#what is the tanach?

[hyperpotamianarch]

Secular jew here with a really stupid question about the tanach

What exactly constitutes the tanach? I think I've heard it's an acronym, so would the Torah be the t? what's the rest of the acronym? Which writings does it include? I'm pretty sure the talmud isn't part of it, what else isn't? Apologies if this is too basic of a question for you!

Hello! Thank you for the question!

The Torah indeed is the first part of the Tanach. Tanach is an acronym for the Hebrew words Torah, Nevi'im and Ketuvim. Roughly translated, those titles mean "Instructions", "Prophets" and "Writings", respectively. The Tanach, then, consists of 24 books divided into those three categories.

The Torah is the easiest one to define: it's the Pentateuch, the Five Books of Moses, however else you choose to call them, and they are generally known to be set apart. The books in it are Bereshit (Genesis), Shemot (Exodus), Vayikra (Leviticus), B'midbar (Numbers) and Devarim (Deuteronomy). Those are the books traditionally given to Moshe directly by G-d, and mostly focus on the formation of the Israelite people and its time under his leadership. It also includes all the commandments, basically.

Nevi'im are supposedly the books written by prophets, and half the books there are specifically books of prophecy (which is more messages from G-d than necessarily predicting the future). However, the first four books - Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings - are more historical in nature, chronicling the events from Moshe's death to the destruction of the 1st Temple. The last four books - Isaiah, Jeremaiah, Ezkiel and the Twelve prophets - are primarily books of prophecies and visions, with some stories sprinked in between. Most of them are concurrent with events in the book of Kings - except for the last three of the Twelve Prophets, who have lived around the building of the 2nd Temple. The Twelve Prophets are (by this order): Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Michah, Naḥum, Ḥabakuk, Zephaniah, Ḥaggai, Zacharias and Malachi. Names are written more or less in their traditional English spelling.

Then we get to the Ketuvim, Written texts, which are... a little more vague. It's hard to say if there's a uniting theme. A couple are books of parables and songs are there, yet others are more chronicles of events, either ones that occured after the time of the book of Kings, before it or concurrently with it. A common assumption is that the difference between those and the Nevi'im is the level of prophecy in writing them - where the Nevi'im were written under direct prophecies, while the Ketuvim were only written in Ruach HaKodesh (roughly translated as "the holy spirit", but I don't want to cause any confusion with Christianity). Either way, the books in the Ketuvim are, in order: Tehilim (Psalms), Mishley (Proverbs), 'Iyov (Job), Shir HaShirim (the Song o Songs/the Songs of Solomon), Rut (or Ruth), Eichah (Lamentations), Kohellet (Ecclesiastes), Ester (or Esther), Daniel, Ezra (and Neḥemiah) and Divrey HaYamim (Chronicles).

If you count, you'll find there are 5 books in the Torah, 8 in the Nevi'im and 11 in the Ketuvim - 24 in total. Ther Twelve Prophets, known as Trei Asar (which just means twelve), are considered one book, The division of Samuel, Kings, Ezra and Chronicles into two books each is relatively late and only makes sense in Ezra due to the obvious PoV shift. Which kind of reminds me, maybe a brief explanation is required as to what each of those last 11 books is.

Tehilim is a book of prayers and religious poems, traditionally written by King David (though they were probably collected long after his time). Mishley is the proverbs of king Shelomo (Solomon), some of which were definitely written long after his time (as in, it's directly stated inside the book). 'Iyov is possibly a parable, possibly a real story which serves as a background to a conversation on the problem of evil that doesn't seem to be solved within the book. The five books from Shir HaShirim to Esther are considered the Five Scrolls, but actually share very little in common: Shir HaShirim is a love song that sometimes become rather erotic, written by King Solomon. Ruth is an origin story to King David's family that occurs during the Judges period, and is about his Great-Grandmother and her conversion to Judaism (she was from Moab, which was a neighboring nation). Eichah is a book lamenting the destruction of the 1st Temple and of the Kingdom of Judea, traditionally written by Jeremiah. Kohellet is a philosophical book pondering the meaning of life - it either finds none or finds solace in faith, depending who you ask - also said to have been written by King Solomon. Esther is famously about the first organised Pogrom in recorded history - one against the Jews of the Persian empire, occuring during the Babylonian exile in Persia. Daniel is about the vision of a Jewish slave in the court of Nebuchadnezzar, who somehow succeeds to stay in a position of power after multiple switches in the government. The story of Daniel isn't half as interesting as his weird visions, though. Ezra is about the rebuilding of the Temple and Jerusalem after the return from exile, more or less - Ezra and Neḥemiah are the major leaders of this time period. This is pretty much a chronicling book - as is the last one, appropriately called Chronicles (Divrey HaYamim). That one basically attempts to sum up everything that happened to the Jewish people throughout history until the building of the 2nd Temple.

I've already written a lot and am too tired to explain why those books were codified and others weren't, so I'll just leave it at that for now.

[fromchaostocosmos]

In Judaism everything is a nes נס a miracle. There are daily miracles the sun rose and it set. There was snow in the winter is miracle with the order natural world. Then there are miracles that outside the order of the natural world think splitting of the sea, the time G-d made the sun not set, etc.

So there are many things we become so used to seeing that we go this just natural, you plant an apple seed and it grows an apple tree. It is light in the day and it is dark at night. It rains and you get water.

When you study the Tanach you learn that this is not so much just natural and nature, but rather miracles that are happening.

So whenever I see people saying things like unnatural and similar in regards to people's gender and the vast amounts of genders the people can have I think back to this idea within Judaism. The idea that natural doesn't really exist it is all just miracles we have become used to.

So to me that has is how I view people. Each person is a miracle and whatever their gender is well there really is no natural to gauge anything by. They are what they are, they are who they are. The fact that exist is a miracle.

