“I think perhaps the books posit that one should behave well in dire circumstances—not because it will help you, but for its own rewards. But it’s not as if I sat down and thought, “What important message can I bestow on the youth of the world?” I think that’s sort of Jewish too. I prefer the model of Talmudic thought in which people can spend a lifetime arguing over a single paragraph of Talmudic text, compared to the Catholic model in which a text is explained for you by someone on high.”

— Lemony Snicket

aph-japan reblogged

koushirouizumi

PSA that a Jew is a Jew is a Jew regardless of level of observance, political opinions, belief in G-d, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Jews are Jews whether they are Jews by choice or Jews by birth; whether they’re intermarried, married to another Jew, or not married at all; whether they have one Jewish parent or two Jewish parents; whether they were born to Jewish parents or adopted by Jewish parents. People who police Jewish identity are annoying and alienate people who may otherwise immerse themselves into this wonderful culture, religion, community, and history we have.

aph-japan reblogged

koushirouizumi

anonymousdandelion

The thing they don’t mention

about wrestling with G-d

is that each of us

holds a spark

of G-d

within ourselves

#anonymousdandelion #jewish tag #jewish poetry #judaism #judaism positivity #poetry #jewish community #sparks of gd #wrestling with gd #sparks of light #tikkun olam #atheist jews #agnostic jews #hashem #jewish positivity #goyim do not derail #good commentary

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magica-pseudoacademica

“[T]he very term “religion” has been foreign to Judaism until relatively recently, when the dialogue with Christianity has compelled Jews to recognize and use it. Indeed the Hebrew language does not really have a word for “religion”. In modern Hebrew the word dat has been pressed into service to translate “religion”, but it is a word which properly refers to law, not belief. A more obvious contender might be the word emunah, which is a key word in the Jewish religious vocabulary, but emunah properly means “trust”: belief in, rather than belief that.”

— Nicholas de Lange, Judaism (2002)

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izzyizumi

TIL that in 2012, Daniel Radcliffe was voted one of the top 10 “most talented, intelligent, funny, and gorgeous Jewish men in the world”, despite not being Jewish.

via reddit.com

if-i-am-not-for-me

The Wikipedia page linked to literally says his mother is Jewish, which makes Daniel Jewish by literally any definition. Fuck you.

By that logic my mother is Christian because so was my grandmother; which means I too am Christian.

Religion isn’t genetic you know.

if-i-am-not-for-me

Judaism is an ethnoreligion, so, actually, in this case it is. Fuck off.

tikkunolamorgtfo

First of all, exactly what @if-i-am-not-for-me said: The Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group, which means a person can be ethnically Jewish without being religious.

Moreover, @chibi-blastoise, being totally ignorant of Jews and Judaism, obviously has no idea that one can actually be a practicing Jew and still be atheist or agnostic, and that there are, in fact, two branches of Judaism (Reconstructionist/Secular Humanist) devoted to practice through an atheist/agnostic lens. Unlike many other religions, Judaism does not require belief in a deity, and even beyond those two aforementioned branches, I even know several agnostic Jews who are Orthodox.

It’s likely that @chibi-blastoise is what we’d refer to as a Christian Atheist, somebody who has Christian heritage and actively participates in secular Christianity without acknowledging that it’s still connected to a religious movement, despite not personally observing it that way. For some reason, it never occurs to people like this that atheist Jews can also have secular versions of their own holidays. Instead, they expect atheist Jews to adopt secularised Christianity because they think their heritage can be devoid of religion in a way ours cannot, which is incredibly offensive and hegemonistic.

Also, just for the record:

“I’m an atheist, but I’m very proud of being Jewish.” Not “I’m an atheist, but I’m proud of having Jewish ancestors.” Daniel Radcliffe says he’s proud of being Jewish. Being. Because “atheist Jew” is not an oxymoron, but rather a perfectly common, normal thing in our culture.

Daniel Radcliffe is an explicitly self-identified Jewish atheist and anybody who can’t handle that can die mad about it.

johnkuzlak

I’m actually confused… There’s a whole part of Judaism that doesn’t believe in god? Do they not believe the Ten Commandments were a thing or the whole Burning Bush incident? Is Passover a thing for them? It seems like you’d have to believe in a god to believe in such things, but I could be wrong. I am just legit confused how this works.

tikkunolamorgtfo

I mean, there are thousands upon thousands of people who celebrate Christmas believing in the Jesus story, so I’m not sure why people would assume atheist Jews can’t celebrate their holidays?

To answer your question, though, there are two movements in Judaism that don’t put stock in a literal deity. Reconstructinist Judaism, as described by Ellen Umansky, holds that “Judaism does not come from the (mountain) top down, but rather grows from the ground up, as the creation of the Jewish people…the Torah is a sacred document, not because God revealed it, but because it belongs to our people and records our first steps in growing towards the concept of godliness…. God is the name we give to the strivings for ethical insights and coordinate behaviour.”

