Tag: judaism tag

ricafrede:

sheisawonder:

the thing that baffles me about the controversy surrounding my cultural christianity post is that it’s reblogged by so many leftists and social justice advocates. this should be elementary –

the US and most of the west was founded by christians – common knowledge.

these christians established a culture influenced by their religion – obvious conclusion.

there is still a christian majority when considering all religious population in the west – fact.

christian brought christianity, easter, their values, etc with them when establishing the culture – not a complex idea to wrap your head around.

christianity is so prevelant that you can assume most americans and other westerners have religious relatives, ancestors, or are christian themselves – check.

antisemitism and islamophobia, rampant in the west, are caused by assumptions that christianity or “christian” atheism is the default – that’s clear.

homophobia, transphobia, anti-immigrant policies, racism, are often influenced by christian readings of the bible – yep.

humans are influenced by the culture around them – duh, that’s where the concept of the fact that we’re all racist/sexist/bigoted and we need to unlearn those things comes from.

then why is it such a shock that y’all celebrating christmas, discussing the bible and religion from a purely christian standpoint, have inherent values that come from christianity, all these things that come from the culture surrounding you – makes you christian?

what is it that makes that hard to swallow?

it wasn’t pagans who brought christmas over the sea. it wasn’t muslims who installed puritan values in popular culture. it wasn’t jews, who have SIX SEXES, who made the concept of “there are only two genders” so prevelant. it wasn’t hindus who made “damn” and “jesus christ” and “hell” everyday curses.

it was christians.

it’s not shameful to be a part of your culture. it’s not shameful to admit that it influences you, for better or for worse.

but jesus fucking christ, denying it doing nothing except making my life a permanent headache.

i haven’t seen the controversy but just from this post i would be worried about the lack of explicit distinction between subconscious cultural norms and personal faith/identity being misinterpreted. context clues clearly point to one over the other but a lot of the time context changes as people reblog with their own (mis)interpretation of the op

Yeah for sure. Its easy to not notice cultural norms if you’re from the dominant culture. That one article about how White people ask invasive questions to strangers to try to gauge their social class blew my mind because I wasn’t concious of doing that. Now I dont do it anymore.

sheisawonder:

the thing that baffles me about the controversy surrounding my cultural christianity post is that it’s reblogged by so many leftists and social justice advocates. this should be elementary –

the US and most of the west was founded by christians – common knowledge.

these christians established a culture influenced by their religion – obvious conclusion.

there is still a christian majority when considering all religious population in the west – fact.

christian brought christianity, easter, their values, etc with them when establishing the culture – not a complex idea to wrap your head around.

christianity is so prevelant that you can assume most americans and other westerners have religious relatives, ancestors, or are christian themselves – check.

antisemitism and islamophobia, rampant in the west, are caused by assumptions that christianity or “christian” atheism is the default – that’s clear.

homophobia, transphobia, anti-immigrant policies, racism, are often influenced by christian readings of the bible – yep.

humans are influenced by the culture around them – duh, that’s where the concept of the fact that we’re all racist/sexist/bigoted and we need to unlearn those things comes from.

then why is it such a shock that y’all celebrating christmas, discussing the bible and religion from a purely christian standpoint, have inherent values that come from christianity, all these things that come from the culture surrounding you – makes you christian?

what is it that makes that hard to swallow?

it wasn’t pagans who brought christmas over the sea. it wasn’t muslims who installed puritan values in popular culture. it wasn’t jews, who have SIX SEXES, who made the concept of “there are only two genders” so prevelant. it wasn’t hindus who made “damn” and “jesus christ” and “hell” everyday curses.

it was christians.

it’s not shameful to be a part of your culture. it’s not shameful to admit that it influences you, for better or for worse.

but jesus fucking christ, denying it doing nothing except making my life a permanent headache.

Incorporating Judaism into everyday life for liberal Jews

humanisticjudaism:

Liberal Jewish practice is notoriously lax outside of synagogue settings. Here are some tips for liberal Jews to incorporate more Jewish practices in their lives. Utilize as many or as few as you like. 

1. Say a blessing. Whether it’s some form of modeh ani when you wake up, the shema before going to bed, a blessing over your meal, or a simple “blessed are you Adonai”… when something strikes you as beautiful or worth marking. Pray one of the weekday prayer services like shacharit if you have time. Say the prayers in English if you don’t know the Hebrew, or make something up if you don’t know the traditional blessing for something. What’s important is the sanctification of life through noticing the little miracles of every day life, not reciting Hebrew sentences perfectly.

2. Try to keep kosher-ish. You may not be able to be full on kosher, but try to avoid foods that are obviously treif such as pork, shellfish, and meat and dairy mixtures (like cheeseburgers and chicken parmesan). If you’re able, try to increase your observance of kashrut as you get more used to it. And if your health allows, try to give up meat altogether to fulfill the mitzvah of preventing tza’ar ba’alei chayim, the suffering of living creature. A vegetarian or vegan diet greatly simplifies kosher observance as it entirely eliminates the need to keep meat and dairy separate. 

3. Read a book about Judaism or Jewish history, or commit to reading one book of the Tanakh at regular intervals (e.g. one book per week/month/year), or read the entire parsha for the week to increase your knowledge of the foundational texts of Judaism. If possible, try to do this with other people so that you can discuss your reading material afterward.

4. Set aside a little money for tzedakah. No matter how much it is, it could be pocket change, set it aside in a tzedakah box (it doesn’t have to be fancy). Donate the money that accumulates to a worthy cause of your choice. 

5. Acknowledge Shabbat at home. Even if you can’t keep the entire Shabbat because you have to work, try to acknowledge it in some way. Go to a synagogue service or pray on your own, put on a tallit, light candles, have a glass of wine, eat some bread, or do havdalah. If you’re able, try to set aside time on Shabbat to spend time with your family and rest from everyday chores and duties, even if only for a few hours. 

6. Put a mezuzah on your door. You can get a cover and printed scroll for cheap on Amazon, although it isn’t technically kosher, and put them on the main door of your house. Even if you can’t afford to do every door or get a kosher handwritten scroll, it can be an effective reminder of your Jewish obligations as you come and go nonetheless. 

Jumblr, feel free to add to this list any other suggestions you might have for increasing liberal Jewish practices.