The world’s first printed book in Hebrew was Rashi’s commentary on the Bible, printed by Abraham ben Gart in Reggio di Calabria, Italy, in 1475.
Unfortunately, very little is known about the personal life of Abraham ben Garton. Most scholars believe he was born in Spain, and emigrated to Southern Italy's Calabria prior to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Many other Spanish Sephardim also emigrated to Calabria following the expulsion.
The 1475 edition Abraham Garton created and employed, for the first time, a typeface based on a Sephardic semicursive hand. It was this same style of typeface that a few years later, when commentary and text were incorporated onto one page, would be used to distinguish Rabbinic commentary from the text proper. Ultimately, this typeface would be known as Rashi script.
View of the Interior of one of the chapels in the Cathedral of Reggio di Calabria—ancient Rhegium. This chapel focuses on the "giving of the law" to Moses. Note the prominent menorah.
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Free Palestine!
Just as the Hebrew word for “truth” was inscribed on the head of a mound of mud or clay to create a “golem” or a protector of the Jewish peoples from European pogroms, truth will also be our weapon and shield against hasbara, Israeli land theft, and genocidal Zionist propaganda against the Palestinian people.
If “Never Again” is to have any substance as a slogan, it must be applied not only to the Jewish experience but the experience of all oppressed peoples. We must recognize the Hitler in every tyrant, including amongst our own people.
The Magen David has been distorted by Israel and Zionism to become a symbol of oppression and ethnic cleansing. We as antizionist Jews choose to reject the blue Magen David and white flag of Israel in favor of the socialist red in remembrance of our antizionist ancestors of the Jewish Labor Bund and the colors of the Palestinian flag.
We are Jews Against Fascism Everywhere and we are dedicated to combating the dual threat against the Jewish diaspora - Genocidal antisemitism and Zionist “negation of the diaspora,” which have long consorted and collaborated with each other. This means acting in revolutionary solidarity with the Palestinian people’s struggle for liberation against Israeli settler colonialism and United States and European imperialism.
Colonized and diasporic peoples of the world, realize your common interests against racism and capitalist-imperialism, then take up arms and unite!
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Alright I'll bite. I live in Israel, yes. I served in the army, yeah. Does Israel mistreat Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank? Absolutely. My friends who are still enlisted tell me about the shit show that goes in there every day. I get it, there are a million reasons to hate the government and the IDF and whoever else you point fingers to. No side is innocent.
But assholes on motorcycles and in pickup trucks broke through the fence, entered civilian towns and military outposts alike, and just started MASACARING EVERYONE. THIS SHIT IS UNPRECEDENTED. And some MIGHT tiptoe around the point, and say that taking over outposts is fair because it's an occupation force and colonialism and what have you, but for fucks sake
They entered civilian homes. They shot everyone who moved. In locked houses, they set the home on fire and shot the families as they fled. I heard the phone calls - people screaming and begging for their lives as terrorists are walking around their home, stealing possessions, massacring everyone.
They didn't just murder colonialists, militants, occupying forces. They murdered kids who should've gone to school today. Parents working local agriculture, teachers, normal guys with an office job. They murdered dozens of elderly people who couldn't run away.
Not only murdered. Kidnapped. Living and dead, put on pickup trucks and herded back to Gaza. Stripped naked, desecrated and paraded around Gaza. I dare you to tell me the party goers, who were at a rave near one of the Kibbutzim near the fence, deserved to be shot at as they ran to safety. Hundreds of people missing. My Instagram stories filled with their faces, and a phone number attached - "help us find our loved ones. Contact lost. If anyone knows anything-" and at this point I skip them because there's nothing I can do.
My friends are enlisted down there. We're just a bunch of 20 year olds. My best friend is defending one of the villages who were infiltrated, she's trading shots with gunmen who already murdered half the place, she's messaging me once in a while to let me know she's alive. She should've been home for the weekend, we were supposed to watch Chicago now that it's on Netflix. Now neither of us sleeps, she's putting her life on the line and I'm wide awake terrified of the moment they call me and tell me she's gone.
This is mostly a rant. If you read all of it, thanks. I live up north, no need to worry for my safety for now. I don't have a good ending for this. Just, stay safe, I guess.
