#ashkenazi folk beliefs

[ouroboros8ontology]

The estrie had the faculty of changing her shape as she willed, and of returning to her original demonic state when she flew about at night. A certain women, who, it transpired, was an estrie, fell ill and was attended during the night by two women. When one of these fell asleep the patient suddenly arose from her bed, flung her hair wildly about her head, and made efforts to fly and to suck blood from the sleeping woman. The other attendant cried out in terror and aroused her companion; between the two of them they subdued the demon-witch and got her back into bed. “If she had succeeded in killing this woman she would have preserved her life, but since her effort was thwarted she died.” These creatures sustained themselves on a diet of human blood, which preserved their lives when they were desperately ill. If an estrie was wounded by a human being, or was seen by him (in her demonic state), she must die unless she could procure and consume some of his bread and salt. A man who was attacked by an estrie in the shape of a cat and beat her off, was approached by the witch the next day and asked for some of his bread and salt. When he was innocently about to grant her request an old man intervened and scolded him sharply for his generosity. “If you enable her to remain alive, she will only harm other men.” If the preceptor, during services, offers up a prayer for the health of a sick woman who is known to be a vampire, the congregation must not respond with “Amen!” When a broxa or an estrie is being buried, one should notice whether or not her mouth is open; if it is, this is a sure sign that she will continue her vampirish activities for another year. Her mouth must be stopped up with earth, and she will be rendered harmless.

Joshua Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion; The Powers of Evil: “Foreign” Demons

[bobemajses]

Leonora Carrington’s (b. UK, 1917-2011) “Dybbuk Suite”, after the Yiddish play “The Dybbuk/דער דיבוק” by S. Ansky.

"The Dybbuk" relates the story of a young bride possessed by the the malicious spirit of her dead beloved on the eve of her wedding. First staged in in Warsaw by the "Vilna Troupe", it is considered a seminal play in the history of Yiddish theatre. The story is based on years of research by Shloyme Ansky, who travelled between villages in Belarus and Ukraine, documenting Jewish folk beliefs and tales. The Dybbuk is known as the dislocated soul of a dead person in Eastern European Ashkenazi mythology, deriving from the Hebrew word דִּיבּוּק‎ dibbūq, meaning 'a case of attachment', which is a nominal form of the verb דָּבַק‎ dābaq 'to adhere' or 'cling'.

[brightgnosis]

“Meme Sheep„

Stole this from @morgandria (original here) via the "way back dash" and figured I'd answer them myself for fun.

Please describe briefly your Path:

Currently shorthanded as "Noahidic NeoWicca" for the sake of brevity, because it's the easiest way to explain it. But it's ... Complicated.

Please describe briefly how you practice it:

In Tl;DR terms I worship HaShem as The All, Sovereign Creator (and Sum) of the Universe as a Noahide — and I venerate Adam and Chava (Eve) as the First Ancestors of Humankind as a Traditional Solitary NeoWiccan.

When did you first commit to your Path?

This path specifically? I started returning to NeoWicca in late 2020 / early 2021 and allowed myself to naturally traverse it without expectation or direction to see where I landed. It was roughly mid 2022 when I finally understood "who my Spirits were" finally, so to speak, if I remember correctly; time is a bit of a blur at this point and I have memory problems.

How is your practice different now than it was then?

My practice has undergone a million changes since I started in 2000 / 2001; I've gone from Standard NeoWicca to Eclectic NeoPaganism + Pseudo-Hindu wannabeism, to various formulas of Reconstructionism (Kemetic, Greek, Roman, Irish, Christo-Irish / Transitional Gaelic), and now here. All of them have taught me something integral.

Is your practice different today than how you thought it would be back then?

In many ways yes. But in many ways no- I've actually returned to what I originally was. Just with HaShem back in the mix ... But I think that was always going to be the case for me, having no trauma and no ultimate dislike, and always having maintained a beautiful relationship and inspiration there. I just now understand it all so much better (including myself).

Does your Path and core belief system differ now than how it was when you first started?

Actually, no. More than anything, I think I've better found the language to describe it, and the systems that it works within; the places I actually belong that I've really been searching for the whole time.

What are you still exploring or experimenting with?

My entire path; the whole thing it literally being built from the ground up.

How do you see yourself practicing in ten years?

I don't think that far ahead regarding religion ... Why would I? Honestly thinking that far ahead in a way that creates expectations has always just seemed incredibly weird to me.

What (or whom) are you the most committed to in your practice and on your Path?

Judaism, Noahidism, and learning it correctly.

What are your main influences for your Path?

Noahidism (and its conjoined Judaism) and Traditional NeoWicca are the two major religious areas. Then Mormon Folk Healing, Pennsylvania Braucherei, Slavic Folk Practice, and Continental German Folk Practice as major Ancestral practices. And Sabbatical and Traditional Craft (predominantly Schulke's and Oates' strains) as gap-fillers. Plus some minor influence from Irish / Gaelic Reconstructionism also remains.

What is your heritage and how does this inform your Path?

Ashkenazi Ukrainian, Germano-Slavic, and Ir-Scot. And yes, they very much do given the core of my practice (outside of HaShem) can easily be described as an overly complicated system of Ancestor Veneration and syncretism.

What is your relationship with the Land?

Budding; I've moved since I last had a significant relationship with my local Genius Locorum, and so I'm having to forge a new relationship with new Spirits. It takes a lot of time, and it isn't an easy process.

What is the most frustrating thing about your Path?

Currently being unable to practice a good majority of it because of my living situation.

What is one of the greatest obstacles or struggles you have had to over come?

My own immense imposter's syndrome in regards to how much I do actually know, and how much I am actually qualified (Witchcraft)- as well as whether I have a right or not to be in certain spaces (Noahidism); plus overcoming my trauma from years of religious and spiritual abuse inflicted by the Pagan community, and the agoraphobia it created.

Has walking your Path changed you as a person?

Of course it has. And if your religion hasn't changed or challenged you to be better as a person, then I'd bother to say that frankly you're doing religion wrong entirely; no one needs religion to be a good person. But all religion should challenge and change you. If it isn't? Then what you have isn't religion.

What values and ethics are important on your Path and in your practice?

Truth, Compassion, Goodwill, Good Faith, and Humanity.

How do you incorporate your practice into your life?

The same way any religious person should or reasonably would: I pray often. I attempt to live by the tenants of my religion. I stick to my values as best I can. I repent when necessary (or at the appropriate times). And I celebrate my holidays when possible; etc.

What sort of cycles do you feel your practice goes through?

The same as anyone else's: Activity (action and research) and Fallow (lack of action, lack of research; sometimes ever depression about direction).

One thing you wish people would understand about your Path and/or practice is:

You don't know nearly as much about Wicca as you think you do. In fact, you know virtually nothing at all about it; you'd benefit from actually listening to us when we speak about our own faith, instead of constantly beating your chest like Toddlers over your own pride.

Do you consider yourself to be a priest/ess? How so?

In the true Wiccan denominations, every initiated member is properly considered a Priestex of the tradition. So technically, yes. I am considered one according to the rules of my tradition. Personally, however, I consider actively calling myself one publicly a bit brash and tacky as a Solitary NeoWiccan with no actual formal Coven. So no, at the same time.

What do you feel is the role of clergy in modern Paganism?

The same as its role in any religion: To offer spiritual wisdom and guidance to the lay people in regards to their religion's teachings; and to lead their religious rituals and prayers.

Do you teach?

Yes and no; not formally. I don't have students. But I do advise on occasion through articles, comments, etc, from the perspective of personal experience, research, and thought. Some people appreciate it. Many don't. That's their prerogative.

