"[T]he #Jewish #Orthodox #Feminist Alliance (JOFA #Australia) is hosting an inaugural #writers’ retreat in the Yarra Valley from May 23-25, offering aspiring #women writers the chance to connect with like-minded individuals, and foster their creative and spiritual growth.

This is the first time that a writers’ weekend of this nature has been held in Australia, and we are so pleased to be able to support women to create works of #Torah related to women’s #health, encompassing mental, spiritual and physical health,” said JOFA Australia president Nomi Kaltmann."

https://www.australianjewishnews.com/orthodox-womens-writers-retreat/

We are called to correct our neighbors, but with love. We should not defame or hate them. https://reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/torah-commentary/mastering-art-rebuke

Ready for #Hebrew class tonight! https://www.originshebrewstudies.com/ #LanguageLearning #Bible #Torah

"[A]s far back as our sources go, #Judaism teaches about a deeper layer in #marriage. The #Torah tells us that Isaac did indeed love his wife Rebekah when they got married (even though they did meet through a matchmaker!).

In fact, #Maimonides, in one of the most authoritative legal codes, states that “a man should honor his wife more than himself and love her as himself.” A loving, emotional connection is an expectation in a #Jewish marriage.

Mystically, the Torah tells us that a man and wife are in fact two halves of a whole; their souls are destined for each other from before they are even born, and seek to reconnect with and complete each other. Every marriage is an expression of this longing and fulfillment."

https://jewinthecity.com/2025/03/debunking-myths-surrounding-orthodox-jewish-marriage/

Crowd ROARS at Gal Gadot’s Message to the Jewish Nation https://www.inbella.com/937500/crowd-roars-at-gal-gadots-message-to-the-jewish-nation/ #army #Bible #biblical #chevron #christian #FemaleCelebrities #GalGadot #Hamas #idf #Israel #Israeli #Jewish #Jihadi #judaism #netanyahu #politics #Republican #Terror #torah #TRUMP #Vivek #War

Please consider supporting my translation of the Bible. It may very well be the first translation by a trans translator (is that a pun? no regrets).

But more importantly, it is a translation that does not seek to impose a theology on the Bible, but read it with an open heart and open mind to what the scripture really means when we listen to the Spirit of Truth instead of letting publishers write over the Word out of a profit motive (Jeremiah 8:8).

I long ago came to realize that I do not stand condemned before God because of a close reading of the scripture. Now I want to share that experience with as many as I can, as many as need to hear that God loves you. It's in God's Word of Life. I'll help you find it.

https://ko-fi.com/wltbible

#Bible #Scripture #Translation
#Christian #Christianity #Church
#ProgressiveChristianity
#Judaism #Jewish
#Tanakh #Tanach #Torah
#LGBTQIA2S #LGBTQIA #LGBTQ #LGBT
#Transgender #Agender #Nonbinary
#Furry #FurryArt #FurryFandom
#TTRPG #DnD #DnD5e

"#Sefer Swap—a new online platform—is transforming the way #Jewish #books (#seforim) are accessed and given away. Designed to create a global community for seforim distribution, Sefer Swap provides a user-friendly space for individuals, #yeshivos and collectors to connect and share valuable #Torah resources."

https://jewishlink.news/sefer-swap-revolutionizing-access-to-jewish-books-through-community-sharing/

Beshalach: crossing into the world of #Torah

Our rabbi talked today about some parallels between the creation story in Bereishis and the crossing of the Sea of Reeds by the Israelites. He was saying that the parallel is because the Exodus was not just a normal event, but it was set up for us as a transition into a totally new paradigm, a new universe so to speak. I sent him this after Shabbos, lightly edited:

I really really liked your derasha today, and here is what I think the difference is: The power of a man over other people. Egypt was the greatest empire in the world at the time, the greatest center of authoritarian power the world had ever known back then. Pharaoh had the power to force people to call him a god. As a Trump supporter said to me, a true absolute ruler has the power of life and death over his subjects (although it's actually just the power to destroy, the power of death). Pharaoh can say: do what I say or I'll kill you. I'll blow you up, I'll blow up your family, I'll blow up your neighborhood, I'll blow up your city...

When Bnei Yisroel cross the sea, they leave the world of authoritarian coercive power into the world of Torah, where Borei Oilom¹ reveals His true power to us: the power to create, create a whole universe, full of light and life. That power is infinitely greater than the power of a tyrant even though he should call himself a god all day long. And while we are encouraged to fear Hashem, the greatest virtue is to serve Hashem because we recognize the greatness of this power, next to which Pharaoh's type of power is so puny that it doesn't even exist.

