#rabbi gets religious

dduane:

hymnsofheresy:

stoneandbloodandwater:

fromchaostocosmos:

fromchaostocosmos:

cutecreative:

hymnsofheresy:

hachama:

hymnsofheresy:

ravenclaw-burning:

hymnsofheresy:

when christian artists change the line in hallelujah from “maybe there’s a God above” to “I know that there’s a God above” >:c

#idk why i’m so unreasonably angry#maybe cuz it’s my fav line

it’s also because Leonard COHEN (!) was Jewish and this is a quintessentially Jewish line, and changing it to that level of Annoying Certainty is stripping it of its Jewish meaning and imbuing it with that particularly American smug evangelical Christian attitude that makes me tired, so very tired

THAT IS EXACTLY WHY

I don’t think I’ve heard any cover artist sing my favorite verses

You say I took the name in vain
I don’t even know the name
But if I did, well really, what’s it to you?
There’s a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn’t matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I’ll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

um woah

I will always hit the reblog button so hard for Hallelujah but ESPECIALLY mentions of the elusive final verses which are just about my favorite lyrics ever. Why do people always omit the best part of the song??

In Yiddish

In Hebrew

In Ladino

Yeah, I wonder why the verses that reference specific Jewish mystical and chassidic concepts that aren’t readily understood by American “I love Jews, you know, Jesus was Jewish!” Christians never get any airtime. Funny that.

You say I took the name in vain
I don’t even know the name
But if I did, well really, what’s it to you?
There’s a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn’t matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

These are specifically about Chassidic Jewish theories of the holy language, how each letter and combination of letters in Hebrew contains the essence of the divine spark and if used correctly, can unlock or uncover the divine spark in the mundane material word. And of course, there are secret names of God which, when spoken by any ordinary human would kill them, but if you are worthy and holy and righteous can be used to perform miracles or even to behold the glory of God face-to-face. The words themselves have power. Orthodox Jews often won’t even pronounce the word “hallelujah” in it’s entirety in conversation, because the “yah” sound at the end is a True Name of God (there are hundreds, supposedly) and thus too holy to say outside of prayer.

None of this is to mention how David’s sin in sleeping with Batshevah (the subject of much of the song, with a brief deviation to Shimshon and Delilah) is considered the turning point in the Tanach that ultimately dooms the Davidic line at the cosmological level and thus dooms Jewish sovereignty and independence altogether. From a Christian perspective this led to Jesus, the King of Kings, and that’s all very well and good for them, but for the Jews, the Davidic line never returned and is the central tragedy of the total arc of the Torah. Like, our Bible doesn’t have a happy ending? And that’s what this song is about? There’s no Grace - you just have to sit with the sin and its consequence.

Of course, Cohen is referencing all of this ironically, and personalizing these very high-level religious concepts. Like the point of this song is that Cohen, the songwriter, is identifying with David, the psalmist, and identifying his own sins with David’s. The ache that you hear in this song is that the two thousand year exile that resulted from one wrong night of passion and Cohen feels that the pain he has caused to his lover is of equally monumental infamy. Basically, in a certain light, the whole of Psalms is a vain effort for David to atone for his sin and I think Cohen was writing this song in wonderment that David could eternally praise the God who would not forgive him and would force him and his people into exile. But he ultimately gets how you have to surrender to the inexorable force of God in the face of your own inadequacies and how to surrender is to worship and to worship is to praise - hence, Hallelujah. You can either do the right thing and worship God from the start, or you can fuck up, be punished, and thus be forced to beg for His forgiveness. It’s the terrible inevitability of praise that’s driving him mad.

Like honestly, I identify with this song so strongly as an off-the-derech Jew, I sometimes wonder what Christians can possibly hear in this song, as it speaks so specifically to the sadomasochistic relationship that a lapsed Jew has with their God. It’s such a different song from a Christian theological perspective it’s almost unrecognizable, man. This song continues to be a wonder of postmodern Jewish theology and sexuality from start to finish. Don’t let anyone give you any “Judeo-Christian” narishkeit. This is a Jewish song.

(Sorry about the wild tangent it’s just 2AM and I love this song so dang much, you guys.)

holy shit. woah.

This.

That last bit from @stoneandbloodandwater, that’s a great articulation of the well of feeling, memory, storytelling, and culture packed into one of the most Jewish songs ever to get real famous. The song is both surrender and defiance, and that those are actually a single path together, not two opposite choices.

therenegadegabbai:

therenegadegabbai:

dear Christian friends! since we’re now approaching Easter and Pesach…

if you’re a Christian in the US, you’ve probably seen a church advertise a seder. [a seder(lit: order) is a Jewish festive meal, often for the holiday of Pesach, or Passover]. churches will often put on seders for Easter in a misguided attempt to connect to the last supper, or will use it to celebrate Pesach in a Christian manner. this might have happened in your church. you might have attended it.

