While you were eating dates in Babylonia, I studied the bl…Torah

i always think it’s so fun to be like ~okay well what keeps a vampire away if you’re not christian :3 would a magen david do it for a jew haha*~ but i do also frankly think it’s like. like… moderately deep sigh. we all KNOW why it’s jsut christianity that keeps the blood-sucking fiends away, right? like we’re all on the same page about what the bottom line here is, right? we all get it? before we have fun and get silly… do we all… like… does everyone actually know why we’re here?

#*it would not bc that’s not how cultural differences work. cannot simply copy-paste jewish necklace over xtian necklace & get same result.

and i have said a lot in the replies of this post that i just want to consolidate but essentially: this is not just that (as in the tag) you can’t just copy paste one symbol with very specific cultural connotations to replace another one with very different ones, this has to do with e g what cultural anxieties vampires embody. so like the vampire is a very literal amalgamation of literal beliefs about jews (that they drink the blood of christians, that they are attempting to infiltrate the upper class or that they are in fact already dispersed invisibly throughout it and thence forth exert undue influence, etc) in addition to other cultural anxieties around (in the case of dracula, eg) reverse colonization and concerns around immigration and xenophobia (…in this case: towards eastern european jews), as well as cultural anxieties around sex and sexuality (…not for nothing but this is often a component of antisemitism from medieval times well into the present day)

so like i think it’s fine to be doing this kind of fun thought exercise it just really feels like it’s missing the point to sit down and be like how would a jew fend off a vampire when a vampire Is a jew, in the sense that a vampire is an embodiment Of antisemitic stereotypes and canards and so forth and so on. the horror of a vampire is “jews exist and are out there, invisibly preying on good christians and trying to infiltrate the echelons of power”; that IS the thing that is overpowered by the crucifix (a sign that christianity Is the true religion). the crucifix is “solving” that cultural anxiety around the jewish by positing the supremacy of the christian. that’s its function in this mythology, which makes it doubly ineffectual to simply replace it 1:1 with a jewish religious symbol - the vampire is inherently an interfaith monster in many ways, it is about (among other things) the interplay between differing religious groups, and any kind of Take has to at least partially take that into effect or at least think about these things.

what does it mean that (for example) willow rosenberg, a jew, put a crucifix on her wall to keep out vampires? there’s something to be said there about assimilation, so like i do Get why it’s more fun to be like, well what if she could just use a magen david instead, right? but that doesn’t in any way grapple with what the Source of the horror of vampires is (i.e. the sexual and religious other who preys on the faithful and can be overpowered by christian religious authority).

imo a more interesting Take is, like, the vampire existing In the social space Of antisemitism; the horror of vampires from a jewish perspective being for example the looming threat of violence and retaliation and antisemitism; being forcibly identified As a monster against your will; seeing the living (un-living) stereotype as what it is and being unable to communicate that. something more in that space.

like, this is not to say that jewish folklore doesn’t have these kinds of undead spirits and monsters - obviously, it does, and i am also interested in vampire Takes that draw more on a jewish worldview and existing folklore. but part of the Fun or Impact of the vampire Is its cultural omnipresence and legibility as an extremely Recognizable kind of monster, and playing with the … underpinnings and understandings Of that very specific cultural, like, milieu… is part of. the fun. so i like a jewish take on vampires i am jsut… less compelled by trying to figure out what the 1:1 jewish equivalent of holy water is than i am by trying to actually tweak on Themes and Resonances

have you read the story “Blood Libel” by Leigh Ann Hussey? I think you would like it. Read it once and now I think about it all the time.

“"As I see it,” [Rabbi] Simcha was saying, “your problem is not that you are nosferatu, but that you are a man alone.”

THIS ROCKS THANK YOU

In Case of the Toxic Spelldump by Harry Turtledove, the Jewish protagonist gets attacked by a vampire and very much does not whip out a cross. (Problematic book is problematic in places so if you read it don't say I didn't warn you.)

PSA:

Hanukkah this year will begin in the evening of Sunday, November 28, 2021 (Thanksgiving weekend in USA) and end in the evening of Monday, December 6

MUCH BETTER JEWISH DINOSAURS PREHISTORIC CREATURES BY @cry-olophosaurus!!!!!!!!! 

