#jewish and kabbalah appropriation | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

creature-wizard · 4 months

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how is she (Lilith) closed when she exists in Swedish folklore with a different name (Her name is Lucia but it developed into the Saint Lucia tradition to be exact but in northern Swedish folklore she has a darker past where she was adams first wife and her story is very similar to Jewish Lilith).

Edit to add: It's extremely likely that this story about Lucia being the first wife of Adam is more of a modern Internet tale than an old Swedish folktale. I can find no reputable sources to back it up, and people who have familiarity with Saint Lucia/Lussi have informed me that they've heard nothing of this kind, either. That said, my point that similarity between figures does not justify appropriation still stands.

The uniqueness of figures has nothing to do with whether they're open or closed. Your argument is like saying, "well how can this storm god from an African traditional religion be closed when Thor exists?"

The ATR god is closed because the people who whom that tradition belongs said so. If you want to worship a storm god, Thor is right there. Likewise, you are free to work with this folkloric version of Saint Lucy.

Lilith isn't closed because she's supposedly unique. That never had anything to do with it. In fact, "oh but this open figure and that closed figure are basically the same though, that means I'm entitled to the one you're claiming is closed" is the rhetoric of spiritual colonialism, used to justify the misrepresentation and commodification of spiritual figures from marginalized groups, to that group's detriment.

Now, not every Jew agrees that Lilith is closed, because Jews aren't a monolith. But I have seen no shortage of Jews arguing for Lilith as a closed figure, and I find their arguments pretty damn compelling

So, Christians have spent centuries digging into Jewish traditions to find something they could weaponize against Jews; EG, getting into Kabbalah to try and find places they could project Jesus so they could try and convince Jews to convert to Christianity. Something very similar is absolutely happening with the gentile Lilith worshipers. There's a strong tendency toward antisemitic conspiracy theory among them; EG, believing that patriarchy was a Jewish conspiracy that was later expressed through Christianity.

These people often claim that Lilith was this ancient mother goddess who was demonized by the Jews. They try to claim that these old mentions of lilitu are somehow evidence. In reality, ancient cultures in the Near East worshiped a number of mother goddesses (EG, Ninhursag), and none of whom were Lilith.

Many deities did get demonized at some point (EG, Astarte became Ashtoreth, and Baal became Bael), but this had nothing to do with a patriarchal conspiracy; rather it was a generalized demonization of rival gods. And Lilith was not among them, because Lilith was never a goddess.

In fact, I have yet to see a single gentile Lilith worshiper who isn't deep into conspiracy theories and doesn't quote pseudohistory of some kind. Not a single one. So yeah, I will continue taking the side of the Jews who say that Lilith should be closed, because I've seen the bullshit gentiles are pulling with her.

#answered #lilith #antisemitism #cultural appropriation #conspirituality #conspiracy theories #conspiracism #pseudohistory

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magnetothemagnificent · 1 year

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"How can I learn Kabbalah without being appropriative if I'm not Jewish?"

You can't. Get out of your colonialist mindset and stop thinking you're entitled to everything.

#jumblr #antisemitism #kabbalah appropriation #goy bullshit #pagan antisemitism

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judaicsheyd · 10 months

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Hello, I'm not trying to ask this in bad faith but how is working with Lilith antisemitic?

I'm just curious and in no way trying to offend. (Also I don't work with her.)

Hey there! I got very very close to answering this privately because the more Lilith content I post the more antisemitism I seem to face, and I just don't have the energy to deal with that ATM, but I'll post it publicly in the name of education. I'm also on mobile so apologies for formatting/grammatical errors.

First and foremost, Judaism is 100% closed. This means that everything within Judaism, whether or not it's "good" or even worshipped, is still closed. If countless people from a closed culture tell you not to touch something because it is ours, one should just listen to that already. That is the most important part of this entire argument.

Lilith was first reclaimed and seen as a positive feminist figure by Jewish feminists, and was a symbol against the intersection between antisemitism and misogyny, as well as the misogyny Jewish women may face within their own communities. Even this symbolic version of her has been stolen and stripped of her Jewishness, which is antisemitism in action.

