jordi-ahava

[jordi-ahava]

Memento Mori paper cut

Germany or Poland, 19th century

Handwritten on paper; ink and watercolour on papercut

Hebrew rhyming inscription with words of caution about the transience of life

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There’s magic surrounding us and there is nothing quite like learning about how our ancestors turned ‘every day’ ingredients into integral parts of ritual. From fertility and love to sewing discord and creating hate, eggs have been vessels for magic in Judaism for centuries. Learn about the various forms of usage of eggs in folk magic and practices in Jewish communities.

But Judaism isn’t alone in utilizing eggs—Certain egg symbolism transcends the borders of culture and are nearly global concepts. Eggs as symbols of resurrection, immortality, life, and rebirth: these are cross-cultural beliefs that exist in many different communities and cultures, so you may see things that resonate with you, even if you’re not Jewish!

Have you witnessed or performed magic with an egg? What rituals with eggs exist in your community? And, of course, do you dip your eggs in ashes?

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Vintage Posters of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (רשות הטבע והגנים / Rashut HaTeva VeHaGanim, سلطة الطبيعة والحدائق) depicting native species of butterflies. Seen at Hai-Bar Nature reserve, a wildlife breeding and acclimation center in the Carmel mountains where endangered and locally extinct native animals are bred for reintroduction to local ecosystems.

Organisms exist independently from states and borders, which are man made constructs. Still, humans have always had complex relationships with nature around them and species can have deep, ancient and diverse cultural meaning for many different peoples at once.

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Late 19th Century German Silver Menorah

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hey if you wanna marry me i’ll accept this in place of a ring

a hanukkiah bouquet . ݁₊᪥⋆. ݁

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Central Synagogue, NYC

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Really wishing for the Maccabim (or the Maccabean spirit) to return last night🩵

[jordi-ahava]

ive been trying to make this post

i'm still thinking about the kid whose peyoth were cut off.

this angers me. i'm secular and it angers me.

ive never been to the west. i dont know how it's usually there. ive heard a couple times that these times feel like pre-holocaust Germany. its not that i didnt believe it, i very much did. it just... didnt sink in as much untill now.

where is the outrage?? a child of a marginized group was forcefully stripped off of a traditional element of said group, where. is. the. outrage??? why havent i heard about it from outside of jewish spaces? why are we the only ones who care about ourselves? what's next?

"this is why we don't trust Goy hairdressers" i hear our own people say. this is reddiculous. i simply cannot grasp the existence in the diaspora at this point. it doesnt feel real. it didnt before and it doesnt now.

but it is real. i dont know what this world is turning into, but it certainly isnt something that i had known before.

to our siblings in the diaspora - please stay safe. i may be secular, but right now, if there's one thing i could pray for, it would be our people's safety.

שנדע ימים שקטים

may we know quiet days.

[jordi-ahava]

Wall detail from the Rumbach Street Synagogue in Budapest

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Jewish community of Djerba, Tunisia. Photos by Mosa'ab Elshamy.

When school lets out, the streets around the ancient synagogue on this Tunisian island fill with rambunctious boys wearing Jewish kippahs and girls in long skirts, shouting to each other in Hebrew, Arabic and French. The Jewish community in the resort island of Djerba traces its roots all the way back to Babylonian exile of 586 B.C., and is one of the few communities of its kind to have survived the turmoil around the creation of Israel, when more than 800,000 Jews across the Arab world either emigrated or were driven from their homes.

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[jordi-ahava]

Antisemitism Required Reading

I get a lot of ignorant comments & tags on my posts about antisemitism, and I’ve already spent way too much time & energy engaging with them. So to preserve my sanity, I’ve made the decision not to engage too deeply with any commenters who haven’t at least read all of these in their entirety:

“Jewish Space Lasers” by Mike Rothschild

“People Love Dead Jews” by Dara Horn

“Jews Don’t Count” by David Baddiel

"More Than a Century of Antisemitism", GEC Special Report

If you’re not Jewish, please read all of this literature before adding anything to my posts about antisemitism.

Jews, please add any books you think should be on the list!

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i am back on this cute little site yay !

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[jordi-ahava]