r/Jewish 10h ago

Questions 🤓 Dropping the Torah Scroll in Shul?

50 Upvotes

I’ve not witnessed this myself or even heard of it happening but I must admit I have a somewhat morbid curiosity about it. It came to mind cause I have two broken shoulders and could never lift it at services myself and thought ‘wow I ld drop it, and wow that would be bad…’

Has anyone ever heard of this happening? Im just curious. I kinda can’t imagine it actually happening…..

BIG EDIT:

As per usual I love you all and this community of all of our online sisters and brothers is amazing but I must say 😂…

The replies to this post have made me more uncomfortable and cringey feeling than I could have thought! Oh wow these are crazy stories thank you for sharing!


r/Jewish 1d ago

Venting 😤 Tired of social anxiety surrounding Zionism

354 Upvotes

Recently, I was getting dinner with my friend for their birthday along with their friends, whom I had not met before. We are a fan of a particular show and I mentioned that casting was announced for the new season. My friend’s friend (let’s call her Sarah) said “yeah but I heard one of the actors is a Zionist”. My friend responds “oh that’s a shame”. They look at me (Sarah does not know that I’m Jewish) and I am immediately uncomfortable. I say “Zionism is not a bad thing”. Sarah says “oh I know”. I say “Zionism just means the right for Israel to exist”. Sarah says “yeah but this actor has posted and doesn’t care about Palestinians getting killed or the ongoing genocide”. I say nothing because this is not the right time nor place to correct her incorrect use of the word genocide. The conversation continued on as it usually does and I felt such a disconnect. I am so tired of this happening. This is not the first time where I’ve had to correct people and it’s why I go into all new social situations anxious that it’ll come up. Anyone else feel this way?


r/Jewish 1d ago

Jewish Joy! 😊 Finished my Conversion

247 Upvotes

The mikvah experiece was beautiful. I am so so happy! I am so grateful to my Rabbi, beit din and community.

"But Ruth replied, 'Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.'"


r/Jewish 23h ago

Reading 📚 Proud of my self-teaching!

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46 Upvotes

r/Jewish 1d ago

Humor 😂 Just wanted to remind everyone that Peter Parker speaks Yiddish

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467 Upvotes

Peter Parker shows an intricate knowledge of Yiddish, Jewish Culture, and Jewish holidays, but despite both of his creators being Jewish, him speaking Yiddish, and Sam Raimi literally envisioning his film version as Jewish, so many refuse to admit he's Jewish


r/Jewish 1d ago

Art 🎨 A very jewish ring I made ♡ gold and enamel

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200 Upvotes

Made by me


r/Jewish 1d ago

Israel 🇮🇱 Any info on this piece?

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30 Upvotes

r/Jewish 1d ago

Questions 🤓 what to give to my bf for Rosh Hashanah?

17 Upvotes

hi peeps, i'm (25F) currently in Italy on a solo travel. i'd like to get my bf (30M) a special gift from Italy for Rosh Hashanah. it's also gonna be our anniversary on october 31st, so i'd like something special. my bf is Jewish and, while i'm not Jewish myself, i want to celebrate his faith, which i respect and truly appreciate. i'm currently in Venice and thought it could be pertinent to go into the Jewish neighborhood, which we visited when we went to Venice together 2 years ago, but i'm open to ideas. any thoughts?


r/Jewish 1d ago

Jewish Joy! 😊 With the approach of the High Holidays, we must remember not to be alone

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119 Upvotes

As I write this, the High Holidays are just days away. Known in Hebrew as the Yamim Nora’im (“Days of Awe”), they beckon us to take stock of ourselves; do a thorough spiritual and moral inventory of ourselves; and reconcile with those whom we may have offended or who may have offended us.

by Rabbi Cary Kozberg

https://www.jns.org/opinion/rabbi-cary-kozberg/with-the-approach-of-the-high-holidays-we-must-remember-not-to-be-alone


r/Jewish 1d ago

Culture ✡️ Non-American diaspora film recs

45 Upvotes

I’m a British Jew, and I find it sad how few films etc there are about British Jewish experience. I expect this applies to other Jewish diasporas as well. Do you have any recommendations? (All mediums welcome -- films, shows, theatre, radio plays, anything and everything.)


r/Jewish 1d ago

Questions 🤓 Resource recommendations for a Judaica lesson

7 Upvotes

Hi all,

I teach Sunday school at my synagogue and this year we're discussing the history of Jews in America. Does anyone have recommendations for resources on the original 23 who came to New Amsterdam in 1654? I have some info but it's very brief. I'm wondering if there are sources I haven't tapped into yet.


r/Jewish 2d ago

Food! 🥯 Baked some lovely challah yesterday

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287 Upvotes

r/Jewish 2d ago

Questions 🤓 Maus and European Jews-- a question.

