#fuzzytheduck

[fuzzytheduck]

The thing is I don't! Its really hard to find accessible sources for the periods I'm interested in (pre 20th century generally but especially pre galus).

there's a lot of very interesting but obscure stuff that I just don't have the knowledge to unpack.

What is the relevance of having a "daughter who can braid hair?" Meaning like old enough to do her own hair? Skilled in the art of hairdressing? What stitching techniques were used to sew different garments? how was beading and embroidery done? How were Jewish fashions influenced by other nations and vice versa? How are you gonna wear wool and denounce shepherds (still mad) what kind of loom was used? What kind of spindle? (this one I actually think I know. According to my father Jewish women used to spin while walking along the road so Im pretty sure it was a drop spindle) what about armor? Hairstyles, what's under all that fabric? How did diaspora Jews in the 16th-19th centuries observe tsnius in conjunction with the fashions of the time? I just don't know and it's driving me crazy!

If any archeologists, historians or talmidei chachamim want to weigh in I would be most grateful.

ps. I happen to know that @snissel613 is in possession of knowledge regarding ancient Persian dining etiquette which I am very curious about, so while we're on the topic of cultural history, I will beg for a lore dump.

locking in

[fuzzytheduck]

I think a lot of Americans have a hard time grasping the idea of Jewish indigeneity because they dont know where their own ancestors came from. Maybe they'll have vague ideas like German, Italian, or Irish, but what they know has very little bearing on their day-to-day lives. They don't dress any different, they don't speak the language their great grandparents spoke, they don't hold regular ceremonies and rituals that harken back to the old days.

The idea of an ethnic group maintaining a constant identity over thousands of years is patently absurd to them. "You're telling me you're still mourning something the ancient Romans did? That's ridiculous! Clearly you've fallen for modern Israeli propaganda, otherwise you're deliberately arguing in bad faith in order to justify land theft and genocide!"

It's very frustrating, because when I say these things I do not say them in bad faith. My friend once said "it's a very American thing not to understand large timescales", and I think she was right on the money. The process of American assimilation has cut peoples ties to their ancestors to such a degree that they can no longer comprehend a continuous identity spanning millennia.

So I'm going to say this in the clearest language I can:

There is a genuine, historically provable, continuous connection from ancient Israelites to modern Jews. By the laws and customs of those ancient Israelites I am one of them. Let me reiterate. I am an Israelite, a Hebrew, like from the Bible, and the fact that my identity has been so mythologized and talked about as if it's a thing of the past will never change that.

[fuzzytheduck]

you have to be normal about religious jews you have to be normal about religious jews you have to be normal about religious jews you have to be normal about religious jews

[fuzzytheduck]

I think if you recontextualize the word "Jew" to mean "citizen of Israel/Juda" rather than "person who practices the Jewish religion" you'll come to a much better understanding of Jewish law and tradition

[fuzzytheduck]

Modern Ashkenazi dialects of Hebrew just as valid as modern Sephardi and Mizrachi dialects of Hebrew send tweet

[fuzzytheduck]

Sometimes I wonder how many Jews on here I actually just know in real life but don't know that I know because I can't say anything and they can't either.

[fuzzytheduck]

I don't know what Ashkenazi needs to hear this but the old country sucked and the shtetl isn't your homeland.

[fuzzytheduck]

shout out to the good people of Peru for domesticating potatoes and elevating Ashkenazi cuisine forever

Everyone say thank you american indigenous people for cultivating corn, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, cacao, pumpkin, squash, and anything i missed. Makes life more meaningful globally

[fuzzytheduck]

everyone more religious than me is crazy and everyone less religious than me is a heretic. it is simply a law of the universe.

[fuzzytheduck]

If you are Jewish, and did/do menstruate, did your mother slap you when you got your first period?

[fuzzytheduck]

I wish people would stop saying that Megilas Esther is about feminism/misogyny. It's really not. There is no overcoming of misogyny in the narrative, there's no good feminist versus bad misogynist (I would go so far as to say that there were actually zero feminists in ancient Persia!), there is no message of women's liberation.

is there a powerful and good female protagonist? Yes! But if I called every text fitting that description feminist I would have a very strange list of books!

[fuzzytheduck]

i so badly wish i could feel safe doing this as a jew. with all my heart.

My comic about why we should all be activists. Made possible by my wonderful patrons at patreon.com/davidhellman Please share, and get involved in your local community!

[fuzzytheduck]

wait do reform Jews not recognize kohanim??

