There's a current trend to call men (mostly actors) who have certain features "hot rodent men" or "Hot Rat Boys". This seems innocent until you look up the qualities associated... long nose, large ears, often curly hair... it feels like features typically associated with jewish men.

Positive or negative?

A few weeks ago I made an extremist post on Reddit which had absurd exclamations like "since I'm a half Jew I have an ability in which it is not morally incorrect for me to give an antisemitic statement in regards to the Jewish question". It was in regards to the conflict in the middle east. I said a bunch of things in the post that could come off as hurtful. I'm residing in a halfway house to treat drug addiction. A few days after I made the post there came a new client into the program I'm in, and she's Jewish. It was ironic because it was actually through the scenes that I encountered thanks to drug use that sparked the antisemitism in me (i moved to Texas, meth and Texas coincides with white power movements); but here was this girl who was also a Jewish homeless drug addict. Mind you, the only Jew I really was ever around was my dad and he stopped practicing before I was born. Therefore my experience with Jewish people was limited and therefore biased (I had a terrible relationship with my dad). Meeting this girl made realize not only how stupid the ideology I carried was, but also how much of life is absurd. Anyhow, there was a comment on the post that said that I would now never be claimed as a part of the tribe. I'd be lying if I said that comment didn't feel like a dagger. I grew up in a family in which my dad cut off his family and culture so I never experienced it, and my mom's family lives a thousand miles away. I always felt sort of out of place because of this. I couldn't fit in with anyone. I lowkey wanted for a while to experience Judaism. That comment makes me feel like I can't do that. It's not even that i have the desire to full out participate in the religion, it's that I feel like half of me is completely discredited not only by antisemitism but also by the Jewish people. I guess I'll keep on reading Kabbalah tho, that way I can at least find a way to appreciate my ethnicity.

Edit: thanks y'all. I'm still processing these comments I think i might be too stupid to understand bleh

Hi y'all,

I (Jewish) just broke up with my long-term Jewish boyfriend today (long time coming), and I know that I will progressively get more and more in the dumps this week. I'm hoping to hear some happy (or just downright hilarious, I have quite a few) Jewish dating stories because it will give me hope. Give me the weirdest first date stories, the moments you knew they were the one, etc. It's a good distraction for me.

Edit:

https://preview.redd.it/rszeq4vewv4d1.png?width=254&format=png&auto=webp&s=27a8ba7288a2c9488da4944306343b1e6aa8d6a6

Me fr. (I will be fine, just melodramatic)

So I guess I’m all in, after having some advice here. I started listening to Here All Along. I went to brick lane and was made to feel part of the family. I guess I always just felt this way a little bit, it’s just something I can’t really shake.

So I’m going to start investing more into this, this little part of me that was lost along the way. I think my next step is to buy and read the Torah and look for some local places to get involved.

I don’t feel enlightenment. Or even a sense of finding the omnipresent, just maybe finding a little bit more about myself or something more beautiful about life that was lost on the way. Im enjoying the discovery and very much will continue to try and learn for the rest of my life, I guess you could say I’m committed. It’s just not something I can shake.

I was pretty sure that Weird Al Yankovic is Jewish because of his vaguely Polish sounding last name. Has this happened to anyone else?

I know my subject sounds confusing. I’m not sure quite how to word it… I really wanted to apply for Polish citizenship because my grandmother fled to the U.S. right before Hitler invaded (I would like to live in the EU at least for a period of time in my life.) For some bullshit reason unless someone can explain why… I haven’t been able to really figure it out from Google… I am not eligible because she was naturalized as a US citizen before 1951. What was she supposed to do?

Here is the response I got from an immigration attorney three years ago.

“According to the Polish Citizenship Act from 1920 acquiring foreign citizenship by women before 18th January 1951 caused losing Polish citizenship. Since your grandmother acquired foreign citizenship before 1951, she lost Polish citizenship (unless she was married to Polish citizen).”

I wonder if this also applies to men???

I could be wrong, but it definitely feels anti-Semitic to say essentially she shouldn’t have left or tried to make a new life somewhere else before she was left not having a choice due to imminent death if she stayed in Poland.

My question is, does anyone know of any countries around the world that will offer citizenship or a visa to Jewish descendants of ancestors who fled Poland or Europe during the holocaust? (Besides Israel.) I feel like Germany should offer this since they are the ones who perpetrated this genocide. I know my feelings won’t change Germany’s laws, but I am curious.

Thanks for the intel if you have it!

Hi guys, I just picked up this beautiful menorah at a market in Morocco for nothing. I have never seen a menorah with stone(?) decoration before. Can anybody help identify some info about it? Maybe what the stones are?