Adding on to points #1 and #2, taking Lilith and stripping her completely of her Jewishness is antisemitism. It has happened countless times to Jewish figures, ideas, and beliefs, it is antisemitism. By interacting with her as a non-Jew, you are taking her out of her Jewish context, and stripping her of her identity.

The narrative of Lilith being the first wife of Adam, rebelling against Gd, and becoming a hot sexy demon goddess is not her true story. This story originates within a satirical work (the Alphabet of Ben Sirach) which also talks quite literally about pissing and farting and a bunch of other crude stuff because it was a work made to be stupid. In actual Jewish lore, Lilith was never a human, period. The idea that this story is the true Jewish idea just continues to erase actual Jewish narratives and the reality of her story.

I have seen countless Lilith appropriators say that, yes, the Kabbalah is closed and so is every other part of Judaism, but just not Lilith. This statement already doesn't make sense, but also one cannot interact with Lilith in a vacuum. One cannot interact with Lilith outside of Judaism. A heart cannot beat outside of the body it belongs to. You cannot interact with Lilith without inherently interacting with all these other aspects of Judaism.

I'm a bit busy at the moment, so this was slightly rushed, but I believe I have covered every point. If I think of others later, check the replies and I will tag you in them. I hope this helps, and thank you for the respectful inquiry!

Ignore the tags, B"H.

#judaism #jewish #jumblr #antisemitism #demonolatry #demonology #demons #torah #jewish mysticism #appropriation #yeshivawithcarver #demonologywithcarver #carverop #askcarver #לילית

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benevolentbirdgal · 1 year

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Is it appropriate for non-jewish authors/designers to take inspiration from jewish mythology and writing? I’ve seen a lot of media that does that especially in fantasy.

That's a loaded question, and while I certainly don't Speak For All Jews Everywhere - I am Not The Jewrax, I basically hold that it'd be fine in theory but in practice, it's almost always problematic because few gentiles bother to engage with Jewish perspectives on what they're using.

I'm not 112% sure on what you mean by mythology and writing, nor am I 112% sure what you mean by inspiration, but I'm going to make some educated guesses and invite both you to DM me or ask again and other Jews to float other possibilities.

I'm imagining you mean something to the impact of the use of Jewish folklore, theology, and stories in non-Jewish media, like art and literature, so I'm answering in that context. Specifically, I feel like you might be asking about angels and demons, Lillith, and golems, although that is very speculative and just because Those Are The Things Gentiles REALLY Want To Use.

The TL;DR is that I think while in theory, it's fine for gentiles to incorporate elements of Jewishness into their story, in practice they usually screw it up pretty badly if not veering into antisemitic trope-age altogether. There are a few factors that make this the case.

On the one hand, I want to see more representation of Jewish stuff, and not just the same three stereotypes ad nauseam. I legitimately do want more Jewish elements in stories, and I recognize the quantity I want would heavily benefit from, if not outright require, some contribution from the 99.8% of people globally who are not Jewish.

With that said, I think that gentiles tend to fuck up Jewish representations, both from a folklore perspective and a Jews Are People That Exist perspective. It's not some fatal flaw to view other cultures through your own lenses - it's only human, but it is challenging to address and something to be aware of. I see Christianity, Islam, and other religions (and atheism, for that matter) through the view of a Jew who was raised in and lives in a Christian-dominated society. Gentile writers see Judaism through the lenses of their own backgrounds and the backgrounds of their society. For reasons that merit their own post, gentiles tend to forget that Jewishness exists independent of and predating many of their own lenses. For many of the same reasons, many gentiles have no interest in actually consulting Jews or Jewish sources on Jew things - we aren't regarded as minority enough or different enough or whatever to merit research, even among many gentile creators who normally research cultures they are not part of. Without getting into it, a lot of people also A) really can't handle the idea that Some Things Are Just For Jews (like Kabbalah) or accept closed and semi-closed say what they mean on the tin and B) have (at the very least) implicitly supersessionist attitudes in their approach to Judaism - applying other religious and cultural contexts backwards even if they're directly at odds with the original Jewish ones. They learned about Jew Stuff in their Christian, Wiccan, Muslim, Unitarian Universalist, Atheist, etc. spaces, and how those spaces approached Jew Stuff (and the attitudes inherited from those spaces) are prioritized over what the Jews think of their own Stuff. This often results in Jewish "representation" being filtered through the eyes of the dominant culture group (i.e. Christian), even if that's not the intent. This happens a lot with depictions or appropriations of Kabbalah, Lillith, and the Golem - specific cultural and theological biases are superimposed to the detriment of original context and meaning.