(I do feel odd saying that only because I feel like a hypocrite what with history of suicide attempts and suicidal ideation and like if I view each person as miracle then shouldn't I not be suicidal blah blah blah, but mental illness has never been logical and that is not how things work and I remind myself that. This is just about me and my feelings about my own S.I and how it makes me feel like hypocrite a lot this is not a statement on any else)

The reason I decided to write this was in hopes explaining my thought process and in hope that maybe this will comfort to someone, to anyone.

And if it does then that makes me happy.

[thecrazyalchemist]

I've recently seen a post on Tumblr that just, 'broke' something in me (for a lack of a better term).

So I just want to vent about it and another thing that's been bothering me.

(Disclaimer: this is a vent post. I am not an expert in the topics discussed. What I say is knowledge that I have learned from all kinds of places (school, history classes, researching for history projects, reading first hand written material from archives, and other places) and I don't have much the energy to compile everything source into a list (if I can even remember them). However, if you want to add, argue against, or argue in favor of something said here, correct me, you're welcome! Although, please act civil and cite your sources please. (I know I didn't and I'm sorry, but also please remember this is a vent post.) so anyways, here we start)

So, first of all:

Let's talk about Zionism. What does it mean?

To me, it seems that a lot of people think Zionism is something along the lines of 'racist bloodthirsty monstrous baby murderer and cold blooded killer and a rapist pedophile' since I keep seeing the word 'Zionist' in DNI lists next to 'nazis', 'pedophiles', 'minor attracted people', and other stuff like that.

I would love to hear what you think its definition is and I would love to hear where did you learn it, or perhaps any sources for such a definition.

Here's a brief recap of how Zionism was formed and what it is:

Zionism means the desire for Jewish self determination and self governing to exist/continue in the land/country of Israel.

It is an umbrella term, like the term queer, for example.

Zionism has deep roots in Judaism. A lot of practices and rituals in Judaism involve or are related to Israel. The name Israel comes from the name Jacob got from the angel he defeated, and after him the whole tribe of the Jewish people and the area are called Israel. The name Israel is in one of the most basic Jewish prayers - Shema Israel. Also, at the end of every pesach (Passover) Seder we say "Leshana habaa beyerushalaim habnuia" - next year in built Jerusalem. Jewish people have said so ever since the diaspora started.

Before the state of Israel existed, Zionism was about how to create and build Israel.

Three examples:

Political Zionism - create Israel by first getting a charter and international recognition and funding.

Practical Zionism - create Israel by first buying land, building settlements and developing the area.

Synthetic Zionism - a merge between the two movements above. Afaik most of the early political leaders of Israel were from that movement (for example, the first Israeli prime minister - David Ben Gurion).

Nowadays, Zionism is more vague. The reason for is that Israel already exits. The different movements on how to create Israel are kind of irrelevant now, because it exists now. The discussion on how to run Israel is perhaps what one may define as different movements within Zionism in modern time, however yet almost always when one says they are a Zionist, they mean they desire/want/believe that Israel should exist. That's it.

As such, Zionism alone doesn't say almost anything about the political view of the person who identifies as a Zionist.

Afaik basically 100% of Israeli Jews and around 80% of the Jews in America identify as Zionist. Under *this* definition.

Now because Israel exists, it's much harder to talk about different movements within Zionism which aren't basically political movements within Israel.

That leads me onto Kahanism.

Kahanism is an extremist far-right nationalist-racist religious Zionist movement (that I completely do not, I repeat: **do not** agree with). It was founded by the rabbi Meir Kahane, which believed that Jews should rule the whole area which was the kingdom of Israel in the days of the Tanach and should kill anyone who's an enemy of the Jewish people (which according to him, is basically everyone).

Here's an article that sums up some of my feelings about it in relation to the current events:

[https://archive.ph/2024.06.10-191347/https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-06-10/ty-article-opinion/.premium/forget-being-anti-zionists-lets-be-anti-kahanists/00000190-0228-d660-af95-6fbed3e60000]

Now on to the post that 'broke the camel's back', per say.

The post said “I think that all Israelis should go back to Europe” and that it would solve all the problems here.

Let's try to break down the sentence “all Israelis should go back to Europe”. That sentence implies that that's where *all* Israelis came from.

What's "Israeli"? Afaik, since Israel is a country, Israeli is anyone who has Israeli citizenship (and some may even add 'and/or everyone who was born here').

What's Israel's population demographic? According to official government surveys, Israel has around ~9.9 million citizens, out of which ~73% (~7.227 million) are Jewish, ~21% (2.079 million) are Arab and the rest ~6% (0.594 million or 594 thousand) are classified as else.

The Arab population of Israel (which has equal rights as the Jewish population in Israel) and the Arab population of Gaza and the West Bank originate from the same group of people. Some of them originate from Arab people who had been here for hundreds of years (since the empires age) and many originate from Arab immigration between the end of the WW1 and the establishment of Israel.

Even if you claim that the Arab population of Gaza and the West Bank are the actual indigenous population of this area (despite numerous archeological and historical evidence pointing otherwise, although they do have a long history here), you cannot claim that just because a person was born or even just lived on the other (wrong, in your eyes) side of a border they aren't indigenous to the area!

In Israel, there are also a lot of minorities who are persecuted in other parts of the middle east. Such as: Druze, Armenians, Circassians and more. They have to go to Europe too? No, just the Jews? Surely this isn't antisemitism!

And let's talk about the Jewish population in Israel. MOST JEWS DID NOT COME FROM EUROPE! There are Jews who came from diaspora in Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Saudia, Ethiopia and a whole lot other countries through the middle east, south west Asia and north Africa. They have to go to Europe too?

And that's beside two other important facts: first of all, the Jews are indigenous to the levant. We are indigenous to the land of Israel.

And of course, do you now what happened to Jews all over the world, and especially Europe?

To name a few very notable examples: *The Spanish inquisition*, Kishinev pogrom, Jedwabne pogrom, *The Holocaust*, what that happened in the Soviet Union and many more pogroms, expulsions and massacares. (There were of course also pogroms in the MENA countries, however *I* haven't learned about them. Two examples I am told is notable is the farhood pogrom and the Holocaust in North Africa).

