#again if I got this wrong

[frownyalfred]

Hello! I’m not Jewish and I just learned about Pikuach Nefesh. Being Jewish yourself, I’m guessing you have a lot of thoughts on this and how it relates to Bruce’s no-kill policy. I’d be really interested in hearing them if you want to make a post!

Hey friend!

I absolutely have thoughts, but I must begin with a disclaimer:

My perspective does not cover all Jews, nor is it the authority on what is or isn't Jewish. I grew up Reform/Reconstructionist, in an ethnically Ashkenazi Jewish family, and these are just my thoughts as a Batman blog.

Another important note: different types of Jews hold the halacha (rules/principles) of Judaism to be far more important in their lives. An Orthodox Jew will observe halacha much more strictly than a Reform Jew. Despite what some people will tell you, this doesn't make either of them better. Just different.

Whew, okay. Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business.

What is Pikuach Nefesh?

In very general terms, Pikuach Nefesh (hard ch sound in the back of your throat) allows Jews to override other religious "rules" or values in the pursuit of preserving or saving a life.

A good example of this is a an Orthodox Jewish person, who, following halacha, will not drive or operate items with electricity during the Sabbath (Shabbat). But what happens if someone has a heart attack and they need to call 911? Pikuach Nefesh would permit them to use electricity, despite it being Shabbat.

If a Jewish person who keeps total kosher is in a situation where they will starve if they do not eat non-kosher food, they are permitted to eat non-kosher food.

Exceptions

There are some notable exceptions to Pikuach Nefesh, which I suspect is what your question is getting at. The threat to an individual's life generally has to be known, urgent, and not abstract.

Murder is another large exception, with some conditions. Generally, the intentional act of killing another person, or injuring them to the point where they might die from their injuries, is not an act that can be permitted by the principle of Pikuach Nefesh.

The slim exceptions to this include highly specific cases of self defense of oneself or another against an aggressor. One may kill to preserve a life in very strict situations, but they cannot murder. There are even times where killing is obligated, such as war.

So how does this relate to Batman/Bruce's no-killing rule?

Okay. So. I've had a lot of discussions with folks about this, and the answer I've learned is: it doesn't. Not really.

Pikuach Nefesh refers to the principle that a Jewish person should preserve life over almost any other rule or halacha. It does, actually, permit Bruce to kill under very specific situations. It does actually forbid him from gravely injuring people and doing so in the name of fighting against abstract threats, which are both things he does in canon.

The last time I wrote about this, I was definitely off about the details of Pikuach Nefesh in regard to Batman. I was corrected and I stand by that correction. I didn't grow up in the Orthodox faith and I don't observe much of their halacha, which is where a lot of religious theory questions arise from. I'm not an expert, and my explanation is only as deep as my own experience.

I think a good way of looking at Pikuach Nefesh is not as a way to define what, if any, killing is acceptable, but rather, what are we obligated to do to save a life?

The more important Jewish principle shaping Batman's ideology (in my opinion)

"Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire."

This is much more of an important focal point for Bruce's Jewish-influenced ideology. The flipside of this quote, from the Talmud, is equally important: "Whoever kills one life, kills the world entire."

Bruce's no-killing rule is famously tied to his parents' deaths during his childhood. In a way, his entire world ended with their murder. He sees his mission to clean up Gotham as a way to prevent that loss from occurring for anyone else.

Saving one person, like he tells Barry in Justice League, is enough. That is a viciously Jewish thought. It is frequently quoted in reference to those who acted in support of Jews during the Holocaust, doing what little they could against a fountain of evil.

Conclusion

In that regard, yes -- Pikuach Nefesh tells us that preserving a life is the most important thing above all else. But Bruce's no-killing rule would swiftly be broken if he followed the principle of Pikuach Nefesh closely, in that he would a) likely have to kill someone in self-defense at some point in his duties and b) it would not allow him to injure or hurt people to the extent that he currently does in canon.

More importantly, Bruce's no-killing rule is a better reflection of the Talmudic quote that "he who saves/kills a life, has saved/killed a world entire."