If you want to represent or take inspiration from a group, you need to understand that group. It doesn't mean you have to know EVERYTHING (no one does) but it means engaging with and researching the community beyond this One Cool Thing You Liked. The degree to which you do this depends on what you're using, but you want to be able to use stuff without stripping it of its original context.

Writing, mythology, and folklore are broad categories. If you want to use the zayde from Something From Nothing or make Sammy Spider real, that's way less loaded than taking traditional folklore and going Mine Mine Mine a la the birds in Finding Nemo. Good questions to ask when determining if you want to use a thing: is it explicitly closed or semi-closed? Has it been used to cause violence against its community of origin? Is it and its uses considered sacred?

Specific topics that you just shouldn't use because they are closed and/or have been used against Jews to cause us great pain: Lillith, Kabbalah, Golems, anything that implies or uses the blood libel, any kind of Jews-and-horns thing, or anything leaning into antisemitic conspiracy theories. I'd also tread very lightly and get sensitive readers on anything to do with angels and demons, circumcision, and kosher. [above list is def non-exhaustive, other Jews please add stuff]

Also stay away from any "this is the SECRET meaning of this Jewish Thing And The Jews Are Wrong And This Proves My Religion/Conspiracy Theory/Worldview." Even if it does not promote a specific worldview, there's some major ick in saying "no this is what your holiday/beliefs actually mean/imply." Don't Da Vinci Code us, basically.

If you are wanting to write or make something with Jewish elements, consult Jews on the specifics! Seriously, most of us are SO happy to help you workshop.

Again, I do not speak for all Jews, but this is my personal take, and the kind of stuff I've heard a lot of other Jews opine as well.

#jumblr #long posts #jews #I feel like I'm being asked about Lillith or the Golem or MAYBE Dybbuks #answered asks

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azuresins · 8 months

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Something important consider regarding Sebastian, and some of the things people have had to say about him pertaining to following Christian Mythology.

Some people are using the wrong evidence to support Sebastian following what they claim is "Christian Mythology." If one tries to base his origins off of his contract symbol alone, and link it to The Lesser Key of Solomon… a lot of people have some feelings on the matter. Namely, an entire group of people. I did my best to break down the contract and it's origin in a previous post, but I did not further expand on it. I deeply regret that I didn't. The lesser Key of Solomon is a grimoire that does not actually trace back to the Talmud. The Lesser Key of Solomon is loosely based off of The Testament of Solomon... which barrows from multiple cultures and can only be traced as early as the middle ages. In fact, is has absolutely no connection to true Jewish folkore or true Kabbalah. There are mountains of evidence to support this, I would encourage people to keep digging. This article expanded upon this much better than I could ever explain. :

That people have used this grimoire in the past as "evidence" that jewish people have "secret magic and powers" and as an excuse to be antisemitic. N-zi's used this, as propaganda.

The book was clearly written by a non-jew (goy), who culturally-appropriated from Kabbalah and Talmudic texts. How do historians (more importantly, jewish historians) know that? There's a lot of grammatical errors in extremely-broken hebrew, for one. There's the countless books and articles written about this by Jewish people that often get trampled on, by people in occult spaces. Theistic Satanism is rife with people who are comfortable brushing shoulders with N-zis and parroting their ideology, for a reason. Occult spaces in general are very hostile, toward jewish people in general and they don't care if they're stealing from a closed practice. Quabbalists / Cabbalists were formed in general, so that non-jews could steal/practice Kabbalah and pretend it's Christian … The Lesser Key of Solomon, is a part of that. People call it "Christian" as an excuse, to be able to use it in religious practices. Solomon came before Christ, not after.

Jews who believe and practice in a non-secular way, don't believe demons are inherently always evil beings. There isn't a clear cut translation for "demon" in hebrew. That very belief in of itself, has gotten many jewish people hurt, killed, and persecuted for centuries.

