#the jewish bible

[homestuck-fanauthor-coalition]

in which a limeblood pretends to be olive and becomes the matesprit of a queen, but must reveal their identity to prevent their culling

in which a limeblood pretends to be olive and becomes the matesprit of a queen, but must reveal their identity to prevent their culling (6097 words) by Rose_Icosahedron Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: Homestuck, The Jewish Bible, Megillat Ester | Book of Esther Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Esther/Achashverosh Characters: Queen Esther, King Achashverosh, Haman, Mordechai Additional Tags: genderbent au, but only some of the characters, Alternate Universe- Medieval Alternia, Arranged Marriage?, its not a Marriage since trolls don't have Marriage, fantasy racisim/classism, its the megillah of esther but on ancient alternia i think this is self explanitory, i made this for a school assignment Summary: I'm not going to make a dramatic summary, this is the Megillah of Esther but reframed into the societal and social context of Ancient Alternia. I originally started writing this before Purrim(the jewish holiday which celebrates the Megillah) and only finished it now, have fun :D

@rose-icosahedron wrote this really interesting story! you should check it out!

[inaconstantstateofchange]

one of the most impactful revelations i took from my uni course on the jewish reading of genesis was actually from the section about the tower of babel.

in the forms of christianity i am most familiar with, the "moral" of the story of babel is that mankind was rightfully punished for their hubris.

the professor in that class absolutely blew my mind by revealing that, in the original jewish text, one very reasonable reading is that they were struck down because there was a chance they could succeed.

3500 years ago a bunch of people decided to build a tower to the sky and now I have to worry about keeping up my Duolingo streak

[alostwanderernotfound]

Do you think maybe that there’s a chance you are REALLY, REALLY behind on current events & the statue is the beast? I mean literally. Like the statue sits there until the apocalypse & then it turns out it’s an actual robot that a consciousness can switch into when they decide it’s the right day. I’m sorry to be scary, but It is. It’s not just a warning. This is really happening, just like all those other signs you see are also there. It’s there because it’s supposed to be hidden in plain sight to then be switched on, just like other things/statues/etc hidden in plain sight. You’ve been warned many, many times, but each time until the end there’s always a chance to change the future. It’s never hopeless, but you have to come to terms with the fact this has been right in front of you for a very long time. Do you want to take it seriously or do you want to ignore it till it’s too late? The decision is always in your hands.

[many-sparrows]

Jewish Literacy, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin. Image taken from @gnnosis post

[illustratus]

The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon by Edward John Poynter

[zebratoys]

גְּמַר חֲתִימָה טוֹבָה אָמֵן שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם עֲדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל Gmar Chatima Tovah A good sealing May we will be sealed in The Book of Life for a good and blessed year 🤍✨בְּסִיַּעְתָּא דִּשְׁמַיָּא

[outskirts-of-life]

gave myself a new tattoo w/ my tattoo gun 😸 i'm getting better

[idylls-of-the-divine-romance]

“It is okay — and in fact good and necessary — for members of a religion to engage with their religion in a esoteric and transgressive ways that are still healthy” and “Nonmembers of a religion should not use that religion and make jokes about that religion in ways that are disrespectful and churlish to the religion, its adherents, and its beliefs” are two statements that can and should be simultaneously believed.

[tomicscomics]

01/05/2024

"If you cannot afford a lamb, one will be appointed to you."

___

JOKE-OGRAPHY: 1. Joseph continues reading about Jewish law from his brochure (continued from last week's cartoon).  In Jewish tradition, the sacrifice for a newborn boy was typically one yearling lamb (for the sin offering) and one turtledove (for the burnt offering).  As Mary and Joseph discuss this, the Holy Spirit (a dove, but not for sacrifice) shows up to give a knowing glance at Baby Jesus.  You see, Jesus is called the "Lamb of God," and His mission is to be sacrificed for our sins, so it's ironic that His parents are required to sacrifice a lamb for HIM under Jewish law. 2. A few commenters last week were concerned about Mary and Joseph sleeping too close together in their blanket fort, as it challenges the perpetual virginity of Mary (a core Catholic belief).  I argue that Mary and Joseph are a poor married couple sleeping in a barn that's open to the cold and creatures of nature, so the chaste and honorable Joseph would probably stay near his Holy Family for their protection, instead of sleeping apart and leaving them vulnerable.  No scandal here! 3. A few commenters last week argued about the perpetual virginity of Mary (the belief that she remained a virgin after Jesus's birth; a belief held by the early Church even before the Bible was canonized).  I just wanted to say that I'm thrilled and honored that my comics appeal to people of all religions, including other Christian denominations.  It moves me every time I get a comment from someone who isn't Catholic but loves my work.  That said, I AM Catholic, so please understand that my comics follow the canon of Catholicism when I can help it.  No hard feelings.  Of course, you're all welcome to continue giving me suggestions and debating in the comments (good-naturedly, of course).  I've learned so much by listening and looking into your apologetics.