Brachiotsaurus and Torahsaurus 

Mosesaurus and Challahsaurus 

Jewlindadromeus and Mamenschisaurus 

Halachiraptor and Rabbirhynchus 

(Brachiosaurus, Torosaurus, Mosasaurus, Allosaurus, Kulindadromeus, Mamenchisaurus, Velociraptor, Rhamphorhynchs) 

YOU’RE WELCOME

@progressivejudaism

PUNS, JUADAISM AND DINOSAURS???

It’s all three of my husband’s favorite things.  @cry-olophosaurus  please tell me these are avaibale in some physical format?

@gallusrostromegalus by popular demand, they have been placed in sticker form on my RedBubble!

FANTASTIC. I WILL PURCHASE SOME FORTHWITH.

So I’m a white American with no set cultural background so I know I’m not really the most sought after opinion here. In fact, no one asked but here’s my experience.

Growing up, there was two different holidays. Religious Christmas and Family Christmas.

Considering my family isn’t religious we always celebrated it as a means for family.

In our family we had a unique tradition. Christmas Eve is for spending time with family. We have a nice dinner, we exchange gifts, and we spend time with one another.

Christmas day, we open gifts from “Santa” which is usually just a couple small stocking stuffers and generally lounge around, or go to another side of the family’s house.

Maybe it’s my southern hospitality and the way I grew up, but I think my family’s version of Christmas is for everyone. I don’t want it to feel like an exception and it makes me sad that a lot of people feel excluded.

So, I guess if anyone wanted to make an alternative to Christmas, then they should!

I can go more into detail about my family traditions if people are interested. Just send me a PM.

So, I think that this was super well-intentioned, but I think it’s also an example of exactly what we’re talking about. It’s not that we feel excluded from Christmas because we want to celebrate it and we can’t, it’s that we feel excluded from American society because we don’t want to celebrate Christmas and in many ways it’s made clear to us that that’s not okay.

Your family’s Christmas sounds lovely and I am glad that’s something your family does! But, it’s not something I’m going to adopt with my family, for a few reasons. It’s partly because Christmas was often when antisemitic violence would occur back in Eastern Europe — tensions between Jews and their non-Jewish neighbors would erupt that night and Jews would be killed. It’s also because of the association Christmas still does have with Jesus. But the simplest reason is just, it’s not our culture and there’s no reason to celebrate and that’s okay!

To make an analogy — Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish holiday that happens in September or October. It’s our New Year. We gather with our families, wear new clothes, eat special foods and go to synagogue. It’s a religious holiday for a lot of Jews, but there are some secular Jews who don’t go to synagogue or say any of the blessings — they just use it as a day to gather with their families and have a special meal. But, I’m guessing your family probably doesn’t do that. And it’s probably not because you object to Rosh Hashanah on religious or philosophical grounds, or because you feel excluded — it’s just because it’s not your holiday and there’s simply no reason why September 6th (or whatever day it falls) should be any different from any other day. And that’s okay!

In much the same way, Christmas for my family was just another day — albeit a day my dad had off from work, and I had off from school. And, Jews actually do have various alternatives! Because it’s a day off but most things to do are closed, American Jews developed a tradition of eating Chinese food and going out to a movie (because Chinese restaurants and movie theaters are often the only businesses open). Growing up, it was usually just a quiet day spent catching up on homework.

There’s an older tradition called Nitl Nacht, as well, that comes from pre-WW2 Jewish society in Eastern Europe. Bevause of the pain that Christianity had brought to Jewish communities (in the form of violence) it was considered not good to study Torah on Christmas because then Jesus would merit from it, so men who would usually have been put studying Torah would instead stay in and play cards and board games. I suspect the reason for this was also so they wouldn’t be outside where they could be attacked. My mom grew up mostly in the US, but she and her family did Nitl Nacht when she was growing up because her family is Hasidic and keep some of the older customs that other American Jews stopped doing.

So, it’s not actually about not having something to do on actual Christmas Eve or Day! We’re pretty content with eating Chinese food, or playing cards, or sitting and doing homework. The real issue is the month or two leading up to it, when we’re bombarded with Christmas music and Christmas merchandise and Christmas from every angle and place — ads on TV, Christmas trees in our apartment buildings, decorations in our offices, even tumblr aesthetic blogs. It’s everywhere — for weeks and weeks. And it’s a reminder that we don’t belong.