It is not much of a stretch, in my opinion, to connect Bruce's trauma from losing his parents at young age to his outright refusal to kill later in life. The more interesting question, in my mind, is if the creation of this no-killing rule truly was shaped by Batman's Jewish creators and their view on life and death, especially post Holocaust.

Comics became more widely available during and after WWII and the Holocaust, during which time many -- many -- Jews entered the field as writers and artists. Their influences on the characters we see today are obvious, often intentionally Jewish, but just as often un-intentional.

Was Batman's no-killing rule a product of the post-WWII Jewish comic writers who shaped his character? Was it a coincidence that lined up well with the Talmud, but not necessarily all the conditions of Pikuach Nefesh?

How else does Batman represent, or not represent, the goal of Pikuach Nefesh (the necessity that a person act in the preservation of human life, above almost all else)?

#sorry for the long ramble here #I hope this doesn't become inflammatory #jewish bruce wayne #jewish batfamily #jewish batman #asks #again: no expert #two jews three opinions #bruce wayne #batman #dc #pikuach nefesh #again if I got this wrong #i apologize

[mobius-m-mobius]

#obsessed with their priorities

#mobius #loki #lokius #mcuedit #lokiedit #marveledit #owen wilson #tom hiddleston #loki spoilers #it's got your shape to it... i'm sensing owen at work again 😂 #banter for DAYS they're so married it's unbelievable #am i distracting myself from pain and suffering by thinking how hilarious it is loki's vocabulary now includes phrases like 'hoof it'?? #maybe so maybe so :')))) #btw if anyone wants to theorize about the ep - #i'm going on record as assuming mobius getting hot cocoa on his own is the point where the timeline went wrong ;;;; #dianagifs #owenwilsonedit #marvel #loki s2 spoilers #ouroboros #o.b. #casey

[soaptaculart]

Um I like Dungeon Meshi. Btw

#dungeon meshi #dunmeshi #delicious in dungeon #<- ew #i drew something #IT'S BEEN LIKE 6 MONTHS. HI #did you guys know i've been obsessed with dunmeshi for 8 years and never drawn fanart of it before. what's wrong with me #when i first got into it there were less than 20 chapters. look at us now #something about it being everywhere now instilled a fire in me after all this time... I WANNA DRAW RAUUUGHGHHH #i am really hoping to get in the habit of posting regularly again may marcille give me strength

[sugarpasteltmnt]

surprise!! remaking this post with corrected, updated links!!

Introducing…

‘DINO’-tello

BIG THANK U to Anixolt on twitter for accepting this commission request!!! I'm so excited to share this 'Future' Donatello with you all!

Set in an alternate reality, Donnie & his brothers go back in time to the cretaceous period to stop a cataclysmic event. However, in doing so, the four brothers get stuck in the past and live among the dinosaurs.

[link to twitter thread]

(Note! Permission to post my commission on tumblr was given by artist via Twitter!)

More lore below!

Because the Ooze was designed to make super soldier mutants, it helps its host adapt to the conditions around them. After a few years, it started to double-mutate him to adapt to his new harsh environment, making him very raptor-like.

Because of his double mutation and trauma of past events, Donnie is at risk of going into a feral “Savage” mode like Raph

Has two modes— ‘Hunter’ and ‘Scientist/Alchemist’

While hunting Donatello relies on his instincts. Becomes very aggressive and territorial.

He uses an ankylosaurus skull and other dinosaur parts as his battle shell and protective gear while hunting

When he isn’t hunting, Donnie is trying to reinvent necessities to make living in a prehistoric era a bit easier with what materials are available to him

Whatever he doesn’t have, he’ll make. From scratch.

Dino-Tello’s concept was inspired by a similar 2003 TMNT episode where they go to the past, 2003 Leatherhead, Tarzan, and the anime series ‘Dr. Stone’

His concept is meant to emphasize Donnie’s other strengths beyond technology— such as his Super-intelligence, his close-combat fighting skills, and ability to communicate with other creatures (as shown in the Todd Scouts episode)

He and his brothers tame a triceratops and name him Zog, who was both a pet and steed

For one reason or another… Donatello is the last turtle standing

However, due to classic Hamato shenanigans— ‘Dino’tello might not be all alone for too long 👀👀👀

#DINOTELLO ROUND TWO!!! #dino tello au #non neon void related #i am seriously so mortified i got the original wrong #;w; #but at least i get to post My Boy again #dino-tello au #ROTTMNT #ROTTMNT au #ROTTMNT Donnie #rise donatello #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #TMNT AU #art I commissioned #comissioned art

[bootlegpals]

Some cameras. The second one is a knockoff of the Barbie jelly camera.

