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Jack:
- hey, how obnoxious is it to ask you super basic shit about Judaism? im always mildly suspicious about shit i find online but i. want to know more for Partner Reasons...
Fox:
- like zero percent, I love talking about it! What do you want to ask?
Jack:
- i dont even know enough to know what to ask, besides like. what are Things For Me To Avoid to not make an ass of myself, to start?
Fox:
- ooh okay. Hmmmm.
- okay for starters, Hanukkah is not a big deal. Like at all
- we have like literally 12 other holidays that are bigger deals including literally every Friday night/ Saturday
Jack:
- huh okay good to know
- so i know it's a lot different than Christianity, except for when Xtians want to appropriate shit...i don't think i really know the exact ways its different, tho?
Fox:
- and we like to argue, a lot. So if someone argues with you about a point you make in the Judaism 101 class, if you go with Lux, it's not like... bad. That just means you're worth arguing with?
- okay so like... you grew up Evangelical, right?
Jack:
- mostly when i was a teenager, but yeah. would like to get as far away from that as possible, pissed that its made me twitchy about ANY religion...
Fox:
- i can imagine, it seems like it's bullshit.
Jack:
- yep it 100% is.
Fox:
- okay so .. do you know what the words orthodoxy and orthopraxy mean?
Jack:
- nope. i can look them up if thats helpful?
Fox:
- it's OK! Orthodoxy means "right thought" and orthopraxy means "right action"
- that's the main philosophy difference between how Jews and Xians AS A WHOLE approach the world
- Jesus had that whole IF YOU SIN IN YOUR HEART YOU SINNED OMG thing and Jews are like "uhhh but what did you DO?"
- which is why shit like "oh i feel bad about what I did so I prayed and asked Jesus to forgive me so I'm fine now" doesn't fly with Jewish living. You can't just. .. do that. You ALSO have to like... make it right.
Jack:
- huh. yeah that's a pretty big difference
Fox:
- but also like "are you feeling the right feelings when you go to Shabbat? Believe the right things?" NOPE, DOESNT REALLY MATTER. What matters is that you go.
- it's a HUGE difference in life approach
Jack:
- thats like
- that feels like how therapy works
- and i mean that in a good way
- like. feelings are just feelings? and thoughts are just thoughts? and its what u do that matters
- right?
Fox:
- it is, kinda, yeah! You can't control your feelings, you just have them
- see?
Jack:
- i
- kinda like that
Fox:
- it's more freedom but also more responsibility?
Jack:
- yeah
Fox:
- like you can't just be like I SAID I'M SORRY, you are still responsible
- but also being sad, angry, hurt, hateful... what matters is what you DO
- like being horny isn't a sin, it's where you put your bits
Jack:
- ...where am i not allowed to put my bits
Fox:
- where it hurts other people, really
Jack:
- ah okay
Fox:
- oh also the term "Judeo-Christian" is THE WORST never use it
Jack:
- noted
Fox:
- it's a term that was invented by people who were trying to convert us, it's gross.
- okay, so. The first thing is that every Friday is as big of a deal of a holiday as even the big holidays.
- Shabbat is... it's just as important in terms of laws and observation as the High Holidays. Which doesn't mean people don't skip it sometimes but like... we take very seriously the idea that it's important to take that deep breath every week and like... pause?
Jack:
- my job is so very not compatible with that
Fox:
- also i have rice Ramen with peanut sauce that i made and it's so good
- yeah well you gotta eat
- I'm just talking about philosophy
Jack:
- that sounds so fucking good holy shit
- yeah that makes sense
- it just means that like i probably won't ever be able to do shabbat stuff with my loves :(
Fox:
- it's so good and it's so easy, just mix peanut butter and soy sauce in a bowl until it's totally incorporated and then after you drain your Ramen dump it in the bowl and mix it and then EAT IT UP
Jack:
- im a heathen and dont drain my ramen
- i make it soup always
Fox:
- for this, drain it, the sauce doesn't make good soup. Trust me, it's baller. Salty sweet
- so good
Jack:
- hmm
- maybe. I'll try someday
Fox:
- don't worry about missing Shabbat. If you can't, you can't. There will be other things I was really just explaining this idea that like... every day is important? It's...
- there are blessings for EVERYTHING
- when I was coming back to Judaism after my life changed, I fell in love with one of the brachot (blessings - singular blessing is bracha). It's called shehechyanu, and you say it whenever you do something for the first time or the first time in a year
- ride a new roller coaster? Shehechyanu. Light the first Shabbat candle of the year? Shehechyanu. Kiss someone new? Shehechyanu. Learn a new skill? You get the idea.
Jack:
- that feels
- very you :)
Fox:
- and it's a blessing that says basically "thank you for bringing us to this season"
Jack:
- tbh i kind of love that
Fox:
- yeah!! I love it! And I think when you try to look at life that way it's a pretty good life!
- because when you start looking at life that way you realize you do! New stuff!! All the time!!!
- and you get to be thankful for being alive to do it! Like if you're sober for a new length of time! Or if you're talking to your friend about Judaism for the first time!
Jack:
- every day im sober for a new length of time :)
- is there a "here we go again with this bullshit" blessing? for stuff that's the opposite of new?
Fox:
- every morning you get to shehechyanu. Isn't that GREAT?
- most of the blessings are like WELL WE SURVIVED THAT
- we uh have a lot of those
Jack:
- hm that's fair
- and makes sense
Fox:
- another thing is that like a lot of stuff requires 10 Jews, a lot of prayers and stuff, which we call a minyan.
- we have a HUGE emphasis on community
Jack:
- community is good
- i was just talking to a friend the other night about how the community I have with my union like
- makes me feel more human?
- its hard to explain
Fox:
- that makes perfect sense to me. Humans are communal animals.
Jack:
- yeppp
Fox:
- we NEED that. It's not an "oh that's nice" it's an actual NEED
- humans NEED skin contact and NEED community the same way we need sleep so
Jack:
- isn't it nice that we have a society that emphasizes those things
Fox:
- Yeaaaaah so I hate modern society but I think you know that
Jack:
- nah but the idea of community like that, that's based around Doing Good and not just Being Good is really really cool
Fox:
- heck yeah! I think you'll like the concept of tikkun olam
Jack:
- i almost know that one
- i think ive heard mearc talk about it?
Fox:
- it means repair of the world
- and it's so central to my life
- oh that makes sense yeah
- it's a Mearc concept for sure
- there's a thing from the Talmud that I have in one of my tattoos
- "you need not complete the work but neither are you free to desist from it"
- you know? And I like that. A lot.
Jack:
- oh i
- love that actually
- like a lot
Fox:
- i thought you might :)
Jack:
- :)
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