All throughout history, the Jews were expelled and massacred from almost every place. You then expectus to just come back to those places as if nothing has happened?

You want us to come so badly. Can you prove that we are safe to come? That we *have a place to come to*? Because so far you haven't shown that.

That when you and the people around you see a Jew, you won't immediately turn them into the scapegoat of every problom you have and then rape and/or expell and/or kill them.

And also, how would that solve more problems than it will create? Exchanging around ~2 million refugees for ~9.9 million refugees? How would that help? And even if you only mean the Jews (which I can't see how it isn't antisemitic) it's ok cause it's Jews? (which is even more antisemitic)

So no, it would not solve any problems. The country of Israel won't go anywhere, the Jews won't go anywhere, because we don't have anywhere to go - we were born here and we are staying.

However, yes, just as well, the Palestinians will probably not go anywhere (*not talking about Hamas and other similar groups here*). The only way to solve the situation is to unpack and deescalate those decades of conflict and escalation and hate, which will take a lot of work.

[aqlstar]

hey, I have a genuine question for you and other Jewish people, from a non Jewish person. it's about circumcision.

I first just wanna preface this with saying I know circumcision is done for medical purposes, I actually know someone who was circumcised as a toddler for a medical reason. my question is not about a medical procedure, but more about the religious/cultural aspect. Im also not American, i understand its pretty common in America for both Jews and non Jews, its pretty rare over here.

I also apologise in advance if I come across as insensitive or cruel, im asking genuinely, I don't want my thoughts and beliefs to be antisemitic so im coming to jumblr.

so my question is: why is circumcision so important? I believe in bodily autonomy, completely and entirely. it is my belief that this kind of procedure on someone so young violates that. I also can't quite get past the metzitzah b'peh (I hope I spelled that right), it bothers me, what is the reason for it? is it something that is widely practiced? I understand that last bit especially is really sensitive, considering the libels, but I truly do want to learn. why is circumcision important, why is it practiced, does it violate principles of bodily autonomy, and how common is the metzitzah b'peh, why must it be done in that specific way, has it been largely phased out, is there a way to do it thats different but still follows jewish law?

thank you for your time, I really do just want to learn and understand and I want to deconstruct my biases

Thanks for the ask. Circumcision is so important to Jews because it is something that ties us to each other and to our ancestors going back thousands of years.

In the Tanach (Jewish foundational holy text), God says to Abraham-

And as for thee, thou shalt keep My covenant, thou, and thy seed after thee throughout their generations. This is My covenant ... every male among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt Me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations ... And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that should shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken My covenant.

Circumcision has been a distinctive practice of the Hebrew people throughout history, so that Empires that have sought to erase Jewish identity have attempted to ban it.

Here’s actually an article on surgical reconstruction of the foreskin to avoid antisemitism under Greek Rule-

You can also see that non-surgical and minimally invasive options now exist to reconstruct a foreskin if for some reason a Jewish man grows up and really wishes he hadn’t been circumcised.

For Jewish men (and boys), the cultural and religious norm is that they be circumcised at 8 days. Since the practice is medically harmless and the baby is too young to make any decisions, I don’t see it as a violation of bodily autonomy. Especially since circumcising an adult is a much more invasive and complicated procedure.

Like- if I were a Jewish boy who’s parents opted not circumcise me, I’d be pissed.

It’s easier to reconstruct a foreskin than it is to fully circumcise someone who isn’t a baby.

As for metzitzah b'peh, it is now standard practice to use a sterile pipette to fulfill the mitzvot without exposing the baby to health risks.

[inkasrain]

On Ezran

First things first:

This is extremely niche and probably very lame, but it's been on my mind for a long time.

As always, my thoughts about The Dragon Prince are just my own, and aren't official or canon or anything.

So. At some point early in the writing process for season 7, this song cycled up on my shuffle. It's been on my iPod (YES I STILL USE MY DINKY LITTLE IPOD SHUFFLE FOR MUSIC, MOVING ON) for probably 15 years at this point. It's not a song I really consciously hear anymore, it just exists familiarly in the background.

But with season 7 -- and particularly Ezran's story -- on my mind, I heard it differently. It took on a new meaning, and for me, became the musical embodiment of Ezran's personal, political, and emotional journey in this season. The song is a medley of two passages from TaNaCh (the complete Hebrew Bible.) The first is from the book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), and is pretty well-known as far as Bible vibes go: Everything has a time, and there is a season for everything under Heaven... A time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace. (Shoutout Hall & Oates.) The second part of the medley comes from the book of Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah). It's much more obscure and is honestly not super easy to translate as the phrasing is very poetic and metaphorical. (The Prophets are generally very like "Figure it out, guys.") Approximately though, this is what it means:

"Isn't Ephraim my beloved son, My precious child, Whom I remember fondly Even when I speak against him? So my heart reaches out to him, And surely I will always be compassionate to him," Says Gd.

The important thing to know about this passage is that it is fundamentally about a broken bond -- how pain between loved ones can be repaired through the remembrance of healthier times, and choosing to feel compassion for each other. In a liturgical context, it's often used when requesting compassion and forgiveness from Gd, as we call back to times of a stronger spiritual connection. In the song, the passages intertwine at a critical and resolving point: The words "And surely I will always be compassionate to him" are woven around the first passage, with its last word -- peace -- repeated until the second passage completes. To me, this speaks so perfectly to Ezran's experience in season 7. How he was, for so long, the sweet, beloved son and brother, the innocent king. How he has been forced to suddenly grow up and confront the contradictions of love and hate, war and peace. How that tears him apart from the people he loves, when he most needs them to speak to him, and how destructive that distance can be. And how ultimately, it is his decision to choose compassion, and how that is met equally by Callum, Runaan, and others, that begins to heal those bonds and create a path forward. A path of love. A path of peace. The path that he had always hoped to forge, and is now so much stronger for having had to struggle to get to it.