[the-catboy-minyan]

nothing makes me more furious than when atheists call Jewish characters from the fucking Tanach "bible characters".

no. Abraham isn't yours. Jacob isn't yours. Noah isn't yours. Moses isn't yours. they're OURS. this is OUR HISTORY and OUR PEOPLE. they don't come from the bible, they were STOLEN FROM JEWS.

I recently saw a poll on tumblr that asked were do you know the name Ishmael from, bible was listed as an option, the Tanach wasn't. Ishmael is clearly a Jewish name, it's a HEBREW name, it's not Christian in any way, why wasn't the source material listed as an option???

the Tanach doesn't belong the Christians, our history and religion needs to stop being appropriated, this is OUR history, not Christian histroy.

[calabria-mediterranea]

The world’s first printed book in Hebrew was Rashi’s commentary on the Bible, printed by Abraham ben Gart in Reggio di Calabria, Italy, in 1475.

Unfortunately, very little is known about the personal life of Abraham ben Garton. Most scholars believe he was born in Spain, and emigrated to Southern Italy's Calabria prior to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Many other Spanish Sephardim also emigrated to Calabria following the expulsion.

The 1475 edition Abraham Garton created and employed, for the first time, a typeface based on a Sephardic semicursive hand. It was this same style of typeface that a few years later, when commentary and text were incorporated onto one page, would be used to distinguish Rabbinic commentary from the text proper. Ultimately, this typeface would be known as Rashi script.

View of the Interior of one of the chapels in the Cathedral of Reggio di Calabria—ancient Rhegium. This chapel focuses on the "giving of the law" to Moses. Note the prominent menorah.

Follow us on Instagram, @calabria_mediterranea

[david-goldrock]

PSA:

I know many of you have christian related trauma, and that's valid

that said, I will not support "christians are our enemies", "christians plan on forcibly killing\converting us all" etc. comments.

There's been an insane rise of christian hatred, combined with the usual leftist "my allies must be exactly like me or they should burn in hell" sentiment lately, and it's driving me mad

If that's a problem for you, you are welcome to block me.

[alostwanderernotfound]

On the 10 Commandments:

———

The First Commandment Explained

———————————

People often still debate the meaning of what God’s Commandments are after the numerous translations. The Orthodox Jewish Bible actually contains the transcript of that speech I gave that day in Shemot 20.

And in my own words: If you do not hold anything else, hold & speak my commandments. Let us review the originals as they were intended- the speech with the teaching summary. Any & all attempts to do harm and/or cause suffering by bypassing the Commandments with “loopholes” will be considered with harsh penalty.

I will eventually cover all 10 commandments.

1. “Thou shalt have no elohim acherim in My presence.”

‭‭Shemot‬ ‭20‬:‭3‬ ‭TOJB2011‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/130/exo.20.3.TOJB2011

This actually started with a somewhat of both a truth & a small joke. “Get these false Christians out my face”.

It’s somewhat silly, but I had a lot of internal anger around many of these events because there were MANY people around that were preaching things that weren’t practicing the same religion as you.

This was a call to stop believing in false teachers & allowing them to have authority.

A big note is that at the time this also was specifically speaking to those that practiced sagery, sorcerery,witchcraft, & other beliefs that were attempting to be false spiritual leaders inside of Christianity. These are people that aren’t Jesus attempting to lead the direction of the church/his people. Stop listening to all these random people divining here on Earth our religion.

Jesus was handed down the religion in heaven. Everyone should be saying the same underlying message & there should be no fractionation of the church. If there is, something went VERY VERY awry.

[nonsensical-raw-material]

I started painting on my TaNaKh. I tried to make them as even as possible obviously but ya know. They're based off the ring neck dove which is native to Israel. I figured I'd share. Also open to ideas on what else I should paint :]

[fdelopera]

I’m Christian but want to challenge what I’ve been taught after seeing your posts about the Old Testament having cut up the Torah to fit a different narrative. Today I was taught that the Hebrew word Elohim is the noun for God as plural and therefore evidence of the holy Trinity and Jesus & Holy Spirit been there at creation. Is that what the word Elohim actually means? Because I don’t want to be party to the Jewish faith, language and culture being butchered by blindly trusting what I was told

Hi Anon.

NOPE! The reason G-d is sometimes called Elohim in the Tanakh is because during the First Temple period (circa 1000 – 587 BCE), many of the ancestors of the Jewish people in the Northern and Southern Kingdoms practiced polytheism.

(A reminder that the Tanakh is the Hebrew bible, and is NOT the same as the “Old Testament” in Christian bibles. Tanakh is an acronym, and stands for Torah [Instruction], Nevi’im [Prophets], Ketuvim [Writings].)

Elohim is the plural form of Eloah (G-d), and these are some of the names of G-d in Judaism. Elohim literally means “Gods” (plural).

