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“Each of us is the bearer of an absolutely unique soul, with a unique light, that has a unique mission to bring a particular illumination into this world. The neshama longs to realize it’s purpose and mission and it’s drive if fueled, so to speak, by the Godly essence from which it is hewn. The soul is chelek Elokah mi’maal, a “piece” of God. It’s this inner Godly essence that pushes, urges and drives us to move ever forward in life; to actualize our potential, fulfill our mission, and unleash the beautiful ohr-light that only we can bring into the world.”

— Rabbi Reuven Sasson (via yidquotes)

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Ad for duolingo’s new Yiddish language course by Chelsea Stahl

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Honestly I think one of the other reasons why I hate goyim making those “haha yeah Jews hate G-d and wanna fistfight G-d” is that it often comes off as though the only reason we would be respected or liked is because y’all don’t see us as actually worshipping or loving G-d. Our presence and worth within leftist/liberal spaces is entirely hinged on whether we are the Super Kewl Jews Who Hate G-d And Say Funny Anti-G-d Slogans or if we’re on the other end of Those Evil Chassidim Weirdos Who Are Obviously Different. Once Jewish people are loudly and proudly devoted to G-d, in awe of G-d and of Torah, that level of superficial niceties is taken away from us.

So no. I don’t want to hear about how Jewish people “will fight G-d behind a 7/11″ anymore. I want to hear about how Jewish people will fight fascists while singing hymns; I want to hear about how Jewish people have celebrated and worshipping and sung to G-d despite the thousands of years of persecution; I want to hear about Jewish families blatantly and proudly passing on Jewish scripture and thought down to their children; I want to hear about Jewish LGBT people who are the loudest voices at shul; I want to hear about Jewish people who are unabashedly Jewish and G-d-loving and religious and I want to see y’all still respect us and see us for the diverse and beautiful people we are.

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in light of watching the truly awful trailer for Tango Shalom, I'm now sad for the amazing story that this could have been.

I'm a dancer, and I'm also frum. the struggle between those two things has been present in most of my life. this film is making yet another mockery of religious Jews, when it could have been a celebration of complexity and depth.

now, imagine MY concept for a movie like this: a film about a yeshiva boy (or grown man) who loves ballet, who just wants to express himself through dance. He struggles with the expectations of dancing with women, with the tight costumes, with the lack of precedence for these activities in the frum community, as well as the complications involved in rehearsals/performances being on shabbat, all while being pressured to give it up by his peers and family.

throughout the film, you see him struggling but eventually succeeding by: refusing to perform on shabbat, getting advice from professional dancers of other religions who have struggled with similar things and triumphed, gaining opportunities for both solo and group dancing without needing to touch women, and maybe even inspiring other yeshiva boys to explore their artistic, creative sides.

the film ends with him choreographing a beautiful tribute to Judaism through ballet that shows his struggles, performing it at a competition, and winning.

wouldn't that be great? wouldn't that be a fantastic film about not compromising on your heritage and traditions while simultaneously pursuing your dreams through adversity?

but no. instead we get this.

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PSA: Writing Token Jewish Fantasy Characters

Representation is super important! But not all representation is created equal, so for all my rants about wanting more Jewish representation, here is one (apropos of someone reminding me that Mortal Instruments exists) asking you to please not do certain things when you write your token Jewish character.

(Is tokenism great? No, but sometimes it’s necessary! I’m not asking all the non-Jewish writers out there to write all-Jewish stories, and everyone wants diverse and evenly-distributed casts, which means you’re going to often have your token Jewish / insert-minority-here character, or even twofer token minorities, and that’s okay, so long as it’s done right!)

So let’s say you’re writing fantasy, and your token Jewish character is also going to be a token insert-fantasy-creature-here character. Some Dos and Don’ts:

Don’t:

make your token Jewish character the token vampire (this leans into really gross and racist anti-Semitic blood libel) (looking at you, the mortal instruments)

make your token Jewish character the token goblin/leprechaun/other gold-loving magical creature (this leans into gross racist anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jews and money)

make your token Jewish character the token Fae in a changeling story (this also leans into the gross racist blood libel, by way of “stealing away a baby”)

make your token Jewish character the token tiefling/faun/other horned magical creature (this leans into weird racist anti-Semitic beliefs about Jews and horns)

make your token Jewish character the token Roman or Greek demigod (because ancient Rome and ancient Greece oppressed us, and their beliefs are diametrically opposed to Jewish beliefs, and Rome in particular destroyed our Temple, razed our land, and exiled and subjugated our people) (hahahahaha *cries in Still Furious At Riordan*)

This isn’t fantasy-specific, but also don’t make your token Jew the only/main villain. (Can a Jewish character be a villain? Fair enough, anyone can! But if it’s the only Jewish character in the work, then you need to reflect on your latent or not-so-latent anti-Semitism. Same for if the villain is heavily Jewish-coded.)

