Matot-Masei
Hello friends! Great to see you. I missed you last week. Unfortunately we're in a bit of a heatwave where I am and it's causing my chronic illness problems to flare up a little. Nothing dangerous, 🧿, but inconvenient enough that i'm a little less capable of editing wonders--be patient if / when you discover any errors, please!
Anyway, enjoy!
Jewish Calendar
https://twitter.com/SarahBiskowitz/status/1549417339698937857
Matot-Masei
This week's parsha is a two-in-one: Matot and Masei. These two almost always get joined together, even in leap years. In them, we learn about the named cities of refuge, which i love. A crucial aspect in facilitating justice is the ability to step away for a minute rather than run on pure reactive emotion; cities of refuge offered this option to the ancient israelites.
There's a bunch of the torah I don't like talking about too, though. Torah stories that lean towards horrific violence, not away from it. Bloodthirsty torah, land-conquering torah. It is still holy and important, in part because it is the story we tell ourselves about how we got here; but I cannot love it.
Related: I love when ada gets into text study nerd shit and also ethics in Etz Hi. Free Palestine and good shabbos to you too.
https://twitter.com/red_loeb/status/1552592993181376513
Mourning in Summer
We're currently in the three weeks before Tisha b'Av. Technically we're having the 9th of Av on the 10th, because you don't do 18 tammuz fasting or 9 av fasting on shabbat, which is when those dates land this year. It's, well, a time for grappling with loss and death and violence, and senseless hatred (sinat chinam) which was at fault for the destruction of the temple in the first place.
https://twitter.com/RaffiMagarik/status/1551275646826971136
a further small musing on crime, justice, and consequences
It sounds like a punchline to a joke but it's actually a pro-israel puff piece in ha'aretz: What Happens When Israeli Researchers Train U.S. Cops on Respectful Communication? The primary feeling i'm having isn't about the abhorrent violence propagated by Israeli police and military against Palestinians or by American police against POC communities, or about the deadly exchange relationship between them, but about israeli culture, which leans more towards blunt communication than respectful communication.
More seriously, it's sad that police needed training that boils down to "the people you're arresting are human, and you should consider letting them talk," and it is telling that crime and arrest counts dropped when cops listened to what arrestees were saying (and presumably avoiding arresting them).
Also, trainings like this--while well-meaning--are only useful if/when cops actually follow them, much like policies saying cops can't do particular violent things are only helpful if they are enforced. Often--like here--the cops will follow the instructions while they're actively being asked about it, such as during a pilot program, but then over time begin to ignore the training's teaching as there are no real consequences for not doing so.
I guess what i'm trying to say is: no amount of consequenceless rules and communication training will solve the problem of police violence. Defund.
Miscellaneous
https://twitter.com/hyperallergic/status/1553081708387307520
Hadar Cohen's three-part class on Arab Jewish identity and history (Aug. 2, 9, and 16) is still open for registration.
Radio show and/or record label Borscht Beat got written up in Hyperallergic, and Molly Lipson wrote about yiddish song daloy polizei for MIC. Great week for yiddishe music press!
Books and language
https://twitter.com/alfarojoshua3/status/1552054284476358656
Jewish Women and the book before the 20th century: a thread covering allll kinds of involvement, including (but not limited to) medieval women sofers
The Other Covenants: Alternate Histories of the Jewish People kickstarter is inching towards its goal, but not there yet! Let's make this happen. I wanna read this book.
https://twitter.com/onthemainline/status/1552684649712951303
watch and learn
The Forward had an event called Hineni this week involving Jews outside the norm talking about their experiences in both mainstream and atypical jewish spaces. Very weird jewish digest relevant!
The Center for Jewish History has a fascinating-sounding video up: "Eric Silverman, scholar at Brandeis University’s Women’s Studies Research Center and author of A Cultural History of Jewish Dress, will demonstrate how we can "read" the clothing in our old family photos for clues about the wider historical processes that shaped our ancestors' lives, aspirations, and struggles."
Events!
7/29 Queer Disability Shabbat (queer and disabled jews only, please, but with expansive definitions on all three of those identity labels)
7/29 Rosh Chodesh Av
7/31 Speculative Wisdom book club: discussing Depart, Depart! by Sim Kern
8/2-8/3 Real Torah / Real Life: Abortion, Beyond Law (includes a women-only component and an everyone component)
8/3 August/Av Queer Jewish Farmers Gathering: a workshop on Jewish amulets led by Ori J Clemons
8/3 Secret Chord Concerts featuring Neta Elkayam & Amit Hai Cohen (more info here)
8/4 T’fillat Trans Workshop Pt. 1: Creating Rituals & Daily Blessings for Trans Lives. Please note this event is for trans/non-binary folks only.
8/6 Eicha (The Book of Lamentations) Reading with Disability Justice Torah Circle
8/7 Kinnot (Dirges/Elegies) Workshop with Disability Justice Torah Circle
8/7 Tisha B'Av and Queer Grief with Jaime S. K. Starr. LGBTQIA+ folks only.
8/12 African-Jewish Cooking: A Cultural Crossroads with Culinary Historian Michael W. Twitty
Jewish bread crime of the Week
The jewish pet of the week this week is technically not pictured but i can't resist a tiny feline criminal. a bread-fiend. who doesn't love challah? This cat (being cat-sat by someone I'm on a Jewish discord server with) certainly goes for it.
<3
Meli