El was the head G-d of the Northern Kingdom’s pantheon, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah incorporated El into their worship as one of the many names of G-d.

The name Elohim is a vestige of that polytheistic past.

Judaism transitioned from monolatry (worshiping one G-d without denying the existence of others) to true monotheism in the years during and directly after the Babylonian exile (597 – 538 BCE). That is largely when the Torah was edited into the form that we have today. In order to fight back against assimilation into polytheistic Babylonian society, the Jews who were held captive in Babylon consolidated all gods into one G-d. Shema Yisrael Adonai eloheinu Adonai ehad. “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.”

So Elohim being a plural word for “Gods” has absolutely nothing to do with the idea of the Holy Trinity in Christianity.

Especially because Christians are monotheists. My understanding of the Holy Trinity (please forgive me if this is incorrect) is that Christians believe that the Holy Trinity is three persons in one Godhead. Certainly, the Holy Trinity is not “three Gods” — that would be blasphemy.

(My sincere apologies to the Catholics who just read this last sentence and involuntarily cringed about the Protestants who’ve said this. I’m so sorry! I’m just trying to show that it’s a fallacy to say that the Holy Trinity somehow comes from “Elohim.”)

But there's something else here, too. Something that as a Jew, makes me uneasy about the people who are telling you these things about Elohim and the Holy Trinity.

Suggesting that Christian beliefs like the Holy Trinity can somehow be "found" in the Tanakh is antisemitic.

This is part of “supersession theory.” This antisemitic theory suggests that Christianity is somehow the "true successor" to Second Temple Judaism, which is false.

Modern Rabbinic Judaism is the true successor to Second Temple Judaism. Period.

Christianity began as an apocalyptic Jewish mystery cult in the 1st century CE, in reaction to Roman rule. One of the tactics that the Romans used to subdue the people they ruled over was a “divide and conquer” strategy, which sowed division and factionalization in the population. The Romans knew that it was easier to control a country from the outside if the people inside were at each other’s throats.

Jesus led one of many breakaway Jewish sects at the time. The Jewish people of Qumran (possibly Essenes), whose Tanakh was the “Dead Sea Scrolls,” were another sect.

Please remember that the Tanakh was compiled in the form that we have today over 500 years before Jesus lived. Some of the texts in the Tanakh were passed down orally for maybe a thousand years before that, and texts like the Song of Deborah in the Book of Judges (in the Tanakh, that’s in the Nevi’im) were first written down in Archaic Biblical Hebrew during the First Temple Period.

There is absolutely nothing of Jesus or Christianity in the Tanakh, and there is nothing in the Tanakh that in any way predicts Christianity.

Also, Christians shouldn’t use Judaism in any way to try to “legitimize” Christianity. Christianity was an offshoot of 1st century Judaism, which then incorporated a lot of Roman Pagan influence. It is its own valid religion, in all its forms and denominations.

But trying to use the Hebrew bible to give extra credence to ideas like the Holy Trinity is antisemitic.

It is a tactic used by Christian sects that want to delegitimize Judaism as a religion by claiming that Christianity was somehow “planted” in the Tanakh over 2500 years ago.

This line of thinking has led Christians to mass murder Jews in wave after wave of antisemitic violence over the last nearly 2000 years, because our continued existence as Jews challenges the notion that Christians are the “true” successors of Temple Judaism.

Again, the only successor of Temple Judaism is Rabbinic Judaism, aka Modern Judaism.

This line of thinking has also gotten Christians to force Jews to convert en masse throughout the ages. If Christians can get Jews to all convert to Christianity, then they don’t have to deal with the existential challenge to this core misapprehension about the “true” successor to Temple Judaism.

And even today, many Christians still believe that they should try to force Jews to “bend the knee” to Jesus. When I was a young teenager, a preacher who was a parent at the school I went to got me and two other Jewish students to get in his car after a field trip. After he had trapped us in his car, he spent the next two hours trying to get us to convert to Christianity. It was later explained to me that some Christians believe they get extra “points” for converting Jews. And I’m sure he viewed this act of religious and spiritual violence as something he could brag about to his congregation on Sunday.

Trying to get Jews to convert is antisemitic and misguided, and it ignores all the rich and beautiful history of Jewish practice.

We Jews in diaspora in America and Europe have a forced immersion in Christian culture. It is everywhere around us, so we learn a lot about Christianity through osmosis. Many Jews also study early Christianity because Christianity exists as a separate religion within our Jewish history.

But I don’t see a lot of Christians studying Jewish history. Even though studying Jewish history would give you a wealth of understanding and context for your own religious traditions.

So, all of this is to say, I encourage you to study Jewish history and Jewish religious practice. Without an understanding of the thousands of years of Jewish history, it is easy to completely misinterpret the Christian bible, not to mention the Hebrew bible as well.

[illustratus]

Judith and Holofernes by Horace Vernet