being atheist or areligious should not be an obstacle to studying torah.
torah is our living history, our birthright, it is a dynamic and breathing poetry that is also devastating, brutal, and necessary. every word need not be taken literally, really, you don't need to "believe" any of it, but there is always, always something to be gained from engaging with our text this way.
more jews engaging with torah can only be a good thing as each perspective is wanted and benefits the whole
SHABBOS IS COMING! WE'RE SO HAPPY! WE'RE GONNA SING AND SHOUT OUT LOUD. SIX DAYS A WEEK WE WAIT FOR SHABBOS A GIFT FROM HASHEM AND WE'RE SO PROUD. SING IT TOGETHER: SHABBOS.
this is a reminder that not only is it okay, but it is imperative to find joy and to be excited for things, even if they’re “silly” or “frivolous.” you are allowed escapism, and you deserve lightheartedness. your misery will not improve the tragedies and injustices of the world. your pain and fear is valid, and so too is your happiness and passion. you don’t have to constantly suffer to prove you care or that your humanity matters. you should hold onto whatever it is in this life that makes being alive not merely bearable but also brighter. you are worth kindness, including from yourself.
joy (simcha) is a mitzvah, it is sacred and holy, and you improve the world by finding it and feeling it.
This is my very long archive of Jewish titles, collected according to what I find personally interesting, and so the authors here span many denominations/viewpoints. If you come across this as a reblog, check in on the original post to see if I have made any updates or corrections. As a general disclaimer, Judaism is a closed religion (yes, including Lilith) and so the books I have recommended on Kabbalah and mysticism are not for goyische readers, thank you for understanding.
TEXTS (Torah/Tanakh, Talmud, Midrash, etc.)
"After the Apple: Women in the Bible" — Naomi Rosenblatt
"Beginnings: Reflections on the Bible’s Intriguing 'Firsts'" — Meir Shalev
"Biblical Seductions: Six Stories Retold Based on Talmud and Midrash" — Sandra Rapoport
"But Where Is the Lamb?: Imagining the Story of Abraham and Isaac" — James Goodman
"Covenant & Conversation: Genesis" — Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
"Covenant & Conversation: Exodus" — Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
"Covenant & Conversation: Leviticus" — Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
"Covenant & Conversation: Numbers" — Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
"Covenant & Conversation: Deuteronomy" — Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
"Elijah and the Rabbis: Story and Theology" — Kristen Lindbeck
"Essays on Ethics: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible" — Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
"Eternally Eve: Images of Eve in the Hebrew Bible, Midrash, and Modern Jewish Poetry" — Anne Lerner
"From Gods to G-d: How the Bible Debunked, Suppressed, or Changed Ancient Myths and Legends" — Avigdor Shinan & Yair Zakovitch
"Gleanings: Reflections on Ruth" — Stuart Halpern
"In Scripture: The First Stories of Jewish Sexual Identities" — Lori Lefkovitz
"It Takes Two to Torah: An Orthodox Rabbi and Reform Journalist Discuss and Debate Their Way Through the Five Books of Moses" — Abigail Pogrebin & Dov Linzer
"Jewish Biblical Interpretation and Cultural Exchange: Comparative Exegesis in Context" — Natalie Dohrmann & David Stern
"Justice for All: How the Jewish Bible Revolutionized Ethics" — Jeremiah Unterman
"Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible" — Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
As a young Jewish girl, her world was destroyed by the Nazis. Her parents and sister were murdered in the Holocaust. Regina was the sole survivor of her family.
She survived by hiding. First on a farm, then in a factory. She lived through bombings, fear, hunger and the constant terror of being discovered and killed.
When the war finally ended and Regina realized she was alone in the world, she was devastated.
She later married another Holocaust survivor and moved to France. Unable to have children, they eventually came to America hoping fertility treatment would help them build the family they had both lost. It didn’t. Soon after, her husband passed away from cancer.
She remarried. Years later, her second husband also passed away.
Recently, at 102 years old, Regina said something heartbreaking to me.
“G-d forgot me.”
She said G-d forgot her when her family was murdered. Forgot her when her husbands died. Forgot her when she was unable to have children. And forgot her now, as she watches herself become one of the last survivors still alive.
But today, we showed Regina that she is not forgotten.
Today, together, we connected her to the writing of a letter in the Holy Survivor Torah.
A woman who lost almost everything still helped write the eternal story of the Jewish people.
Am Yisrael Chai.
Regina passed away on June 24, her funeral held on June 25. her family was worried that hardly anyone would be there.
instead, hundreds of people showed up to honor and remember her. that is the heart and spirit of the Jewish people.
Today, my husband and I had the privilege—the zechut—of accompanying Regina Puterman on her final journey.
During the eulogy, Regina’s niece shared the story of a woman who survived the Holocaust as the only survivor in her family. She rebuilt her life, married, and dreamed of having children. Over time, she outlived almost everyone she loved.
Her family feared there might not even be a minyan at her funeral.
Instead, hundreds of people came.
People who had never met Regina took time out of their day to ensure that she would not leave this world alone.
As I looked around, I saw something beautiful. Religious and secular Jews. Young and old. Different communities. Different backgrounds. Standing shoulder to shoulder.
For a little while, none of our differences mattered.
We were simply one people, fulfilling one of Judaism’s greatest values: chesed shel emet—the truest act of kindness, one that can never be repaid.
Thank you, @jonnydaniels , for making sure Regina’s final journey reflected the dignity of her life and for giving so many of us the opportunity to be there.
May Regina Puterman’s memory forever be a blessing.
It is genuinely absurd that Israel is able to officially recognise ten different Christian denominations but only one Jewish denomination. So much of the discourse around how non-orthodox converts and patrilineal Jews are viewed would be much less of an issue if Israel didn't insist on putting orthodoxy on a pedestal.
i love you lesbian zionists. i love you gay zionists. i love you bisexual zionists. i love you trans zionists. i love you nonbinary zionists. i love you queer zionists. i love you questioning zionists. i love you intersex zionists. i love you asexual zionists. i love you aromantic zionists. i love you polyamorous zionists. i love you LGBTQIA+ jewish zionists who aren't safe in "progressive" spaces. i love you LGBTQIA+ non-jewish zionists who stand by our sides. i love you LGBTQIA+ zionists who can't celebrate pride freely.
(Explaining The Joke, for those who don’t read Hebrew: The first four letters of the Hebrew alphabet are alef, bet, gimel, and daled. Pictured above, right to left, are an alef, a bet, a gimel, and a Dalek.)
mad respect to Israelis who make jewelry out of rocket shrapnel. world’s most metal upcycling. they tried to kill us for being Jews and now their rocket is a Magen David on my neck. FUCK
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