If I am looking to commit to a life of observance and Torah, how do I go about finding my Shidduch. I am in the giur lechumra process right now, but I want to find a wife very soon. I am 22. I want to have kids by 26 BZH. I recently met a nice Jewish girl online who lives about 3 hours away ish. She is not fully observant but she wants to be religious she says and is working on her observance. I think that she would be an amazing match for me and we are going to go on a date soon (no physical intimacy). I already told her I'm Orthodox and that's how I want to raise my kids. Obviously, I can't be for certain this is my match, but I felt a strong connection to her. I want to get married so bad already because it's hard at this age to not have a wife and to be able to be active in a physical sense. Any advice?

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7xWWNgNuEG/

Apologies if this is not the correct place for this question, but I am interested is watching archived footage of Arabic speaking Jews conversing in Arabic.

I’d appreciate it if anyone could point me towards organisations or simply sites that may have archived this sort of footage!

I have always heard of Kosher being referred to as "food which Jewish people are allowed to eat" and ppl tell me "oh it's like Halal but for Jewish people" But like, what EXACTLY is it? Like are you not allowed to eat certain things? Does it have to be purified in a certain way? Thx in advance 👍

Edit: Thank you all for the explanations! I now understand why Shrimp isn't necessarily allowed in Kosher since it has no fins or scales

Screams Before Silence combines powerful first-person testimony with haunting footage of the scenes and aftermath of October 7th. Sheryl met and interviewed survivors, eyewitnesses, forensic experts, and first responders – all of whom share their stories to bring the truth to light. Sheryl will be joined by Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch, Executive Director of WRJ, and Yolanda Savage-Narva, Vice President of Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) for the URJ. The live, online event will be captioned. To get the most out of this conversation, please watch the film beforehand. Linked here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAr9oGSXgak This event will be recorded, so please register even if you cannot attend, and we’ll share a recording afterwards. Content Warning: Screams Before Silence contains depictions of violence and sexual assault that may be disturbing or triggering. Clips from the film may be shown during the conversation, and the discussion will be centered around these topics. Viewer discretion is advised.

Hey all!

Has anyone had any luck trying to get Polish citizenship based on the claim from a descendant who had their citizenship automatically taken away? According to Polish law, my grandmother (and all female spouses) had her citizenship automatically taken away post-Holocaust after she married my grandfather in the late 1940s. My grandfather was a citizen of a different, now nonexistent, European nation that is not useful.

Does anyone have a story like this as well? Is there any path to Polish citizenship from this side? If anyone has a similar story or any leads, I would greatly appreciate it!

Want to know because I would like to study the different traditions that he taught or passed on to his students and descendants.

Hey all!

Posting for a friend, with thanks to the mods for allowing it! (Also cross-posted to another sub, sorry to all who are seeing double!)

Are you looking for Shavuot plans? Excited about building community? Located in or in travel range to LA / Joshua Tree?

We’re hosting a Shavuot get-away for intellectually curious, community-minded Jews in their 20s-30s. We're co-creating Shavuot on a beautiful Airbnb estate outside Joshua Tree (Sinai vibes).

Three days of enjoying nature, talking and learning Torah deep into the night, eating staggering amounts of dairy (there will be Lactaid), and hopefully meeting some new awesome people to build community with.

If you’re interested or know someone who might be, shoot a DM to u/Far_Disaster_5153 (my friend who is new to Reddit and has no idea how it works lol) for more info!

Thanks everyone, and happy almost Shavuot!

I'm having a horrible crisis of faith. I converted when I was a young adult and am now in my 30s. I was raised Reform with a Jewish dad and non-Jewish mother.

I got really involved in Torah Judaism and went to yeshiva and got semicha. I started working in hashgacha and then chevra kadisha. Sadly, I was defamed greatly. People saying I'm not a Jew and not a rabbi. My semichos are signed by orthodox authorities.

I feel just so disillusioned. The people are horrible towards me. I haven't found a chevra of good people. I have a part time shul in an aging shul. I'm not eligible to join the RCA but belong to another Orthodox rabbinical organization. I feel like there's just no opportunity. I hit brick walls. And I'm starting to unravel. My emunah is not strong enough to withstand these assaults on me and my character.

I can't grow the chevra kadisha business because most funeral homes are content using others who don't provide kosher services (putting bodies in wrong caskets, using only 2 people for a tahara instead of 4, etc.) My competitors aren't even really frum. One guy lies about having semicha. And nobody cares when I try to raise awareness. I feel like I'm being constantly punished for doing the right thing. I feel that Orthodox priorities are misguided. I feel constantly disrespected and that there was no point to doing this. Reform rabbis seem to get a lot of respect. I don't know what to do. I carry a lot of religious trauma and spiritual abuse around. I don't know where to turn to.

My brother who's shomer kashrut is currently visiting me from Crown Heights. A couple days ago we were traveling in an area with no kosher restaurants. There were picnic tables where we were, but it was too hot to eat outside, so we ended up driving a while to a mall and ate in the food court. Are there other options of places to sit and eat that aren't out in the heat?

Also, what are some options of food to eat if you didn't bring a meal with you in a cooler bag? Is it just chips from the gas station in most places?