Vayeshev
This week’s parsha is vayeshev: the part of the story where Joseph gets sold to Egypt and ends up in jail after the Potiphar’s wife issue. Also, januca alegre!
Chanukah can be difficult. Which parts of assimilation count as assimilationist? Working on shabbat? Devoting time/energy/money to non-Jewish communities we’re part of? Speaking English or other lingua franca? There’s some greek jewish insecurity around the holiday and how it demonizes hellenization, too:
In many local prayer books, the term Yavan (Greece) is omitted from Al Hanisim, part of the Hanukkah prayers. Similarly, the local version of the song “Maoz Tzur,” which is recited alongside the lighting of the menorah, replaces Greeks with Syrians as the force that ganged up against the Maccabees.
But I don’t really want to dig into chanukah’s bad parts, because I am tired. Please instead consider, for your enjoyment, a yiddish idiom:
Another nice thing is this short game about resisting evil empire using a dreidel instead of a d4 to determine chances. I also found out about this tanait today:
Art is everywhere and I am not really on top of any of it, to be honest. But! there is a jewish street art festival this chanukah that seems neat.
Events, in roughly chronological order! so many things! stop having things. i am too tired for any of them. but maybe you aren’t!
Tonight 12/11 there is a trans-led erev shabbat service from Rabbah Rona and Mya Byrne
Every night of chanukah there is a JVP event about things like art and torah and partying and justice and abolition.
Tomorrow 12/12 my local shul is having a Brivele concert and storytelling time and probably some other stuff!
Queer Jewish cabaret show Homos and Houmous is happening on December 12th over zoom. Not sure it’s my thing (I don’t usually go for drag stuff) but it might be yours!
On 12/13 there is A Miracle of Fat: A Fat Torah Hanukkah Workshop.
Hallel on 12/14 with some…neat jewish farm situation? look, I dunno, I just saw the link on facebook
12/14 The Dybbuk 100th anniversary zoom performance in yiddish with english subtitles
Hallel on 12/16 led by a couple rad trans folks
12/17 you can wrap up the holiday with Sephardic Brotherhood of America’s chanukah party.
12/20 Black Jewish Liberation Collective has a kwanzakkah event
YIVO has a free lecture on 12/22 about ashkenazi jews and Chinese food: yivo.org/Chinese-Food
12/24 another dybbuk
If you would instead like to party on your own schedule, please enjoy this twitter thread of songs in ladino. If you would like instead to learn on your own schedule, check out this recording of Jewish Trans Brazil: Identity, Activism, and Music.
The Jewish Pet of the Week this week is Vince! I was originally going to embed this very seasonal tweet (pun included) of him deciding dreidels are for cats actually, but then human friend Josh posted this one.
It is a heck of a time and we are all just trying to stay alive together. Light your menorah if you have one, and maybe improvise one and/or reach out to local community if you don’t. Maybe next year we can gather again.
Love,
Meli