Is your hair curly? No nuance, converts included.
Claim Your Jewish Culture
Judaism is a religion and a people, and it’s also a culture. When living within another dominant culture, it can be easy to assimilate, and hard to feel a connection to Judaism. If you aren’t very religious or observant, if you’re a patrilineal, a prospective or in-progress convert, or come from an assimilated family, that struggle can be even harder. I’ve seen a lot of asks on tumblr recently from people like this, who are looking for ways to explore what they feel is missing from their Jewish identities, so, this is a list of some ways to explore our heritage and grow in your Jewishness. Jews, please feel free to add more!
- Start saying CE and BCE instead of AD and BC. Strip the outside Xtian influence from your personal reckoning of time.
- Know the Hebrew date. You can use Hebcal to export the entire Jewish year, with your preferences for what holidays and how they are written, and import it directly to the calendar app you already use! You can even set your location to get candle lighting times.
- Show solidarity with other groups. Eliminate slurs from your language. Learn about the situations of other minority groups and how to be an ally for them. Learn about the intersection of Jewish identity with queer or POC identities by listening to others share their experiences. Try to remove slurs and cultural appropriation from your life, with kindness and education.
- Take ownership of mitzvot through education and practice. Start lighting Shabbat candles and doing Havdalah. Kiss the mezzuzah. Count the Omer. Light Chanukah candles. Observe minor fast days. Bring Judaism into your sense of time and space and home, because Judaism is not just the synagogue, and it’s not just a religion: it’s a way of living. ♡
- Take ownership of oberservance, not all at once, but one thing at a time. If you’ve never kept a kosher home, learn to cook a kosher dish. If you’ve never been shomer Shabbat, try incorporating one aspect of rest into your Saturday. Don’t be intimidated by all the dos and don'ts of Jewish law - just learn, try things one at a time, and see what feels meaningful for you.
- Learn about and start living Jewish customs and rituals. Smash a glass at your wedding. Learn to make cholent. Sit shiva when you lose a loved one. Remember that even if your family never did these things before, Jewish ritual needs to be practiced in order to survive. By adopting more and more customs, you will help ensure their transmission to the next generation, and the continuance of our culture.
- Stop swearing with “Jesus.” Remove the power from the dominating Xtian culture by stripping it from your life. Learn to swear in Hebrew or Yiddish instead! It’s more fun anyway.
- Foster a Jewish relationship with food, even if your family never made them before. Get some cookbooks. Try baking and separating challah. Learn which brachot pretain to which food, and use them as a moment of gratitude.
- Start a tzedaka practice. Maybe start giving around holidays. Consider donating to local charities. Give the extra dollar at the grocery store, or a friends fundraiser. Help those in need.
- Study a Jewish language. Hebrew is awesome, and there are many Jewish tongues around the world, including Yiddish, Aramaic, Ladino, Juhuri, Judeo-Arabic, and many others. There’s so many resources available online now, and even if you only learn some basic vocabulary or how to read the alefbet, you will feel more pride and ownership than before.
- Learn about Jewish everyday vocabulary. Explore and incorporate phrases like yasher koach, kol hakavod, mensch, lashon hara, mitzvah, etc into your lexicon.
- Learn about Jewish theology. You’re probably familiar with the ideas of G-d, angels, demons, heaven and hell or the afterlife in general. Judaism often has a very different stance on these issues! Are all angels good? Is G-d male, or does G-d even have a body? Are all demons bad? Is Satan the enemy of G-d? Is magic always at odds with religion? Do bad people go to hell? Learn about the Jewish answers to these questions.
- Learn about middot, gemilit hasadim, and tikkun olam. Make a difference in your community through volunteering, showing up when your friends need you, pursuing social justice, and being present and healing for those in need. Take pride in knowing these things are inherently Jewish, and that social justice is central to who we are.
- Broaden your horizons for cultural artifacts. Drink in Jewish art, poetry, literature, and music. Learn about Sephardi love poetry, listen to Yemenite-Israeli singers or Mizrachi metal, hang up a Hebrew micography print, or watch some performances by Batsheva. Whatever type of art, music, or writing you already love, I guarantee you there is a Jewish artist contributing to that field. If not, maybe it will be you!
- Learn about Jewish superstitions and customs. Learn about Jewish magic and folklore. Learn about Jewish history, in Israel and in the Diaspora. You probably already know lots of things about your country’s history, or your dominant folk traditions - read up on your people’s!
- Learn about antisemitism and philosemitism. Learn about the history of interactions between Judaism and the Church. Learn about what antisemitic stereotypes are, why they exist, and why they matter today. Learn about why the Evangelical Church’s obsession with Israel is unhealthy and wrongly motivated. Learn about Xtian theology regarding us: what is the difference between the Old Testament and the Tanakh? Why does the Xtian Bible call us the “synagogue of Satan?” What is replacement theology?
- Learn about Jewish symbolism. What is the history of the hamsa, or the Magen David? What colors are associated with Judaism and certain holidays? What foods, stones, fruits and plants, have special symbolic meaning?
