Miketz
Chanukah’s over but it is shabbat! Shabbat shalom! I meant to send this earlier while it was still chanukah but then the sun set really early, as it is december.
Fried food remains delicious after the oil holiday ends.
Perhaps you are in line to be vaccinated due to being at high risk of catching or severe illness from COVID-19. If so here is a bracha for your vaccination time!
Jewish Disabled artist Riva Lehrer has a book out (Golem Girl) and was interviewed by a personal hero of mine, Alice Wong, for the Disability Visibility Project about a whole bunch of things, including golems and disabled life. I have to read this book.
The story of the golem is behind almost every Western story of created beings, beings that are mystically brought to life, built by human hands and then brought to life. And I feel like I am a construction. I’ve had 47 surgeries, been in the hospital well over 300 times now, and my body is covered in scars. […]
But if you look at stories of golems, what happens is that a golem is only allowed to exist when it serves the purposes of its master. As soon as it develops purposes of its own, it’s almost always destroyed.
Embodiment is so complicated.
Another book on my to-read list is Lila Corwin Berman’s The Jewish American Philanthropic Complex. I’m perpetually weeks behind on podcasts, so I finally listened to her interview on Judaism Unbound and it won me over. She’ll be participating in a conversation with Danielle Durschlag at Jewish Currents on 12/22.
There is a new issue of PROTOCOLS out, a magazine I should love but instead it just makes me uncomfortable or feel like rolling my eyes. Ah well. It’s weird and jewish. Maybe you want it.
My friend Sasha the Queer Yiddishist is teaching classes thru my local shul again! They’re all on zoom due to pandemic on a pay what you can basis. Topics available: queer yiddish 101 and 102, along with Yiddish History Through Music
Some more events coming up:
12/20 Black Jewish Liberation Collective has a kwanzakkah event
YIVO has a free lecture on 12/22 about ashkenazi jews and Chinese food
12/24 The Dybbuk 5781 on zoom
12/26-12/30 Yiddish culture festival Yiddish New York is a whole festival that’s online this year.
Class on Yiddish History Through Music Monday evenings starting 1/4 taught by my buddy queer Yiddishist Sasha Berenstein
Jewish pet of the week this week is Scout, who has a delightful smile in the 2nd picture here.
love you! see you next week with more weird jewish content.
<3
Meli