[prisoner-000]

Let's talk Apples, Bauhaus, Ads & Kazui Mukuhara's MVs!

I've seen a lot of people talk about art history when it comes to both of Kazui's MVs, but usually, the analysis tends to focus on more surface-level aspects. I'm a bit of an art history nerd, so I thought - hey, why not, let's look into it some more when it comes to these two videos! Particularly I am focusing on 20th century art.

Everyone and their mom has already deciphered the appearance of Magritte's The Son of Man in half (Cat confirms the similarity by making a direct reference to the painting), but I'm gonna be quickly repeating it anyways without simply going off the Wikipedia summary.

The Son of Man is, like many of Magritte's works, about not giving the viewer all the details to understand the work. His photorealistic style contrasts with his phantastical subjects to create a dream-like atmosphere and to invite the viewer to step into this dream world of surrealism he's crafted. "half" borrows the surface theme of not being able to see everything about the man who is depicted, his face being obscured, almost as though he is wearing a mask.

But that's not all! The apple from this painting has been borrowed to be a symbol in Kazui's story as a whole.

The apple as a symbol of sin, desire and the downfall of man has been used in essentially all mediums of art since... the invention of abrahamic religions and the writing of the story of the garden of Eden? The Tanach/Old Testament (and, of course, the New Testament) and tales within it have inspired a lot of art symbolism (e.g. crosses, apples...) so it's not a surprise this pops up in modern anime music videos. Hell, the apple was even used as shorthand in Snow White. If you'd like to look more into apple symbolism and its origins, I'd suggest looking into this article. Especially interesting for us and theory-crafters, of course, is the 'desire' aspect of the apple symbolism.

So, "half" and "Cat" reference The Son of Man. But one connection to a painting isn't enough to warrant a theme of art history, is it? You're right! Let's talk about "Cat"'s visual style!

Many people have already pointed out Cat's print, advertisement-like style with its CMYK color scheme and torn paper at the edges. But it seems a lot of people in the fandom don't really know what this style in particular is called. The combination of these geometric shapes with print colors, slick design and the Helvetica font has its roots in Bauhaus design — it's based on the modern idea of the "Bauhaus" style.

Students of the Bauhaus school were mainly involved in designing furniture, architecture, and print design. Bauhaus' design philosophy was 'form follows function' — Walter Gropius' (the founder of Bauhaus) goal with his school was to streamline design as a whole and make mass production of designs possible. This led to a rather strict design process - students were encouraged to follow the school's motto and not add 'unnecessary' elements to their designs. This is why, more than 100 years later, designs developed in the Bauhaus school are still being used for print media and furniture.

Why is this important? What I want you to focus on in that aspect of "Cat"'s design is the inherent strictness that came with this philosophy of design. Bauhaus designs followed purpose rather than simply existing for art's sake (even originally being created with more political ideas, that being socialism, in mind).

In contrast to this, let's focus on what Bauhaus' groundwork design was used for in the late 20th century.

You might recognize the advertisement style presentation from more recent Pop Art works such as Roy Lichtenstein's big canvas works or, more famously, some of Andy Warhol's print works, which were also made by utilizing similar techniques in color and print. Particularly, you might have also drawn connections to Andy Warhol's Marylin Monroe prints.

Pop Art is (in)famously one of the most modern-culture-heavy art periods. Pop Art is all about consumerism and ads. And, in turn, consumerism and ads are about society, which is about upholding norms, which is Sometimes Also about gender and masculinity. So, we close this weird circle and we're all the way back to that suffocating masculinity theme.

The only thing in Cat that breaks away from the print ad influence is the ending section, where the background is a harsh red. That's on purpose. It's not really supposed to be part of the Pop Art world everyone that isn't Kazui seems to be living in.

I personally believe the progression from half's theater, Magritte-based symbolism to Cat's loud and modern Bauhaus/Pop Art style to be purposeful. Half gives you the story of a sad man trapped in a tragedy, Cat gives you the story of a liar who tries to embrace the societal standards that are suffocating him. While Magritte's work leads you into a world of dreams, Pop Art makes you face reality in the most obnoxious and colorful way possible.

And, really, isn't that just what Kazui is all about? Dreaming? Closing his eyes to escape the print ad reality he lives in? Waking up to see something he has never faced before, dark red, color splotches that don't fit into this ideal CMYK world, splattered on the sidewalk below?

[nehardeia]

ok so here's the thing. here's the thing. Aziraphale has lots of insanely old books in his shop, and he is a fan of religious works, right? Like prophecy books and Bibles etc. Also we know he can read and speak Hebrew and Aramaic, since he was in the middle east during the time those were colloquially spoken. Conclusion: Aziraphale definitely has some Tanachs* from like the 14-1800s, likely a few from the middle ages, probably a couple as old as the Dead Sea Scrolls, and I'm guessing some of the supposedly burnt pages of the Aleppo Codex.

He also, I'm certain, has at least one full first edition Vilna Shas** (1800s), a Bomberg (first printed edition, 1500s), and probably a few handwritten ones from the Geonic*** period as well.

And might even learn a few pages with you if you asked very nicely and promised not to buy any of his books.

*books containing the full Hebrew scripture, what is called the Old Testament by Christians

** a set of the 37 volumes of the Talmud, the foundational work on which modern Jewish law is based, consisting of compiled legal discourse and a wide range of heated arguments civil discussions about various aspects of Jewish life in Babylon and Judea from around 100-500 CE (with several layers of footnotes dating from 11th-18th century). AKA the world's oldest forum thread.

***~500-900 CE. Texts from this period reference the Talmud a bunch, but the earliest editions of the Talmud we have copies of are from the 12-1300s.

[hindahoney]

i've been getting more into judaism after being raised jewish. i was never bat mitzva'ed, so im wondering if i should do that? also wondering what other steps to take.

Well, I have great news! You don't need to have a bat mitzvah, you are a bat mitzvah! If you would like the celebration, you certainly can have one, but it isn't necessary.