Which do you do more: practice or research? Do you feel that one is more important than the other?

I definitely do more research at the moment- but only because practice is currently difficult for me due to my living circumstance. Once that changes (eventually) and I'm no longer locked into other peoples' nonsense, my practice will fill out so much more.

As for which is more important? Neither. And I think someone else (though I can't remember who now unfortunately) said it quite well, once, in comparing it to Chemistry: You can't do a Chemistry experiment without blowing your ass up if you haven't bothered to read the damned books ... But if you never actually make the potion? You're not actually a Chemist; both are required in equal measure.

Which matters more: getting the vocabulary right or the actual practice of what we are trying to define?

Both, because language is the core of our communication. If we are not on the same page with the terminology we use, there is no hope for clear and effective communication. Furthermore, if we continue to use harmful or damaging terminology that hurts outsiders, or even members of our own community, how can we honestly call ourselves good people or consider ourselves to be living by righteous values we claim? But at the same time ... In order to correctly define things, we also need to know what it is we are trying to define in the first place.

Do you consider yourself to be a witch? How so?

Once again, in the true Wiccan denominations, every member is a practitioner of magic, because magic is an integral part of the rites of our worship. I also do additional magical workings, rituals, and bits of spellcraft on the side- as well as folk healing. So yes.

The main purpose of ritual is:

Adoration of the Divine (or its substitutes), and attunement with the great mysteries of the Universe.

The most important aspect of ritual is:

Joy, mirth, and reverence.

Can you perform ritual without a script?

Absolutely not. Not just because of my general memory issues, but also because there are typically so many moving parts in a proper ritual (which is not the same as base spell work, though it seems the two are regularly confused for one another) that it is quite helpful to often have a "script" to ensure you don't miss anything, forget a step, or lose your place. Especially since things don't always go smoothly and you may need to deal with, say, a vial of oil spilled all over the Altar right in the middle of things before proceeding; the script doesn't have to be followed to a T, and there's still plenty of room for extemporization. But it does make things go more smoothly as a baseline.

Ritual / Magical tools are …

A symbolic physical aid to better focus and attune one's power when casting spells or performing rituals.

Have you ever preformed spontaneous magic / spellcraft?

Most of my small magic and spellcraft is spontaneous; I'm very much a ritualist when it comes to Rituals, but a Folk Witch when it comes to small craft.

Please tell us something stupid, reckless or embarrassing you did once in your practice:

I have nothing, because I'm genuinely not a stupid or reckless person. I'm not necessarily overly cautious, I do act quite spontaneously on my intuition a lot of the time. But I'm not careless, and only tend to act once I have full information to act confidently. And that has, in fact, saved me from a lot of stupid or careless mistakes over the years without stunting my growth.

I don't really count minor things like forgetting to wear a mask while boiling down Dead Nettle, or accidentally setting a small part of the yard on fire while trying to put more fuel on a ritual fire. Predominantly because those are generally small "brain farts" where I did know better and wasn't trying to be reckless or stupid- I just had a genuine brain lapse in the moment. And I feel no embarrassment from them; they're just normal things that happen on accident- and we all make normal stupid mistakes like that from time to time, even despite our best knowledge.

Have you ever been frightened?

Not really.

The one thing you can’t do without is ...

Candles and Prayer.

Politics and your Path are …

Innately intertwined and inseparable, unfortunately; there is no way to separate politics from religion (but especially not from minority religion).

Seeking personal power is …

Stupid.

What is the purpose of divination?

To see the future. To see yourself. To understand. To make better decisions.

What was the most difficult book you ever read (Either difficult to understand or hard to face what it said or both)?

Can't really name one, I'm sorry!

What book do you recommend the most to others?

It depends on the specific topic- in which case I have an entire library of recommended reading for beginners.

What is you favourite podcast (if any) and favourite blog (other than your own)?

I don't listen to podcasts about Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganism, or the Occult; I find most of them to be as bad as most books on the topic and tend to dislike them. Same with blogs.

If you could impart only one last piece of wisdom or knowledge, or share one experience with the world at large, what would it be?

Take it from someone who made this mistake and learned from it: You know less than you think you do, and you aren't as ready to teach or inform as you think you are. Despite what internet culture tells you, there's actually nothing wrong with that; there is nothing wrong with merely existing as a Human Being- normal, unspecial, and ultimately unoutstanding. It is ok to share your path as an exploration of self via journal, rather than a branding of self as commodity and product. You are Human. So allow yourself to be.

Please finish this meme with a picture, image or photograph of some sort:

🕯️“ Blessed are you, Adonai, Sovereign of the Universe and Source of all Creation, whose glory and might fills the World. Amein. „🕯️

This account is run by a Dual Faith «(Converting) Masorti Jew + Traditional NeoWiccan» & «Ancestral Folk Magic Practitioner» with 20+ years of experience as a practicing Pagan and Witch. If that bothers you, don't interact.

[ker4unos]

Media & Mythos #1 - Hisuian Starters

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is one of my favorite Pokemon games, not only because of its unconventional yet incredibly fun gameplay, but the way that it incorporates not only Japanese (Yamato) culture but Ainu and Hokkaido culture as well. There are many issues with regards to how PLA writes how the Galaxy Team and the native Hisuians interact within the story, but that is not the focus of this post.

In Ainu culture, the “kamuy” is a divine being that possesses a sort of spiritual energy or serves as a protector of an object, place, or idea. Like the Japanese “kami,” the Ainu term “kamuy” has a wide range of meanings that does not neatly translate into English. It is similar to the Greek “daemon,” which is a divine spirit that usually presides or lords upon a concept or natural force though his not predisposed to good or evil. According to John Batchelor’s The Ainu and Their Folk-lore, "the Ainu apply their term for god to such a variety of objects, both to the greatest and highest good, and also to the lowest and most malignant evil...”

Although the concept of the kamuy as it is is not in Legends Arceus, the starters of the game still allude to the different kamuy present in Ainu religion. The final evolutions of the starters - Decidueye, Typhlosion, and Samurott - exemplify the Ainu culture that Legends Arceus pulls much inspiration from.

Figure 1: Hisuian Decidueye (left) and the Blakiston’s fish owl (right)

Starting off with the Grass-type starter, Hisuian Decidueye may be based off of Chikap-kamuy (or Kotankor-kamuy, as some sources say). Chikap-kamuy is the kamuy of the land that takes the form of a great owl. In Ainu belief, the owl is said to be a watchful entity that presided over the relationship between the humans and the kamuy. It also presides over rituals and monitors whether humans carry them out.

In one legend, Chikap-kamuy sends several birds to the Heavens to deliver a message about a famine. However, Chikap-kamuy’s message was very long, taking several days to even recite. The hondo crow listens first, but dozes off. Therefore, Chikap-kamuy kills it. The mountain jay listens second, but dozes off too. Therefore, Chikap-kamuy kills it as well. The Siberian dipper listens third, and listens respectfully for six days and nights. Therefore, Chikap-kamuy lets it go, where it delivers the message to the Heavens.