A mystic jew who practices Kabbalah, would not have written a book/grimoire describing demons, like that. A jewish person wouldn't have even approved of the vast majority of those illustrations of the demons, either. Another reason this is known: it's staple of jewish folklore that demons aren't capable of completely shapeshifting into a human being, as they always will have what's described as 'chicken feet' / 'bird feet' / 'cock's feet', when they're in disguise, and they have to hide them using other much more ordinary means outside their own magic.

A lot of those illustrations in the lesser key, describe and depict them as having human feet, when they take the shape of a human... There's not even one mention of 'They take the shape of a man with chicken's feet/birds feet' or any warning, about what their feet will look like, anywhere, in the Lesser Key of Solomon. Wouldn't that be important?

In jewish folklore sometimes demons are known to chase ghosts and wayward souls that were once evil in life, trying to escape accountability for their misdeeds. Human ghosts who try to posses or hurt other humans. In other words it's generally accepted that human evil has the potential to be more meddlesome and monstrous, than a demon can be. That's not primarily a Christian belief. It is also a Jewish belief, that demons are inherently doing what they're supposed to do and have a place, in G-d's plan. Even 'Satan' (not the correct name in Jewish belief!!!) is ultimately a subordinate to G-d, working with him and not against him... not necessarily HIS adversary or the enemy, it's much more accurate to say demons and devils are an adversary to humans and human kind, alone. Didn't Sebastian say, "Where is the FOOL who spits on God?" ...That doesn't sound like a demon who sees God as an adversary. Contrary to popular belief, the Christian God and the Jewish G-d, even conceptually... are extremely different concepts, and entities (I mean for fucks sake one did the whole Jesus thing, and one DIDN'T... that's a huge difference. It is not by any stretch the only one).

People have been pointing these things out for centuries. That Christianity is NOT Judaism Plus™️... but it continuously falls on deaf ears. The reason why discussions like this almost never go anywhere productive, are because people out there... either don't care, or are Antisemetic anyway. It doesn't matter if they brush shoulders with extremely misguided and bad people, they want to believe what they want to believe. People will always be out there who will try to insist the Lesser Key is actually-reliable knowledge concerning the vast majority of these demons, and those who actually use it are "doing it in good taste!" and that "this source is Christian actually, and I am respectful!"

There's "demons" on that list, that come from completely unrelated cultures and practices, that aren't christian OR jewish. I've cited sources that confirm this already... but you need look no further, beyond the names and descriptions of the demons themselves. Therefore, insulting to say, "Their overlord is Satan" and they're beneath a rank in any kind of Christian-formulated hierarchy.

For the record... Of course, it is possible to explore this in fiction and to study these things. Of course it's possible, that jewish people have written about these spirits, and have tried to reclaim some elements of design of the sigils and content that was badly botched. It's their right to do so. Of course it's possible, to take these sources with a grain of salt and read it as someone curious, and studying how this all happened... how these texts came to be, and why it's so far removed from the closed practices that wrote about them. I'm not saying it can never be used or written about, ever, I am not trying cancel anybody (or Yana). Especially people who didn't know half of what I've just talked about. It took me an embarrassingly long time to understand any of this, and even accept half of the things, I've read. I'm just saying trying to say, as someone who has studied these matters independently for over fifteen years... That even if you're of the belief, Sebastian is connected to the symbols within the contract and that grimoire? ... It still doesn't mean, he's a part of Christian mythology. That source doesn't necessarily mean anything, in the context of who Sebastian is. The evidence to support he is Abrahamic in origin is much more arguable. The fact is, we don't know what Yana has in store for him, and we don't know that his contract necessarily means that The Lesser Key of Solomon, or The Testament of Solomon are accurate sources for what he is, or are actually helpful when it comes to identifying what sort of demon he is. He's certainly not following Christian mythology, and isn't displaying any of the signs that track with Christian mythology. He wears a crucifix, walks about a church, and walks on hollowed ground. Before anyone says with their whole chest they know exactly what sort of Demon or entity Sebastian is, in the context of the manga… I would implore people, to do more research, about these matters and to ask a lot of questions... and seek many different sources, regarding even what they THINK they know, and who they THINK they can trust.

