Lizard Enthusiast @poxstol - Tumblr Blog

winfieldblue

you have been blessed by the christmas chan

like and reblog and you will prosper from the blessings of the great jackie

coolaftbh-deactivated20190813

won’t even risk it.

silenthill

I like this one best because there’s no threat to not reblogging it so even if you don’t there’s no worries but if you do then you’re gonna have an even better time.

rachelsgreen

kxte

i’ve waited a whole year to finally reblog this

don-t-let-them-catch-you

Been in my queue for a year

sexyghostlady-deactivated202402

It’s that time of the year again

poxstol

Moving Blogs

I’m moving over to a different blog to ease up with some old messy emails and accounts. If y’all wanna follow me I’ll be at @Loosemoosey

poxstol

It’s not hyperlinking the new blog but it exists have faith.

Moving Blogs

I’m moving over to a different blog to ease up with some old messy emails and accounts. If y’all wanna follow me I’ll be at @Loosemoosey

heartthrobsuicide-remade-deacti

I’ve heard people saying my name twice in my room, it’s either ghosts or hallucinations

straightboyfriend2

Its me outside. U want some muffins

heartthrobsuicide-remade-deacti

What kind?

straightboyfriend2

Zucchini, but it taste like banana nut

heartthrobsuicide-remade-deacti

Bananas can nut?

straightboyfriend2

You know what ill keep my muffins

slavery

Not enough people named WOLFGANG these days smh what’s with that

fistfights

frog-facts-deactivated20190518

mozart’s name was wolfgang. but no one calls him that anymore. in his lifetime it was probably “hey wolfgang play your symphony”, “hey wolfgang fuck any violins lately?”. if mozart was alive he’d be weirded out that everyone was calling him mozart

fuks

halfsad-deactivated20180421

romeo? romeo? wherefore art thou romeo? oh my fucking god he fucking dead

luca-guacamole

he need some milk

hymnsofheresy

when christian artists change the line in hallelujah from “maybe there’s a God above” to “I know that there’s a God above” >:c

covington-shenanigans

#idk why i’m so unreasonably angry#maybe cuz it’s my fav line

it’s also because Leonard COHEN (!) was Jewish and this is a quintessentially Jewish line, and changing it to that level of Annoying Certainty is stripping it of its Jewish meaning and imbuing it with that particularly American smug evangelical Christian attitude that makes me tired, so very tired

hymnsofheresy

THAT IS EXACTLY WHY

hachama

I don’t think I’ve heard any cover artist sing my favorite verses You say I took the name in vain I don’t even know the name But if I did, well really, what’s it to you? There’s a blaze of light In every word It doesn’t matter which you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah I did my best, it wasn’t much I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you And even though It all went wrong I’ll stand before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

hymnsofheresy

um woah

cutecreative

I will always hit the reblog button so hard for Hallelujah but ESPECIALLY mentions of the elusive final verses which are just about my favorite lyrics ever. Why do people always omit the best part of the song??

fromchaostocosmos

In Yiddish

In Hebrew

fromchaostocosmos

In Ladino

stoneandbloodandwater

Yeah, I wonder why the verses that reference specific Jewish mystical and chassidic concepts that aren’t readily understood by American “I love Jews, you know, Jesus was Jewish!” Christians never get any airtime. Funny that.

You say I took the name in vain I don’t even know the name But if I did, well really, what’s it to you? There’s a blaze of light In every word It doesn’t matter which you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah

These are specifically about Chassidic Jewish theories of the holy language, how each letter and combination of letters in Hebrew contains the essence of the divine spark and if used correctly, can unlock or uncover the divine spark in the mundane material word. And of course, there are secret names of God which, when spoken by any ordinary human would kill them, but if you are worthy and holy and righteous can be used to perform miracles or even to behold the glory of God face-to-face. The words themselves have power. Orthodox Jews often won’t even pronounce the word “hallelujah” in it’s entirety in conversation, because the “yah” sound at the end is a True Name of God (there are hundreds, supposedly) and thus too holy to say outside of prayer.

None of this is to mention how David’s sin in sleeping with Batshevah (the subject of much of the song, with a brief deviation to Shimshon and Delilah) is considered the turning point in the Tanach that ultimately dooms the Davidic line at the cosmological level and thus dooms Jewish sovereignty and independence altogether. From a Christian perspective this led to Jesus, the King of Kings, and that’s all very well and good for them, but for the Jews, the Davidic line never returned and is the central tragedy of the total arc of the Torah. Like, our Bible doesn’t have a happy ending? And that’s what this song is about? There’s no Grace - you just have to sit with the sin and its consequence.

Of course, Cohen is referencing all of this ironically, and personalizing these very high-level religious concepts. Like the point of this song is that Cohen, the songwriter, is identifying with David, the psalmist, and identifying his own sins with David’s. The ache that you hear in this song is that the two thousand year exile that resulted from one wrong night of passion and Cohen feels that the pain he has caused to his lover is of equally monumental infamy. Basically, in a certain light, the whole of Psalms is a vain effort for David to atone for his sin and I think Cohen was writing this song in wonderment that David could eternally praise the God who would not forgive him and would force him and his people into exile. But he ultimately gets how you have to surrender to the inexorable force of God in the face of your own inadequacies and how to surrender is to worship and to worship is to praise - hence, Hallelujah. You can either do the right thing and worship God from the start, or you can fuck up, be punished, and thus be forced to beg for His forgiveness. It’s the terrible inevitability of praise that’s driving him mad.

Like honestly, I identify with this song so strongly as an off-the-derech Jew, I sometimes wonder what Christians can possibly hear in this song, as it speaks so specifically to the sadomasochistic relationship that a lapsed Jew has with their God. It’s such a different song from a Christian theological perspective it’s almost unrecognizable, man. This song continues to be a wonder of postmodern Jewish theology and sexuality from start to finish. Don’t let anyone give you any “Judeo-Christian” narishkeit. This is a Jewish song.

(Sorry about the wild tangent it’s just 2AM and I love this song so dang much, you guys.)

hymnsofheresy

holy shit. woah.