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Postmodern Orthodoxy

@witch-of-habonim-dror-blog / witch-of-habonim-dror-blog.tumblr.com

My job is weird.
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witch-of-habonim-dror-blog
Oats held his axe before him as if it was made of some rare and delicate metal. ‘Begone, foul fiend-’ he began. 'Oh, dear me,’ said the Count, thrusting the axe aside. 'And don’t you learn anything, you stupid man? Little stupid man who has a little stupid faith in a little stupid god?’ 'But it… lets me see things as they are,’ Oats managed.  'Really? And you think you can stand in my way? An axe isn’t even a holy symbol!’ 'Oh.’ Oats looked crestfallen. Agnes saw his shoulders sag as he lowered the blade. Then he looked up, smiled brightly, and said, 'Let’s make it so.’

Carpe Jugulum, Terry Pratchett (via witch-of-habonim-dror)

#hag sameah
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In one famous 3rd century CE case a wife came before Rabbi Judah and told him that she had been raped. In cross-examining her he challenged, "Yet didn't you enjoy it?" She replied by asking him whether a person fasting on Yom Kippur who has honey forced into his mouth -  would he find the experience pleasurable even though it was done against his will?

Étan Levine, Marital Relations in Ancient Judaism

#tw rape#judaism
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I’ve been thinking a lot, lately, about the rape of Dina.

At this point in Bereishis, Dina’s story seems to be following a familiar pattern. Sarah was taken by Paro, but returned unscathed, taken again by Avimelech, and returned, again unscathed.  Rivka was almost taken, but not quite, and Jacob’s wives managed to survive untouched.

Dina is not so lucky.  

In Vayishlach, according to Rashi, Jacob placed her in a box to protect her from his brother’s lust. Various commentators have interpreted what happens to Dina later as a punishment for this act- Dina is violated by Shechem because if Jacob had not withheld her from  Esau, their two camps might have been at peace. Her rape and abduction is a punishment for him.

At no point do we hear how Dina felt, or how Dina was comforted, after- her voice is silent throughout. (Did you say no? Did you say no loud enough? Maybe you shouldn’t talk about such things, Dina- they make people so uncomfortable.) Perhaps it doesn’t matter, what she said or thought or felt. And Shechem, mistaking rape for romance, fancies himself in love with Dina. “Look how much money your father squandered for a small parcel of land. I will marry you, and you will acquire the city and all its fields,” he says. Shechem is a prince, after all, and can give and take as he pleases. (Some things don’t change.)

#tw rape#jewish stuff#feminism#i have a lot of feelings about the torah#*regularly cries over shemot*#chazal#edited b/c inconsistent romanisation
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cripnerd
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yidquotes
It’s always impressed me that Judaism mandates that goodbyes be said with a certain amount of hope. We end Shabbat with havdalah, a beautiful ceremony concluded by extinguishing a twisted candle in sweet wine and singing a song asking for a week of peace and a time of redemption for humankind. Seders end with the promise ‘Next year in Jerusalem’. On Simchat Torah, we conclude the reading of the Torah by rolling back to its beginning. Funerals end with Kaddish, a prayer not about death but about the generous gift of life and God’s goodness. At the completion of shiva, the rabbi often takes the mourners out of their homes for a brief stroll that enacts literally what is meant symbolically – walking them back into life. Somehow Jews trust that every ending is also a beginning, that the broken hearted will again feel loved, and the sun will rise no matter how long or dark the night.

Rabbi Steven Z Leder (via yidquotes)

#jewish stuff
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iflewbikes-deactivated20181005
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newusernamepending

Analysis of Politicians’ (supposed) Favourite Biscuits

David Cameron

What he said: Oatcakes with cheese

Analysis: Part of Tory policy to change party image. Trying to appeal to middle class “socially liberal but economically conservative” health conscious voter. Sort of person who shops in Waitrose.

Gordon Brown

What he said: Anything with chocolate, but answered 24 hours after being asked the question

Analysis: Cautious. Worried about effect of wrong answer on his image. Probably really does like chocolate biscuits though.

Owen Smith

What he said: Loves biscuits, especially custard creams. As a child liked garibaldis because they were named after a revolutionary.

Analysis: This is a carefully planned answer. Love of biscuits is relatable, and custard creams are used to portray him as a man of the people, since they are not too fancy or obscure. Name drops garibaldis to try and appeal to those disatisfied with his otherwise centrist stance without actually having to commit to any policies.

Jeremy Corbyn

What he said: Thinks sugar is bad, but enjoys shortbread if forced.

Analysis: Brief attempt at public relations (is it cool to hate sugar now? he wonders) followed by backpeddling. Choice of the easily home-baked shortbread is in keeping with Corbyn’s character.

Mhairi Black, Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond

What they said: Tunnock’s caramel wafer

Analysis: Party policy?

Sadiq Khan

What he said: Milk chocolate hobnobs

Analysis: Honestly I think he just like hobnobs.

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rattyjol
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allthingslinguistic
If we’re going to be pedantic, let’s go all the way. “Literally” doesn’t literally mean “literally.” It means “pertaining to the alphabet.” It’s from the same root as “letter” and “literature.” The non-figurative meaning is itself figurative. Hyperbole and euphemism are inherently unstable parts of language. One generation’s novel metaphor is the next generation’s tired cliché. If you still need a word for The Meaning Formerly Known As Literally, there’s: physically, actually, non-metaphorically, non-hyperbolically, and all kinds of newer metaphors.

I have problems with people who have problems with hyperbolic “literally”. (via vaguelywatermarksthesky)

#a good post
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lord-kitschener
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stillhereunfortunately

In what world is ‘soldiers are to be exempt from human rights laws’ a victory

The really sad part about this is that the ECHR derogations aren’t about protecting troops, and aren’t about the IHAT (Iraq Historic Allegations Team). EHCR derogations would protect the Government from cases, including ones brought by soldiers and their families.

IHAT is about allegations of war crimes. Nothing to do with human rights rules.

So we’ve got The Daily Mail, Britain First, and god know’s who else cheering about how this’ll help “our boys” or whatever, but in reality, if a family want to seek justice if a family member in the military died due to being supplied with a gun that jammed, a Land Rover that couldn’t stop an IED blast, or body armour that didn’t work, now there is nothing they can do.

Similarly, people can’t go after the government for unlawful military action.

#oyyyy
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