Jew-ish

What is being "Jewish"? What are Jews? What do Jews believe? What do Jews do? What's happening in those mysterious synagogues with all that weird language (it's Hebrew)?

Jew curious?

The thing about being Jewish is, you can't tell us apart by looking (well, not always), we often look the same, dress the same, work and play and eat right alongside our non-Jewish counterparts, and yet, as a teeny tiny minority--only 0.2% of the global population, and 2-3% of the U.S. population--plenty of people have probably never met a Jewish person, or if they did, they didn't even know it.

For as much as we share (and it's probably way more than you think), somehow, moving through the world as a Jew really is different. Everything looks different through a Jewish lens, even for those who aren't particularly religious, the ones who describe themselves as "Jew-ish."

But honestly, none of this is really that mysterious. And, if you're curious or confused, you can always just ask the internet--or, now you can also come here and check in with your new Jewish friend.

So, if you have questions about being Jewish, we're here to introduce, explain, ask alongside, and generally demystify Judaism for Members of the Tribe (Jews) and goyim (non-Jews) alike, exploring and showcasing the infinite ways there are to be Jewish.

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Jew-ish

What an aging Jewish hippie taught her kids about sex

August 10, 2023 • Say More Network • Season 1 • Episode 6

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Judaism takes a very different view of sex than much of mainstream culture in the U.S. Mischaracterization or misunderstanding of some of these differences may have evolved into some of the many anti-Semitic stereotypes (including conflicting ones…goes to show the solid reasoning behind stereotypes), but the general discourse among modern American Jews at least is, overall, pretty sex-positive. My views of sex were always a bit different, a bit more nuanced, perhaps, from my peers, so I went to the source: my mother. She’s a pretty unusual sort in her own right, and has diligently passed along some of our rule-bending values and family traditions I didn’t even know about. We’ll learn how her parents talked to her about sex in the ‘60s, her youth as a “flower child,” and how that informed her dealing with my own and my siblings' high school hijinks. Join me and my little old Jewish mother for some laughter and insight, and maybe even a fresh perspective of how sex, love, and responsibility for one another are a perfectly natural—and often wonderful—part of life.

GLOSSARY:

Kibbutznik: A resident of a kibbutz, a type of communal agricultural settlement founded in Israel at the beginning of the 20th century where members shared income, meals, housing, duties and decision-making responsibilities. Kibbutzim (the plural of kibbutz) have changed a lot since the first one was founded in 1909; there are only about 250 today with about 125,000 members, and individuals and families often have personal income and property.

John Birch Society: A far-right anti-communist group founded in 1958 by businessman Robert Welch, named after an American Baptist missionary and Army officer who was killed by the Red Army in China in 1945.

Tonsure: a hairstyle where a priest or monk’s scalp is shaved bare on top,

Other sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/12/06/how-marvelous-mrs-maisel-fights-against-jewish-stereotypes/

https://icsr.info/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/ICSR-Report-Sleeping-with-the-Enemy-Sex-Sexuality-and-Antisemitism-in-the-Extreme-Right.pdf

https://www.britannica.com/topic/kibbutz

Trying to get those last few dollars out the door for your 2025 charitable donations? Or maybe you just have a little extra this season, when so many don't have enough? There but for the grace of God go all of us, amirite? Well, if this is you, please consider giving to the Hebrew Free Loan Association of Greater Washington so they can continue making interest-free loans to community members in a bind--like myself. And thank you!

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