celesteh

celesteh, 8 months ago to random

My Jewish Learning's virtual kaddish minyan was bloody intense today.

celesteh, 7 months ago (edited 7 months ago) to random

I'm going to say a bunch of things.

1. Its possible to have conflicts where both armies / governments are just trying to murder people out of a desire for revenge and ethnic hatred. If we all look at our criticisms of the government of Israel from 3 weeks ago, I think we can admit that the people in charge have quite a lot of hatred.

2. The experience of the founding of Liberia, not to mention terms used by early Zionists, do show that colonisers can be colonial while also having ancestry in the place that they're colonising. Its a power relationship, ffs.

3. The "normal" so many folks want to get back to is the systemic humiliation and abuse of a disempowered group of people.

4. My siddur says that to be a Jew is to always stand up for the downtrodden. Israel is not a Jewish state under that definition.

I am feeling really angry and alienated from the left for ignoring Hamas's fascism but also from Jews who think that killing thousands of Gazans is a justified revenge

celesteh, 6 months ago to random

Asking the queer rabbi if we can mention TDOR before kaddish next shabbat.

celesteh, 7 months ago to random

By this time tomorrow, I'll be officially Jewish.

celesteh, 5 months ago to random

There is no JSOC* at UEL**.

I have no idea how many Jewish students there are at the uni, but I'm guessing it's more than zero.

I also don't know how clubs work at British unis, as I studied in the US.

I looked up what uni was closest to my synagogue, with the idea that we could do outreach there, but I actually have no idea how that works. Would a student need to approach us first?

• Jewish Students Club

• University of East London

celesteh, 8 months ago to random

I need to focus on video games, but I keep getting distracted by Talmud.

celesteh, 7 months ago to random

I wore a tallit gadol for the first time today!

celesteh, 11 months ago to random

There's used to be a running joke about reply guys on fedi. Hans from Stuttgart, the Arch user is the fictional reply guy archetype.

Its an ethnic stereotype and therefore unfair, but german-speaking Foss users are overrepresented in the reply guy hall of shame, alas.

(USian fedi users have their own extremely annoying quirks, though.)

celesteh, 11 months ago to random

Somebody in California suggested I also do a zoom Shiva. I imagine these happened a lot during the covid quarantines? Does anyone have insight or experience to share?

celesteh, 7 months ago to random

Look, I don't like Hamas either, but it's disingenuous to complain that they're close to civilian infrastructure when there's like two and a half million people crammed into a space 25 miles long and seven miles wide. A safe buffer zone literally cannot exist in the tiny, overcrowded space.

celesteh, 7 months ago to random

Accidental rabbi logout in the minyan.

celesteh, 5 months ago to random

I was arguing in favour of being kosher at home and I still want to figure out what that would mean, but, like, after going through so very very very many sets of China my family just stored for 20-30 years, I never want to buy a new plate again.

I mean, obviously some plate patterns are currently unfashionable or were always ugly, but the sheer amount of plates both manufactured and binned every year is staggering to envision.

I think my goals might be irreconcilable.

celesteh, 7 months ago to random

If I were going to have, say, a housewarming party and invite an orthodox couple, would it work to get some kosher canapes from the egg stores (or Salisbury Whitechapel) and have the rest be trief?

If I don't want to use disposable everything for the kosher part, I'd have to go dip the plates, serving spoons and cutlery in the local pond or stream with a blessing and then wash it in my normal sink with a special sponge and then segregate those items forever more? Would this work or just create incredible awkwardness?

(A nice orthodox couple invited me over for sukkot and I want to reciprocate and I wish it was still picnic season.)

celesteh, 8 months ago to random

[On the virtual minyan]

Host: Wait for the rabbi to begin
Rabbi: Yit-ga-dal v'yit-ka[crash]

[computer reboots]

I hate zoom

celesteh, 11 months ago to random

I don't usually post to this account on shabbat.

My family is Catholic and on another continent and I'm recovering from surgery, so the first actual ritual marking of my dad's death was the mourner's aliyah and saying the kaddish.

I was relieved not to be the only mourner, since I haven't had my beit din yet and don't wear a tallit for that reason, but I talked to one of the rabbis who said I should go up.

When we said the kaddish later, I felt overwhelmed by emotion that had been bottled up and couldn't actually speak, but in British reform, everyone says it together, so others voices carried me. Like the story of the prayers caught inside the shul: Sometimes those who have voice don't have kavunagh, but its equally true that sometimes those with kavunah don't have voice. I'm grateful for my community.

celesteh, 7 months ago to random

Waaaay back when I was in the first weeks of converting, I asked who should hang a mezuzah. The teacher was vague, but the clear message was that it was not for me . . . yet.

Apparently views differ on this. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-the-expert-can-a-non-jew-hang-a-mezuzah-on-their-doorpost/

Is this cool solidarity or should allies find a different way of expressing their support?

(My house is being painted in a week or two and I'll put them up sooooon.)

celesteh, 8 months ago to random

In the My Jewish Learning "Make a Local Lulav" webinar

celesteh, 10 months ago to random

Me: Dog, stop begging at the table!

Dog: I think you'll find that Gittin 62 is very clear you should have fed me first.

Me: I did feed you first!

Dog: I want what you're having.

celesteh, 6 months ago to random

I kind of liked Agatha Christie when I lived in the US. I mean, I do have a kind of a political objection to the notion of a cosy murder. The way those books talk about violence is deeply weird. But they're still kind of charming and I do like the BBC adaptations for telly.

Anyway, it turns out that her American publisher asked to please remove the unrelenting antisemitism from her writings. She agreed and the US editions are enjoyable. The British editions are unreadable and awful.

Some folks think we should preserve bigotry in texts as a form of evidence. I don't want to read texts that contain bigoty. I don't want them to be published. This is what archives are for, not fresh, newly printed books. Yeah, it changes the author's words and some of their intent. That's what editors and publishers and translators are meant to do. That's why a publishing industry still exists when otherwise high-quality self-publishing is extremely accessible.

celesteh, 6 months ago to random

Shavua tov!!

celesteh, 6 months ago to random

I would like to extend love and strength to all the USians getting ready to have Thanksgiving dinner with family that they love but have serious political rifts with.

celesteh, 11 months ago to random

I need several mezuzah cases and I am paralysed by choice. Tell me about pretty mezuzahs made in the UK or Europe and where I can get them and which one.

celesteh, 6 months ago to random

Look, the Netherlands is a ducked up little country, but if you are an online freelancer from the US, its relatively easy to move there. Musicians also have an in with this if your income is high enough.

(Be aware that the path to citizenship almost always involves renouncing US citizenship.)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DAFT

celesteh, 11 months ago to random

Woman of valour (also including cis women)

celesteh, 7 months ago to random

The beit din asked about the Talmud study classes my shul.used to run. We were reading pirkey avot in Hebrew with the aid of a Jastrow.

They asked what part stuck out and the first thing that sprung to my mind is rav whoever saying not to talk to women. I thought a bit harder and instead talked about how "fence" is only one translation for what we should put up around the Torah. It could be a hedge, etc.

Memory is funny. I clearly had the strongest emotional reaction to the guy who was a dickhead. And this section does actually teach us some important lessons. The guy who said that could have done all kinds of amazing and wonderful things in his life, but he was also a dickhead and that's what we remember. Being an asshole can ultimately outweigh everything if we're not careful.

It also teaches an important lesson about approaching our texts with a critical eye. They contain all kinds of wisdom, but we can't accept their words unquestioningly. Not everything in them is right. (1/2)