Love to the survivors at Squirrel Hill and in Kentucky

[lavendertook]

Do not be daunted
by the enormity of the world's grief.
Do justice, now.
Love mercy now.
Walk humbly, now.
You are not obligated to complete the work,
but neither are you free to abandon it.

-The Talmud via a friend on fb /(Talmud 303/commentary mash-up}/Rabbi Rami Shapiro translation?

I'm so sad about Rose Mallinger, 97, survivor of the Holocaust, murdered in Pittsburgh.

Also I need to respond to a number of media statements: Jewish identity is not just about faith, but a cultural/ethnic/religious identity mash-up that is not monolithic.

Not all Jews are white. There are many Jews of color. Being Jewish and growing up in a mostly Christian white town in which I was Othered instilled a liminal identity in me in relation to whiteness. I've got lots of thoughts on the construction of whiteness in shifting relations to cultural, ethnic, and national identities that I won't get into here.

I'm Jewish and agnostic with mystic/witchy leanings. I'm more familiar with the Old Testament than the New because I studied it in college in relation to other ancient middle eastern religions and cultures with a particular interest in my Jewish identity. My family did not belong to or attend synagogue, but they instilled a strong Jewish identity in me and I had Jewish community through relatives and my parent's friends, though as a child I longed for more. But I studied Latin in high school, sang in Christian masses with choirs in churches, and favored the Catholics in the Protestant/Catholic divide in my town because Catholic cathedrals and robes had more glitz, gorgeous architecture, and stained glass, and I've always been a worshipper of beauty and craft.

When listening to Tom Lehrer's song National Brotherhood Week, my whole family would joyfully chime in to sing, "And everybody hates the Jews!" because that's how Jewish humor rolls, and why most of us aren't surprised by the level of antisemitism we're seeing now with the U.S. bully pulpit's encouragement, just sad and more worried, as are all of you. I'm still going to put my electric menorah in my front window in the new house.

Love and healing to the survivors in the hate shootings in Pittsburgh and Kentucky.

Comments

[febobe]

I'm in Kentucky, and I've not even heard yet. I'm scared to look. Reformation Sunday. Martin Luther early on had a heart for the Jews, but later made some horrible statements during his difficult older years, not that it was any excuse. That's why every major Lutheran body, including my denom, has put out statements disavowing any agreement with those anti-Semitic writings of Luther and expressing their love for the Jewish people, whatever color they may look like.

*hugs* Love you, sweetpea. Hang in there.

[lavendertook]

A white guy shot 2 black people in a Louisville Kroger Wednesday after he couldn't get into a black Baptist church to do a massacre there: http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/10/white-supremacist-shooting-in-louisville-kentucky-kroger.html

Yeah, Christianity has a varied and complicated relationship with Jews. Some denominations can be creepily fannish toward Jews. As a child, I was aware of being a prize for some children practicing proselytizing skills, which was annoying, except when it was Manel, a sweet, beautiful Egyptian Christian girl (I forget what denomination) with the longest braids who I was happy to get any attention from (I had a terrible crush on her, though I didn't know it as such when I was 8.)

*many hugs*

[febobe]

Ah, somehow I forgot that Wed was that close. I don't know why. I actually have a FB friend who was getting ready to walk into that Kroger when it happened. Horrifying.

And yeah, I understand...I must confess, I probably would have been one of those creepy little Christian kids, though I was never particularly good at proselytizing, and still am not, frankly. I want to share what I have that's good with everyone, sure, but I really struggle with discussing something as personal as beliefs with someone unless they're expressing an interest, in which case I'm happy to have at it and wax expressive about how much my faith means to me. But that is a cute story about Manel. :)

The denomination I came from (AoG) is definitely creepily fannish about Jews. Whole programs and ministries devoted to the Jews and...well, you can probably imagine enough. The LCMS is rather more reserved and less apt to single the Jews out from any other non-Christian population, beyond saying they are special as God's chosen people and of course wanting them to have what we have, though to be fair you don't see the ministries devoted to "restoring Israel," etc. in the LCMS that you see in the AoG.

Your icon is the cutest thing ever was. <3

*lots and lots of hugs*

[baranduin]

I never attended synagogue, mom said she’d take me when I was older ... if anything I was raised with a slight tilt toward Christianity.