I didn't grow up with really any Jewish observance, so I was essentially a complete beginner when I decided to connect. So, my suggestions come from personal experience and the experiences of some others I know who are baal teshuva.

Some more steps you could take to foster a stronger relationship with your Judaism is first to reach out to your local rabbi, and see what events or classes their shul has going on. Showing up to these opportunities can open doors to figuring out what feels right for you, and I've found that making friends who are at a level of observance that you strive to be at can inspire you to keep learning. If you get in touch with a rabbi beforehand, they could probably arrange to have you meet with someone who can show you around and introduce you to people. While this can be really intimidating at first, believe me when I say that many Jews will be happy to help you and won't pass judgement. Many Jews have been in your shoes, you're not alone.

Or, you can pick a few different shuls and just go to each one until you find one that feels right for you. Don't feel pressured to commit to one over the other. Don't get bogged down by the labels of movements. If you have a personal goal in mind or a certain aspect of observance you want to do, just start doing it, even if it feels awkward at first. Over time, it'll be easier. Find some local study groups, or join one online! During quarantine I joined a Torah study group from a shul hundreds of miles away from me. They didn't care that I'd never step foot in their shul before, they were just happy to have a fresh face who wanted to learn. You could also try Partners In Torah, which is a website that can connect you with a chavruta.

Chabad is always a great option for those who are looking to deepen their relationship with Judaism because they always have resources specifically for people looking to reconnect.

If you live in a place with a significant Jewish population, you could find a Young Jewish Professional's group that can introduce you to more people.

I would recommend getting a siddur with Hebrew and English, if your Hebrew is shaky. I would also recommend starting to read the parsha every week, or starting the Tanach from scratch and reading it like any other book. I suggest The Living Torah and The Living Nach by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan because the translations are in modern terms and easier to read, and they have commentary by Rashi. I also can't recommend enough Joseph Telushkin's books Biblical Literacy and Jewish Literacy, they're incredibly comprehensive guides to living a Jewish life by forming a strong Jewish educational foundation. Seriously, I've mentioned these books a million times on my blog because I love them that much.

Also, you could just start small! Saying modei ani in the morning when you wake up, saying hamotzi or the birkat, or even just saying Shema before bed can be a great way to start the process of opening up.

This last recommendation might be a little out there, but I think that doing some traditional Jewish cooking or baking can help motivate you to keep learning. This is how I started. I bought a few kosher cookbooks and just started making anything I had the ingredients for. It's not necessarily a "standard" way to connect, but my soul felt like it was reaching through time and space and connecting with all the Jews before me who had prepared and eaten the same thing.

As always, if anyone else has suggestions for anon, the more the merrier! I want to express my sincere excitement for you. Enjoy the journey you're on, don't be so caught up on "but I wish I was more observant this way" or "I'm not Jewish enough in this way" because it's all nonsense. Reconnecting is an amazing and life-changing experience, so enjoy the path that you're on, not necessarily the destination. When I first started, I was so insecure about how much I didn't know and worried others would judge me, but I found most people genuinely just want to help. Learning was exciting, and in some ways I'm envious of all the new experiences you're going to have. I would have enjoyed it a lot more had I just relaxed and accepted that it's okay not to know things yet.

Good luck!!

[jewishdainix]

I love the relationship me and my partner have. It's not romantic not platonic but its also not-not romantic and not-not platonic. I guess its a qpr but its also. Could be described not using just that. For us love is like the colour you mix into clay - sure, you could look at the label and see what colour it says but in reality you have to mix it into the clay and see it become lines and splotches mixing into each other in different shades, colouring the clay is the act, not the label of the colour. We are not just romantic or just platonic, we are clay to shape as we wish, we are the little lyrical or musical references to older albums that artists hid in their newer albums, we are the thing that connects the tanach and the new testament (extra funny because I'm jewish and its christian) we start where the other ends. And I love it

[softness-and-shattering]

I have a hot take to throw out there. Apropos of nothing much in particular just a thought thats been stewing.

Cultural christianity, the idea that christianity is part of 'our' broadly 'Western' culture regardless of ones personal beliefs. Regardless of if one is a devout practising christian or a devout atheist or agnostic, many aspects of christianity are woven into your worldview and many aspects of your life. Modesty/purity culture, what you consider to be the blueprint of how religions work, how you view holidays and how often they should be and how theyre celebrated etc. etc.

My hot take is that those of us are who are actively not christian, such as myself, a Jew, we still have absorbed a lot of christianity in our cultural language. We are not immune to cultural christianity.

I can tell you a lot offhand about Xmas and how its celebrated, I will always know what date it is. I know about the christian holy books. And some about easter and I know some foundational biblr stories and christian ethics that arent from Tanach.

We translate words to christian terms. A rabbi and a cohen are very different but both are 'priests'. We call womens yeshivas 'seminary' most of the time - midrasha is catching on, sure, but why did we ever go with seminary?

Somewhere along the line we picked up purity culture. Not tahara, I mean sex tabboo. Tznius is maybe barely deoraita, the minutia is certainly not deoraita but we are *obsessed* with inches of cloth this way and that way, inches of hair, we dont do sex ed for teens even though Rashi, intended for five year olds, talks about periods and theres plenty of sex in Tanach, why is that tabboo? When did we pick that up? Why dont we give even a quartrr thay attention to tzedakah which is deoraita, for one example. (This ones a particular pet peeve of mine, if you couldnt tell).

We too are living in a christian hegemony, and we arent unaffected. We are less affected than people without a different culture to compare and contrast with, to be another perspective on the universe and our place in it. But we arent unaffected.

Again this isnt apropos of anything, its not a side of an argument happening elsewhere, not that I know of anyway. Just a thought.

Id like responses actually, just be mindful of staying in your lane and your personal experience please. Some of this is intra-community, but Im also curious how other people with non-christian culture relate to the like, one foot in the door willingly or not. Kiiind of like how english internet culture is USAmerican dominated regardless of where people are from bc yall are the majority.

