, different ways to interpret texts, and various personal beliefs. Even if you see everything as just lessons and don't take it seriously, that's your choice. If someone wants to explore and learn about Lilith or liliths, I'm personally not opposed to it—as long as they understand her/their exact origins. Some people practice demonolatry or just conduct extensive research in demonology, so it's hard to make definitive statements. That's why I find it complicated to say that an entity, demon, deity, or anything similar is closed. Additionally, converting to Judaism is NOT an easy process. From what I know, Jewish people would not want to work with demons. They would prefer to ward them off or avoid any involvement with them altogether, and or whatever their standpoint might be since not one individual is the same.

It's also important to note that Lilith isn't part of Christian theology (this goes to anyone just learning, honestly). The Christianized version of Lilith I'd like to think is very washed-down or "declawed."

If you'd like to discuss any potential errors in my statements, feel free to reach out. Please provide relevant links to support your points, and avoid generalizing one person's opinion as representative of everyone or an entire group, not only that, it's good to be respectful while discussing, that's all I would ask and kindly appreciate.

There are so much more information in terms of Lilith, with which you can look at through these links since it's a lot harder to fit everything into one post:

A good video to learn from too can be the video from Dr. Justin Sledge/ESOTERICA called Who is Lilith - First Wife of Adam - Ancient Origins and Development of the Myth of the Demon Queen:

[satanourunholylord]

lilith isn't PART OF judaism you clown but i guess being antisemitism pilled in philosemitic freakishness is your happy place

Huh... antisemitism existing concurrently with philosemitism would be an interesting psychology research project. Thanks for the string of increasingly abusive anon asks, btw. Loved jumping on tumblr dot com and seeing all that. Lots of big feelings you're experiencing there. I know what I say won't change your mind, but I'll answer genuinely about my understanding of Lilith within the context of Judaism anyway on the off chance you're interested.

So yeah, Lilith is not specifically mentioned in the traditional Jewish scripture, the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh). However, Lilith is referenced in later Jewish texts, primarily in Jewish folklore and mystical traditions.

Lilith is sometimes associated with the demonic figure mentioned in the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 34:14) in the context of a desolate wilderness.

The Talmud brings up the concept of a "lilith ha-raz," which can be translated as a "night demon" or "demon of the night."

The passage mentioning Lilith in relation to nocturnal emissions can be found in Niddah 24b of the Talmud.

Lilith is mentioned in the Zohar, which is a foundational work of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah. Lilith is mentioned in the Zoharic literature as a female demon associated with sexual desire and temptation.

Various Midrashic texts, which are collections of Jewish stories, commentaries, and interpretations, also mention Lilith. These include Genesis Rabbah and Ecclesiastes Rabbah, among others. Lilith is often portrayed as a seductive and dangerous figure in these stories.

Lilith features in Jewish folklore and folk beliefs. Different traditions associate her with various aspects, such as being a demon of the night, causing harm to children and newborns, and representing female sexual power.

The Alphabet of Ben Sira is a medieval Jewish text, likely dating to the 8th-10th centuries CE, which contains a narrative about Lilith as the first wife of Adam. According to the story, Lilith refused to submit to Adam and left the Garden of Eden. She is depicted as a powerful and independent figure in this story. From what I've heard, this story may be considered antisemitic (??), so take what I've mentioned there with a grain of salt.

I don't have the energy to write much else and it's late here, so I'll leave it at that. I just think without a solid understanding of Judaism and where Lilith fits in within that context, it's impossible to be respectful. I suggest you stop messaging me and find a more productive use of your time, anon. You have your opinions and I have mine. Have a pleasant rest of your week.

(As always, Jewish people please feel free to call me out on anything I may have gotten wrong here)

[the-most-humble-blog]

🗣️ MEN & WOMEN CAN’T JUST BE FRIENDS — UNLESS NEITHER HAS FUNCTIONING GENITALS 🚨

This one’s for the romantically cucked, the delusional simp apologists, and the “He’s just like my brother!!” crowd of red flag factory workers who somehow keep getting invited to brunch.

💣 Men and women can’t really be “just friends.” Not when he’s got a working d*ck and she’s got an operational, heat-emitting, soul-trapping vaginal portal that’s already reprogrammed his hippocampus via scent exposure.