The dipper returns to deliver the message that the humans had grown disdainful of the gifts from the kamuy, so the kamuy stopped sending their gifts. Chikap-kamuy then taught the humans how to hunt fish and offer the heads of deer to the inau (ritualistic wood-shaved sticks used in many Ainu practices). The kamuy are happy and the humans learn how to properly carry out rituals. “This myth both serves as an explanatory myth for the relationship with these animals and reemphasizes to the Ainu listeners the importance of making proper offerings, and of the proper ritual behavior that, because of the uncertainties of their lives, tried to ensure their survival.” (Michael Ashkenazy’s Handbook of Japanese Mythology)

Hisuian Decidueye and Chikap-kamuy share many similarities. For one, one of the inspirations for Decidueye seems to be the Blakiston’s fish owl, which lives within the Hokkaido region. According to Bulbapedia, “Hisuian Decidueye is said to have a stalwart, fierce personality, although it will tolerate those who do not act hostile towards it... It tends to have a nomadic lifestyle, wandering the region in search of food.” This is consistent of Chikap-kamuy’s distant nature as a watchful and fierce protector of the land. Though, Chikap-kamuy is not known to be a kamuy who is quick to fight, so perhaps Decidueye’s Fighting-type is a reference to Chikap-kamuy’s temper or derived from another inspiration entirely.

Figure 2: Hisuian Typhlosion (left) and a traditional Ainu household (right)

Moving onto the Fire-type starter, Hisuian Typhlosion may be based off of Kamuy-fuchi. Kamuy-fuchi is the kamuy of the hearth. It is said that she lives in the hearth within each home, as the hearth is the gateway to which the humans and kamuy can communicate with each other. She is one of the most important and powerful kamuy in the Ainu pantheon. She presides not only over the hearth but of domestic affairs and the household.

The hearth is also considered the residence of the dead, acting as a sort of underworld. Therefore, Kamuy-fuchi is considered a psychopomp, or one that guides the souls of the dead. Although Kamuy-fuchi rests at night, the hearth must never be extinguished. Her duty is so important that she never leaves the household, and employs other kamuy to act for her in the outside world.

According to legend, Kamuy-fuchi is the one who taught women how to make the kut (sacred belt worn on the lower abdomen that traces a woman’s matrilineal line). She is known to watch over mothers, for when a woman is going to give birth, a new fire is laid at the birthing place. “[T]hough she was served by men, her ties to women insured some balance between the sexes, at least inasmuch as familial and household affairs were concerned. Her myths demonstrate the relative independence and power that women assumed in Ainu society.” (Michael Ashkenazy’s Handbook of Japanese Mythology)

Hisuian Typhlosion’s typing pays homage to Kamuy-fuchi’s role as both a protector of the hearth and guide of the dead. According to Bulbapedia, “When eating spirits, it is believed that the spirits are purified by Hisuian Typhlosion's flames, before they are guided back to the afterlife where they belong.” Kamuy-fuchi is, as stated before, a psychopomp figure, and her hearth is kept pure by the humans. She does not eat spirits, but perhaps it is more of a symbolic reference than anything, since fire has a purifying aspect to it in many cultures. 

As a bonus, Hisuian Typhlosion’s signature move Infernal Parade may be based off of the Hyakki Yagyō, or the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. The Night Parade was a large parade of yōkai that manifested in the dead of night. It was seen as a sign of ill omen. “On nights when the grotesque procession worked its way across what was then the furthest edge of town, residents were obliged to take refuge in their homes lest they wind up sick, mutilated, or blinded by the sheer sight of its monstrous participants.” (Hiroko Yoda’s Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien) This ties in with the Ghost-typing of the move, since yōkai often translates to “ghost” or “spirit.” 

Figure 3: Hisuian Samurott (left) and an orca whale (right)

And finally, the Water-type starter Hisuian Samurott may be based off of Repun-kamuy. Repun-kamuy is the kamuy of the sea that takes the form of an orca. As a young child, he was known to be devious and unruly, though not truly unkind. He was an important kamuy because he provided gifts and food from the sea.

In one story, Repun-kamuy hunted a whale and her young and three them besides a village. A sea wren told him that the humans are cutting up the whales’ meat without showing the proper care to it. However, Repun-kamuy only laughed and said that the humans may do whatever they please with the meat, for it is theirs.

Later, Repun-kamuy saw that the sea wren had lied, and the humans cut up the whales’ meat with their sacred weapons while wearing their finest clothing. Feeling so grateful from the prayers and rituals of the humans, he held a grand feast for his fellow kamuy. He then declared that humans would know no famine, for the sea would keep them fed. “The mutually dependent relations of humans and kamui are well represented in this myth: The humans need food from nature (stranded whales were a major item of food), and the kamui need the prayers and offerings of the humans.” (Michael Ashkenazy’s Handbook of Japanese Mythology)

This comparison between Hisuian Samurott and Repun-kamuy is, unlike the other two, rather scant in terms of similarities and evidence. According to Bulbapedia, “Hisuian Samurott is said to have a cold and hard-hearted nature, and is deft with its shell blades. Unlike its Unovan counterpart, which prefers fighting fair, Hisuian Samurott will do anything to win a battle, and prefers to use tricks such as surprise attacks and cheap shots.” To my knowledge, Repun-kamuy is not an unfair or cruel god, merely a carefree and mischievous one. The plating on the back of Hisuian Samurott’s head somewhat resembles that of an orca (without the horn, obviously, since orcas don’t have horns). These differences are certainly due to differing inspirations for the Pokemon, though both Samurott and Repun-kamuy have a connection to water and the sea.

Although the Hisuian starters have varying inspirations for their designs and personalities, there is an undeniable link between them and the kamuy worshipped by the Ainu. 

SOURCES: - The Ainu and Their Folk-lore by John Batchelor - Bulbapedia - Handbook of Japanese Mythology by Michael Ashkenazy - Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien by Hiroko Yoda

[artsy-hobbitses]

What religious beliefs do your Humanformers follow?

That’s a bit of a tricky subject since it’s not something I specifically assign to them outside of few, but here’s the ones I know for certain due to it (except the Muslims, as a Muslim myself I yeet them in here with reckless abandon) having some influence on their characterization. The degree of staunchness between each of them can vary greatly. 

Muslims: Optimus Prime, Skywarp, Soundwave, Trailbreaker, First Aid, Ramhorn  (All are Sunni)

Christians: Lambo Twins (Catholic), Ironhide, Bumblebee, Hound, Thundercracker

Jewish: Nautica & Blades (Sephardic), Swerve, Nickel & Barricade (Ashkenazi)

Baha'i: Senator Shockwave

Shinto: Windblade

Sikh: Kup

Bai Shen (Chinese Folk Religion): Blaster, Arcee

Hindus: Ultra Magnus, Tailgate

Agnostics: Ratchet (formerly Christian), Megatron, Perceptor, Ravage, Elita-1, Drift

Atheists: Starscream, Prowl, Grimlock, Whirl, Laserbeak, Tarn

HotRod is kind of mucking around in my head right now because I’m 1000% certain he isn’t a member of any Irish church, but does profess a fondness for and occasionally makes offerings to old Celtic deities he fancies, so I guess he’s a loose Neopaganist. 

**As a personal note, Cold Constructs often find it hard to associate with most major religions due to their background and how many adherents see them as ‘unnatural and needs salvation to be truly human’ at best and ‘soulless meat puppet abominations to god’ at worst. 

[mysticmachmir]

“I also reminded folks that Judaism is a closed (or semi-closed, depending on who you ask, because like literally everything in Judaism, we will argue over the details) religion. Our beliefs, practices & yes, folklore, are specific to us and in order to practice, you must be Jewish.

To no one's surprise, people were not pleased. To my surprise, however, the witchcraft community took no issue with perpetuating anti-semitic rhetoric and tropes, as well as outright threatening Jews, in the comments.“

“Not all people, even witches, are well versed in her history, but merely know of her through as an empowering feminist “icon” pop culture like Lilith fair, or as a lusty woman the works of later authors and artists (like Faust and Goethe). Many witches, especially young ones, give name to those who appear to them, but have no idea whether or not that is who they are actually working with. Jewish witches, especially non-Ashkenazi ones, remain extremely wary of the idea of working with Lilith, as she is not one to be called upon lightly. To quote a friend on this, “Lilith is notoriously hard to reach. Like she genuinely does not give a sh*t. You can’t appeal to her ego, you can’t butter her up, you can’t beg.”