[psa: i don’t blame you for being taught that this was okay! but,] here are some reasons why that’s a problem:

• seders are a specifically Jewish ritual. the same concerns about appropriation apply here–this is a sacred practice by us and for us, and if you’re not invited to participate (which often happens! talk to your Jewish friends!), it is harmful for you to take our ritual and use it to suit your own purposes.
  
• Jesus was a Jew. cool! let’s talk about it! interfaith dialogue is my jam. but Christianity has been a separate tradition from Judaism for 2000 years. you have your own holy traditions and practices, as do we, and all of those have changed over the last two millenia. Jesus’ Judaism looked very different than today’s, not least because he lived in a time when there was still a Temple in Jerusalem. in his time, Pesach focused on a physical korban, or sacrifice at the Temple, and the rabbinic extrapolations that formed the modern seder had not been set down in writing. while the modern seder uses ritual foods and texts to recall or fulfill similar functions to the korbanot, it is not the same as a celebration of Pesach that would have occurred during the Second Temple Era. that the holy figure of your faith celebrated a ritual that shares ancient roots with our modern ones does not entitle you to the modern ritual.
  
• the above applies whether or not the last supper was in fact a Pesach meal. biblical historians can debate this more completely than i can, but in either case, the modern Jewish seder is the result of 2000 years of Jewish development independent of Christianity. it is not yours.
• also, given that one of the central tenets of our tradition is that Moshiach, or the messiah, has not yet come, it’s pretty squicky for us to see a messianic group appropriating a Jewish practice in service of their messiah.
  
• also, you all have some pretty cool practices as far as i can see! you have a beautiful and vast tradition to draw from when celebrating Easter and other holidays. why appropriate when you could be celebrating something wholly your own?
  
• the history of antisemitism is long and checkered, and unfortunately has quite a lot to do with Christianity. Christianity has been a major body in the oppression, disenfranchisement, and murder of Jews for centuries. whether accusing us of killing Jesus, relegating us to ghettoes, perpetuating damaging stereotypes, limiting our citizenship, encouraging and engaging in large-scale murders of Jewish communities, expelling us from cities and nations, forcing conversions, or many, many other acts of antisemitic violence over the years, the church has consistently given religious power to antisemitic positions. while this has improved in certain places in recent years, it’s a long history. and its effects are still felt today–even in Christian-majority places where physical violence has become less common (though by no means absent), Jews have to fight for our ability to celebrate real Pesach, often facing the possibility of retaliation when taking time off of work or school, while Christian holidays are made federal. elsewhere, Jews continue to hide in our homes during the Easter season to avoid those set on revenge for Jesus’ death. it rankles when anyone takes our traditions, but when the people in question are part of a legacy that has, through physical and institutional violence, prevented us from celebrating them ourselves, it is all the more harmful.
  
• antisemitism related to Pesach specifically has also had a massive and devastating impact on Jewish communities around the globe. the blood libel, one of the most pernicious antisemitic myths, accuses Jews of kidnapping and murdering Christian children in order to use their blood to make matzah, the unleavened bread used in Pesach seders. it has been used to call all Jews child-killers, bloodthirsty, predatory, and cruel. it was an impetus behind most of the major European-Christian acts of antisemitic violence, including the Inquisition, the Holocaust, and pogroms, and is still in use today, all around the world. the very observance of Pesach has been shaped by this violence–for example, many Ashkenazi Jewish communities still have a practice of using white or raisin wine instead of red for their seders, simply because the danger of being killed for having a cup of red liquid on a Pesach table was so great. for the right to celebrate this holiday in particular, millions (and no, i am not exaggerating) of Jews have been murdered. Pesach is a celebration of our freedom from bondage, but it has also been a time of fear. you can have a seder on a whim. we put our lives on the line. 
• please respect our history. if you have questions, my inbox is always open, and if you’d like to learn what a real seder is like, so is my door!
  
• further reading

SO, what can you do? if you see a local church advertising a seder and are in a position to speak out, do so. if you’re not, that’s okay. but start these conversations whenever you can. and you can always, of course, get in touch with your local Jewish community and learn about actual Jewish practices! appropriation is not the only way to connect to Jews or Judaism. let’s celebrate these springtime holidays in the spirit of interfaith understanding!

Once again, it’s time to remind people about this. If your church is planning a seder, ask them to stop and do something instead that’s outreach, not appropriation.

tikkunolamorgtfo:

acinderellaheist:

tikkunolamorgtfo:

tikkunolamorgtfo:

About ten days ago, I wrote a series of posts regarding the difficulties Jews and people of other minority faiths encounter in western society when it comes to having our holidays respected and recognized. I got a lot of feedback from Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Jains, etc. echoing my sentiments (some of which was absolutely heartbreaking), and I have additionally seen a variety of other posts on the matter that underline my point. When reading all of the notes and comments relevant to these posts, I noticed a very similar theme reappearing time after time:

“I didn’t take off for X holiday because I’m not that religious, but the scheduling was very inconvenient for my more observant friend or family member.” 