See, the thing is, it’s not really about feeling bad that we can’t celebrate it (though, I won’t lie, for me at least there’s a little of that). What it’s about is the fact that it sends a message that there is no room in society for people who don’t celebrate Christmas. That we’re doing something wrong if we don’t. Something offensive even. And that’s so often reinforced — by coworkers asking what our Christmas plans are even if we’re loudly Jewish, to a Jew being told they can’t put up a Chanukah decoration in their cubicle when the entire office is covered in Christmas decorations because it “ruins the vibe,” to people actually getting angry when a Jew says they don’t celebrate Christmas!

I don’t mean to make an example of you, but to be honest, your comment ties into this. There were maybe some assumptions that the existence and importance of Christmas in someone’s life is a default, and that the only objection to it could be not feeling included in it. And that’s really the thing; we’re not asking to be welcomed into Christmas. We’re asking to be respected and accepted as full members of American society (or whichever society, because while my experience and that of the article author is that of being Jewish in America, this is more broadly applicable) even if we don’t to participate in Christmas.

The issue isn’t even Christmas itself, not really. The issue is with not making space for difference. With not being okay with difference. The issue is with a society that centers one religion and culture and marginalizes the others. A society where there’s just one right way to be, and everyone else is expected to assimilate or at very least shut up. So, while the offer to be welcomed into Christmas is kind, what we really want is a society where difference is welcomed and where lots of different religions and cultures are seen as valid and valued parts of our communal fabric.

I was brought up Episcopalian and am nowadays a polytheist pagan, and this post makes sense of The Problem with Christmas in a way nothing else has.

I was listening to Unorthodox (”the universe’s leading Jewish podcast) the other day, and what they explained is that the conflation of Hannukah and Christmas is extra annoying, because Hannukah is all about rejecting assimilation. Which is the exact opposite of rolling Hannukah into Christmas. Also: Hannukah is almost a month before Christmas this year, so if anything, it coincides with US Thanksgiving. 

I’m neither Jewish nor American but very, very much this.

Maybe other parts of the UK are less… Like This, but growing up I was forced to participate in religious services and Christmas activities through school. My schools weren’t ‘officially’ a Christian school, but they basically were.

I’m also non-religious for the primary reason that I see religion as a sincere commitment - and one that I am willing or capable of making. Participating in a religious event 'because everyone does it’ or something feels… profane, to be frank. Like, I’ll be a respectful observer to a religious wedding/funeral/baby-welcoming ceremony for a loved one, but forced participation in religious ceremonies through school just.. no. They did it for Easter too, and school assemblies (multiple times a week) always included prayer, but Christmas was most aggressive about it.

That’s strike one against Christmas.

Strike two: I’m autistic and queer. I have sensory processing issues. Christmas is loud and bright and has too many people. I have spent many Novembers and Decembers in a state of meltdown, followed by Januarys where I am too exhausted to function. Sorry, I don’t fancy taking 2-3 months of the year being useless for a Mandatory Fun Event™.

And it does feel like a Mandatory Fun Event™. My perspective is from being queer, but I’m sure other people can offer similar perspectives. My fiancé enjoys Secular Christmas, as does most of my family. So I have to give them cards. Finding a for-boyfriend card that doesn’t assume the giver is a girlfriend is almost impossible. (The situation is slightly better for fiancés and husbands.) And as someone who is poly and has been in multiple relationships in the past, 'to the one I love’ doesn’t really fit the bill either. Christmas scenes (like in ads) rarely include queer people and I can’t recall ever seeing one with a visibly disabled person that wasn’t specifically disability-focused. (My dad is a wheelchair user. I can’t speak for him, but for me the absence is very obvious.) On a societal level, it feels like me as an entire person isn’t included in Christmas - I’m just a body so they can claim high attendance levels at the Mandatory Fun Event™.

If it were more like Halloween - participation is optional, and all levels of participation (from none, to wearing themed socks and watching Scooby Doo, to a full-on haunted house party) are equally acceptable - I’d probably be OK with it. It’s nice to see family, and the food is tasty. But the way it is now, this big, noisy, aggressive monster of a Mandatory Fun Event™ - it’s grotesque and exclusionary and I resent it so much.

I’ll break this down as simply as I know how:

Companies can’t force their Jewish employees to wear crosses or rosaries, but they can force them to wear Santa hats.

“I’m not making you convert to Christianity! I’m just making you participate in a bunch of ‘secular cultural activities’ that are very obviously based on Christian religious rituals.”