“My conclusion: there are possible ties to the Lilu demons found within Sumerian history, but as all sources lead back to a translation by a Jewish man that is questioned in regards to his translation and the story attached to Lilith originates within Judaism, my initial assertion that Lilith is a Jewish entity remains the same.”

[schraubd]

Jews and Whiteness in America: The Spectrum of Opinions

"Are Jews White"? If you're Jewish -- or, it seems, even if you're not -- you have an opinion on this question. Those opinions lie on a spectrum, and I'm pretty sure I've seen every single possible iteration of views regarding the "White" status of Jews in America.

* * *

1) "No Jews are White. 'Jews', though, means pale-skinned Ashkenazi Jews who live in or immigrated from Europe -- which has nothing to do with 'White'. Persons who claim to be Jews but have different heritages or skin tones are probably not real Jews to begin with; at best, they can be accepted as Jews if and only if they perfectly accept and mimic the practices, beliefs, and ideologies of 'real' Jews. And if this sort of differentiated treatment appears to systematically benefit those Jews who appear White, that has to be a misnomer, since Jews are not White."

2) "No Jews are White. There are no distinctions of importance within the Jewish community along the axis of race. Antisemitism is the only relevant oppression a Jew can experience; it is racism with Jews as its target, consequently, any claim regarding 'racism' in America necessarily must apply with equal force to antisemitism. It is impossible for a Jew to benefit from Whiteness, because Jews are not White."

3) "No Jews are White, but some Jews, mistaken for White folk, might accidentally and idiosyncratically reap certain undefined and inchoate advantages of Whiteness outside of the Jewish community. However, these advantages disappear if and when they're recognized as Jews, and the dominant antisemitism reasserts itself. Within the Jewish community, there are no racial divisions of note, and only those who seek to stoke divisiveness try to argue otherwise."

4) "No Jews are White, but there are some Jews -- those who would, but-for their Jewishness, be seen as White in contemporary society -- who nonetheless benefit from some elements of what might be called 'White privilege', both inside and outside the Jewish community. These benefits, while real, are at the same time sharply limited by the antisemitism they experience."

5) "Some Jews are people of color. Some are White in a conditional or functional way. The latter possess some, but not all, elements of White privilege, both inside and outside the Jewish community. They might also face antisemitism, and this antisemitism mediates and modulates how they experience Whiteness (and vice versa)."

6) "Some Jews are people of color. Some are White. The latter possess most if not all elements of White privilege, both inside and outside the Jewish community, but might also experience antisemitism as a separate and distinct -- though still significant -- phenomenon from the advantages they receive from their Whiteness."

7) "Some Jews are people of color. Some are White. The latter's Whiteness is generally indistinguishable from other Whites, though in a few idiosyncratic cases White supremacists might nonetheless hate them. Outside those rare scenarios, however, only Jews of color face any racialized form of discrimination. In general, White Jews not only sit at an advantage inside the Jewish community, they are also identically situated to other Whites in their social positioning outside the Jewish community."

8) "All Jews are White (if anything, they're extra-White). Even those who'd otherwise appear to be people of color are, in effect, White insofar as they're Jewish. Antisemitism is a minor problem of an otherwise-advantaged White group. It is impossible for Jews to experience any serious deprivation from antisemitism, because their defining feature is Whiteness."

* * *

I sit right in the middle of that spectrum (I'd probably line up as a "5", so if you want a full accounting of that vantage, I dunno, read the rest of my work), but I think any position that's between 4 and 6 is basically defensible. 

The "4s" are those who want to defend the view that no Jews are White while still acknowledging a material difference between pale-skinned Jews of proximate-European descent and those who are more unambiguously "of color". Unlike the smaller numbers, they don't fundamentally deny the reality that pale-skinned Jews benefit in many ways from the advantages of Whiteness, though they might be uncomfortable with actually adopting the "White" label.

The "6s" are those who think that pale-skinned Jews of proximate-European descent simply are White in the American context, but recognize that antisemitism nonetheless remains a very real and dangerous element of these Jews' lives (just one that is conceptually separate from their Whiteness). Unlike the larger numbers, they acknowledge that antisemitism is real and significant, and in that sense Jews are very importantly differentiated from "other" White folk.

"8s" almost exclusively consist of antisemites who dislike Jewishness and think that tying it to Whiteness justifies this dislike. Position 7 is the moderate version of that view, nodding at the theoretical possibility of antisemitism materially effecting how Jews relate to Whiteness while cabining it to its narrowest possible dimensions.

The "1s" are generally those in the Jewish community who are flatly racist. The "2s" are the color-blind cousins of "1s", and is thus mostly comprised of Jews who are, at best, utterly in denial about racism within the Jewish community or the differentiated social position of pale-skinned Jews of proximate-European descent Jews versus those racialized as Black, Latino, or Asian. Like many professions towards color-blindness, it also works just fine as a disguise for simple racism. It's also, oddly enough, the closest view to that of far-right antisemites (minus the concern about antisemitism). 

"3s" include those who kinda-sorta accept that maybe there's a difference between the social position of a Jew who looks like Natalie Portman and a Black person, but insist that it's fleeting and pales in comparison to the similarities between the two. It's the mirror of Position 7, where the existence of White supremacist hatred at Jews is kinda-sorta acknowledged but viewed as basically sporadic and unimportant.

Spend enough time on the internet, though, and you'll see every variant at least a million times. It's a fun game -- try to catch them all!

via The Debate Link http://bit.ly/2R6qGmj

[dreamingflight]