You think I’m joking? Let me put it simply:

🧠 If he’s smelled her panties—on purpose or during laundry favors— That man is ineligible for the title “platonic.”

He’s not her friend. He’s a dck in cryo-sleep.* Waiting. Hoping. Lurking like a lion in a deodorant commercial.

Now I know what some of you are thinking:

“But my girlfriend says it’s totally normal!”

Yeah? Your girlfriend also believes in astrology, manifesting wealth through mood boards, and that her male coworker texting “goodnight 💛” is just being supportive.

If your girl thinks her “friend” isn’t mentally 3 seconds away from an unsolicited nut dream about her the minute you f*ck up—

Then she’s either:

Lying to your face

Lying to herself

Or so high on emotional validation she thinks guy friends are just “supportive puppies with beards”

Guess what? They’re not.

They’re f*cking wolves with WiFi.

🎯 CHECK THIS LOGIC:

If your girl has a “bestie” who’s a dude— and he’s single, straight, and emotionally available?

That man is waiting.

He is on the bench, fully warmed up, eyeing the scoreboard of your relationship praying for overtime.

He’s not “just a friend.” He’s Plan B with a Fitbit.

He is there the moment y’all argue, texting back before your third syllable hits her throat, listening with Olympic-level empathy, and lowkey fantasizing about your death while helping her carry in groceries.

👃 Let me be crystal clear: If a man has smelled your girl’s genitals (directly or through any tertiary access point, including laundry, ex-status, backseat fog-ups, or “oops I crashed on her couch” memory gaps)?

That is not a friend. That is a biological memory stick with lust-based malware. He is sinning passively. And YOU—if you tolerate it—are aiding and abetting his f*cking spiritual trespass.

📖 The Bible? Condemns it. 🕌 The Quran? Not having it. 🕍 The Talmud? Check it. 🪬 Every religion with a holy book and a sword agrees: Letting your girl hang with a man who’s licked her diaphragm once upon a time is spiritual clownery.

🧾 HANDY BULLSH*T DETECTION CHECKLIST 🧾

✅ “He’s like a brother to me!” → So he’s seen her in shorts and dreams of crossing that bloodline. ✅ “He helped me move that one time!” → And carried your emotional weakness box into his spank bank. ✅ “We’ve never done anything!” → You haven’t—yet. But he’s ready for the collapse. ✅ “It’s totally platonic!” → He’s waiting like a landmine in a cardigan. ✅ “You’re just insecure!” → Nah, I’m just awake.

So next time your partner calls you “controlling” for questioning their male “friend” who knows the molecular pH of their discharge, do the only rational thing:

Grab them (by their applicable stinky genitals), lock eyes, and ask, in the most dignified Australian accent you can muster:

🗣️ “WTF are you on about, mate?”

And if the “friend” shows up with groceries, flowers, or "just happened to do her laundry"?

Pull out the biggest f*cking knife you own. Crocodile Dundee style. Smile politely. And say:

“That’s not a knife. This is male territory enforcement.”

💀 REBLOG if you’ve seen “just a friend” turn into “accidental backshots” 🧠 COMMENT if you’re done pretending men aren’t biologically hardwired to exploit emotional vulnerability portals 👣 FOLLOW for more scroll-stopping clarity and the last blog standing in the no-fcks zone*

[papirouge]

Hi, genuine question here for you been following a long time. I was wondering how one would prove why the God of the Bible is the true God of everything. For example, I've been told in the past the reason God is God is because the Bible said so and God wrote the Bible. But that argument doesn't resonate with me, because humans had to write it, inspired or not and it seems a roundabout argument, like, you could say God wrote the Talmud or wrote the Bhagavad Gita because they said so. Another one I heard was that to believe because of Pascal's wager where it's better to try to believe than not because there's no harm done if it's wrong but you'll lose it all. But that could work for any religion, how's it to not lead to the Quran vs. the Bible? What kind of argument or justification can one use? I know you're pretty knowledgeable on the subject as you're a Christian, but I just don't know how to get on that bandwagon just yet because I haven't seen very many arguments that aren't able to have holes poked into them.

Here's the shocker anon : there's no one on this planet who will be able to convince you of God existence.