It's easy to imagine in fiction, that if an entity went from a g-d to demon, or even from one type of demon to being seen as a different type... that they might embracing the symbols and names, they are now so commonly associated with. A lot of stories have been written like that. It's a very common theme in a lot of media, written by many different people across several different cultures! Jewish culture was not the only culture appropriated, in The Testament of Solomon.

I do find it extremely odd though, that people use the contract symbol and where it came from, as evidence that Sebastian is a "Christian demon" and "A fallen angel"... when Yana herself has already said she doesn't ever intend to confirm what his nature is, or where he came from. I also don't believe that humankind is supposed to be the pinnacle of all things innocent, and that the supernatural and divine are forces, are leading them to pain and poor choices... there are so many evil humans, in black butler and if anything, they use the supernatural as means to accomplish their goals and ambitions. Not the other way around. We have seen Sebastian act manipulatively, destructively, and even cruelly... but not any more so, than other characters in the story. Sebastian is not behaving the way a true evil being out of the bible, would.

Sebastian's contract isn't even "perfectly" inverted (as I already pointed out). "Solomon" / "Soluzen" isn't in Sebastian's contract, at all (the exception being S1 in the anime... thats it) ... and that tells me all I needed to know! * * * If you read all the way to the end of this you deserve rewards and treats. * * *

But finally on a personal and extremely petty note …why do people want things to be infinitely less interesting than they could be????? 😭 Why do Christians think they invented and have the monopoly on demons? Why does he need to fit into an extremely limited view of what a demon is that BADLY?

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #sebastian michaelis #some people might not be ready for this but I think it must be said

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racefortheironthrone · 2 months

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I think it should be pointed out that Al Ewing is not Jewish and his use of Kabbalah imagery is appropriation and most of the time bastardized as well

I think it should be pointed out that this is an extremely narrow and surface understanding of what cultural appropriation is, and how it differs from the broader phenomenon of cultural exchange and cultural diffusion.

Al Ewing has been very up front from the very beginning back during his Immortal Hulk run, long before his work in Defenders or S.W.O.R.D or X-Men Red, that he is not Jewish nor is he pretending to present Kabbalistic ideas and concepts from a position of supposed "authenticity." Rather, from the very beginning, Ewing's work has been a commentary on the past work by Jewish comics creators from Jack Kirby through to Chris Claremont who mixed Jewish mysticism with other non-Jewish mystical traditions with their own invented Marvel cosmology.

To give one relevant example, there is no "authentic" connection between the Jewish mysticism of the Kabbalah (as far as I'm aware) of the folkloric or alchemical mysticism of the Phoenix, but Chris Claremont forged one in the pages of X-Men.

And I will absolutely go to bat for Al Ewing as having done his research and come to the subject as more than just window-dressing. Most recently, I have argued that the Resurrection of Magneto doesn't just engage in Kabbalistic imagery in a NGE Evangelion-esque "well, this looks cool" sort of way, but rather uses it to really engage with Jewish moral philosophy and how it influenced the radical politics and internal psychology of Max Eisenhardt.

#al ewing #xmen #xmen meta #max eisenhardt

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cryptotheism · 9 months

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To what extent would you say the western occult world’s development of Qabalah and moving it away from the explicit Jewish essence of Kabbalah is a form of cultural appropriation versus cultural cross pollination and evolution?

I'm not really qualified to answer that question imo. That's one of those things you could get a PhD trying to get specifics on.

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will-o-the-witch · 3 months

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Moderator of a server here with a bit of a confusion, I took a quick look on your blog but couldnt find anything. I'm sorry to bother you! Someone in my server said the qliphoth is open and I am nowhere near versed enough to tell if it's mysticism or part of Judaism. They were fairly insistent they could take from any religion since religions take from each other, and that it "isn't really Jewish since somewhere else had a tree of life first", so I'm worried they're appropriating and need to find a next step. I did some reading but I'm finding too many varying pieces I can't find context for the author's ability to talk about it of, and as a goyim I try to be informed but I'm just not confident in my own looking on this. Thank you even if you don't answer and I'm sorry for how long this got.