The thing with cultural appropriation and spirit based or magical practices

Ok, so... this will veer off from the usual socially/culturally based reasoning, and I’m going to say that there are reasons *entirely to do with magic and spirits* that I tend to want to tread gently around this. If you’re avoiding appropriation based on the rationale I am using then you *most likely* (but not necessarily) are avoiding a lot of appropriation. Not necessarily, but in all likelihood.  Here is where I’m coming from in avoidance: I believe in ancestors, and guardian spirits connected to places, kinship based clades/families/clans, and specific human institutions. I’m not of the belief that all traditions are necessarily culturally/racially specific. But lots are closed, and lots are initiation specific, and lots are bloodline specific. The spirits themselves! Do those spirits WANT anything to do with you? How do they feel about you, about your ancestors? You may find yourself having very negative or hostile responses if you contact a spirit in a way they find offensive. That risk is pretty high if you weren’t raised within any setting that works within a broader spirit ecosystem. The spirits of specific plants, animals, and places may object to how you are approaching them.   Family or tribal/clan based magic and spirit work This where people seem to get stumped the most. A lot of us come from cultures where the majority religion that we grew up around, that formed our internalized template of what religion looks like, is an evangelizing faith actively trying to grow its membership around the world. It’s easy to absorb this in the United States, even if your background isn’t Protestant Christian, because this mindset and cultural programming are simply IN THE AIR. When you have that background, and little actual exposure to other cultures away from the shopping mall and internet, it’s easy to internalize that *every* group takes warm bodies. In many cases though, it’s not a matter of a cultural tradition being “closed.”  It’s a matter of its traditions being connected to bloodlines and kinship systems, and possibly even restricted to specific individuals, so even not every person *from that culture* gets to practice it. The thing is, lots of culturally based, closed traditions are actually based on specific family or kinship relationships. You may vaguely be practicing something that superficially looks like that type of magic, but you wouldn’t be practicing it the way that people with long term training and acculturation practice it, and unless you actually have some kind of genuinely close relationship with that culture, then you probably have no relationship with their guardian spirits. You may be working a system that’s ancestrally based, with ancestors that have nothing to do with you. Meaning those spirits will ignore you at best, and at worst, be hostile toward you. Let’s use this metaphor. Imagine you kept calling HR at a company you don’t even work at, what results would you get? At best, they may ignore you or block your number. At worst, they may file a harassment charge. And if you *did* have a friendship with someone in HR, it still doesn’t give you the rights and responsibilities of someone who works at *that* company, and you may not even have the legal right to represent yourself as working for that company, or the right to display their logo for your own business.  That’s how a lot of spirit kinship groupings work. I’m not saying that people aren’t ever initiated into ancestrally based systems that have nothing to do with their ancestors, but it probably involves a lot of work forming real-life relationships within that culture in *this* world.  Using my own family magic as an example of this problem, it’s not *Jewish* magic, it’s not even specifically Ashkenazi Jewish magic, even though it can’t be separated from the cultural environment that spawned it (it’s not a written tradition of Judaism, but I’ve met other Ashkenazi Jews who have similar family belief systems.) You wouldn’t even get connected to that spirit court by converting to Judaism - not unless you married into my mom’s family, had children within it, and genuinely and organically revered its dead and their stories. Which are specific stories of specific real human beings, not a broader category of “culture.”  If you were to study Judaism or Ashkenazi folk traditions, it still wouldn’t be my family’s practices, which are connected to specific dead. You might be able to do something LIKE it, regarding YOUR dead, and you’d have to approach them the way they want to be approached - which may look nothing like how my family approaches it. If you are trying to access something on the web, you have to have the right URL/IP address!  Cultural baggage and spirit baggage  If members of a group of people have a history related to your culture that tends to lead to them distrusting you - what makes you think their spirits aren’t likely to  feel the same way? What if the ancestors and guardian spirits of a tradition you’re trying to borrow from, don’t want you to do that thing? You may try to argue that your respective spirits might want reconciliation, but if you’re most people, you’re probably not qualified to make that call. It would probably be someone respected within that tradition, who’s in a position of initiating people.  And this is *not* strictly an issue of white people, vs non-white people. It’s an issue that exists in a vast majority of cultures, because it’s not like the rest of the world is one big happy family. Every person on the planet probably has unconscious generational baggage concerning their grandparents’ wars and conquests, and generational baggage can come into play in magic in surprising and unexpected, often unpleasant, ways.  Why do you want THIS practice? “Why” is a very important question to ask when it comes to any practice. You’ll have better results if you’re doing something for the right reasons. This isn’t a moral prescription; what constitutes “the right reasons” may be completely relative to you, or to a whole lot of wholly subjective factors.  Let’s say you want to do something from a controversial or closed practice. (I’m an alignment neutral, pragmatically minded chaos magician, so I’m dealing with this from a strictly pragmatic mindset.) Part of determining if it’s the right tool for your job, is asking yourself why you want to do the thing, and why that thing. If the reason is something shallow, then you’ll do shallow magic. If it turns out that you want to do something that exists across a broad group of cultures, such as candle magic, then why do you want to do this specific type of candle magic? Why? Why won’t something that’s actually programmed into your ancestral, cultural, and unconscious personal magical matrix, work? Is it that the thing doesn’t exist in your culture? Maybe you can bring it back, but *that* takes understanding of contextual pragmatics. Blindly slotting in a practice from another culture - which is the way a lot of Westerners (and probably, people in a lot of cultures throughout history) try to approach spiritual practice - isn’t necessarily going to do this; cultures are holistic systems built up from centuries to millennia of repeated context and relationship, and don’t all necessarily have interchangable parts. There may very well be a reason why culture X has ancestral shrines in the home, but culture Y leaves the dead outside of town and never mentions their name, that’s specific to environmental, political, and social considerations over generations, probably centuries, possibly millennia. Not every practice maps to every culture. (Maybe also you aren’t SEEING the ancestral practices of your own culture, but they’re all around you... consider how many Westerners visit graveyards, have a history of memento mori traditions, have a history of haunted house stories, etc.) Maybe your own folklore will provide this - or at least provide you a context for knowing what’s missing, and what parts are interchangeable.  

[themildestofwriters]

Babette Melwyn

Babette Melwyn by @spinningstraw

Babette Felicia Phillips Melwyn was born on Saturday, the 16th of January 1999, in the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, South Australia. Between February 12th and February 13th 2016, she was summoned from and returned to Earth with little more than a few seconds passing to everyone else but several aeons passing for her. As such, instead of being 17 at the time of What Comes After Immortality? she is far older to an unknown degree.

Standing at a 5’1 and weighing in at ~88 lbs, Babette is a rather small woman with pale lavender-grey skin. White scars cross her entire body, some looking like surgery scars while other are from fighting and self-harm. The most noticeable, though she tries her best to keep them hidden, is a large, ugly scar atop her heart caused when she was impaled by a special weapon. Her hair is jet black (long, and usually styled straight); her eyes are a vivid gold and shine in the dark; and her teeth are unusually pointed.

She’s a polymorphic being, though limited. Notably, she’s able to manifest two pairs of great black and feathered wings, and transform (partially or not) her legs into many tentacles. Her polymorphic abilities extend further than that, however, and for more information see: Divine Manifestations (to be posted).

Babette is the eldest middle child of the Phillips Household, and daughter of Maria Schmidt née Cambell and Aharon Phillips. She has an older brother, Arthur, who has since moved out of home, and a younger sister named Henrietta. Outside of her direct family, she has two half-siblings—the two year old Flynn Schmidt (son of Maria and Fredrick Schmidt) and the four year old David Phillips (son of Rachel and Aharon Phillips). Babette and her true-blood siblings (including David) are all Ashkenazi Jews culturally and ethnically through their father.

While Babette does consider herself part of Reform Judaism, she shares many beliefs with Orthodox Judaism. Throughout her life, she had few consistencies, but she never let go of her culture or her beliefs, continuing to practice for centuries on end.

As of 2016, she attends Paralowie R-12 Public School. Her grades were above average, though have dropped since arriving back on Earth. She has no plans to continue her education after graduating or even joining the workforce, finding herself lost on what to do in a world she barely remembers.

Babette has taken up many different hobbies in her long life. One thing that has stayed with her since the beginning is music. She favours the guitar and singing, but has become quite skilled at various other instruments. She is a fan of storytelling, a skill she picked up after being summoned from Earth. Outside of bardic arts, she is an avid gamer, loves watching films and enjoys practicing magic or otherwise crafting.

Outside of hobbies, she is a lover of happy endings and dislikes anything too dark or depressing (her own life was more than enough doom and gloom). She’s a lover of many different types of music, though nothing too harsh like Screamo. On Earth, her tastes are more in-line with pop, rock, folk, and similar genres. When she gets the chance, she’s also very much the romantic and enjoys fluff whenever she can. She loves making people smile, making them feel happy and safe, and is willing to go to great lengths to accomplish such tasks.

She hates conflict, betrayal and bigotry, as well as abuse of power. She’s also not a fan of being forced into the role of leadership as it is a source of great anxiety. Loud noises and bright lights are things she dislikes due to her sensitivity to them, and she has a phobia of hospitals and isolation.

Babette is attracted to people regardless of gender. Despite this, she later identifies solely as “lesbian” due to her cultural disregard for the concept of sexual identity and in devotion to Josephine. As of 2016, she is a sexually repressed and a virgin due to traumatic experiences surrounding her first love, Aoi Takagawa, and during the course of her long life.