Similarly, the Institute for Secular Humanist Judaism believes that “Judaism is the evolving civilization of the Jewish people. It has been created, lived and recreated in response to the needs and beliefs of each generation. In our days, we believe in the power of people to understand their world and to influence it for the better. We celebrate human freedom and responsibility for our choices and actions. And we know that if justice is to exist in our world, we must create it together. Secular Humanistic Judaism is a cultural Jewish identity lived through this human-focused non-theistic philosophy of life.”

While the movements differ in some ways, basically the idea is that Judaism is our culture and we don’t have to believe in the deity aspects literally for that to have value and meaning to us.

Philosopher Asher Ginsberg is credited as saying “More than Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews.” Our cultural practices, regardless of how we choose to view them, keep us together as a people.

I light Shabbat candles. I celebrate all the holidays. Being Jewish is the core of my identity. I don’t have to believe the Torah is literal for those things to be culturally sacred to me.

For the xtian atheist goyim who have been bothering me about this lately, this is an excellent explanation.

That said, even if you still don’t “get it,” that’s fine. What’s not fine is refusing to respect it anyway.

tobiasdrake

The more I learn about Judaism, the more I realize how little I actually know about Judaism.

meirmakesstuff

The more I learn about Judaism, the more I realize how little I actually know about Judaism.

If I could choose only one thing about Judaism for everyone in the world to understand, this would be it.

#ME #reform tag #agnostic tag #jewish #jewish issues #jewish informative #jewish identity #jewishness #who is a jew #identity erasure #erasure #secular judaism #secular judaism is not judaism lite #atheist jews #agnostic jews #cultural christianity #judaism is not judeo christian #judaism is not xtianity #original sin is not jewish #jewish diaspora #(Disclaimer Yes I Am Aware of current happenings etcetc)#(regarding HP fandom and series in general)#(but as for what this thread had to say)#IMPORTANT #(I would like to add)#(I do not specifically ID as Humanistic or even reconstructionist I ID as rEFOrm because GrANDMAS FAMILY WAS)#(REFORM)#(Important and relevant again NOW that DanRad is also actively advocating for Trans and Queer rights {+as JKR attempts attacking him+Emma})#*GOYIM DO NOT reblog to DiscourseTM or I WILL BLOCK #if youre listening and learning

aph-japan reblogged

homunculus-argument

When people ask me whether I'm religious, spiritual, or believe in the supernatural, I'll say that I don't actively believe in anything, but I try to keep an open mind. And by this, I mean that I'd consider the existence of supernatural entities to be more plausible than the idea of a walrus capable of operating an elevator.

#me #jewish tag #jewish issues #atheist jews #agnostic jews #agnostic tag #fairy vs walrus #walrus vs fairy poll #fandom humor #fandom debates #supernatural phenomenon #judaism #spirituality #religion #please get it

aph-japan reblogged

koushirouizumi

I had a conversation with a friend the other day during which, after it came up that I only eat at kosher restaurants, she said that she hopes I don’t think less of her for being “a bad Jew”. And I just hate that whole idea so much.

So, if anyone out there needs to hear this today: you are not a bad Jew.

You don’t keep kosher or Shabbat? You’re not a bad Jew.

You can’t read Hebrew and don’t know what to do during the Amidah? You’re not a bad Jew.

You only celebrate Hanukkah and haven’t been inside a synagogue in years? You’re not a bad Jew.

You don’t know any brachot and can’t even remember the last time you prayed? You’re not a bad Jew.

You can still learn and take on mitzvot, if that’s something you want in your life. And if you don’t want any of that? That’s okay, too. You’re still not a bad Jew.

We’re a self-deprecating people. I know. I’m right there with you. But this one kills me. Wipe those words out of your mouth and stop tearing yourself down for all the things you never learned or don’t do. No matter what the reason is. It doesn’t matter.

You are not a bad Jew.

aph-japan reblogged

koushirouizumi

yidquotes

Whoever said that one must pray with a whole heart? Perhaps it is preferable to pray with a broken heart.

Rabbi Uri of Strelisk

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koushirouizumi

yidspiration

Fun

It is so much fun to believe in G-d You must try it sometime Try it now and find out whether or not G-d wants you to believe in him. - Leonard Cohen, “Book of Longing”

#jewish tag #jewish #jewish issues #jewish commentary #jewish debate #jewish poetry #poetry #atheist jews #agnostic jews #hashem #*Goyim Do Not Derail Please #leonard cohen #judaism is not xtianity #judaism is not judeo xtian

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danaskull-y

“Yet there is a subtle Jewish assimilation afoot: because other religious traditions define “religion” primarily in terms of faith, prayer and ritual alone, there are now a significant number of Jews who do so as well with Judaism. By focusing on the mitzvot bein adam la-Makom (commandments between a person and God) as the primary definition of piety, we distort Judaism to fit the foreign contour of Christianity and other non-Jewish faiths. We betray the broad heritage of Torah when we fail to recognize justice and righteousness as primary religious categories of Judaism … It remains to assert–as a matter of Jewish integrity and a rebuttal of those who would tailor Judaism to fit a Christian mold–that ethics and a passion for justice remain the engines driving the entire Jewish enterprise.”