They’re wrong, it’s an offshoot/part of Kabbalah lol. The Kabbalistic “tree of life” doesn’t actually have anything to do with Yggdrasil or other trees besides just being called a tree of life.

Also jsuk, “goyim” is plural. You can just call yourself a gentile, it’s fine :)

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creature-wizard · 5 months

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Was Neville Goddard really trustworthy?

Figured I'd do up a post on reasons why we can be pretty damn sure Neville Goddard was full of shit so I don't have to keep linking a bunch of posts. So here it is, a list of reasons why Neville Goddard was a professional bullshitter.

Neville Goddard constantly misquoted the Bible.

When you read Goddard's works, you'll often see him citing Bible passages that supposedly support the Law of Assumption. And yet when you read those passages in context (especially with some historical background knowledge of the book or letter in question), it becomes obvious that the passages had nothing to do with the Law of Assumption at all. Examples:

Citing a passage explaining the theological significance of the crucifixion and resurrection and claiming it's about manifestation.

Citing a passage about God creating the nation of Israel through Abraham to support his claim that man can create anything through imagination.

Citing a passage describing angels as "ministering spirits" and claiming that it says angels are your personal feelings.

Citing a passage talking about the Jewish law and claiming it refers to the Law of Assumption.

Goddard quoted specifically from the New King James Version, which is available to read here. Whenever he quotes the Bible, go ahead and read it in context. You'll soon see for yourself that these passages don't actually support him at all.

Additionally, Goddard's claims that the Bible somehow encodes the truth of the Law of Assumption is literally nothing more than a conspiracy theory. The actual history of Christianity and the New Testament simply does not support this whatsoever. If you want to learn actual history of the New Testament, I recommend looking into the books and YouTube videos of Dr. Bart D. Ehrman. His work is grounded in actual research and evidence, rather than mystical speculation or theological need. You can visit Dr. Ehrman's YouTube channel here.

Neville Goddard's metaphysics are self-contradictory.

Goddard claims that "everyone is you pushed out" (EIYPO), and that you, personally, are literally responsible for each and every other person's behavior. No limitations, no exceptions. If you don't like how somebody behaves, it's your job to assume them into the person you want them to be.

And yet, he speaks as if each and every person is individually responsible for manifesting their own happiness, which doesn't make sense if EIYPO is true. If EIYPO were really true, and Goddard liked the idea of all his projections living happy, fulfilled lives, he wouldn't bother writing all of this literature. He would just go into the void state and assume a world where everyone was living their best life into being.

The fact is, the contradiction serves a sinister purpose. It allows the perpetrators of violence to be let off the hook every time while their victims shoulder all of the blame.

Abdullah probably never existed.

Goddard's loyal fans have all heard the tale of how Neville Goddard met Abdullah, an Ethiopian rabbi who supposedly taught him Kabbalah, which supposedly supports the Law of Assumption.

First of all, Neville Goddard was a gentile, and the form of mysticism he taught was, well, pretty Christian. He may have absolutely butchered the New Testament, but he constantly quoted from it and made Jesus out to be a pretty big deal.

Meanwhile, Kabbalah is a purely Jewish form of mysticism. The notion that it would support Goddard's Christian mysticism is laughable. Kabbalah is not about Jesus, and it does not support Christianity - even if Christians have appropriated and distorted it. Even a cursory "what is Kabbalah?" search will reveal that Kabbalah has nothing to do with Goddard's teachings.

However, there is another form of mysticism that Goddard's teachings strongly resemble, and this is New Thought. It's within the New Thought movement that we see the developing idea that human beings can shape reality with thought and belief.

This whole story Goddard gave about Abdullah foreseeing his arrival is exactly the kind of thing a mystical con artist would come up with. If you study esotericism and the occult at all, you quickly learn that people just make up fake wizards all the time, from Abraham of Worms's Abramelin to Helena Blavatsky's Koot Hoomi.

It's always the same narrative; someone allegedly meets this wise mystic who shares this profound wisdom, who for some reason is unavailable for comment and never authors any works aside from those they've allegedly shared with their single chosen student. Investigations of their alleged teachings inevitably reveal that they bear very little relation to their supposed origins, but look very much like the ideas popular within their alleged students' own circles.