[arcticdementor]

Social Justice, in its current form, has a structural anti-Semitism problem. It’s not that the Social Justice people hate Jews. At least I don’t think they do, as far as I’m aware. It’s deeper, because it results from the structure of some of the indoctrinations within Social Justice itself. Let’s look closely at some of these indoctrinations, see how they interact, and draw up some possible ways the Social Justice tribe might fix the problem, structurally speaking.

Puzzle Piece #1: “You Didn’t Earn That”

“You didn’t earn that” is an indoctrination deeply steeped within Social Justice, and it erupts in many different forms, which all tend to reinforce each other. Please note, I’m not talking about the Obama “You Didn’t Build That” argument, which simply states that independent business owners are actually quite dependent on the government. Nor am I referring to the Animal Farm style Marxists who don’t think rewards should be meritocratic at all, because these are rare outside of secret Antifa dens or the streets of Portland. I’m referring specifically to the mainline Social Justice approach, which is more layered.

First, they adopt the position that people are blank slates, and all features of personality or competence are installed by society. This leads to the belief that IQ isn’t real, or at most is simply the result of a racist test. It also leads to the belief that differences in socioeconomic outcome between races must be due to environmental factors, since no other factors exist. These environmental factors are defined to be “privilege.” You didn’t earn that wage gap, you were given the wage gap because you are male, or white, or similar.

…

Puzzle Piece #2: “Racism = Prejudice Plus Power”

This stipulative definition of “racism” was first postulated by Patricia Bidol-Pavda in 1970, six years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and two years after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. It is now the dominant definition employed by Social Justice. By this definition, a prejudiced act isn’t racist unless the prejudicial person wields power over the person they’re prejudiced against. We might call this the Sarah Jeong Defense

…

Puzzle Piece #3: “Intersectionality”

The roots of modern intersectionality come from Kimberle Crenshaw, and in application, work somewhat like this. Print the above grid. Circle the “identity” that describes you on each line. The more circles you have on the right-hand side of the grid, the more marginalized you are. This approach is already deeply baked into academia, and rolled out for freshman orientation at places like Cornell.

…

Build the Puzzle

The theory then goes like this. IQ isn’t real, or if it is, it’s just a result of a racist test. You didn’t earn that. Socioeconomic outcomes are due to privilege. Marginalized people have less privilege. People who are marginalized in multiple ways have even less privilege than people who are marginalized in one way, and theoretically have even worse socioeconomic outcomes due to the intersectionality of their marginalization. But like all theories, this theory is testable, and falsifiable, and when you start testing it on Ashkenazi Jews, you get problems.

…

Does this trend of largely vandalistic hate translate to worse economic outcomes? Definitively, no. Jewish people earn more money than any other religious affiliation, including whites of European descent. An astonishing 44% earn six figures, over double the national average. They also make up 25% of the 400 wealthiest Americans despite only being 2% of the total population.

As someone who has adopted the indoctrinations of individualism, I don’t find these numbers difficult to explain. The Jewish folks I’ve met are usually smart, funny, successful, responsible, good looking, healthy, and good with the money they earn. But this doesn’t fit the Social Justice worldview, which equates marginalization with worse socioeconomic outcomes. The theory fails the test.

When a theory fails a test, the theorist adjusts the theory, and it won’t take too much longer for Social Justice theorists to adjust this one. When they do, they’ll have three possible paths to resolve it, and I fear they’re already heading down the worst path.

Path #1: Jew Privilege

I don’t like this one. Not one bit. But it’s the easiest one they could adopt, because it requires very little re-working of their belief system, and they seem to already be going down this path. The resolution works like this:

Move Jews from “marginalized” to “privileged” in the intersectional matrix of oppression.

This allows the Social Justice tribe to keep all their other indoctrinations intact, and their theory matches the data. They can say Jews have better socioeconomic outcomes because of their “Jewish Privilege,” instead of the measurably higher IQs Jews have, or other racial traits which don’t fit the tabula rasa ideology. And it’s already happening. You can see it in the ongoing drama with the Women’s March.

…

“Jews as white people” is language that clearly intends to adjust the Jewish position on the intersectionality matrix.

…

This is very bad, because the Bivol-Pavda racism definition would mean anti-Semitism suddenly becomes “woke,” and Social Justice, to borrow from their own lexicon, will itself become Literally Hitler.

But there are some other options they might use to avoid their anti-semitic fate, if they take a wider look. As we mentioned before on HWFO, Social Justice is a religion-like-thing with the unique and captivating feature of being crowdsourced, which means that the crowd can monkey with the indoctrinations however they like, to fix the system if it’s broken. They need to start doing this more intelligently, and with a systems analysis approach. Here are two alternate options.

Path #2: Dump Bivol-Pavda Racism

This would be the hardest one for Social Justice to adopt, but would be the one I would personally prefer. If the Social Justice crowd were to pivot away from the idea that “racism” is only something that privileged people do to non-privileged people, and instead acknowledge that racism is a universal condition that any race or group can apply to any other race or group, then anti-semitism would always stay “racist” and never gets “woke,” no matter how much privilege the Jews are assigned in the matrix of oppression.

This would pivot the rules of behavior for Social Justice away from where they’re at today, and back towards “judging people not by the color of their skin, nor their intersectionality-matrix-location, but by the content of their character.” I think this would make the world a much happier place. I speculate that MLK would also agree.

But I don’t anticipate they’ll do this, because they’d have to give up their own racial prejudices to do so, and giving up racial prejudices is hard. It would also deprive them of one of the weapons in their arsenal, namely their ethos that it’s okay to be racially prejudiced to white people in the name of equity.

Path #3: Acknowledge the Jews Might Have Earned That

Another way for Social Justice to avoid becoming Literally Hitler would be to acknowledge the science that IQ is heritable, and that IQ is heavily responsible for socioeconomic outcomes. Further, that races have different median IQs, and Jews are at the top, followed by Asians.

This will also be a tough pill for Social Justice to swallow, because it opens the door to the possibility that not all racial inequality is due to systemic racism, and that universal racial equity may not be a realistic objective. But it’s still probably an easier pill to swallow than giving up their racial prejudices, and at least it doesn’t lead to them becoming “Literally Hitler.”

Or they could bail on the whole program, but I don’t consider that to be particularly likely.

…

What Social Justice needs now, more than anything else, is a new leadership to rise which A) understands Social Justice’s religion-like nature, B) understands systems analysis, and C) is brave enough to tinker under the hood and fix some of the broken things within it. It needs reform. Badly. The “Woke Anti-Semitism Paradox” is only one example of many.

[ouroboros8ontology]

The Remedy Books

Beside their knowledge of religious history, religious law, and local oral traditions, the ba’alei shem relied heavily on the available medical literature. Their primary resources were the segulot ve-refu’ot remedy books, circulated in both manuscript and print. Remedy books came in a number of forms. There were “practical Kabbalah” guidebooks that borrowed liberally from popular Eastern European folk medicine beliefs and acquainted the Jewish reader with elements of Slavic superstitions, popular medicine, and healing practices. Hebrew and Yiddish translations of works by western European physicians also served as remedy books. While many remedy books were attributed to notable jewish physicians or ba’alei shem, anonymous volumes were just as common, which suggests the intriguing possibility that some may have been written by women. The Sefer ha-toladot, which focuses exclusively on midwifery, is one lacking attribution.