Do:

make your token Jewish character the token werewolf (both are hyperaware of the phases of the moon, plus we have some fun Midrashim [exegetical stories] about Benjamin being a werewolf)

make your token Jewish character the token golem (the golem is a proudly Jewish magical creature/construct, originating in the story of the Golem of Prague, which was created by a rabbi to protect the city’s Jewish community - in fact, if you have a golem, it should have its Jewish roots explicitly acknowledged)

make your token Jewish character the token mermaid (Rashi, one of the most famous/popular Jewish Biblical commentators, believed that mermaids were real! they’re a Jewish thing now, I’m making it a thing!)

make your token Jewish character any other magical creature I guess, just please examine the representation to make sure you are not portraying stereotypes or feeding into negative libels or false beliefs about Jewish people

Acknowledge the character’s Jewish identity as an important part of them, not just their magical identity

(These are just examples, you don’t literally have to make your Jewish character a werewolf/golem/mermaid, but if you do, I want to read it)

I’m not saying a Jewish character can never be portrayed as any of the creatures on the Don’t list - but if it’s not being written by a Jewish writer, then you’d better make damn sure that (a) you’re examining your own biases and not leaning into stereotypes and blood libels, (b) the Jewish vampire or whatever isn’t the only Jewish character in the work, but rather there are other Jewish characters who are not obligated to drink blood, and © the tension in this identity should be acknowledged in the text “Oh I’m a vampire but blood is normally forbidden for Jewish consumption, what do” etc.

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Dear All, we still need your support for our project to save a jewish cemetery and maintain the memory of the former, deported community.

Give donations here or use paypalme:

paypal.me/mahaza

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A collection of LGBTQ+ Jewish wedding photos

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"Postcard depicting a family on its way to a synagogue. The grandfather is bearded and traditionally dressed, while the next generation wears modern clothes and the man is beardless. (Publisher unknown, printed in Germany.) (YIVO)"

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if i accidentally ran across Deliver Us on spotify and then subjected myself to listening to the soundtrack on repeat for five hours, i think it is only fair that you do too.

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A Jewish ecology is "not based on the assumption that we are no different from other living creatures. It [begins] with the opposite idea: We have a special responsibility precisely because we are different, because we know what we are doing. - Rabbi Harold Kushner

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If I had not fallen, I would not have picked myself up, if I did not sit in darkness, I would not have seen the light. - Orchot Tzadikim, Shaar Hateshuvah, Shaar 26

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pesach is the most memeable holiday: discuss

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On this day, 8 March 1917, thousands of housewives and women workers in St Petersburg, Russia defied union leaders’ appeals for calm and took to the streets against high prices and hunger, thus igniting the February Revolution. The following day, 200,000 workers joined them by striking, shouting slogans against the tsar and the war. Some military units began to join the workers, and by 15 March, tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate. This is a fantastic article about the key role women played in the buildup to the revolution: https://ift.tt/2Hh3cBg https://ift.tt/2HkL6li

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cant talk rn im doing hot girl shit *rebels against god* 

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ebegging bc my computer just died :^)

so thanks to y’all and getting scholarships in I was able to pay off the CC debt! Which was awesome. however, last night, the computer I use for school, games, etc, completely died. To replace it, it’s gonna be around 800-1k. it’s an acer nitro 5 for reference. not only am I losing a bunch of shit on it thy was important to me and/or made my life easier, but it puts me out of commission for school which is rly stressful considering we are nearing midterms (I legit have a paper due on Tuesday that irl what I’m gonna do about)

so if you’d be willing to help that would be great!! and thank you for reblogging/reading

venmo - @ezra-saville (9332 is the number if it asks)

paypal - [email protected]

I also have zelle.

0/$1000