There's a reason Jesus spoke into parables and that many of the people he professed to never got his message. Not everyone can understand God, and God Himself saves whoever He wants to. Sure, as Christians we have the duty to profess His words, but ultimately, God has the last word in whether people will actually accept His message or not.

That's why Faith is so important in Christianity. Trusting in Jesus being the son of God and that only the only true God YHWH, saves. Jesus said how blessed are the people who trusts without seeing actual evidence of God. Such as a centurion who trusted Jesus when he said his servant was healed, before he even came back home to check whether it was true or not.

Obsessively trying to find rationale evidence of Christianity being real is comprehensible and necessary, but it can also be a stumbling stone (uncredulousnes, hardening of heart, etc.). Never forget it was satan who was taunting Jesus into making miracles to make him fall.

And FYI what separates religion from cults or "spiritual philosophy" are the revealed miracles. Whether you believe it or not, multiplication of bread happened, people spontaneously speaking & understanding foreign tongues during the Pentecost happened. Jesus coffin being empty after 3 days happened. Because God was smart enough to put up witnesses to testify about it. Even Jesus haters acknowledged his 'powers' - they were just wrong to argue they were from the devil. Prophecies written by Jews happened too.

That's what separates judaism & Christianism from eastern 'religions' and cults. That's what give them an actual relevance and trustworthiness that other spiritual movement don't.

The only'way to know that God is God is to simply ask Him. The Bible isn't some magical book that will turb me you into a Christian just by reading it. That's a spiritual leap. And no, it's not accessible to anyone.

That being said, I've always found pretty troubling the stories of Muslim who, when genuinely asked God to show Himself (instead of their repetitive mindless rehashed prayers) they saw a cross, or a man... There's the story who happened in a MENA country where a toddler and her baby seebling got buried alive by their uncle who wanted to get rid of them after his sister (their mom) died. They survived SEVERAL WEEKS, and when they got found and everyone asked the little girl how they managed to remain alive so long, the little girl said a man with white close gave them bread and that their mom (their psycho uncle buried them in the same coffin as her) regularly woke up to breastfeed her baby sibling. It's said that when they found them, the mom looked like she was dead just moments ago, not since the severals weeks she actually did.

Waking up the dead? A man with a white robe? That was Jesus, babe. But OF COURSE the Muslims REFUSED to admit it and coped saying it was an angel or some stuff. You can't force someone to believe when they obvious is just there.

If you want actual evidence of YHWH being God, just ask him.

[shmreduplication]

i'm watching Nobody Wants This, a odd couple rom(?)com(?) netflix show about a culturally xtian sex podcaster (it's her and her [also hetero] sister talking about sex+dating as cis hetero white women in LA, not like sexism or women's lib or sex work or anything interesting about the larger scope of sex in society) and a rabbi. my whole family watched it and i thought it was a movie so i told my mom i'd get stoned and watch it so we can talk about it at family skype. it's actually a tv show.

this is not as much as an odd couple in my mind, I've had lots of conversations with other jewish women about sex in the context of judaism and being a jewish woman in the context of a christo-normative society. And also people have been talking about how it's jewish law that a woman can ask for divorce if she's not getting orgasms from her husband, i feel like that's been mentioned nonstop since i was a teen. And then there's also this podcast, The Joy of Text, which is hosted by an orthodox rabbi and an orthodox jewish woman who's a sex therapist and they answer questions from the audience but their main thing is reading stories/rules from the torah+talmud that are about sex and then discussing them from a modern and biblical perspective. also like if rabbis have a role as couple's counselors for their community members then they should be more comfortable talking about sex as a reality of couplehood. We're encouraged by god to be fruitful and multiply, that's done by having sex!

so imo the real thing that makes the characters an odd couple is that he's not just jewish but a rabbi, and she's not jewish. Her talking about sex professionally should not be relevant to them fitting the odd couple niche

i told my family at skype and was told i live in a bubble 🙄 i agree but i shouldn't be the one in a bubble about it

[breadcrimesprevention]

today i got invited to go to hotpot with some classmates on friday. it was the first time in almost three months that anyone had invited me anywhere.