Please remember that Judaism is a community! The absolute best way to engage in Jewish life is to be a part of a community, and this list is not a replacement for that. If you’re interested in deepening your connection to Judaism or Jewish culture, talk to a Rabbi, look for classes at your local JCC or synagogue, or attend services and holiday events. If you’re a prospective convert or otherwise unsure about your Jewish status, remember that education is never cultural appropriation! It’s always okay to learn and educate yourself. If you have questions about what (and when and how) it’s appropriate for you to practice Judaism, feel free to reach out to a local Rabbi, who will almost certainly be able to give you guidance and resources!
💙🔯💙
Do you know this Jewish “character”? (Father’s Day Edition)
the “raised in a jewish family” collection (incomplete, because i would have been here all day)
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.
REBLOG IF YOU THINK PATRILINEAL JEWS ARE VALID AND AN IMPORTANT PART OF AM YISRAEL✡️
PATRILINEAL JEWS ARE VALID AF! 💙 ✡️
I saw you answered an ask about cultural vs. religious identification, and I wanted to say that I've been struggling with the same thing, but in a different way. I'm a Korean adoptee with Jewish parents, so technically I'm not cultural and I feel like the only way I can keep calling myself Jewish is if I commit myself to the religion, which has been very stressful because I'm not sure I believe in it all. How/can I maintain my Jewishness?
My understanding is that if you were adopted before 13 and were raised Jewish, then you’re considered by most to be a Jew. I’m not sure how this applies if you don’t practice Judaism as a religion.
Anyone input from someone who is either also an adoptee or just knows a lot about the subject?
I’m a transethnic adoptee (declared Jewish as an infant) and was culturally Jewish for the majority of my teens and 20s, but not religious.
If your parents are Jewish, you are Jewish. It doesn’t matter if your parents are your parents by biology or by adoption.
There will be some Jews who will not accept you, because they are too beholden to their ideas of normativity (the same as Jews who will never accept patrilineal Jews absent a conversion). They are people who refuse to shift their ideas and relinquish normativity while at the same time refusing to acknowledge and realize that those concepts actually affect and hurt individuals. They are hurting the very community of which they profess to be “guardians.” But to me and to others you are Jewish no matter your religious views or absence thereof.
While I am not a transracial adoptee and do not pretend to understand exactly what that experience is like, I am a transethnic adoptee and would be more than happy to be a sounding board for the anon if they are in need!
In case anyone else needed a reminder
the “raised in a jewish family” collection (incomplete, because i would have been here all day)
Much love to patrilineal Jewish people.
And if you’re looking for a place to *try on* Judaism, hang out in a Jewish Community, and/or learn a bit, please check out Wrestling with Torah - a radically inclusive and welcoming online Jewish Learning Community!
You shelter me in your Sukkah on a difficult day.
Psalm 27:5
Our community is strengthened when we fully support and integrate patrilineal Jews.
If people could stop saying that Ashkenazi Jews = ethnically European that’d be great. :)
If you can accept that “American” is a nationality, rather than an ethnicity, you can understand that “X European Country” serves the same function for Jews with history in Europe.
I really don’t like being called identical to the same people that killed/kicked out my family for NOT being like them, destroying much of our distinct culture in the process.
And please don’t use the fact that Europeans forced goyische last names on us as part of your argument. :)))
If you’re interested in genetics, you can even look at this cool study on Levantine populations. Jews, including Ashkenazim, have significant overlap with the populations studied. If one study isn’t enough for you, have a link to a bunch more that say basically the same thing!
Almost all Jewish groups are more closely related to each other than our neighbors, indicating common ancestry regardless of how far apart we’ve lived in the past, and we’ve never forgotten where we come from. We’re still a diasporic people with origins in the Middle East. Not Europe. History and science agree. Please stop trying to argue otherwise.
I’m happy you made this post because I saw the post that presumably inspired it and I wanted to say something about it but didn’t have the koyach.
That said, genetic studies have shown that ethnic Ashkenazim (of which I am one) are half Southern European. However, we have very little Eastern European admixture. Also, if I recall correctly, Jews and Palestinians are more closely genetically related to each other than either are to any other population.
@loon-whisperer, you’re absolutely right! I had longer drafts that explained the details more, before deciding to be as concise as I could. And also the interesting thing about that is that the S European admixture has to be from when we first came into Europe (and possibly before), but once Ashkenazi society formed in Central Europe, the mixing was minuscule.
I think the easiest way to explain Reform Judaism is to tell you that telling my family I’m gay was 100% easier than telling them I don’t like kugel.
#justpatrilinealthings <3
I recognize every Jewish father who has passed along his knowledge to his community, who has given of his time and money and effort to better those around him, who has given his life for our people. To all fathers of patrilineal Jews who have fought to make sure their children have had access to Jewishness and encourage them in that pursuit: you are incredible and wonderful.
I’m sending positive thoughts to anyone who has no father, whose father has never acted like a father, who has to be a father to themselves and to their family. Some of us have never had fathers to support us in our lives, and those struggles are just as important.