And please be nice and respectful. This is the internet and I am asking this of you in my corber of it here.

[nova-alien-jewposting]

welcome to my blog! 🌈🤎

~~~~

about me 🌈🤎

~~~~

🤍 hi there! i'm nova/ariel (נובה/אריאל), and welcome to my jewposting sideblog where i will be posting stuff having to do with judaism and israel! i am over 21, jewish, israeli, ukrainian, and american. i have deep ties to israel especially, with most of my family currently living or having lived there.

🤍 i don't feel like i align neatly into any specific sect of judaism. in terms of practice i'd say i'm conservative leaning, but i'm an avid tanach learner and enjoy examining orthodox and chasidic teachings.

🤍 i am currently a student at a major university in the united states under federal investigation for how severe its antisemitism has gotten. i will not be disclosing which university this is, but just know i am experiencing firsthand what has been going on in terms of these issues.

🤍 i block freely, and i don't owe an explanation to anyone about who i block or why. i do so for my own comfort, and you're welcome to block me as well. i don't care.

🤍 i am autistic and ADHD, and am mentally ill. if i accidentally say something questionable, please TELL ME! i want to do better, so please don't pull that "you know what you did" shit. i promise you i literally have no clue what the hell i did.

🤍 want more info on me? see my carrd here!

🤍 the character you see on this profile is one of my own! i love him very much and i hope you do too. all things retro and nostalgic are huge sources of comfort for me. :3

art by nekonekodesu23 on toyhouse!

things to know 🌈🤎

~~~~

🤍 i am not pro-israel, nor am i pro-hamas. i don't give a shit if you-re pro-palestinian. i have a problem with the hamas supporters/antisemites. i've hated bibi (netanyahu for you non-israelis) long before this conflict broke out, as do many other israelis and jews alike. i don't agree with a lot of the shit he says or how he is handling the current situation. i hate both sides of this conflict. imo, the hostages should be returned, and a PERMANENT ceasefire should be honored (this does not mean hamas consistently violating the ceasefires set in place; october 7th WAS a ceasefire violation).

🤍 so many of my family members are currently in the IDF being forced to fight in a war they never had a say about, and i don't know who out of them is still alive. i don't think the IDF's intent is to completely annihilate gaza, because trust me, they could have turned the entire strip into a fucking parking lot MONTHS ago. that said, i don't like what bibi and his posse are making them do over there. they're mostly just scared college kids forced into combat.

🤍 if you believe that jews control the media, that jew = zionist and vice versa, that israeli = jew and vice versa, that jews are responsible for all the world's problems, that all jews and/or israelis are evil and want to murder palestinians, that antisemitism isn't real, that october 7th was justified/didn't happen, that hamas are "freedom fighters," or anything similar, get the fuck off my blog. i don't need antisemites here. similarly, if you cannot have a conversation with a jewish person without bringing up the i/p conflict, you are also not welcome here.

🤍 i don't consider myself to be a zionist, nor do i consider myself to be an anti-zionist. you can call me whatever you want. but as a jewish israeli, i'm not cool with people trying to justify the largest massacre of jews since the HOLOCAUST, or calling for the destruction of the only country i've felt at home in. i don't give a shit if it's a one or two state solution or what, i just want peace. i don't want anyone else killed or maimed on either side. i have no issue with advocating for and supporting the palestinians OR criticizing israel as long as antisemitism isn't thrown in.

🤍 the second anyone as a non-jew starts saying what they think antisemitism is or isn't, they're getting blocked. if you wouldn't say something about any other marginalized group (POC, queer, disabled, neurodivergent, mentally ill, homeless, etc), don't say it about jews. and if you would, you're DEFINITELY not welcome here.

🤍 this is the ONLY blog i will be posting political things on. do not bring politics from this blog on to any of my other blogs, or you will be blocked. i keep my blogs separate for a reason.

user boxes 🌈🤎

~~~~

[hyperpotamianarch]

Pleasant music playing. The logo of Camp Nephillim appears on a sky-blue background. The logo is a tilted Star of David in which all the points are stylized as wings, with the words "Camp Nephilim" above and the Hebrew equivalent - "מחנה הנפילים" - below. Underneath the logo is a tagline - a quote from the Tanach.

The logo & background slowly fade. The music also fades, though a bit later than the logo.

[Setting: Int., an office of some sort. The back wall is covered with book shelves, with many of the books being in Hebrew - the Talmud, multi volume edition of the Tanach and such books. There's a table in the middle of the room. Behind it sits Tuvia Rosenbloom, an adult Jewish man with curly dark hair, a short beard and sharp green eyes. He wears a blue Camp Nephilim t-shirt, with a Tzitzit under it and a yarmulke on his head. He sports a friendly smile.]

Tuvia (with a noticable British accent): Shalom! Hello, and welcome to Camp Nephillim. I am Tuvia Rosenbloom, the camp councelor, and I'm here to explain to you about what this camp is and why you're here. Your journey here was likely shaking, so in the meanwhile take your time to relax and drink a cup of water while you're watching this orientation video. Please remember to say the blessing before!

[He lifts a cup of water, says the blessing and drinks before continuing]

Tuvia (cont.): So, first thing first: you should know that many thing that you may have thought were merely myth are, in fact, quite real. This includes angels and demons - though they aren't exactly the same as you might've imagined them. No, the whole "Biblically Accurate Angels" meme wouldn't prepare you enough either. Angels can also sometimes appear differently than their natural form, and can even seem like regular humans. They sometimes fall in love with humans, which is how most Nephilim come to be.

[Tuvia's office disappears, to show instead a Chumash opened in the Book of Genesis, chapter 6]

Tuvia (cont.): What are the Nephilim? Well, as the Torah says,

"It was then, and later too, that the Nephilim appeared on earth—when divine beings cohabited with the human women, who bore them offspring. Such were the heroes of old, the men of renown."

[Setting returns to Tuvia's office]

Tuvia (cont.): So, those are the Nephilim, then: children of Divine beings and humans, who are heroes and men of renown. And you are likely one of them.