i asked what time of day it would be, since i didn’t want to miss a screening of a new movie at 7. one of them didn’t know what i was talking about, so i briefly explained that i was really looking forward to seeing the brutalist, a movie about a hungarian-jewish architect in post-wwii philadelphia.

that classmate’s immediate response was “oh, you lost me at jewish,” followed by nervous laughter from everyone in the room. i’m ashamed to say that i, too, laughed at the absurdity of the comment. i’d never heard someone so outright make a joke like that. i don’t know if he knew at the moment that i am jewish. he is mormon.

i didn’t expect an apology, or a follow up. instead i got another question: “i’m curious. do you have an answer as to why so many of the evil ceo’s are jewish?” and here, once again, i let out some nervous laughter. this was no longer a joke. this was a signal of contempt, not an attempt at humor. i don’t know why i did, but i answered earnestly, mumbling something about how medieval christians forbade themselves from handling money, delegating that task to jews. over centuries of doing this work, prominent jewish families gained wealth.

and still, this explanation did not satiate my classmate. he was done with wanting to know more, now he was ready to profess. “did you know that judaism and christianity are basically the same religion but just with different skins?” and once again, instead of a shocked or admonishing response, i answered earnestly because that is what i had been expected to do at that moment: each of us is a representative of our faith and of our in group. i am a jew, and i must answer for all jews. no, we are not remixed christians. we do not believe in hell. our morals might be based on the same actions, but the principles are completely different. there is no sin. there is no eternal damnation. there is an onus on us to heal the world, there is a rare belief in a finiteness of jewish souls which brings forth talmudic arguments of reincarnation, there is joy in folklore and survival. if we are so similar to christians, why do you need to ask me to agree? should i not ask the same of you and expect an identical response?

and then, when i called my brother to share this story in the hour after it happened, i finally connected the dots to a similar incident in the first day of teacher training at my graduate program: a young woman beginning her archaeology program delivered a brief practice lecture on motifs in venetian architecture. the excessive crucifix symbolism found throughout the canals and alleyways and corridors is an homage to the founding date of the city, march 25. to scholars, this was the date of the crucufixion of jesus. to her, it was the day the jews murdered christ.

i left a kindly worded yet firm review on her instruction evaluation. i hope that she does not have any jewish students who need to leave another one.

i hope that i am able to figure out how to take this better.

[thegospelofstjohn]

"The Prodigy."From the Gospel of Saint John, 11: 17-24.

I do not yet know how the Gospels were formulated, they are not at all like the Torah or the Talmud, which consist of object lessons "little missions". I do know, thanks to John they explain the transubstantiation of the Angel of the Highest Order, called Tawuse Melek, the Spirit of Happiness, the King of Heaven, a champion of the burden of freedom for all persons into the science of civics, but how John and the others came up with their formula and cadence of their lyrics I do not know.

We must try to figure it out and apply civic mindedness to our lives. We are failing at this utterly. I know the Spirit of God is pressuring us to get our acts together but the response is not sufficient. We are still openly discussing the possibility of a second Trump White House and this is quite impossible.

The law is clear, this cannot happen, we need to return to our civics and do what is clearly right and good and today would be a perfect day for this.

The Gospel of John continues stating the people require effective government without lapses of reasonableness at all times. Somehow we have managed to infract, repeatedly, against the Law and the laws and a trained chihuahua could see this and do something about it. John calls this process of making right what was done wrong by the government the Sisters of Lazarus. They are 1525, י״הךה, yethachah‎, "there will be power, but only just power."

John calls the will to power for this kind of energy, "Ha" "rule of law for the sake of the brilliance of the people, especially children."

Donald Trump and his Republican Party have openly engaged in acts of corruption and terrorism. They must be decommissioned and disposed of. This is the right and proper and legal way to handle the evil they have done in the Eyes of the Lord. Sane, spirited persons will make their intentions know to settle for nothing less.

John explains below using the voice of Martha, "gall", stating "if you had been doing your job, there would have been no trouble."

Jesus says, "it's not over yet." Except Lazarus had been dead for four days. Recall any terminology in a scripture related to Judaism with a number in it must be translated properly using Gematria. Four days= 831, ףלא‎‎‎, ephale, "to marvel at the miracle of the prodigy."

