The Advocate

( From JTA ) I cannot help but notice a lot of disinformation, ignorance, and bigotry coming from people who call themselves pro-Palestinian and/or pro-Israel as this conflict continues to spiral into ever more suffering. Sometimes, I feel like the best thing I can do when struggling amidst human tragedy is to focus on education as a path for compassion, understanding, and solidarity. Since I am Jewish, I will tell a story of my people. So, I am here to share a little bit about the history of Zionism , which at its core is the belief in the Jewish people's right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland. While Zionism has this central core meaning, there are several expressions (or "flavors") of it in practice: political, revisionist, labor, cultural, religious, practical, reform, & radical. There's actually even green Zionism! But all forms tie back, in some form or another to Israel - actually Yisrael, whether Am (the people), Eretz (the land), Medina...

The Moorish Zionist Temple, Harlem, NY, 1929 (James Van Der Zee/The Folklore Research Center, Hebrew University of Jerusalem via the National Library of Israel Digital Collection) * This is a subject I've been wanting to write about for quite some time and, in honor of Black History Month this year, I'm finally taking the time to do so. It's about the first Black Jew in America and, more than that, the stories of the incredible lives of those who claimed the title. Now, before we get started, it's important to recognize that my research and learning on this subject is almost entirely indebted to the work of Jewish scholars, most of them Black Jews themselves, who came before me. I am  particularly indebted to scholar and rabbi ,[1] Shais Rishon, known by his pseudonym of MaNishtana. Toda raba, mishpocha. *** This story starts in the town of Wenham, Essex County, Massachusetts, circa 1668 .[2] On June 30 of that year, two people were presented to the local grand jury for...

"Blewish, an animated short film based on true events about a Black and Jewish boy named Ezra, is premiering at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival! Writer and director Ezra Edmond hopes that Blewish will be watched alongside children who can see themselves represented in the character's journey to find belonging. Once you purchase a screening ticket, you will have from November 5 to November 14 to watch." As a parent in an interracial interfaith family with two Blewish daughters, this is the kind of content I love to see and want to see more of. As we know, representation matters and it's especially crucial to highlight the voices of those from historically marginalized communities - including those already within historically marginalized communities! Particularly when we explore them from the perspective of children. Those are the stories that captivate, that capture our imaginations while introducing us to a wider world we may never have known ...

( Art credit ) Given that we're amidst the High Holidaze, I think this value is particularly important:  Cheshbon Hanefesh . It means an accounting of and for the soul. This practice aims to help us grow more familiar with our habits of heart and mind and how they promote or impede our growth into a better person. It helps us to ask ourselves , in what ways have I made the world better? In what ways have I made it worse? How do I affect the lives of others? Are their lives easier or harder because of my behavior? This is not about our worth as individuals; it is about the worth of our behavior as individuals. What are we doing with our lives? Take note and take care.

( Books of Jewish Beauty ) Hadran Alach : “hadran alach, ve’hadrach alan,” which is Aramaic for “we have returned to you and we will return to you, dear tractate, and you have returned to us and will return to us.” We say this when finishing any book, not just religious ones. We treat books almost as if they are people, capable of thought and feeling. We respect and revere them. We treat them as guests of honor in our lives. They are to be visited often, to be remembered, and to be returned to in gratitude and thankfulness for the gifts of knowledge and enjoyment that they have provided. Take note and take care.

(Cyrus restoring the vessels of the temple, by Gustave Dor é) The Cyrus Cylinder is the archaeological evidence supporting ancient Jewish history of our people's return to Israel in 539 BCE following the destruction of the Neo-Babylonian Empire by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire. From this event came the terms Shivat Tzion and aliyah . Take note and take care.

( Art by Ruth Schreiber ) Lo Bashamayim Hi : Not in Heaven , made famous by the Talmudic story of The Oven of Akhnai. (This story teaches far more than just this lesson, so definitely give it a read!) The phrase and story help to reflect the Jewish view of mitzvot, the feasibility of following halakha, and the importance of every generation to work to understand Torah. In short, it explains the justification of our authority, not God's, to create a Judaism that is meaningful for us here and now as it was for our ancestors in the past. NB: for any term you don't understand, Google is your friend! But I'm happy to answer more in the comments. Take note and take care.