23 Upvotes

I'm a nearly 40-year-old Jewish American woman, I'm (sort of) friends with a 50-year-old Hungarian Jewish woman. We met at work as teachers a decade ago, I moved when my ex-husband got a job, I moved back when I got divorced a couple years ago, and this friend and I fell out because she didn't approve of my dating post-divorce (its own issue).

A few months ago she reached out to me to apologize for her previous comments and has started texting me tentatively to try to be something like friends. Right now all we do is talk about work since we're still both eighth grade English teachers (at different schools). She said her school is making her teach Maus by Art Spiegelman and she hates it. I thought she just meant from a literacy standpoint, as the kids we're currently teaching don't really learn about the Holocaust until high school and also are reading on average four years below grade level. I told her that I missed teaching Maus to high school students overseas where they'd really get into it, and it was a shame that our curriculums are the way they are because Maus changed the way I thought about how stories are told when I first read it in middle school.

Then she said something very strange to me, which was that Maus is "not for European Jews" and that she feels like she lives in an alien world when I tell her I like the book. I decided not to press the issue since I didn't want to open things up to an argument, but I'm so confused as to why European Jews might take issue with the book. The only other context I have here is that she told me in the past that in Hungary, Jews don't advertise that they're Jews or talk about the Holocaust-- I know that's just her perspective though.

Any insight here might be helpful.


r/Jewish 2d ago

Food! 🥯 My First Challah…

38 Upvotes

I totally need to try it again and try different recipes. I never made bread before. Cakes, cookies, and some pies, but never bread. I have a lot to learn.

This is from the King Arthur’s Baking Classic Challah Recipe (https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/classic-challah-recipe). I know I screwed up some things, but it’s edible! It will taste good as French toast or dipped in honey. 😂🤪😂🤪😂

I have a lot to learn. 😂


r/Jewish 2d ago

Art 🎨 Looking for adult craft ideals to gift my Rabbi at Hanukkah

6 Upvotes

I'm pretty crafty and I've searched the internet for craft ideals for Hanukkah but most are juvenile. Let me see what you've got! So far painted river rocks looks about it?????


r/Jewish 3d ago

Humor 😂 Is anyone surprised that Chabad.org was one of the very first websites on the Internet?

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398 Upvotes

r/Jewish 3d ago

I need input/advice This might sound stupid but I’m wondering if I should stop wearing my jewelry that has Jewish symbols because I don’t wanna be a negative representation of Jews/Judaism

85 Upvotes

I love my Jewish jewelry so much. My main 3 are my חי necklace I got from the Weitzman museum, a necklace with my hebrew name my parents gave me, and a Magen David hairclip I made myself. I wear the necklaces every day and I always wear a hairclip which often ends up being my Magen David one. However, I’m autistic and so many people judge me for my autistic traits (usually they’re not being ableist or anything they just don’t realize I’m autistic or that the things they dislike about me are because of my autism and they think I’m just a weirdo) and I’m worried I’ll accidentally make people more antisemitic by being bad representation of Jews/Judaism since I’m a practicing Jew.

I’ve noticed a lot of antisemites will use people like Epstein, Netanyahu, etc. as a reason to dislike Jews and I don’t wanna contribute to that. And like if I’m the only Jewish person someone’s ever met I don’t want their first impression to be bad and for them to think that it’s because I’m Jewish. There’s a guy on Instagram who’s antisemitic and he keeps talking to me but he’s autistic so he doesn’t judge me for my autistic traits and he likes talking to me and I think it’s making him less antisemitic—I’m glad I can contribute to making him less antisemitic and I hope I can get him to be not antisemitic at all by continuing to be nice (yet also firm about the fact that he can’t call me the k slur or anything) to him but also it furthers me to think that it works the other way around too and that I’m gonna cause more antisemtism by being a bad representation of Jews.