My identity is 100% aligned with my Jewishness. I have 0 connection to anything of a formal Christian nature though who doesn’t love Jesus :-) Maybe getting fired by a Nazarene college because the men complained about the shortness of my skirts has slightly slanted my view ...

[febobe]

Oh, right, b/c their lust is your fault as a wicked woman wearing short skirts, right? I mean, I'm all for modesty as a rule, but I have had it up to here with guys (and a lot of gals) acting like a man's lust and/or inappropriate conduct is somehow to be blamed on women. If you tell your child not to eat the cookies for the bake sale, that those aren't for them, and your child eats them anyway, should you blame the cookies? They didn't jump out of the jar and scream EAT ME. Likewise, I should be able to walk down the street stark naked and not be in fear of sexual assault...not that I WOULD, but that is how much any guy's conduct is my responsibility. Zip.

When D and I were dating, he'd often leave my place early for the evening, and he would admit when he called back from downstairs that he was really having trouble holding back. But that's what good men do. They see something, they want it, and if they have trouble saying no, they assume the responsibility lies with THEM to protect the object of their desire from their own lust. That's a real man, IMO. He never blamed me for it or tried to make me feel like anything he felt was my fault. It's got a lot to do with why I married him.

Sorry for hijacking, just had to bitch about the ridiculousness of firing a woman for problems the male staff apparently had....

*hugs*

[baranduin]

Yeah, I always figured it was a lie about the men ... the woman who fired me said to someone that once she understood I was not a Christian, she understood why I was the way I was. She wanted me gone and pinned it on the men.

It got me what I wanted—my husband kicked a door down at school when he found out and he was the mildest of men, and we returned to UCLA. Bye bye Nazarenes.

[febobe]

That is sick on her part. I think that's a horrible thing to say to someone...esp given that some of the very best people I've known aren't Christians, and some of the very worst claimed to be Christians.

That is a WOW about your husband. But hey...UCLA's better anyhow. :) Good medical programs, I'll say that...some of my survivor friends go there. Can't imagine the Nazarenes could hold a candle to them.

Every time I think I know how interesting you are, I learn more. Thank you for being fascinating and wise and so very dear to me. <3 There's a lot I can learn from you, and I appreciate you so much.

*hugs snugs loves*

[minoanmiss]

Word. [deletes my own rant about the horrid practice of blaming women for people being horny] [agrees heartily with this comment]

[lavendertook]

My parents were both sent to synagogue when they were kids and hated it, so they never took us, and I appreciate that. We would have had to trek to another town for a synagogue. I find liturgy and sermon, whether Jewish or Christian pretty boring and I don't think it's something I could ever take to. There's a conservative Jewish synagogue in Greenbelt--I'd like to connect with the community, but it couldn't be through attending services. I've been to a few Passover dinners, and they're OK.

Bleh. I'm sorry you got slut-shamed as they took away your livelihood. Bet the men sat there man-spreading as they complained about you. *hugs*

[primwood]

"I'm so sad about Rose Mallinger, 97, survivor of the Holocaust, murdered in Pittsburgh."

Oh no. That's so sad. Rest in peace, dear Rose. :'(

The constant march of bad news instigated by the Orange one and his administration just brought us all to a breaking point with this senseless killing in the temple. I have filled out my mail-in ballot and will send it in tomorrow. I hope things will change soon.

[lavendertook]

Actually, there seems to be some confusion--I've seen some other articles saying she wasn't a Holocaust survivor. One said a man who usually sits in front of Rose but was stopped by police on his way in and was not in the synagogue during the massacre is a Holocaust survivor. Still sad that he has to deal with this trauma again here and now, and still sad that Rose was murdered at 97.

It's such a constant stream of horror. Almost every day, another group of people who are not wealthy, white, able-bodied, heteronormative, white men get another bullseye painted on us, if we're still standing. I really hope enough USians are motivated to go to the polls and can make up for all who have been kicked off the rolls by the fascist Republicans.

[minoanmiss]

*hugs you tightly* I hear you. I so hear you.

[copracat]

Thank you for sharing those words.

[wallace_trust]

Yes. Love and healing. It's so needed right now.

*Hugs you*