[fuzzytheduck]

what obscure jew lore did you think was common knowledge growing up

[fuzzytheduck]

The importance of the land of Israel to Judaism cannot be overstated. It is inseparable from the Jewish people, culture, and religion. the only denial of this comes at best from ignorance or at worst lying about history.

[fuzzytheduck]

Thread so far:

"why are you mourning something the Romans did, out of curiosity"

"I'm not sure how in-detail you want me to get, but the main thing is that they destroyed the Beis Hamikdash, the holy temple, which was (still is, really) the most sacred place in the world to the Jewish people."

"I see. From my perspective, the atrocities committed thousands of years ago have no bearing on my life. I mean presumably you mourn the roman-judea war because one side was Jews and you are Jewish. Not because life was lost but specifically Jewish life. Which is strange to me because surely they lived a very different life to the one you live today. Surely even their understanding of Judaism, the thing you share, was different from yours with your modern sensibilities. Sorry if this is offensive but it just seems like a tenuous connection. Also I am asian (like you! haha)."

Response:

"I see. From my perspective, the atrocities committed thousands of years ago have no bearing on my life."

The destruction of Jerusalem and the expulsion of Jews from Israel, are, to Jews, constantly present in our lives and rituals.

I'm sure you've seen depictions of Jewish weddings in media, where the groom steps on a glass. this is done in memory of the Destruction.

After meals, we say four blessings of thanks. the fourth one was composed in gratitude for being allowed to finally bury our dead after the massacre at Beitar.

Every year, on the anniversary of the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, we fast in mourning.

At the end of a Passover Seder, we say "next year in rebuilt Jerusalem" in hopes that we can hold a real seder next year, with a korban pesach (Passover offering) brought in the temple.

There are countless songs, poems, and works of art that express grief over the Destruction

This is a poem written in medieval Spain expressing a profound yearning to return to Israel.

This is a video of Jewish boys around the arch of Titus in Rome (the structure built by the Romans* to commemorate the capture of Judea), singing about the memory of Jerusalem.

*in the same way kings hauled up lumps of rock to build Thebes of the seven gates iykyk

"I mean presumably you mourn the roman-judea war because one side was Jews and you are Jewish."

Yes and no. We dont just share some superficial trait that makes us want to root for that side or something. We ARE that side. we have retained our longing to return ever since.

"Not because life was lost but specifically Jewish life."

Its not just a matter of life lost, which IS devastating. its also a matter of cultural and religious destruction. Korbanos, or offerings, were once a major part of jewish service, but since we are forbidden from bringing them outside the temple, they have not been brought for nearly 2 millenia.

We nearly lost our oral tradition. the mishna was compiled about 1800 years ago to preserve it.

Hundreds of thousands of Jews were slaughtered, taken as slaves, exiled from their homeland. To this day we are considered to be in Galus Edom, Roman exile (the last of four exiles).

We were scattered to the winds, subject to near constant persecution, denied rights, forced to flee again and again, all while keeping our identity and faith alive.

"Which is strange to me because surely they lived a very different life to the one you live today. Surely even their understanding of Judaism, the thing you share, was different from yours with your modern sensibilities."

This is true! there are many differences between the way we live now and the way we used to back in those days, but there are also many similarities. we celebrate the same holidays, operate under the same legal system, follow the same dietary restrictions, rest on the same sabbath, read the same torah... there are plenty of examples i could use to emphasize this. Here are a couple.

A torah scroll can only be written by hand, on parchment, by a skilled scribe using either a reed pen or a feather quill.

On the sabbath, we aren't allowed to start, spread, or feed fires, which makes cooking difficult. For millennia Jews have managed this by cooking stews over Friday night to be eaten in the morning. Some basic info in this video:

"Sorry if this is offensive but it just seems like a tenuous connection. Also I am asian (like you! haha)."

I don't find it offensive at all! I'm always happy to converse in good faith. thank you so much for reaching out, too few people seem to seek new perspectives, and i genuinely commend you for that.

also while i suppose on a technical level i could be considered west asian, that label is largely inapplicable to me with regards to american race relations. i dont remember where i was going with this

anyway sorry it took so long to get back to you, if i forgot to translate any jargon, or if my writing is unclear, let me know and ill do my best to clarify

P.S.

i want to add that for me personally, it was a culture shock to see things from the other way around. as a child i thought all religions worked the same as mine, and it was wild to me to find out that some people have no strong cultural/religious identity.

i saw a video a while ago that documented the siege of Jerusalem, from a youtuber that primarily covered ancient roman history. I was shocked at the level of detachment the event was described with. Don't they know how important this is? How devastating this was for my people? How relevant it is to us?

here is the video for reference: