How to Write Jewish Fanfic Characters
1. Please don’t write them as “Jewish in name only.” For one thing, that essentially takes away representation, which is hurtful, and for another, trying to prevent assimilation is a really big thing in the Jewish community. The characters’ parents died when they were kids? Write them as having been raised by other Jews (eg family members). Honestly, doing otherwise is a cop out. For centuries, people who hated us have wanted us to leave our Jewishness behind and fully assimilate. You are inadvertently tying into that when you do write the characters as “Jewish in name only.”
2. Consider writing them as at least somewhat religious. Of course, there are certainly secular Jews in real life, but there are hardly any religious Jews in media and it gets tiring. There would absolutely be practicing Jewish wizards regardless of whether Harry is religious; if we can keep our traditions despite progroms, the Holocaust, forced assimilation, and the American melting pot, being wizards won’t faze us. There are religious Jews who participate in many cultures and subcultures around the world. That there are no explicitly religious characters in Harry Potter is more of a function of Harry’s inability to notice these things (and JKR’s struggle with portrayals of minority groups) than an indication that there are no religious wizards.
3. Even if they’re not religious, please write them as being at least culturally Jewish. What I mean is, have them participate in Jewish culture. They celebrate Chanukah, for instance (if Harry celebrates Christmas, the Goldsteins can celebrate Chanukah, even if they’re secular). They know some Yiddish words. You don’t necessarily have to write that in, but it should be the background in your head.
4. Don’t have them celebrating Christmas, unless they’re doing it solely for the benefit of Christian or culturally-Christian friends. Cultural Christians tend to see Christmas as secular and universal, but for us, it’s not. I don’t know any Jews who celebrate Christmas who aren’t part of interfaith families. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. Christmas is a major signifier of complete assimilation. When you write Jewish characters celebrating Christmas for themselves, you’re making a much stronger statement than you intend.
5. Consider including positive details. This is not strictly necessary (for fanfic writers, that is; JKR and Stuart Craig should have done it) but it is nice. Positive details are little things that won’t disrupt the flow of the story, but will be recognized by your Jewish readers and will make them happy. Examples can include a reference to candlesticks on a mantelpiece when describing a room, or mentioning that Passover is the reason a character is visiting his sister-in-law but not going into detail about the Seder meal. Here’s an excerpt from a fic I wrote:
It is three years later (but somehow, it feels so much shorter), when Newt finds himself sitting in the afternoon sunlight, Tina by his side (her hands folded in her lap and somehow still breathtaking at the age of 109), looking up at the couple standing in the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves twined into the posts of their wedding canopy. His grandson, grown into a handsome and capable young man, and Luna, as ethereal as she was at age twelve but now carrying herself with the maturity of someone who has seen all the horrors the world has to offer and has decided still to view the world with wonder, stand face to face, gently clasping one another’s hands and exuding quiet strength.
They are clearly following the Jewish custom of having a wedding canopy (chuppah), but I do not explicitly mention that it is a Jewish custom, and while it is clearly mentioned, it is not the focus. The advantage to using positive details is twofold; it ensures representation without distracting from the focus of the story, but it also portrays Jewish customs as normal for Jews. When I’m performing a Jewish ritual, it’s just a part of my life – I don’t stop and think about the fact that it’s Jewish, or think it’s at all out of the ordinary.
6. Omit negative details. These are things that would be inappropriate for a culturally or somewhat-religious Jewish character. I can’t speak for anyone else, but they interrupt the flow of the story for me. These are things like having a character eat something blatantly unkosher (pork, shellfish, dairy-and-meat-together). It’s possible that they could be doing this if the character is very secular, but I already addressed that in Point 2 and, if this is the 1920s, plenty of secular Jews actually kept some level of kosher. It’s entirely possible that secular Jewish characters in the 1920s could even have a fully-kosher kitchen. That might seem very strange to you if you are culturally Christian, but Christianity and Judaism are very, very different. The idea you have in your head of “religion” isn’t entirely applicable to Judaism. Keeping kosher has cultural as well as religious significance.
7. Mention major Jewish holidays if your fic takes place on or near them. You don’t need to go into detail, but it would be odd to have, say, a fic during April with not even a single passing mention of Passover. Likewise October and the fall holidays. This can be easily avoided if you simply set the fic at a different time. If you’re not sure when the holidays are, Hebcal is a great resource. Google “hebcal [year]” or “[holiday] [year].”
8. Consider going into more detail. This is not necessary by any means, but it a lovely thing to do and will certainly get you a reblog from @jewish-harrypotter if you let me know about it (fics with a lot of positive details will, too). This is harder because it requires more research, but I’m always available as a resource. I can’t tell you exactly what Jewish life looked like in the early 20th century, but if you’re okay with the fic not adhering to precise historical accuracy I can tell you what Jewish life looks like now (and the most basic aspects of the rituals haven’t really changed much). I also very much recommend My Jewish Learning as a resource. Also, if any Jews reading this are also available as resources, please comment on this post.
9. Listen to Jews. If a Jewish reader points out that something’s off, trust them to know what they’re talking about. If they’re telling you that Christmas is not a universal holiday, don’t tell them it is. No one expects someone who isn’t Jewish to know about Jewish culture or religion, but there’s a difference between not knowing something and rejecting what someone is trying to tell you.
Hope that helped! Thank you for reading! I know writing about a minority you’re not part of is hard, and I appreciate you taking the time to read this to find out how to do it better!
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