You said 'not today Satan' is culturally Christian, but do Jewish people have phrases like that? So I've heard like 'Christ on a Bike' as a jokey expression of surprise, but do Jewish versions exist? Also phrases like 'Lord have mercy!' etc, do Jewish people say that stuff? Is there a list of this kind of thing? (like you get lists of US/UK slang differences for example). Thank you so much I like how detailed your answers always are!
So, first of all, MANY English speaking Jews DO use Xian expressions like "Jesus Christ" (or neutral ones like "oh my G-d") to express shock or surprise or derision. It's partly because Jews don't consider that blasphemous, but mostly because we speak English and those are all common expressions in English. Xianity is the most common religion in the English world, and so it's shaped the language.
Jews from Arabic speaking countries use the same expressions about G-d as their neighbors. Expressions like inshalla (G-d willing), mashalla (thank G-d), and ya-allah (dear G-d) are all commonplace for MENAT Jews. This is a little different than using expressions about Jesus though, because 1) Jews view Muslims as actually monotheistic and 2) Allah is literally just the Arabic word tor G-d/Elohim - Judeo-Arabic uses the word "Allah" for Elohim.
I imagine, though I couldn't say for sure, that Ladino (Judeo-Spanish), Yiddish (Judeo-German), and Juhuri (Judeo-Persian) have similarly borrowed expressions and interjection about G-d from their neighboring languages, and the same for Jews speaking other non-Jewish languages. If anyone can illuminate us that would be awesome.
As for Hebrew, expressions about G-d tend less towards the shocked and borderline blasphemous and more towards reverence. Baruch Hashem (bless G-d) is a common one for expressing joy or gratitude or relief, Hashem yishmor (G-d protect) is used to avert potential bad fortune, and b'ezrat Hashem (with G-d's help) is used similarly to inshalla, in the sense of "G-d willing but it might not happen." There's also Elohim adirim (dear G-d) for general shock or surprise, toda laEl (thank G-d) for gratitude, and HaKadosh Baruch Hu (the blessed Holy One) as a general expression for G-d. Hebrew speakers, especially in Israel, also use Arabic and English expressions like inshalla and oh my G-d, literally just borrowed into Hebrew.
There's other phrases that sometimes include "G-d in English" that don't in Hebrew. For example, instead of "G-d bless you" when someone sneezes, you just say labriut (to health). Instead of "G-d damn it," you just say l'azazel (which doesn't translate but could be understood as "to the wilderness pit" or "to the Angel of Death").
Satan is a particularly interesting point because the view of Satan in Xianity is like the anti-God, the ultimate Evil, and that just isn't true in Judaism. There isn't a 100% consensus so take these with a grain of salt, but the Jewish view is that Satan is possibly the name of an angel, or more probably an angelic job title, like "Prosecutor." (In Hebrew it's usually written as HaSatan, "the Satan," bolstering the title theory. Lucifer is a Latin word meaning "shining one" - the Hebrew phrase heliel ben shahar, shining one the son of dawn, probably refers to Venus, the brightest body in the heavens, often associated with powerful kings. It's poetic imagery. It isnt a name.)
Angels cannot "fall" and choose to go against G-d's authority: ALL angels are lawful and under G-d's authority, even the ones with dark, scary, or "evil" jobs. Even some of the most terrifying angels of death, Azrael and Samael, literally have "El" or G-d in their names. Some believe that when humans act evily, it creates angels of darkness, and when we act morally, it creates angels of light, so, ultimately it's up to US to create goodness on earth AND in the heavenly/supernatural realm. There's also a belief that ever man is followed by two angels, one who wants a bad outcome and one who wants a good outcome, and it's out responsibility to choose goodness.
As far as "demons," we do have those, kind of, but they aren't like Xian demons at all. They're called sheydim, which may come from an Akkadian root referring to a class of lesser deities. They aren't fallen angels, and they arent inherently evil. While many are fearsome and dark, some worship G-d and even attend synagogue. The Talmud Bavli even tells us that one particular one, Ashmodai, helped Solomon build the Temple (although he got up to some trickery afterwards). Sheydim were created after humans, and are inherently incorporeal, composed of smoke. (They're a lot like djinn, actually.)
Angels - created before humans, without a physical body (though they still have shapes and forms, and can adopt physical bodies), always lawful, some "good," some very VERY terrifying. (Rambam tells us there's 10 types, but I'm way beyond the scope of this ask already, lmao). They are also immortal.
Sheydim - created after humans, without physical bodies (although again, with forms and shapes and can interact with the physical world). They have free will and can be any alignment. Some like to be worshiped as deities, some are Jewish! They're generally to be feared and respected, but not necessarily evil, more in a "leave them alone and they'll leave us alone" way, much like bees. They are NOT immortal - they eat, drink, reproduce, and die. They also live on earth in specific places. They like abandoned places where they won't be bothered, and "unclean" places, but they can be anywhere, even in your house.
As you can see, there isn't really like... an equivalent to Xian Satan in Judaism. There's no one big bad powerful immortal anti-G-d. So phrases about Satan don't usually have any Jewish equivalent because the concept is so outside Judaism.
Comment or repost with any I missed!
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