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If you want to code-switch so often that you are nearly incomprehensible to goyim, here is a list of my favorite and most-used Jewish terms:
Schvitzing - Sweating. (Ex: "I'm schvitzing so much it's showing through my clothes.")
Schlep - A tedious and long journey, depending on usage it can mean that you were carrying something. (Ex: "I had to schlep all the way across campus, my backpack was so heavy." Usually denotes a long walk, but other forms of transportation are acceptable too. "You drove all the way to New York from Florida? That's quite the shlep.")
Shtati - Something really cool. (Ex: "I visited my friend's place and they had a shtati mezuzah!")
Neshama - Soul. (Ex: "Mazel tov on your conversion, you have such a strong Jewish neshama!")
Balagan - A big mess, chaotic, confusing (Ex: "Moshe forgot to bring challah for shabbat dinner, and it turned into this big balagan")
Achi/Achoti - "Achi" literally means "my brother," but can also be used like bro or dude, "achoti" is the feminine equivalent meaning "sister"
Yalla - Come on, let's go (Ex: "Yalla yalla, you're going to make us late again")
Mishpacha - Family. Doesn't have to be literal blood relatives, usually a sign of warmth or friendship. (Ex: "I care about every Jew, they're all my mishpacha.")
Pshhh - Interjection sound, to express respect or agreement with what someone is saying, but can also be playfully poking fun at someone taking themselves too seriously, can be used sarcastically.
Achla - amazing, awesome, great, the best (Ex: "You graduated from university? Achla!")
Sheina Punem (Shayna Punim) - Pretty face (Ex: My bubbe kept pinching my cheeks and calling me a sheina punem) Can be used ironically, in which case it means "a disgrace."
Ahavat Yisrael - to love your fellow Jew (Ex: "I firmly believe in ahavat yisrael, even if it's hard sometimes.")
Schande - Shame, dishonor among the nations, meaning a Jew who represents Jews badly, a serious insult. (Ex: "He's a schande, he feeds into antisemitic stereotypes.")
Schmutz - Dirt, stain. (Ex: "Use your napkin, you've got schmutz on your face.")
Amalek - Any enemy of the Jewish people. ("[Fill in blank] is the modern Amalek, they hate the Jews.")
Lanceman/Landsmen - Two jews from the same place, a point of connection between two Jews who now live far away from their hometown. (Ex: "Your grandma is from Crown Heights? Mine too, our grandparents are landsmen!")
Goyisch - Something not Jewish (Ex: "I don't listen to Taylor Swift, her music is too goyisch for me.")
Goyischekop/Goyische-kop - Goyisch head, a jew who thinks/sounds like a non-jew. (Ex: "How could you say about your fellow Jew? Do you have a goyische-kop or something?")
Kindaleh/Kinderlach - Little children (Ex: "I passed by the school and saw the kindaleh on the playground, they're so cute!")
Chamud/Chamuda/Chamudi - Sweetie, cutie, usually aimed at children, but can be a term of endearment between a couple. Can be condescending when said rudely to another adult, like "Sweetheart" can be in English. (ex: "Goodnight, Chamudi. I can't wait to see you tomorrow.")
Daven - to pray ("Are you going to join us for davening?")
Frum - A religiously observant Jew. ("He's frum, he davens three times a day.")
Treif - Unkosher, generally something not good, doesn't have to literally refer to a food. ("I trained my dog to stop barking when I say 'treif!'.")
Bubkis - Zero, nothing, nada ("Moshe got a gift from bubbe and I got bubkis.")
Kvetch - To complain ("I'm just kvetching, I'm not that upset about it.")
Kvell - Extreme pride. ("I heard your daughter made it into her top school, you must be kvelling!")
Mensch - A good, admirable person. ("He volunteers every week, he's a mensch.")
Chillul HaShem - Disgracing God's name, someone who does something that makes Jews look bad.
Kiddush HaShem - Something that sanctifies God's name, brings honor to God. ("I love seeing you wear a kippah, it's a kiddush HaShem!")
Bubbe meise - Little white lies ("He told his teacher a bubbe meise about his dog eating his homework.")
I should acknowledge that these are mostly Yiddish words, as my experience is primarily with Ashkenazi Jews. If you would like to add common slang from your community (like Ladino phrases, Judeo-Arabic, Italki, etc) I would love to learn about them!
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