Postmodern Orthodoxy
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“Oats held his axe before him as if it was made of some rare and delicate metal.
‘Begone, foul fiend-’ he began.
‘Oh, dear me,’ said the Count, thrusting the axe aside. 'And don’t you learn anything, you stupid man? Little stupid man who has a little stupid faith in a little stupid god?’
'But it… lets me see things as they are,’ Oats managed.
'Really? And you think you can stand in my way? An axe isn’t even a holy symbol!’
'Oh.’ Oats looked crestfallen. Agnes saw his shoulders sag as he lowered the blade.
Then he looked up, smiled brightly, and said, 'Let’s make it so.’”— Carpe Jugulum, Terry Pratchett (via witch-of-habonim-dror) -
mcu fanfic is hard going for russian speakers i have just witnessed bucky barnes using vy (formal you) to call someone an arsehole
also mcu: in a fic set in 2015, the characters mention stopping off in leningrad, never once describing the time machine they must have used to get there
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mcu fanfic is hard going for russian speakers i have just witnessed bucky barnes using vy (formal you) to call someone an arsehole
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New product!
Were you thinking that the ketubah art on the site was lovely, but you don’t need a ketubah right now? These art prints are for you!
http://geekcalligraphy.com/blog/2016/6/26/new-product-clockwork-lovebirds-art-prints
(via knittingmama)
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(via c9eeeeed)
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“In one famous 3rd century CE case a wife came before Rabbi Judah and told him that she had been raped. In cross-examining her he challenged, “Yet didn’t you enjoy it?” She replied by asking him whether a person fasting on Yom Kippur who has honey forced into his mouth - would he find the experience pleasurable even though it was done against his will?” — Étan Levine, Marital Relations in Ancient Judaism -
I’ve been thinking a lot, lately, about the rape of Dina.
At this point in Bereishis, Dina’s story seems to be following a familiar pattern. Sarah was taken by Paro, but returned unscathed, taken again by Avimelech, and returned, again unscathed. Rivka was almost taken, but not quite, and Jacob’s wives managed to survive untouched.
Dina is not so lucky.
In Vayishlach, according to Rashi, Jacob placed her in a box to protect her from his brother’s lust. Various commentators have interpreted what happens to Dina later as a punishment for this act- Dina is violated by Shechem because if Jacob had not withheld her from Esau, their two camps might have been at peace. Her rape and abduction is a punishment for him.
At no point do we hear how Dina felt, or how Dina was comforted, after- her voice is silent throughout. (Did you say no? Did you say no loud enough? Maybe you shouldn’t talk about such things, Dina- they make people so uncomfortable.) Perhaps it doesn’t matter, what she said or thought or felt. And Shechem, mistaking rape for romance, fancies himself in love with Dina. “Look how much money your father squandered for a small parcel of land. I will marry you, and you will acquire the city and all its fields,” he says. Shechem is a prince, after all, and can give and take as he pleases. (Some things don’t change.)
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‘Heartwarming- This soldier isn’t currently screaming racist abuse!’ sometimes Bayit HaYehudit needs to either Chill or find some better propaganda
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“It’s always impressed me that Judaism mandates that goodbyes be said with a certain amount of hope. We end Shabbat with havdalah, a beautiful ceremony concluded by extinguishing a twisted candle in sweet wine and singing a song asking for a week of peace and a time of redemption for humankind. Seders end with the promise ‘Next year in Jerusalem’. On Simchat Torah, we conclude the reading of the Torah by rolling back to its beginning. Funerals end with Kaddish, a prayer not about death but about the generous gift of life and God’s goodness. At the completion of shiva, the rabbi often takes the mourners out of their homes for a brief stroll that enacts literally what is meant symbolically – walking them back into life. Somehow Jews trust that
every ending is also a beginning, that the broken hearted will again feel
loved, and the sun will rise no matter how long or dark the night.” -