Deatra Cohen and Adam Siegel, Ashkenazi Herbalism; Rediscovering the Herbal Traditions of Eastern European Jews

[brightgnosis]

Calling Me A “Mormon Apologist” Is Absolutely Hilarious

I still think it’s absolutely hilarious that- as far as I can remember- I’ve only ever written 4 or 5 very short posts (save one long one) during my lifetime on Tumblr, that have even remotely mentioned Mormonism at all in any significant capacity. Up until incredibly recently, anyways, when I started exploring and syncretizing my ancestral practices. And because none of those posts were all “Ra ra burn the Temples and kill all Mormons! Fuck Mormonism!” ... I got called a “Mormon Apologist” by my stalker (and now others) for it.

Which is, like, and absolutely beautiful new addition to the roster of accusations for doing what just amounts to me simply talking about Mormonism as someone from an LDS family who was actively raised and Baptized LDS Mormon, and whose family actively hid (and is still attempting to hide, despite clear evidence) the fact that its family was definitely Ukranian and most likely specifically Ukrainian Ashkenazi immigrants fleeing Russian nationalism and antisemitism that was just breaking out at the time. 

You know, an actual insider to Mormon beliefs, rituals, and culture. Supposedly the very people we should listen to when it comes to issues involving culture. But I guess it doesn’t count in this case, because our bigotry is more important.

And, like... As an actual ex-insider that has been legitimately, directly wronged by Mormonism? Literally no one involved in any of this has more of a right (or a reason) to be mad at Mormonism as an institution, and as a set of beliefs, than I do- and certainly not complete randos who’ve never actually ever had anything to do with Mormonism in their lives ... But the thing is ... My right to be angry as an actual victim of the institution, and of the lies of its family within that institution? Still doesn’t disqualify it, overall, from a fair and just analysis- nor does it disqualify it from accuracy in representation and explanation. Nor does it inherently deny Mormons themselves fair and just treatment merely for being Mormon (and especially for not leaving as I ultimately did).

Furthermore, looking at the complex multiplicity of Mormonism and acknowledging its history, beliefs, and practices within their proper contexts as I am ethically bound to with all denominations of Christianity (and with all religions in general)? Fighting for truth, accuracy, and legitimacy in regards to their portrayal and understanding by outsiders, as I am ethically bound to with all denominations of Christianity (with all religions in general)? It doesn’t mean that I agree with it or excuse the horrors, pseudohistory, cultish qualities, and other problematic elements of Mormonism.

It also doesn't mean that I don't have a right to the folklore and folk religious and magical elements that were specific to women, as an AFAB person; things which were directly stolen from me by the Church before I even came of age, and which should have rightfully been mine to inherit from my ancestors in the first place; I do have a right to reclaim that.

It means nothing other than the fact that not only have I actively taken the time to legitimately heal from any religious trauma I may have had from my time within the institution (which is minimal, because ultimately I had decent experiences with my religious upbringing, and I will own that fact; which does not erase the fact that plenty of others have not had that luxury) --- but also that my values and ethics actually do come before my personal feelings.

And this is the ultimate difference between actually living by your values with wisdom and maturity ... And what is ultimately nothing but pitiful, toddleresque purity culture childishness.

People are allowed to be complex and have complex religions and practices, and complex feelings about their families and their ancestries. We are not simple, one dimensional creatures and neither is life.

[studies-by-moonlight]

Welcome!

Hi there! You can call me Emrys. Here’s some tidbits about me. I consider myself a bit of a beginner witch since there’s still a lot I’m learning about and I’ve been taking my time with working on what things I’m focusing on (in my ‘current focuses’). My ‘interests’ section is what I’m wanting to learn about (whether it’s simply to educate myself or to actively practice at a later time when I’m comfortable). Speaking of, I love reading! If you have any books you’d like to recommend for me to read about witchy thing, you’re more than welcome to share! :oD

When it comes to beliefs, I consider myself a very spiritual person. Religious? Ehh…Kiiind of? I got the Religious Trauma™ so I’m still kind of going back and forth with myself on that. But I do currently revere the Goetic demonic divine, and the Hellenic gods.

**As a note, please do not approach me with any sort of angel work aimed in my direction. Talking about them and sharing your beliefs and work with them in a respectful manner should be fine? But I am extremely uncomfortable with the idea of them being directed at/anywhere near me. I hope that makes sense.**

Basics:  • Genderfluid (pronouns are he/him or they/them) • Gay Aro Ace Polyam (and taken!) • Mixed (Irish/Ashkenazi Jewish/Puerto Rican) • Mentally Ill • Disabled • Anti-racism • Anti-cultural appropriation

Star Signs:  • Sun: Virgo • Moon: Libra • Rising: Leo

Current Focuses:  • Crystal magick (a little) • Divination. Primarily tarot, oracle (recently started), and pendulum work.  • Energy work (a little; I primarily use it for shielding) • Sigils • Spell bottles

Interests: • Ancestor magick/work (a little on the fence about this one, but it sounds neat!) • Astrology • Candle magick • Curses and hexes • Deity work • Fae and the Fair Folk • Folklore. Pretty much any and all of it. I love reading.  • There’s probably more. I’ll edit stuff here as needed.

If you’re interested in a tarot reading, I’m still getting used to doing readings for people other than myself, but I’m willing to give simple spreads a shot! That being said, I am not comfortable doing readings regarding relationships. Please do not ask for a reading of that nature. Other than that, I don’t think there’s anything else I need to mention here? If that changes, I’ll just edit this bit. But! That being said, my ask box is always open. ♥

[writingwithcolor]

Passing as Christian temporarily for safety in historical Bavaria

I’m planning a historical fantasy novel whose protagonist is a young Ashkenazi Jew living in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps in 1590. I myself am not Jewish. Judaism was banned in the Bavarian Duchy, but he and his mother live with a permit on the property of a relatively tolerant local nobleman. When she dies, he senses that the atmosphere of tolerance is wearing thin in the surrounding villages, and decides to leave Bavaria for a territory where Jews have freedom to practice, probably Furth or Venice. But to get to the borders, he has to pretend to be Christian for his own personal safety. In the process, he gets conscripted into the bankrupt Duke’s alchemical program and forced to work in Munich. He prepares his own food and has no interest in pretending, but given the region’s history of violence against Jews, especially in the 1300s, what are your thoughts on the “passing” he would have to do to survive until he gets out? Do you have any suggestions?  

“...decides to leave Bavaria for a territory where Jews have freedom to practice, probably Furth" 

You’re right about Fürth being a center of Jewishness in pre-Shoah Germany, but was it not always Bavarian? That caught my eye because my folks are literally from there and if I were on a different computer I might be trying to find pictures to paste into the post from my trip there in 2007. 

Anyway, moving on –

“what are your thoughts on the “passing” he would have to do to survive until he gets out? Do you have any suggestions?”

Well, as Rose Lerner pointed out in her excellent Jewish Regency romance True Pretenses, he wouldn’t be able to have sex. Sorry for my bluntness! Other than that, as long as he was reasonably familiar with various tidbits about Christianity and was willing to go through the motions as much as was normal for the locals, he could probably fake it. I think Bavaria is Catholic so maybe this means taking communion illictly; Catholics have a bunch of little rituals in their services just like we do so he’d have to learn them all to not stand out in church, I guess.

I’m not terribly familiar with this period in history so I can’t give anything specific. But yeah, if you were planing on giving him any partners watch out, because that’s a big way he could get outed unless they keep things PG.

I’m also not sure if there were way to be a gentile atheist/non-churchgoer and not attract attention, at this time period; that may also be worth looking into.