The Prodigy is the Mashiach, a human race that does no harm. We are the Prodigy Jesus speaks of. We are mankind's second chance at a Garden of Eden where people listen to God and not to the fuckups. John says a meager two miles or less separate us from this opportunity. Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem=ה‎בטד‎‎, ha‎beted‎‎, "the habitat."

God says we have all that we need to do this already. We are missing one thing. A public announcement by Joe Biden that a man who is a pedophile, a crook, a filth, a terrorist and a traitor shall not be entering the White House a second time. This will comfort God, nature, and the people, just like the fucking law says must be done. The Zohar says this noble and long overdue act will start a cascade reaction around the world that will start the New Age. I do not understand why we would wait for a single second to do this.

Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus

17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 

18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

John says Jesus arrives and finds the progenitor of the Age of Eden, Lazarus, "the military defense of the people" lying in a tomb. His storage there was a mistake, one Jesus fixes.

The Values in Gematria are:

v. 17: The Number is 5361, הג‎‎ו‎א, hagva, "the height of the hil."

the Hebrew word for "height" is "קומה" (qoma), which is a feminine noun derived from the verb "קום" (qum) meaning "to stand or rise up."

Like Jesus I am trying to get the world to compound its efforts to force Joe Biden to dispose of the Dragon and His Angels. There are no excuses for failing to do this for any length of time. The attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was a premeditated, carefully organized terrorist attack perpetrated by the Republican Party and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. None of these persons who participated should even be breathing at this moment in time.

v. 18-20: The Jews came to comfort Martha and Mary, "gall and the rebellion." The brother, Lazarus, was not availalble to them. To solve this Martha went to greet Jesus, Mary stayed home.

Going out to greet Jesus=1795, יז‎טה‎, yazta, "do it now."

Staying at home=785, ן‎ףה‎, hanhaffa, "they are the mouth."

The police are the mouth of the law. Now Jesus did not have a batphone or even a police whistle to blow, but He knew the Seder. The Seder is a red alert that tells the world when its happeness is being delayed. It is not legal, according to the Torah to forestall the happiness and security of the masses just so a small bunch of fucktards can sin, then run from the law and successfully escape unscathed.

Once again we see this scripture is very intricate and cannot be taken literally under any circumstances. We must always be aware Jesus was born the same year the first Seder was observed in 5 BCE. His life culminated much as it began, steeped in anger at Rome and its unholy ways. We are still at war with them because we do not keep the Seder a staple practice within Jewish homes.

The Number is 14682, ידוחב‎‎ ‎, yadochav‎‎ ‎, "you need to be pushed."

v. 21-22: God will give you what you ask.

The Number is 13487, יגדחז‎ ‎‎, ‎yagdachaz‎ ‎‎ ‎, "will squeeze." "For a lobster to grow, a lobster must press against its shell and cause the outer hull to break. A saint is the same way. One must push against the vulnerable outer wear and allow the light emerge. Societies that oppress individuals work the opposite, they stigmatize self-definition, even resort to violence in order to ensure the balance of power does not change.

Saints and oppressive societies will always be at odds.

v. 22-23: Your brother will rise again. Brothers are 415, ד‎י״ה, dyeta, "the diet of a kestrel."

Hawks, falcons, and kestrels prey on criminals. They have keen eyes for the tenets of proper citizenship and understand the ways civilization are the same as the ways of God.

John says the Last Day, the moment we call the Sabbath is the day all men will be able to participate in and benefit from the Diet.

The Number is 8870, ףחע‎‎, ephacha'a‎‎, "where Ha," "the approach to the formation of the locality...so that the young learn to ascend into eminence instead of gloomy or darkened sky."

"An identical but unused verb יעף (ya'ep) exists in cognate languages with the meaning of to ascend, and note that creatures that protect their young don't merely end up being able to rise up into the sky, but more importantly, they also ascend on a scale of success and prominence. It's no coincidence that birds are revered in all cultures. The derived noun תועפה (to'apa) does occur in the Bible and means eminence."

[queersatanic]

3. There is a story (Sotah 47a) in the Talmud about a brash and stupid rabbinical student called Yeshu the Nazarene who disobeyed his teacher, worshipped idols, and practiced sorcery. The historical circumstances of this story in the Talmud do not match up with current academic consensus on the historical Jesus, but the likeness is suggestive.