¹Creator of the Universe

#anarchism

After deciding it felt right to make a character in #Modders #Jewish, I wanted to do a little bit of digging, because I know #Tattoos and #Piercings aren't considered #kosher, and her whole family has some far more extreme #BodyModification going on. (Furries)

Came across an interesting article which points out that the specific line in the #Torah / #OldTestament, #Leviticus 19:28, is somewhat vague and seems to apply more to 1) not self-mutilating for the dead or an idol, and 2) that God is not asking anyone to self mutilate. Also, when we apply that to the context of things happening at the time, we see some pretty brutal practices, and some pretty severe infection risks. That's sort of vagueness and context is common for Leviticus.

So I wonder if, in a future where these #BodyMods are common, and "Image of God" is not as widely interpreted to be a statement of physical likeness, could the opinion of what is "kosher" in itself be different here?

https://lionstale.org/1025/features/exploring-body-modifications-through-the-lens-of-judaism/

Confronting Sexual Violence in the Torah: Towards a Jewish Theology of Resilience

Ethan Davidson in conversation with Chancellor Emeritus Arnold Eisen with reflections from Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz

Delve into the challenges posed by the narratives in the Torah to illuminate pathways for healing and resilience. We will grapple with these difficult texts and discuss how Jewish tradition can inspire strength and hope in the face of trauma.

When: Monday, February 3 @ 1:30 PM ET
Where: In Person & ZOOM.

Pre-register to receive details:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSefsVvjEDooMpDYy1icZcEmXc5lkaFEuhim2sfWHrXqgKLlRQ/viewform

Maharat is the first yeshiva to ordain Orthodox women as rabbis.

"Imagine practicing #Judaism, with no religious books, no #Mishnah, no #Midrash, no #Talmud, no #Torah, only select Christian Bibles. You have no #Hebrew texts and no memory of Hebrew, except for a few garbled words of the #Shema. Your communities have no #rabbis. You can’t teach your children about Judaism until they are adults. How would #Jewish traditions be continued? What would Jewish practice become as generations pass over hundreds of years?

This is what happened to #Jews after their expulsion and forced conversion during the worldwide #Inquisition."

https://www.sdjewishworld.com/2025/01/09/sephardic-prayer-songs-found-in-church-records-of-mexican-inquisition/

"When it came time to choose the text on which she would be sworn into the U.S. #Senate, #ElissaSlotkin turned to a relatively recent book that reflects her own identity as a #Jewish #woman.

Slotkin, a former #congresswoman who narrowly won her election in November, took the #oath of office Friday on a copy of “The #Torah: A #Women’s Commentary,” published in 2008 by the #Reform movement of #Judaism."

https://www.jta.org/2025/01/05/united-states/elissa-slotkin-sworn-into-senate-on-reform-movement-womens-torah-commentary

The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Jewish scriptures and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. #History #Torah #OldTestament #Moses #HistoryFact https://whe.to/ci/1-23717-en/

Honestly I don't see how anyone with a modicum of literary sensitivity can read the Akeida (the Binding of Isaac) and not see _at least_ a sublime human drama.

But everyone just wants to be roll their eyes and reduce Abraham to some kind of nut, or the whole story into a medieval morality play.

Be an atheist, that's fine by me. But you know that if Stefan Zweig had written the Akeida, it would have earned him a Nobel in literature

It's so odd.

If you truly believe that God loves you, everything in the Scriptures confirms it; you can't be convinced otherwise, and you'll love others.

But if you don't believe it, everything in the Scripture will seem like condemnation & slavery, either for you... or by you.

You're not supposed to hate Cain the story. You're supposed to look at him through the eyes of a grieving mother who believed that he was the answer to all her problems.

You can relate to Eve, because we've all put our trust in something and had it fall apart on us.

Normally, the father is the one listed as naming the children, but it's Eve who names both Cain and Abel in Genesis 3. Adam isn't involved.

Eve names Seth, but in Gen 5 (spoiler!), the text says Adam does, so the implication is that they both did.

And perhaps this is the point.

I regret to inform you that if you are repenting as a means by which to enter the kingdom of heaven, your repentance is not different than Cain's offering.

That is not the offering God desires. You have not understood the story.

So I got invited to leyen at the Kollel, 7th aliyah of vayera (it's the Akedah)