— -Rabbi Bradley Artson, on Parashat Shoftim

aph-japan reblogged

koushirouizumi

exposingantisemitism

thchyrulcfccl-deactivated201802 asked:

Does one have to be a practicing Jew for their antisemitic experiences to be valid, or are descendants that don't practice not 'really' Jewish enough to experience antisemitism.

exposingantisemitism answered:

Any kind of Jew can experience antisemitism. Practicing, non-practicing, matrilineal descent, patrilineal descent, convert, Ashkenazi, Beta Israel, Reform, Hasidic, and so on.

Antisemites (generally) don’t split hairs over how observant a Jew is or ask themselves “well, does she go to synagogue on Shabbat?” or “does he daven daily?” before they choose to target that person. All they care about is that the person is, to their knowledge, Jewish or a “Jew-sympathizer.” Observance of the halakhah just doesn’t tend to be the determining factor, and gentiles are often ignorant of halakha and Rabbinic teachings anyway.

That’s not to say that observant Jews, particularly those who wear traditional garb or things like kippot, cannot be easier targets for antisemites. People who are visibly Jewish can be targeted for antisemitism without ever having to say “yes, I am Jewish” or reveal a very Jewish surname. In addition, people who live in Jewish communities or are associated with Jewish organizations can be more easily targeted just out of the fact that it’s easier to tell that they are Jewish.

It’s worth mentioning that Jews who are not observant can also be visibly Jewish, whether because of genetics or due to wearing items such as Magen David necklaces, and can also be involved in Jewish organizations and the like. Religious observances isn’t the determining factor of “how Jewish” a person is, and how a person sees themself and presents themself to the world is very important.

aph-japan reblogged

koushirouizumi

pipistrellus

i think something a lot of gentiles don’t get – especially gentiles from christian cultural backgrounds or who live in christian-dominated places – is like… theres a vastly different attitude to texts in judaism than there is in christianity. like. the obvious example here is talmud and rabbinical debates and etc, like you can point out “well rabbis have been dissecting the tanakh into teensy little pieces for millennia” which is true. but also, like

just regular jews! we are meant to read the entire torah every year. there is a different portion assigned to each day. even in non-orthodox synagogues, usually (in my experience), we discuss the week’s portion on friday before shabbat or saturday afterwards. we talk about it.

here’s an example: you wanna know who the first person who ever said “hey, isn’t it kind of fucked up that in exodus, pharaoh is always willing to let the israelites go, and then the hebrew god “hardens his heart”, making him refuse?”

it was a jew.

the relevant rabbinical discussions about that and other issues in exodus are PRINTED RIGHT IN many haggahdot

this is… the backbone of our religion and culture. “israel” means “wrestles with god”. literally.

if youre ever like “wow i bet noones ever told this PROBLEMATIC JUDEO-CHRISTIAN SOCIETY OF OURS about how FUCKED UP A CERTAIN BIT OF THE ~OLD TESTAMENT~ IS!” you are wrong someone has indeed told society about that and it was jews. in fact we are probably telling someone about that right now. as we speak

and as an example: if there’s part of the hebrew bible where youre like “wow… this sounds super sexist” (or whatever), let me tell you, jewish women have been writing books about that part? for decades if not centuries. like… trust me

“hey wanna hear my opinion about something fucked up in our holy texts?” - jews, like, all the time, since forever

aph-japan reblogged

koushirouizumi

I had a conversation with a friend the other day during which, after it came up that I only eat at kosher restaurants, she said that she hopes I don’t think less of her for being “a bad Jew”. And I just hate that whole idea so much.

So, if anyone out there needs to hear this today: you are not a bad Jew.

You don’t keep kosher or Shabbat? You’re not a bad Jew.

You can’t read Hebrew and don’t know what to do during the Amidah? You’re not a bad Jew.

You only celebrate Hanukkah and haven’t been inside a synagogue in years? You’re not a bad Jew.

You don’t know any brachot and can’t even remember the last time you prayed? You’re not a bad Jew.

You can still learn and take on mitzvot, if that’s something you want in your life. And if you don’t want any of that? That’s okay, too. You’re still not a bad Jew.

We’re a self-deprecating people. I know. I’m right there with you. But this one kills me. Wipe those words out of your mouth and stop tearing yourself down for all the things you never learned or don’t do. No matter what the reason is. It doesn’t matter.

You are not a bad Jew.