before we start: fair warning, this newsletter does discuss this week’s US political events.
This week’s parsha is Shemot. We’re starting the book of Exodus, beginning the Moses part of the torah. My friend Josh sent me this email about a related folk song, with a link to a recording:
one of my musical interests for the past few years has been stuff recorded on 78. a lot of that is very xian, but this one keeps nicely to our scripture, so here you go. i know this song because it's part of the Anthology of American Folk Music. here's a link, along with a reproduction of the entry from the book that accompanies the anthology.
LITTLE MOSES (A.P. CARTER) BY THE CARTER FAMILY VOCAL TRIO WITH AUTOHARP, GUITAR. RECORDED IN 1932. ORIGINAL ISSUE VICTOR 2364|B
PHARO'S DAUGHTER OPENED ARK, SENT FOR NURSE. INFANT SAD, THEN GLAD, CARRIED TO MOTHER; BY SEA RED, LIFTED ROD, JEWS CROSS, HOST LOST. ON MOUNTAIN HIGH, LABORS CEASE, DEPART IN PEACE
ACCORDING TO SARA CARTER, SHE AND HER FORMER HUSBAND, ALONZO PLEASANT, AND COUSIN MAYBELLE, MADE OVER 300 SIDES FOR VARIOUS COMPANIES. THEIR 1927 RECORDS MADE BY VICTOR IN MACES SPRINGS, VIRGINIA, ARE AMONG THE FIRST ELECTRICAL RECORDINGS. USING AUTOHARP CHORDS, PLAYED BY SARA, (WHO USUALLY LEADS THE SINGING) AND A GUITAR MELODIC LINE (MAYBELLE), THEIR INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE RHYTHM HAS INFLUENCED EVERY FOLK MUSICIAN FOR THE PAST 25 YEARS.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: BELDEN-449; RANDOLPH-IV-97; -ALSO G.P. JACKSON, SPIRITUAL FOLKSONGS OF EARLY AMERICA P 55-56
Thanks Josh!! I really enjoyed listening to this and wanted to share it with eeeeverybody.
There’s no cute lead-in to talk about this next part. Nazi assholes did a thing this week.
A difficult truth: some jews are more than just regular-ass complicit in white supremacy; some are deliberately active participants in US right wing right supremacist movements. There were jews marching with the people storming the capitol wearing Auschwitz camp staff hoodies. There are jews in white supremacist movements. We know this not just from listening to Jews of Color who have been open about the racism they’ve experienced within and outside jewish communities, but from (at least) one of the identified individuals involved in the attempted coup.
I do not know what to do with this but it feels important to acknowledge. If you are white and reading this, take a look at this categorization of ways white people relate to whiteness and think about what you can do to move yourself (and those around you) into the next category down.
Flora always traveled with her own minyan (quorum of 10 for prayer), as well as a shohet (ritual slaughterer). She was able to discuss Jewish texts and subjects on par with rabbis and showed great knowledge of works found only in manuscripts, particularly those of the East. Her knowledge is seen in various articles that she wrote.
Highly unusual for an Orthodox Jewish woman, when Flora was in Baghdad for about three months, she read from the Torah herself in synagogue for the (qahal) congregation, using the scroll dedicated long before by Sheikh Sasson (1750–1830), the Baghdad patriarch of the Sassoon family.
Opinions on whether you should call non-ashkenazi jews orthodox are varied, but hey, not my phrasing.
Are you a Jew of Color? if so, some researchers are interested in hearing from you. At least one of the researchers involved is himself a JOC, no clue on the others (i don’t know them and haven’t checked).
1/15 Rabba Rona is doing another LGBTQ kabbalat shabbat service. Hir cat is also the jewish pet of the week this week, and has really good ginger tum spots.
Tu Bishvat is 1/28 this year and i am gonna have an internet seder about it at6pm PST 1/27 using my zine haggadah.
Sephardi Mizrachi Q Network has a few events coming up too: karaoke tomorrow, a 1/24 educational event about morrocan jewry, and more.
I try to keep most of the events I link here free or pay what you can, even though I understand that organizations need to charge for events to stay in existence. That being said, there were a lot of pay-to-attend interesting events and classes I saw links to this week:
1/24 Tour Italy via the music of italian jews: Cantanta Ebraica $20
If you wanted to learn about kavkazi jews but didn’t buy a ticket to the January session, there’s going to be another on 2/7 $9-$36
Other Qesher lectures coming up are on italkim (Italian jews), Jewish Barcelona, Jews in China, and more. https://www.qesher.com/upcoming-events/. Their talks are sliding scale with $9 as the start point.
The Jewish Pet of the Week this week is Marie/Goofy!