[Tuvia takes another sip from his cup, then sets it aside]

Tuvia (cont.): You might need some time to digest that, feel free to pause the video for a few minutes. Getting back on topic, though: you are, likely, the child of a divine being. If you always grown with a single parent who only rarely reminisced of another parent you don't know what happened to them - you are likely a Naphil. It may grant you certain abilities relating to the position your divine parent served in the universe. Note, however, that those divine beings aren't gods. We do not worship them or offer them sacrifices, even as mediators between as and G-d. Some of those Divine Beings do like to consider themselves gods and were worshipped by old civilizations - the Greek and Norse pantheons, for example. That doesn't make them any more gods than the Angels known in Jewish lore - they are merely forces. Powerful, but not omnipotent.

[Tuvia pauses for a moment, letting that sink in]

Tuvia (cont.): There are other types of people who might find their way to Camp Nephilim, however. Perhaps you were training in magic under the Egyptian ḥartumim of Per Ankh and felt uncomfortable during Passover; maybe you studied under the tutelage of the Chaldeans in New Jersey, and they were harsh on you during Tisha b'Av; or maybe you were either born with the Re'iyeh, the Sight, or were granted it by an experiment gone wrong. I, personally, am descended from one of the few Jewish bloodlines that inherited the Re'iyeh from one of our ancestors. We can see the hidden world, and the threats within... and they tend to look back. Which leads us to demons.

[Tuvia leans back in his chair, putting his hands together]

Tuvia (cont.): It is important to remember that Demons - or Shedim, as they are known in Hebrew - aren't what you've come to expect from beings with such a name. They aren't evil monsters, hell-bent on tempting you to sin. Rather, they are... adjacent beings to us, not dissimilarly to elves or goblins in modern popular media. However, they are nothing like you may have come to expect from elves of the Tolkeinian kind. They are wilder than them, and prone to hurt humans. They aren't always murderous or impossible to reason with either. Some of them, like our lore instructor Yonatan Shida, are rather friendly. Many of them crave blood, though, and nothing is tastier to them than the blood of the Nephilim, or other humans capable of seeing them. They live in the edges of society and can feel when someone is looking at them. And when you do... when you acknowledge seeing them... you become fair play.

[Tuvia returns to his previous posture, lifts his cup and takes another sip]

Tuvia (cont.): You likely had a significant encounter with Shedim, or maybe other types of monsters, on your way here - but it probably wasn't your first time seeing them. It might have been a man who, upon a second look, had chicken legs. Perhaps you could've sworn that a weird stranger who seemed to follow you had two heads. You may have seen a horse fly on the horizon, or encountered a tall person with an umbilical cord tying them to the ground on a field trip. They were less of a threat to you back then. But yo have grown, and your powers and abilities grew with you - along with the Shedim's ability to sense you. They will be coming for you - which is why you're here. Camp Nephilim is a place for Jewish Nephilim and Ba'alei Shem to train. To get used to the powers granted to us by virtue of our parentage or via other means. We're not the only place for such training; Camp Half-Blood in Long Island offers training for children of entities from the Greek Pantheon, while the 21 Nome of the House of Life in Brooklyn offers training in Egyptian magic, and the Chaldean school in Jersey City will train you in the Mesopotamian vain. None of those, however, is built with Jews in mind: the worship of pagan gods is common in all these places. They don't supply you with Kosher food, tend to not care for our holidays and often enough rife with latent antisemitism. We offer a Jewish alternative - no matter what is your level of observance or what congregation you belong to, you can be sure we have here at least one synagogue you can daven at and one you'd never set foot in. We do not worship any god but G-d here - you can honor your parents in ways fitting the traditions of the Torah, but even if a divine parent asks of you to worship them you are not required to. Another difference between us and the other Camps and Schools is that you aren't trained to slay Shedim here. You're trained to keep them at bay, imprison them if necesarry. Unlike other monsters, Shedim die like humans do, and so killing them should be only taken as a last resort: if your life are in danger you should kill whoever threatens you, but otherwise killing Shedim is like murder. We would ask you to refrain from doing that unless necessary.

[Tuvia gets up]

Tuvia (cont.): That is it for the orientation video for now. Further explanations on your sleeping arrangemnt and schedules will be given to you when you exit the room. Welcome to Camp Nephilim! We hope you enjoy your time with us.

[Outro music playing, the picture of Tuvia's office is replaced by the blue background with the Camp's logo to the side while the credits are shown on screen]

———

Writer wishes to note he knows nothing about writing stage instructions.

[fromchaostocosmos]

To the large chunk of non-Jewish bloggers on this website who before Oct 7 would every now then reblog something along the lines of "don't be antisemitic" and around winter time "happy hannukah to all my Jewish followers" and then a out a character who maybe be headcannoned as Jewish and nothing more

but after Oct 7 has become riddled with the most disgustingly antisemitic posts, posts full of misinformation, posts calling for the death of Israelis, denying Jewish Indigeneity, and of course posts using "shitrael" or "isntreal" or "isrhell".

Do you think we are stupid. Do you think we can't see this.

Or is it rather that you never cared about us and now that you have permission to revel in the hate you are.

I would like to share something that I saw on of these such types of blogs. It was one who is exactly has I described. Did the barest and of bare not even bare minimums, but after Oct 7 has become a hate infested cesspool.

They reblogged a post where someone had shared an article from the Middle East Eye, a Qatari run propaganda machine.

Now how did Hebrew steal from Arabic when Hebrew predates Arabic I guess we are not supposed to think about that. That Jews have been living in the region for several millennia don't think about it. That there have Mizrahi communities in these places since the Babylonians don't think about it.

The notes of course was filled with the tags "cultural appropriation"

but then I saw these tags

You mean the Shekel which is mentioned in the Tanach. The parliamentary system of government. Which craftworks, please be specific?

So again do you think we don't see these things. Do you think we are stupid.