Source

#the last one has the same shape too #knockoffs #bootlegs #kidcore #cameras #tech #techcore #aesthetic #EDIT: 24/7 I just realised I accidentally included the wrong link in my post... #will need to find it again when I’ve got time

[omaano]

Scratching up their armor is incredibly satisfying for some reason

#the clone wars #tcw #tcw fanart #captain rex #rex #wolffe #commander wolffe #fives #clone trooper fives #captain howzer #howzer #was noone going to correct me that i got his rank wrong in my previous post #clone trooper #star wars tcw #the clones #my art #face study #temuera morrison #I ran out of my fave Tem pics so I'll chill after this batch #I'll let you take a wild guess at who I had been trying to draw before I ended up with a bunch of clone portraits again #WRONG it was Rex this time around #I'll need to put some thought and effort into what my style actually is because something goes horribly wrong between #doing the actual little portrait study and then trying to apply that to make it work in “my style” #which is too close and too far from it at the same time and it's closing in on a breaking point for me #something is not working and I'll have to quickly figure out what that is #Rex and Wolffe my beloveds #I finally have a little drawing of both of them I can rest now #Wolffe remained so grey I forgot to adjust the contrast and saturation a bit more on him oops but it suits him I think #Tem clones #Clone portraits

[tiffanyachings]

it would have been very beautiful. camilla would have had to cook (horrible bone soup)

#HELLO back at it again #tug introduced groundbreaking new findings about soul permeability but my mind bypassed all that in favour of this au #the division of labour is as follows: #dulcie reads the instructions; snacks; and changes the radio station every time she doesn’t like a song #if you complain she will remind you she's literally dying. life is too short and mediocre songs are too long #pal gets stuff from high shelves and battles his constantly fogged up glasses #he tried to help with prep once and promptly got himself banned from using knives for the rest of his life #cam does 98% of the actual cooking #trivia section - #you can tell i am new to this because i arranged them in the wrong speaking order. let’s all practice our right to left reading #cam has a silly novelty apron because a) the idea was unbearably funny to me and b) i need to spread the gospel (aroace cam) #the cookbooks next to dulcie are ‘a few teaspoons of salt’ (by ianthe tridentarius) #and ‘saintly feasts: food for saints and scholars’ which is a real book! though not written by cassiopeia the first #* #dulcie septimus #dulcinea septimus #camilla hect #palamedes sextus #the locked tomb #field sketches #<< i get to have an art tag now!

[rayhantochtli]

Misc hermitcraft doodles

#hermitcraft #hermitcraft 10 #iskall85 #mumbo jumbo #keralis #bdoubleo100 #stressmonster101 #rendog #my art #going full furry with ren this time around #still getting used to drawing them again #ive posted most of these on twt but the little comic one #that one gets posted here first #also i got stress' colors wrong and thats so annoying #well. only her shirt. its white

[mummer]

just saw asteroid city last night, pls explain the proposed significance of the kiss!!

answering this publicly hope thats ok! cant do a readmore im on mobile *****asteroid city spoilers below beware*****