To add to what @cloudytomboy is saying, it really hammers home how much "Jesus is not important in Judaism" to look directly at how that maybe-they-mean-Christianity's-Jesus-of-Nazareth reference comes up at all.

The main discussion is basically, "So, Elisha — what's his deal?" in reference to Elisha asking for and getting a double-portion of Elijah's spirit then tossing around one miracle after another.

Specifically, it follows from the mauling of the 42 children by two she-bears that Elisha summoned after he was jeered by the youths for being bald. (This same section also gives us the wonderful phrase lo dubim velo ya'ar ["neither bears nor forest"] over the disagreement between how many miracles happened there.)

Then it goes on to talk about how, basically as punishment for being a huge jerk despite his power two separate times, Elisha fell sick twice: first for the miracle(s) of the bear mauling the children, then for pushing his student with two hands instead of one over the servant profiting from Elisha curing a man of leprosy, and then finally a third sickness that was just the sickness that killed Elisha.

The improper pushing-without-opportunity-to-return was wrong, the discussion says, and it's like what another rabbi also did to one of his students: Jesus the Nazarene.

The Sages taught: Elisha fell ill three times. One was a punishment for inciting the bears to attack the children; and one was a punishment for pushing Gehazi away with both hands, without leaving him the option to return; and one was the sickness from which he died, as an expression of illness is stated three times in the verse about Elisha: “And Elisha became sick [ḥala] with his illness [ḥolyo] from which he would die” (II Kings 13:14). The root ḥet, lamed, heh, which indicates illness, is used twice in this verse, and it is stated once that Elisha will die. The Sages taught: It should always be the left, weaker, hand that pushes another away and the right, stronger, hand that draws him near. In other words, even when a student is rebuffed, he should be given the opportunity to return. This is not like Elisha, who pushed Gehazi away with both hands, and not like Yehoshua ben Peraḥya, who pushed Jesus the Nazarene, one of his students, away with both hands.

...

The Gemara returns to the incident in which Yehoshua ben Peraḥya turned away Jesus the Nazarene: What is this incident? When King Yannai was killing the Sages, Shimon ben Shataḥ was hidden by his sister, Yannai’s wife, while Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya went and fled to Alexandria of Egypt. When peace was made between Yannai and the Sages, Shimon ben Shataḥ sent him the following letter: From myself, Jerusalem the holy city, to you, Alexandria of Egypt. My sister, my husband dwells within you, and I am sitting desolate. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya said: I can learn from it that there is peace, and I can return. When he came back to Eretz Yisrael, Rabbi Yehoshua arrived at a certain inn. The innkeeper stood before him, honoring him considerably, and overall they accorded him great honor. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya then sat and was praising them by saying: How beautiful is this inn. Jesus the Nazarene, one of his students, said to him: My teacher, but the eyes of the innkeeper’s wife are narrow [terutot]. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya said to him: Wicked one, is this what you are engaged in, gazing at women? He brought out four hundred shofarot and excommunicated him. Every day Jesus would come before him, but he would not accept his wish to return. One day, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya was reciting Shema when Jesus came before him. He intended to accept him on this occasion, so he signaled to him with his hand to wait. Jesus thought he was rejecting him entirely. He therefore went and stood up a brick and worshipped it as an idol. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya said to him: Return from your sins. Jesus said to him: This is the tradition that I received from you: Anyone who sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent. The Gemara explains how he caused the masses to sin: For the Master said: Jesus the Nazarene performed sorcery, and he incited the masses, and subverted the masses, and caused the Jewish people to sin. It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: With regard to the evil inclination, to a child, and to a woman, the left hand should reject and the right hand should welcome. If one pushes too forcefully, the damage might be irreversible.

That's it. That's the whole thing, including skipping a big section that caused them to say, "Now what's this about Yehoshua ben Peraḥya again?"

"What role does Jesus play in Judaism?" And the answer is a conditional "Maybe a tertiary story related to the moral implications of Elisha mauling children with bears."

Which seems like it's very hard for Christians (and cultural Christians) to accept even though there are major religions where the Jesus of Christianity is actually revered, like Islam and Bahá'í.