Indeed, I had previously quoted former MLB player Gabe Kapler, who once made the justification to play baseball on Yom Kippur by saying: 

“I am not really a practicing Jew. It would be selfish to be a practicing Jew on only one day.”

It would seem that many people have been led to believe that observing a Jewish or Muslim or Hindu holiday is cheating unless you are sincerely devout. 

Well, I have a special message for those people: 

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO NON-CHRISTIAN SECULAR OBSERVANCES

This is important, so I’m going to say it again: 

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO NON-CHRISTIAN SECULAR OBSERVANCES

Think of all the times you have been chided by secular Christian friends for not celebrating Christmas.

“It’s not really even a religious holiday anymore,” people will tell you. “It’s just a nice time for families to get together and celebrate.” 

Well, guess what? So is Rosh Hashanah. So is Eid. So is Diwali. 

A secular Jew might not want to go to synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to fly home for Rosh Hashanah dinner to be with their family. 

A non-practicing Muslim may have lost interest in regular religious practices, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still look forward to Eid celebrations.

A lapsed Hindu can still have fond memories of celebrating Diwali as a youth, and want to continue on with their family traditions. 

There is no written rule that says only people from Christian backgrounds can be non-religious and still celebrate their cultural holidays. There is no law that says only Christmas and Easter can be boiled down to family dinners and fun festivities. 

BEING A SECULAR PERSON FROM A MINORITY FAITH DOES NOT INVALIDATE YOUR RIGHT TO YOUR OWN CULTURAL BACKGROUND. 

It doesn’t matter if you haven’t prayed in years or don’t believe in God. If you want a day off for your holiday, take it. No matter what, it’s still yours. 

With the Jewish High Holidays coming up, I thought it would be a good time to reblog this. 

idk, maybe I am just emotional right now? but like? thank you for this post @tikkunolamorgtfo  thank you for this post so much. i am teary

I have never taken off for the high holidays since I started working because I just couldn’t justify missing a day of pay for it. When I started my current job last year I was still in the probationary period when the holidays came and did not know I could take them off without penalty? and I got so many lowkey antisemitic comments from coworkers because the executives of my company are all Jewish and all take off for these days! and these people were saying how they were just taking OUR HIGH HOLIDAYS off to take a day off!!! and weren’t “really Jewish”!!! and how I was “a good Jew” for working on Yom Kippur!!! and I am still angry about this. 

This year I am taking all of them off. 

YES! Good for you — do not let people intimidate you. You have every right to be Jewish in any way that is meaningful to you, whether that means going to schul or not!

This is a good time to reblog this again. You don’t have to meet some kind of observance threshold to take time for holidays — and your employers or schools can’t mandate proof from you.

returnofthejudai:

If I were describe my mood over the last several months with regards to being Jewish in the USA it would be the following: exhausted, dispirited, too tired to be angry.

The situation with the Magen David in Chicago is a borderline extinction level event for my faith in the left dealing with its own internal antisemitism.

And so I’ve been focusing on the quotidian. On simply trying to live my life while I can because I feel like any day now we will be screwed and no one will come to defend us because both the far left and far right hate us and the center is apathetic. No one lives forever, right?

I’ve been trying to resurrect the “fight” I had just a few months ago, but it feels like trying to tap a dry, exhausted well. 

Thus the question for me, regarding my place as a Jew on the American left, is whether or not I would want to join a club that obviously doesn’t want me as a member, or at least doesn’t want me as a member unless I agree to performatively self-flagellate and throw the majority of Jews under the bus. And I’m struggling to find reasons to say that I want in.

This, as with so many of my experiences of antisemitism, has to do with the warnings of my grandparents, who survived the Holocaust. They said that one day the world will forget the Holocaust and if we don’t do something to make others care about antisemitism, no one else will be there to protect us.

And so, with little energy and enthusiasm, and much frustration, I will try to step back into the ring and assume that our excision from the left isn’t a fait accompli. 

As Hillel taught, Jews have to be both for ourselves and not for ourselves. Too many on the left are trying to make us choose one or the other. And if my posts do nothing more than tell non-Jews who would demand we make that choice or be exiled to take a long walk off a short pier, then I suppose I will have accomplished something.

I feel much the same way.

Too often, Hillel’s famous words are taken in reference to the individual, but here I see an application to the community — we treat one person as the whole of humanity, so we can treat the whole of humanity as one person:

If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? If the greater group to which we have thrown in our lot with, who are meant to be our allies, turn and ignore us, then who is left for us?

And if I am for myself, then what am I? And in that moment, what are we in the eyes of those who were to be by our side, as we are by theirs? What (not who) who they see us as?

And if not now, when? And if it isn’t happening now, how long must we wait? How long until we see if this is an obstacle that can be overcome or yet another age where we are only useful as props in the moment? How much more must we try to teach even though our lessons fall on us listening ears?

I’ve always interpreted the last sentence as a rallying cry — but never until now have I understood that it could be shouted at someone else.