i dont remember anyones names so this is gonna sound partly unhinged. okay so the edward norton playwright and jason schwartzman actor (not character, in the black and white parts) are lovers right. tbh i thought this was kind of a gag and forgot about it. but later we find out that the playwright died 6 months into the production. i didnt make the connection that THAT’s why the actor-jason has to suddenly leave the stage and freaks out backstage about how he’s not sure he’s Doing it right. hes not talking about acting!! because he himself is literally grieving his lover while he’s playing a character who’s grieving his wife written by his lover so obviously it’s too much!!! actor-jason is trying to find meaning in his death through his writing but there isnt any meaning in death [gerris drinkwater voice] which is what the play is trying to say anyway. he doesnt think he’s performing grief right even in his own life!!! (and tbh it’s the 50s so he wouldnt be able to perform grief publicly anyway!!!!) the play starts with a car accident… anyone would search for some hidden meaning there, some sign…. so when he talks to margot robbie outside it’s not really about finding the CHARACTER’s motivations it’s about the actor himself being able to process the playwright’s death! and adrien brody director was probably also dealing with that too (him and norton seemed to be good buddies) so the whole “sleeping backstage” thing gets a bit sadder maybe? maybe everyone else got this in the theatre and im just stupid lol but crazy making stuff to me!!! the whole story is about sublimated gay grief that cannot be expressed?!?!

the tweet that caught me onto this was here which posits that the playwright’s death was a suicide but i think that’s pretty stupid and unnecessary because the whole thing about the play asteroid city is that death is random and meaningless. im pretty sure that’s what the alien represents— a shocking and absurd event that isnt outright evil or menacing, not something anyone can predict or make sense of, it’s just a thing that happens to you out of nowhere, it doesnt mean anything. he’s a little black figure, he’s death! giving and taking! aagh

#you’re the wife who played my actor :( #posthumus #asteroid city #imagine youre in love with a playwright and he writes a play before he even meets you about how you cant get over his death which hasnt #happened yet. id go insane too #im going to see it again to see how this informs the whole thing because its driving me crazy #rewatching the performances knowing that they're performing people performing. augh. #remember when bryan cranston accidentally appears in frame. rending my garments #also ‘you cant wake up until you fall asleep’ confused me a bit but then i remembered that the margot robbie scene was supposed to be put o #as a dream sequence and it makes sense now. thanks #aliens are the new fairytale monster symbol of death. the ultimate Unknowable #EDIT okay i read the wikipedia summary got some facts wrong adrien brody is sleeping in the theatre during rehearsals so its not because of #the playwright’s death he’s just like that.

[hellavile]

nicki is the prime example of an older bitter woman. she need serious help fr. like to hear her on live stuttering and going on and on about megan and her deceased mother is sickening. she stooped low af fr. all over one line. megan ain’t even say that girls name and it got her yapping out her mouth like somebody grandma. and she’s only proving everyone’s point about her nasty ass husband. now if megan say sum bout her father or brother???? don’t go crying to kenneth or papa about how everyone’s against you cs you’re the queen of rap blah blah.

#and don’t get me wrong. ADORE nicki’s music. i was too a barb. but time and time again has she lessened her value #she continues to bash every woman she collabs w #she has beef with EVERY WOMAN IN THE INDUSTRY. she’s clearly the problem. #she hates seeing anyone be great or do more than her. #i hope megan say a lot more about her lil ass. talking about a mother like that would get a bitch STOMPED in my city #also her doing this dr seuss ass rhyme #LMAOOOOOOO. #giving one fish two fish #talking about her foot but didn’t you say she was lying??? so you agree??? she got shot? oh okay. #៹ ࣪𖥔 ━━━ ꒰ 𝑚𝑜𝑐ℎ𝑎’𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 .ᐟ ꒱ #megan thee stallion #nicki minaj

[parisoonic]

I was reading a sci-fi book featuring Russain cosmonauts and the book mentioned the phrase 'Ни пуха ни пера'. I was tickled by the similarity to 'break a leg' BUT it has a call and response ('Go to hell' or 'to the devil with you') - who doesn't love call and response??

Heavy, you'll get a more playful response when Medic isn't hyper-focusing on the days battle plan.

#tf2 #tf2 fanart #tf2 medic #tf2 heavy #tf2 scout #tf2 spy #tf2 demoman #the book was moonseed by stephen baxter it was pretty good but i mainly enjoyed it as scotland got blown up #medic is so rude...i'm so sorry russain speakers if this is off and wrong. i started this a month ago and it seemed like a good idea then #and now i just wanna post and be done. stephen baxter don't lead me astray #but imagine heavy teaches everyone and they all chant 'go to hell' before fights #and the other team hears this through the shutters of their base......'boys they're doing that thing again'

[napping-sapphic]

Sooo NONE of you want to fall deeply unhealthily in love with me rn……?