–Shira

The term “atheist” was newly attested in the 16th century, first in France and then in English text in 1566.  Not sure about Germany but if it was around, it was a new word.  Plus, it didn’t really mean a nonbeliever at the time, but more like a libertine or a hedonist (presumably because only a godless person would behave in such a way).  Having a fear, if not a love, of God was broadly considered to be a precondition to being a good person, so professing a disbelief in God would not be a good way to avoid notice.  Nonetheless, the area in question was in a lot of religious flux at the time, and the advent of the printing press, which put vernacular Bibles in the hands of everyday people, allowed your average Joachim to develop his own opinions on religion, which may or may not have jived particularly with the huge numbers of different reformist sects and Catholic movements that were springing up (many of the well-known Catholic orders date from the Counter-Reformation).  It was expected that an everyday person would be a part of a congregation, but if the character is traveling, he’s not likely to be missed.

From reading about the history, I think it would be fine line to walk, between professing a Christian belief without being too specific.  He’d probably want to avoid preachers, reformists in particular.  They all had strong opinions.  Remember that Luther basically declared Huldrych Zwingli Dead to Him after they had a minor disagreement about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

–Mod Nikhil

[babbushka]

Just to give context for my question (you don’t have to touch in this because the religion part isn’t relevant right now in the conversation) my friends and I are talking about what the people in The Bible would be since they are described as Jewish

So as a Jewish woman I look up to a lot and I love hearing you talk about it, if you would allow me to ask you what “Jewish” means apart from religion. All of us know that it’s a belief but everything we look up involves an argument on if it’s a physical attribute (which is maybe stereotypical of them??? Maybe not???) or if it’s a culture or if it’s a nationality or race. If you’re comfortable talking about it I’d love to hear it but by no means feel the need to take on the role of educator just because I look up to you. Love you!

Hello my dear anon! Thank you so much for allowing me to shed some light on this topic! You're right -- it is a pretty complicated situation that's very unique to Jewish people!

Note: Before we get into it though, I would like to make it quite clear that the Christian Bible gets a lot of stuff wrong about Jewish people lol, because it wasn't written or read by Jewish people. Even English versions of """the old testament""" are often WILDLY mis-translated from the original Hebrew, so please, when/if you do read those stories, take their depiction of events and people, with a grain of salt.

Judaism is something called an ethno-religion. What this means is that it is a group of people who share an ethnic background, who also share a religious background. The reason for this is twofold, because it's one of the oldest religions still practiced today, and because of something that Jewish people are a part of called the Diaspora.

Judaism is old. It is the oldest (that we know of) surviving monotheistic religion recorded. And typically, back then, people of a singular region (before we got kicked out and enslaved) practiced a singular religion. It's kind of just the way that it was. For thousands of years, Jewish people were, well, Jewish. We developed our own culture around the religion, because that's what everyone did in those times.

However, specifically post-Christianity, Jewish people were heavily affected by something called the Diaspora, which as I've touched upon before, is a forcible removal of people from their home country. Unfortunately, the Jewish people have been exiled or murdered for most of our history, and because of this, there developed an isolating mindset. The idea was, if the rest of the world wants to kill us, enslave us, or kick us out, then we're just going to fuck off and live among ourselves where we know we'll be safe.

So, Jewish people lived only with other Jewish people, only married other Jewish people, gave birth to children that they raised Jewish, and through this, a very specific inherently Jewish culture is born. A culture with its own language (either Hebrew, Yiddish [Ashkenazi Jews], or Ladino [Sephardic Jews]), music, food, holidays, traditions, and yes as you mentioned, physical/genetic traits (this varies depending on the location of course. Russian Jews [like me] look very different from Middle-Eastern Jews, simply because well, communities from different places look different! There's no one singular way to "look Jewish").

Jewish is not a nationality nor is it a race, because due to the Diaspora, there is no one place that Jewish people were able to go and call home. Jewish people were displaced all over Europe, the Mediterranean, even in Africa and Asia, and then of course more recently in our history, America. Antisemites have this concocted belief where they claim that Jews have "dual citizenship" in which Jewish people are secretly loyal to some fictional country called Judea rather than the countries that we actually live in and love, and they historically use this to exile or commit genocide against us, before we "betray" them. Which is absurd, but then again, all antisemitic conspiracy theories are.

So, being Jewish is not a nationality, nor is it a race for the reasons I've mentioned, but the culture, the heritage, the traditions, are all literally in our blood from our ancestors trying to survive -- not only survive, but thrive. And for those of us who decide to practice Judaism, either religiously or culturally, we carry a lot of pride in continuing those traditions, and participating in the ever continual story of Jewish survival.

That's why when people take ancestry.com or 23andMe tests, even if they don't practice Judaism the Religion, there's a good chance that Jewishness shows up in their genetics. For those who come from a long line of Jewish people, we literally have specific patterns in our DNA that trace back as far as we can. It's a Matrilineal ethno-religion for this reason, these codes show up in maternal DNA. (This is also a reason why Ashkenazi Jews have to be genetically tested for something called Tay Sachs Disease. In-breeding isn't all fun and games folks lol!)

TLDR; all of this is to say, that's why when people talk about Judaism, we have to talk about it more than just a belief system. It is an old old old belief system, that over the thousands of years has had to adapt and survive genocide. It is people forming their own communities and maintaining those communities in a strictly exclusive sense to avoid persecution -- and then when persecution came anyway, moving and adapting again.

I hope that this was helpful for you or anyone in some way, and I'm sending you all my love!

(For my fellow Jews if you see that I've made an error somewhere please do feel free to put something in the comments! I'm just a gal and of course can get stuff wrong!)

[norrihiddleskittycap-blog]

Traditionally, godparents were responsible for ensuring a child's religious training plus had the responsibility of looking after them in case they had been orphaned. These days it has come to imply a person who's chosen by the parents to bring a well-meaning curiosity within the overall development of the kid of theirs. The custom of choosing a godparent for just a baptism originated within the Roman sphere as well as the first term for godparent was patronus', signifying a protector. The objective arrived approximately as converts in the original Christian church have been usually older people with non Christian mothers and fathers in addition to a Christian coach was provided to assist them in the new belief of theirs. The godparent was really a friend in trust who might be switched to of points during the doubt, confusion or possibly wondering. The function was therefore extended to infant christenings by which Christian parents supported the newest mother and father to teach the offspring of theirs about Christianity. The religious connection of the role eventually reduced which became much less valuable compared to an honorary one.

Generally speaking, almost all churches are going to perform the krikstynu fotosesija of theirs within the few days. Even though this is likely to function nicely for majority of folk's work schedules, you are going to want to take a look with friends and also relatives to help make positive. In case you are likely to christen your infant in the course of a moment when a lot of individuals are out of city on holiday, or perhaps in case it may well are on a vacation, you will want to offer everyone equally as much notice since you can. This tends to enable you to have the greatest turnout for the celebration.

In the Jewish circumcision ceremony you will find two functions which are often considered to be similar to a godparent. The foremost is that of the Sandek' exactly who has the infant boy while he's circumcised and also the various other would be the Kvater' or Kvaterin' (among the Ashkenazi Jews) who's the person which takes the child through the mom of his and has him to the home in which the circumcision is usually to be performed. In a few cultures, the word for godparent of one's child' is likewise the exact same term useful for close friends, like the Spanish compadre and also comadre, the French commre and compre, and also the archaic significance of the English term godsib; god-sibling'.Godparent is also recommended, within absence associated with a religious reason', being a stated man or woman (be it relative or good friend) who is responsible for the youngster inside the situation of just about any unexpected occasion. Most popular folktales all over the world element a fairy godmother, who works as a manual or even guide to a principal character.