Or what we see not the point and not what matters, but rather what matters is the lies and misinformation and making sure that is what is seen and spread so that you can ensure we have no friends and no allies. So that no when will stand up or make a fuss when you come to hurt us, to kill us, and destroy us.

And to that I will say look to those who came before and see where they are now. Do you see them? No, because they are not here, but we are.

So if you are going to come for us, if you are going to come to destroy us you better give it all you have because when you fail and you will fail it will not end well for you.

It never does. But we survive, we always do.

Am Yisrael Chai עם ישראל חי

[springstarfangirl]

Hiya! I'm trying to write a Jewish character, can I have some help please? I really want to make her good positive representation

Sure thing! Though do keep in mind that I am only one girl from one stream of a religion that has itself a history of over three millennia, so I can only speak for what I know, that being Orthodox Judaism.

(also this is getting quite long, but I don't know what I expected- the rest is going under the cut.)

So one thing to keep in mind is that Judaism is more than just a religion. It's also a culture, and even just being raised around it- even if your character is secular (doesn't perform the commandments) or atheist/agnostic (doesn't believe God exists/doesn't know if God exists)- it will very much affect your character's mindset and possibly show up in their life in other ways.

In fact, the reason why I separated secular from atheist/agnostic is part of that- Judaism, due to putting more emphasis on the doing than the believing, doesn't really care if you actually believe in God. There are people who very much perform Judaism as a cultural ritual more than as a religion, and they are just as valid as the people who believe that God is there in every corner.

Okay, so what kind of cultural mentalities can you add?

For instance, the idea of proselytizing is forbidden in Judaism. So the way charity differs from tzedaka can be huge. Tzedaka comes from the root word tzedek, justice, and is seen as a way to help someone who's down on their luck to get back on their feet. Not an opportunity to convince them to join your religion. *stares angrily at American charity orgs*

This has a massive effect on how Jewish people see the world. Giving to and helping other people makes us happy, and that in itself is reward enough.

On the more cultural aspect, the menorahs you always see on TV shows? Inaccurate. Those are specific to one holiday, Chanukkah, which is not only a rather minor holiday but is also sometimes viewed as the "Jewish Christmas" when it really isn't. Instead, what any Jewish household would really have is books, and lots of them. The way we view the Tanach is very different from how a lot of Christians view the Bible- it's rarely literal- and so often you'll find a lot of books about Jewish law hanging around. Also, prayer books and candlesticks. Adult Jewish men are supposed to pray three times a day, so someone is bound to leave their prayer book lying around. And the candlesticks are from the "ceremony" (I say, struggling to find a better word) where we welcome Shabbat on Friday just before sunset. A lot of families keep them out all week.

Food is also massively important. Do your research on what's kosher and what's not (though if your character is Reform this may not apply as much- again, I speak from my own experience only) and try to stick to that. That might involve a Jewish character avoiding eating outside the house unless it's a packaged item (which they might check for kashrut symbols), or whispering a blessing before they eat. Kosher meat and cheese are both very hard to find outside of places with a lot of Jews, so they might be vegetarian.

I can't think of anything else right now, so I'll tag @unbidden-yidden because as a convert, they have much more experience with the mindset distinctions between Christianity and Judaism.

Jumblr, feel free to throw all your additions at this post- I need all the help I can get.

I hope this helped at least a little!

[screamingfromuz]

I truly want to know how is it possible to be a zionist and pro palastine. Enlighten me, please. I'm corious. As a peron who is only starting to learn about this conflict, I want to hear different opinions from many peopel possible. I'm sorry if my Enslish is bad, it is my forth language.

First, your English is great anon; second, good luck, it's a fucking mess, I recommend a massive dose of compassion and caution to make this learning experience bearable; third, let's begin.

first, a few facts:

during the entire 2000 years of exile there was a Jewish community is Eretz Israel/Zion/Canaan/Palestine what even we wanna call the region. there was also immigration to and fro, which meant dispora Jews and Israeli Jews had contacts with each other, there was immigrations and a full on Jewish community.

Jewish tradition, culture and religion have shown great connection to Zion and Jerusalem in particular, which can be seen within the Tanach itself, and in the Halacha.

we have historical evidence of the connection between Jews and Israel

our physical holy sites, they exist

Jews need a place of our own so we could exist without the fear that we will be attacked and forced to flee

and so, I not only believe, but know that the Jews have a connection to this land, and like every indigenous people in the fucking planet, should be given the right to live here and have autonomy. And this is what Zionism in it's basis means-

the Jewish people should have an autonomous government within the historical land of Zion.

And so, a Zionist. and now for the pro Palestinian part.

As I explained in this post, while the majority of Jews were scattered around the globe, the land did not stay empty. Some people moved in, some Jews assimilated, and don't forget, the region went through the hands of seven different rules in that 2000 year gap, life moved on. and I cannot simply ignore it. The Palestinians as a national movement is young (I use the 1917 mark that is shown in the Palestinian National Covenant) and only got it's widespread in the 60's, it does exist. And those people have a right to live here a free live and form their own national identity, just like the other Arabs of the region that found themselves with states after the Balfour decleration.

And so, pro-Palestinian.

My aspiration is a communal state where Jews and Palestinians live together. The connection of my people to the land those not automatically mean I think the Palestinians should be kicked out. A yes and approach for life.

I can advocate for my Palestinian cousins right to live peacefully on a land without Ignoring the fact that my people have a connection to the same land, because those do not contradict. I am also able to criticize both sides and point to their shittery without delegitimizing each struggle, because this is some basic comprehension shit.

To loosely translate a Kaveret song "one says they are running out of skies, when there is air enough to a state or two". there is enough space. will it require some creative space management? sure. But the moment we are able to work together and build something better, I'm sure we will figure it out. Because when we work together NOW? We do some good shit.

[dafyomilimerick]

Bava Batra 19

Tanach tells us that men indeed pee Upon walls, so we must let this be. So how came you to say Don't use urine that way? Pouring's banned, not what flows out of me.