( Credit: Alex Levin ) Are Jews indigenous or nah? Honestly, this is a complicated question that divides even Jewish people! However, I like the answer given by Mahrinah von Schlegel, an indigenous advocate belonging to the Tewa people of the Northern Rio Grande Pueblos who is also a Sephardic Jew: "Judaism is a land-based agricultural religion. We have had a spiritual and stewardship relationship with the land of Israel since the beginning of our collective memory. Land relationships and stewardship is a critical foundation for any tribe's indigeneity." You can read more about her views at this Newsweek article . Take note and take care.

Kavanah : the Hebrew word for direction, intention, or purpose. In its simplest meaning, it refers to concentrating the mind in the performance of a task, ensuring that it doesn’t devolve into rote, mechanical action. It is most commonly associated with concentration and intention in Jewish prayer, but the concept of kavanah applies to all mitzvot. Abraham Joshua Heschel, in his classic work God in Search of Man, explains that performing a mitzvah without proper kavanah is inadequate because while it might have a positive effect on the world, it leaves the doer of the mitzvah unaffected. The purpose of Jewish practice, he writes, is transformation of the soul. “A moral deed unwittingly done may be relevant to the world because of the aid it renders unto others. Yet a deed without devotion, for all its effects on the lives of others, will leave the life of the doer unaffected. The true goal for man is to be what he does.” NB: for any term you don't understand, Google is your friend!...

( Credit: Ephraim Moses Lilien ) A while ago I started posting this topic on my other social media accounts to cultivate a healthier and more sustainable social media praxis. But I never thought to share them on here! Well, to correct that oversight, here are all the posts since I started in order from the very first to the most recent. NB: for any term you don't understand, Google is your friend! But I'm happy to answer more in the comments. NB Deuce: Zionism means the right of Jewish people to self-determination in their ancestral and historic homeland. For this to be true, it must be true for all other people too. Zionism cannot coexist with oppression, injustice, or crimes against humanity without losing its meaning entirely. Indeed, the right of all people to self-determination in their ancestral and historic homeland is the core tenet behind Zionism since Exodus. Without it, Zionism is merely another form of tyranny. *** The 1st expression of Zionism in Jewish history com...

A while ago I started posting this topic on my other social media accounts to cultivate a healthier and more sustainable social media praxis. But I never thought to share them on here! Well, to correct that oversight, here are all the posts since I started in order from the very first to the most recent. NB: for any term you don't understand, Google is your friend! But I'm happy to answer more in the comments. *** What are #MyJewishValues? Well, these include aggadah, minhag, musar, and nusach that are part of my Torah, my yiddishkeit, but especially what I'm passing on to my daughters as the heritage they inherit. So, here goes... Avodah : work, worship, service. Especially the power and value of service in work as well as in worship. This is distinct from its original and modern meanings in Hebrew. For me, what is tikkun olam if not avodah persevering? Shalom bayit: peace and harmony in the home. For my family that includes equity in the division of domestic labor running...

(Image credit: Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle .) The image above is of some random White goyishe dude spraying "Free Palestine" in graffiti, defacing a synagogue during Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The number of alleged progressives I've seen talking about this and missing the point about why defacing a synagogue is wrong is just fucking wild. But the number of my fellow Jews defending it!? Like, goyishe antisemitism is kinda expected, but the internalized antisemitism from antizionist Jews? Whew... Hard to tell if the perfect misunderstandings are intentional or genuinely ignorant. Like, there's disagreement about Israel's and Palestine's rights to exist - which are real problems! - and then there's a hate crime. Done by some random White dude gentile. We saw this same shit in May at Beth Israel in Los Angeles, where there were no flags. Indeed, that's exactly how we know its never been about the flags. Defacing synagogues for the ac...