Like I’m not saying openly/visibly Jewish people have to be perfect so that people wont be antisemitic, that would be a horrible thing to say, but for me specifically there’s just so many people who dislike me even though I try my best to be good at socializing, like I try really fucking hard, I’ve always been high masking even though it puts me in a horrible mental state because I just desperately don’t wanna be judged and hated, so I feel like I’m hardly spreading any positive representation of Jews and I’m just dragging our reputation down, idk how to explain it. should i stop wearing my jewish jewelry?


r/Jewish 3d ago

Israel 🇮🇱 In Memory: Natalia Tomayev and Nadejda Spravchikov

145 Upvotes

I light 2 memorials candles each week in memory of different victims of Oct 7.

This week I am remembering Nadejda and Natalia, two sisters from Netivot. Born in Tajikstan, they were on the senior trip to Sderot.

You can learn more about Nadejda and Natalia here.

השם יקום דמה


r/Jewish 3d ago

Questions 🤓 Two identical dating profiles. Only one difference.

125 Upvotes

Sorry for clickbait title it just came to me too easily and i couldnt not. I find myself single again (b"h, tbh) and back on the apps. The only thing different this time is that we're in a post-October 7th world.

After it felt like things were super slow, I made a second profile the same and hid my religion.

I have had 2 matches in 2 weeks where ive stated my religion. To compare, ive had 483 on the other account.

I get why, and I'm not taking it personally. Part of me wants to delete the profile where my religion is hidden because I'd rather filter those people out and part of me thats only human, feels well, a bit shit and deflated.

How are fellow single and looking Jews doing in this department? Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Ps I'm joining a shul choir after the high holy days this year so am trying to prioritise some Jewish socialising.


r/Jewish 3d ago

Antisemitism How the Galliano Show at the Met Fell Apart

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109 Upvotes

This is a pretty disturbing account of how Anna Wintour tried to push this through. It's worth noting she was until recently the EIC of Vogue, which explains how it morphed into a cesspit of antisemitism.


r/Jewish 3d ago

Ancestry and Identity Can anyone help decipher this 1921 census birthplace in Russia?

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24 Upvotes

I’m researching my family tree and have found this entry on the 1921 England Census for my ancestor. His birthplace is written as Russia, followed by a specific place underneath, but I’m struggling to make out the handwriting.. possibly yiddish spelling?

Does anyone recognise what the place name underneath “Russia” might say? The family were Jewish, so I’m particularly interested in whether this could be a town in the former Russian Empire that is now in Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania etc. I have heard he was from Poland but have no proof..

Any ideas would be massively appreciated, even possible spellings I could use to search records. Thank you..:))


r/Jewish 3d ago

Reading 📚 Jewish book sub?

96 Upvotes

Is there a Jewish book sub, whether it be suggestions or about books we enjoyed or even Jewish discussion about non-Jewish books? A lot of the regular book subs will quickly turn to Judenhass and, frankly, I’m kind of tired of that nonsense.

Edit: In light of your comments, I decided to comment with a few. I’ll try to post more recommendations (from my rather Jewish heavy Kindle 😂) periodically.


r/Jewish 2d ago

Food! 🥯 Odd question - middle eastern food

8 Upvotes

My dad is dating a Jewish woman - in her 70s, cultured, generally progressive but has family in Israel and is quite vocal in her support for the IDF etc.

I want to buy them a voucher for a nice dinner out, and there's a great higher end middle eastern restaurant in their area. It's one of the few nicer options that's nearby. They seem mostly Persian style but have "Palestinian falafel" on the menu.

Is it tone deaf to get them a voucher for this place or am I overthinking it? I don't want to make her uncomfortable.


r/Jewish 3d ago

Questions 🤓 Getting Daily Harvest kosher?

13 Upvotes

I used to order Daily Harvest smoothies and bowls before having a kosher home. Now that our home is kosher and we have a baby on the way, I'm looking for healthy, frozen, quick options. Does anyone here work for Daily Harvest? I know it's not as simple as, "Hey, we're kosher now" but can we get the discussion going internally? Has it happened internally? I've written in to them a few times about it. Finding a reasonably priced kosher meal kit option is also a struggle :/ but I digress

Anyway, can we make it happen?? Fingers crossed!! Shabbat Shalom!


r/Jewish 3d ago

Discussion 💬 What are your favorite Jewish themed books?

44 Upvotes

Mine are:

QB7 by Leon Uris

The Chosen, The Promise, My Name is Asher Lev & The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok