March 26, 2021

Tzav

Hello friends! The parsha this week is Tzav. Still on the learning about sacrifices train. The content isn’t the most interesting to me, but the cultural context is: R’ Wikipedia teaches this about the thanksgiving offering (citations removed, links added by me):

Psalm 107 enumerates four occasions on which a thank-offering (זִבְחֵי תוֹדָה‎, zivchei todah), as described in Leviticus 7:12–15 (referring to a זֶבַח תּוֹדַת‎, zevach todah) would be appropriate: (1) passage through the desert, (2) release from prison, (3) recovery from serious disease, and (4) surviving a storm at sea.

As I write this on Thursday 3/25, there is a big boat stuck in the suez canal attempting to exit mitzrayim. I hope for the sake of the global supply chain it manages to slowly pivot towards liberation, but until then we can all take comfort in big boat still stuck.

There was also an israeli election but i’m ignoring it.

Good news, there is a new big official antisemitism declaration that doesn’t define antizionism as antisemitism: The Jerusalem Declaration. There needs to be a place we can point to in order to push back on the IHRA definition, and as a coalition-and-compromise definition built by scholars of relevant fields, I like this one. Most of it is well aligned with my personal and political beliefs, besides item 10 which states “Denying the right of Jews in the State of Israel to exist and flourish, collectively and individually, as Jews, in accordance with the principle of equality” is antisemitic, as “flourishing” is very broad and plausibly includes the settlements.

But even if I don’t agree with all the pieces this is decidedly an improvement on the IHRA mess, and in direct response to it. The FAQ is essentially a comparisons of the two definitions and guidelines and unequivocally says BDS is not antisemitic, nor is the phrase “from the river to the sea” as long as all inhabitants of that land have equal status.

hey look some cookbooks. 14000 of them to be exact, 1200 or so of them Jewish.

These Century-Old Passover Ads Are Kind of Amazing, says the headline, and it is not wrong.

Do you need a long-ass playlist of passover songs for that bus trip? Hadar’s Rising Song Institute has you covered.

Rabbi Alissa Wise has stepped down from leading Jewish Voice For Peace, and she gave a lovely sermon about her work and antizionist judaism today. I also feel that reading this could be important for people who don’t understand that it is still difficult in many jewish communities to be antizionist. Much less so than it used to be, because of the work of Rabbi Wise and others, but a lot of people really hate us! a lot of our own people, specifically! Not great, as experiences go!

I know there is a great deal of rightful criticism over jews centering ourselves in pro-palestine activism, but specifically building antizionist jewish community feels ok and even necessary; perhaps organizing this way in jewish spaces will allow us to center palestinian voices, experiences, and activists in the wider conversation.

JCC SF has a What We Carry With Us video series retelling the passover story through present-day refugees and their treasured items and stories.

Beta Israel author Isaac Ofori-Solomon writes for Alma: Don’t Just Acknowledge Jewish Diversity. Learn About Our Customs, Too.

Along with founding member of the Israeli Black Panther Party Reuven Abergel, Jewish Currents Press is republishing The Israeli Black Panthers Haggadah next year. There is a supplement to download for this year also.

HOME | The Israeli Black Panthers Haggadah: 50th Anniversary Edition

This is the website for The Israeli Black Panthers Haggadah book project. The book is being published by Jewish Currents Press.

THAT BEING SAID, I am continually more of a traditionalist than at least 80% of the jewish queer community, so I really like the classics and generally agree with the idea behind Emily Filler’s Radical Case for the Traditional Haggadah. I want the original text, all of it, in hebrew with transliteration and a translation that doesn’t elide uncomfortable pieces or sound like it’s from 1900. I will bring my own radical politics to the traditional text.

I do like slipping in fun stories or connections or anecdoes, though, like this spiel about Serah Bat Asher, Immortal Secret Keeper from jewish monster hunter and/or author Jack Zaientz / Adne Sadeh.

Baltimore-based diasporist judaica store Little Charm Shop has some extremely neat wooden octagonal omer counters by artist Jo Kamm for sale.

The Great Jewish Craft Off has finished and all been posted on youtube.

Yeshiva University also posted a very cool woven linen matzo basket on their Instagram.

Open Siddur project is looking for volunteer translation help from people who know latin. Is this you?

Sefaria has added a full english translation of Ramban’s commentary on the Torah to their site. Exciting times!

Anyway, let’s have some EVENTS LIST!

3/27 sundown Passover begins!

3/28 begin counting the omer

3/28 A Social Justice Seder led by Rakhel Silverman and Sy Gitin with Kavod Boston

3/28 Rabbah Rona is running a queer liberation seder

3/30 Sephardi and Mizrachi pesach songs with Dr. Galeet Dardashti and Rabbi Yosef Goldman. Registration link

3/31 CBST’s Trans Jews Are Here conference

3/31 Pink Peacock’s fuck visibility: a liberation seder on trans day of visibility. Register here.

3/31 11a PDT Panthers, Protest, and Pesach: Unearthing a Lost Haggadah from Jewish Currents in honor of their 50th anniversary republishing of the Black Panther Haggadah

4/1 6:30 AM PDT TransHallel Pesach edition

4/4 12pm PDT Brivele Tishele concert

4/5 Mimouna Fest w/SHIN-DC

4/9 Beyond Productivity: How Shabbat Values Underscore Disability Justice Principles, a special friday night service from Kol Tzedek

The Jewish Pets of the Week this week are Jules’ chickens! Such excellent names, no?

Chag sameach, everyone, and I’ll talk to you next week.

<3

Meli