If you want to learn more about the history of esotericism and the occult for yourself, Dr. Justin Sledge's YouTube channel ESOTERICA is a great place to start. If you want to learn more about the history of Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah more specifically (so to see exactly why the Law of Assumption has nothing to do with it), you can check out his 14 part lecture series.

If you are leaving or questioning the Law of Assumption and need help, please see this post.

#law of assumption #loa #loassumption #neville goddard #eiypo #everyone is you push out #abdullah

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wonderlandleighleigh · 1 year

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So its early but I'm on Tumblr, and like.

You know. Saw a post. Like you do.

And it's about appropriating Jewish mythology and symbols and terms. And there is so much "DON'T DO THAT" in the post.

But I think the post gets it a lil wrong. What we're really looking for is respect. Respect our things. Our culture. Or symbols. They're not Happy Meal toys. Make some effort.

I saw a lot of comments on the post saying that people had never met a Jewish person, and that we are "professional victims."

Well hello. I'm a Jewish person, and we've been run out of more countries than you've had hot dinners, so we're more like professionals at getting the fuck out of places where people want us dead.

Let's do an edit!

Golems: if you're going to use them in your fantasy, please treat them with respect. They're a mythological creature borne out of the desperation of a people constantly on the run from assholes trying to burn down their lives, and thought of as protective. Don't use them as a weird monster. It's easy to find the lore. Read up.

Kabbalah: is so much stranger than you know, and worth doing research on. Please be respectful if you intend to use it in a story, or even try to practice it.

If it's Hebrew and it doesn't have anything to do with Judaism...man that is a weird one. Cuz it's our religious language but also people who aren't Jewish live in Israel and speak Hebrew but this one feels funny.

The Star of David: it's not a pentagram. It's not a generic symbol. It's pretty specifically Jewish. Sometimes it gets worn by people who want us dead? Uncomfortable.

Goy: isn't considered polite but is more polite than "fuckin goy" which I sometimes use when some goy is being a terrible asshole.

Lenny Bruce had a whole bit on this one:

youtube

Gentile: less rude. You non jews are just gentiles.

Antisemitism: that funny feeling in your bones when you know someone either doesn't like you because you are Jewish (those fuckers who wear the "6 million was not enough" shirts. IE; Hitler shoulda kilt more Jews), or when someone says shit like "you guys control the banks so I bet you'll get all 7 days of Passover off soon enough." We don't control the banks. I fucking promise. We don't control shit. Whatever power white Jewish people might have is allowed by the white gentile power structure and can be easily taken away.

When the big orange goy was president, and employed Steven Miller (Jewish. A piece of shit) I used to tell people that "we'll all wind up in the same train car anyway. He's no safer from the hate than the rest of us." I'm still right.

The word Jew: context matters. "The Jews" is an easy shorthand. The Jewish People takes longer to say. One time in a bar, in Mississippi, the director of another department from work pointed at me and yelled "JEW!!!" and that felt.

Bad.

It felt bad you guys.

1. Being singled out for what you are feels bad.

2. Mississippi feels like a place you don't want to be singled out for being Jewish.

3. "Jew" often gets bent into "jewy" which is derogatory. Women were sometimes called "jewesses" which was a little like being called a witch they wanted to burn at the stake.

Probably safe bet to just say Jewish People.

We've been around a long time, but there aren't a whole of us left. But we also come in all different types. A bunch of us are white, but some of us are Black or Latinx or Asian or Middle Eastern. We don't agree on any one way of doing things and we have a lot of opinions and sometimes some dude wanders around The Rockaways in New York with a machete looking for the closest synagogue because Kanye told him we're all evil.

We are constantly on the lookout for people who don't like us because WE KEEP FINDING THEM. Like sometimes you think somebody's cool, but it turns out they think we have horns and eat white Christian baby blood.

For the record, white Christians don't season their food, so that shit is too bland. Not enough dill. We'll pass.

But yeah. Just some thoughts on my culture. Thanks for reading.

#my judaism is funky fresh #jewishness #judaism #Youtube

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