#:( #wlw #wlw mood #sapphic #sapphism #lesbian #sorry i watched too much Media™️ again #the insanely (literally) in love trope got to me #you could just like become a little deranged about me #as a treat #no yeah you’re right realistically that would suck #i GUESS we’ll have to settle for you falling healthily and normally in love with me rn #👀 #im gay and i like sleeping #scheduling my 2am feeling insane posts for my feeling chill era time of the day #nothing could go wrong

[cozylittleartblog]

here comes the boy ~ hello boy ✨

cleaned up a couple of the vash doodles i did while learning to draw him :)

#trigun #trigun 98 #vash the stampede #anime #doodles #art #dat me #my friend phoenix was visiting from portland almost the whole last week it was really fun !!! i did not open PS for a week FJHBGDBHJDFG #how do i draw again... what is a tablet.... i forgor ..... #i have seen TWO trigun fans in public this weekend. a guy at the bookstore with a vash pin on his lanyard + someone at the local arcade #who had a PUNISHER ITA BAG ??? COOL AF??? the arcade was also full of furries for some reason. which was cool but i've never seen it before #girl the arcade is hot enough as it is if you're wearing a fursuit in an arcade you are braver than any us marine #I WAS SO SAD I LEFT MY PURSE (ALSO AN ITA BAG) IN THE CAR FOR THE ARCADE BECAUSE I HAVE A VASH PIN IN IT ..... #please ask me about my ita bags... please ask me about my pins.... i am insane about my pins...... #my brother and i are going to indie pop con in 2 weeks if i dont find some cute trigun 98 stuff i will riot #i am relentlessly vashposting on main. i will draw other characters i swear but he is my favorite #any character where i go 'there is something so so so wrong with him' is my favorite EVERY TIME #im just happy to be drawing again honestly #i got about a month before anime central so i am just trying . to VIBE. for the first time in months

[samglyph]

I can’t be the only member of the unhealthily obsessed with gravity falls as a kid to unhealthily obsessed with malevolent as an adult pipeline

#yes these are some of the sketches that are old but I tricked you cause I did clean them up prior to posting #just so they like. make sense #the problem with these is that now I’m thinking about the implications and I’ve got like a whole au in my head #malevolent #my art #gravity falls #malevolent podcast #Arthur lester #John doe #dipper pines #kayne malevolent #bill cipher #anyway arthur and John circa season 2 get transported into the future and into Oregon and they wander into a shack in the woods with weird #signs looking for medical help because Arthur is once again fucking dying and dipper is like. yellow eyed BITCH oh wait no this is different #fuck what’s wrong with this British man

[tart-miano]

angry that your parody has a degree and you don't, victor

#back on my classic horror shit again #frankenstein #jekyll and hyde #rocky horror picture show #frank n furter #victor frankenstein #henry jekyll #edward hyde #dracula #van helsing #OK SO- #the j&h characters here are NOT Historian and Eddie- theyre the ones from the original novella- #while Historian and Eddie are meant to be modern parallels to them?? #the original j&h did everything wrong in life while their modern equivalents are choosing to be kind instead??? #theres an immortal character in their story whos like 'it scares me how much you two look like them' (referring to the og mad scientist) #and of course you got victor and the creature from the AU featured in the 'monster' animatic i made last october #they COULD be the original ones here and be mean to each other....but i do not want do that :'< #you can't sit with us #classic horror #my art

[abelle25125]

Part 2 to this post of my understanding of one piece characters from OPLA, 70-ish episodes of the anime and cultral osmosis - this time with a slightly better understanding of how to use ms paint

again, please not spoilers im only on episode 96

#i wrote all of this and then watched 20ish more episodes so i know a little bit more than what the notes suggest but i didnt want to edit it #one piece #OP #OPLA #one piece live action #one piece spoilers #dracule mihawk #buggy the clown #red haired shanks #sir crocodile #don flamenco #what a wild way to learn i got his name wrong #oh well #not going to tag the others since i dont really know their full names and im not getting spoiled looking for them again #guys why did none of you tell me how fun ms paint was