Christian Secularization is a tactic that furthers the agenda of Christian hegemony.

So over on Reddit this happened:

And collectively everyone was like: hey we love this tiny child, please do take him to a public candle lighting and show him the Rugrats special and here's our fave chanukah kids books and some songs and play a little dreidel and here's some kindergartner activities you can printout or color, also through the power of Jewish geography here's a potentially nearby Jewish bakery with sufganiyot stocked up for him, and also a recipe for if you want to sneak veggies into some latkes.

He's five and has permission. ADORABLE.

(and don't mind me wanting to cry because this was me at age 5 and now I'm Jewish lol)

Reminder for my non-jewish followers that don’t really know what Hannukah [and all the other attempts to translate it over] is about, think the following:

Ostensibly people just kinda eat fried things and light candles and contemplate. Yes.  But its also “The current ruling party demanded we not be jewish, forced conversion and desecrated our places of worship. So, its time for a rebellion to kill the occupation and take our shit back. Welp we did it, but they fucked up the temple real bad and the way time works says we won’t have the right things to keep our sacred fire burning. We can use this oil we found but it probably won’t last the whole time we need to wait. Wait, holy shit it’s lasting all night! x 8 nights. Lets fry some things and make it a holiday.”

Its another “They tried to kill/convert us all, they failed, lets eat and remember this keeps happening” holiday.

No, its not jewish xmas. No its not anywhere near our be all end all holiday.  It IS however a very good “eat food in winter and focus on the light in the world etc in the middle of the winter” thing. 

Its hard to put words to it, but like. I just wanna let it settle in that its nothing like xmas

final project for my jewish studies class ! the assignment was to answer the question, “WHAT IS JEWISH ART?” after spending the semester studying jewish artists from the 20th century, so here are my thoughts on the intersection of art and identity.

goyim can interact w this post but don’t clown in the comments thx

“you are not obligated to finish the work: neither are you free to desist from it.”-Pirkei Avot 2:21

Untitled Gelt Game

It’s a beautiful day in Jerusalem and you are leading the Maccabean revolt

im singehandedly repairing jewish-goyische relations through my outreach with my facebook friends

I briefly forgot there were normal humans named Elijah and wondered why this person thought they were getting messages from Actual Prophet and Messiah-Herald Elijah the Tishbite.

Thank you @aerialsquid for validating my immediate thought.

That guest of Sen. Dean Heller is none other than known Nazi Peter Cvjetanovic. It would be a shame if the electorate in Nevada found out about this from the asshole who said he wouldn’t take away healthcare and then voted to repeal it anyway. 

Friendly reminder that this jackass also voted for Kavanaugh and is running in a tight race for senate against Jacky Rosen:

A gentle reminder that Jacky Rosen is a Jewish woman. She was the former president of her shul and also has specifically cited tikkun olam (repairing the world) as one of the reasons she decided to enter politics. If that is Peter Cvjetanovic in the photo with Senator Heller, her running against a white supremacist at worst, a host to white supremacists at best is more than just beating the Nazi. It’s a Jewish woman winning against an Amalekite.

lynda carter really wore a magen david and a crown that says never forget like the legend jumped out

Lynda: The theme is Catholicism?

Lynda:

Lynda: Hold my Manischewitz.

Pomegranate havdalah spice box.

So I saw a fic the other day with Jewish Tater and holy hell did it set off an intense train of thought. 

Like the story was fantastic, and the thing that got me was that Tater’s dad was a Rabbi. While not impossible, it would be incredibly rare.

So that got me thinking, what if he had a more common story.

Under a cut because this got WAY more personal and long-winded than I intended

Keep reading

yeah trans people are still made in the image of God and transition doesn’t change that. God isnt unhappy with you for wanting to be who you’re meant to be

“The image of Hashem” doesn’t refer to our bodies. It refers to our spirits or souls or life forces or whatever term you like to use for the aspect of humans that make us ourselves. So there’s no way that being trans could change your resemblance to Hashem. All it means is that your soul ended up in a body that wasn’t quite right. But that soul is still as much like the divine as anyone else’s.

This also applies to body mod and other surgeries. If you get a surgery that saves your life but changes your appearance don’t think that you are any less. God wouldn’t want you to struggle and suffer just to look a certain way.

🍎🍯 !!לשנה טובה ותיכתבו 🍯🍎

to all my jewish friends, have a happy and healthy new year!