עזה כמוות אהבה
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Shylock, the titular merchant and Jewish character, is perhaps most famous for his “hath not a Jew eyes” speech. This soliloquy is often cited by scholars and laypeople alike as exonerating the play (and by extension, Shakespeare) from accusations of antisemitism. If the Jewish character in question has a whole soliloquy on the inherent humanity of Jews, doesn’t that prove the play’s innocence?
The issue with this argument is that it ignores the last line of the soliloquy, the thesis of Shylock’s argument: “And if you wrong us, do we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.”
Shylock argues that if Jews are human, then they seek revenge when they are wronged, just like everyone else. There is, of course, nothing inherently wrong or inhuman in a desire for revenge. But this definition of humanity as being founded on revenge is stated by a Jewish character, set in contrast to how the Christian characters in the play define humanity. That’s a problem.
[ … ]
An Elizabethan Christian audience member might have seen Shylock’s downfall as poetic. Watch as Shylock, the Jew, is undone by the very justice system which he prioritizes over human safety. A Jew confronted with the text, however, whether in Shakespeare’s time or in ours, is struck with the disquieting realization of just how futile it would be for a Jew in 16th century Venice to seek redress against a Christian defendant before the court. Shylock is fighting a losing battle. As a Jew, he has no grounds on which to demand justice, mercy, or morality. Even when in the right, he is perpetually wronged by the very system that is supposed to uphold justice. This discomfort, however, would likely not have occurred to Elizabethan Christians. The concept of the Jew as a scheming villain in theater was previously established by Marlowe’s ‘The Jew of Malta’, and the categorization of ‘The Merchant of Venice’ as a comedy makes it unlikely that the Elizabethan audience would have sympathized with Shylock, the villain in the story. Nobody mourns when a monster is defeated when the monster looks nothing like them.
So how do Jews deal with this text?
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“im gonna treat myself” says me, who has rarely, if ever, denied myself anything
(via meloneta)
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As a kid, when your parents are poor, you’re poor. If they don’t have money, that means none of you have money. But if someone’s parents are rich, that doesn’t necessarily mean the kid is. Sometimes rich peoples’ kids aren’t rich kids, they’re just some rich freak’s exotic pets that can talk but aren’t allowed to.
(via seananmcguire)
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i must not stir the pot. stirring the pot is the notifications-killer. participation in the discourse is the little-death that brings total activity obliteration. i will face the bad opinions on the internet. i will permit them to pass over me and through me. and when they have gone past, i will turn the block button onto their source. where the discourse has come from there will be nothing. only i will remain.
ALT(via jewblog)
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Savta Michaela’s potato kugel (Passover Kosher)
my grandma passed away last october, so i wanted to share her potato kugel recipe! our ethnic backround is. um. we’re jewish, that’s for sure, ashkenazi jews. my family immigrated to palestine in the 18-19th centuries from what was then russia. so our cultural practices are interesting, a mix of traditional ashkenazi with palestinian and middle eastern sephardic influences. for example my family generally ate kugel, as well as gefilte fish, with tahini. it’s apparently pretty good (i dont eat fish so i wouldn’t know). however, sesame is chametz so its not passover kosher :(
ingredients:
5-6 potatoes, preferably red. sliced into thin slices, either by hand or by machine
5-6 eggs
matzah flour
salt
pepper
oil (any type)
preparation:
- it’s preferable you use a pot you can also put in the oven
- boil 3-4 cm (~1-1.5 inch) of oil in said pot
- add all the ingredients and mix.
- cover and leave for 10-15 minutes on medium-high flame
- remove all the leftover extra oil from the pot
- move to an oven which has been preheated to 200c (390f) for 10 minutes, uncovered
- lower the heat to 175c (350f) and bake for another 30 minutes
- take out of the oven when it reaches a brown color.
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person online seeing a geopolitical conflict they have minimal knowledge about and are not affected by whatsoever: you know what this requires? what would help rn? my opinion <3
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I asked one of my (male) friends to stop using the phrase “man up” and he has been using “fortify” for the past two weeks instead and it’s just a little thing but honestly it makes a difference
and tbh it’s also pretty funny when I start to deflate in the library and he leans over and goes “FORTIFY”
(via vaspider)
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my parents have no issue with my art being explicit or sexual and are very supportive and this is great. the issue is they’re too supportive. my dad will whip out his phone and show neighbors we barely know paintings of naked trans men on their knees and be like ^_^ im so proud of my son!!!
once i told my mom that if she invited my 90 year old grandmother to my art show that she should warn her that theres sex in it. and she was like ‘your grandmother knows what sex is. she’ll be fine’
(via meloneta)
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Magic the Gathering tip: if someone tells you that you should let them live because they’re going to do something “really funny” on their turn, you should always let them live. it might be really funny.
(via kelpforestdwellers)
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It’s so funny when fantasy writers use names from cultures that aren’t theirs in order to sound foreign or cool or whatever when your family is part of one of those cultures or uses names from those cultures they’re taking names from. It’s like the ancient wizard Tim but the story is taking it completely seriously
It’s a very specific feeling when someone hears your cousin’s name and they go “oh like the dark souls boss?”
I’ve never played dark souls
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I like in Les mis fanfics when the back room of the cafe Musain has ANOTHER back room which is used exclusively for fucking. Who designed this building
(via koheletgirl)
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Just so everyone is aware:
An international group of qualified mushroom identifiers who do worldwide identification in emergency cases have identified the Shroomers App as a potentially very dangerous system that could kill you if you try to use it to identify edible mushrooms. They use AI to generate almost all of their content, including their identification profiles on their app as well as their books and other materials. Not only is this unethical from a content creation standpoint, it is also extremely dangerous.
DO NOT USE APPS FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES BEYOND SIMPLE CURIOSITY. A MISTAKE WHEN IDENTIFYING AN EDIBLE COULD COST YOU YOUR LIFE. DO NOT EAT ANY FORAGED MUSHROOM YOU CANNOT IDENTIFY YOURSELF BY SIGHT OR HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED IN PERSON BY SOMEONE WHO CAN.
ONLY BUY BOOKS FROM REPUTABLE SOURCES AND AT THIS POINT THAT MEANS ASKING EXPERIENCED PEOPLE WHAT BOOKS THEY USE.
Mushrooms are fun, amazing organisms. Enjoy safely.
(via jabberwockypie)
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You think you’re an ally or whatever and then you hear another language with a gender system refer to a noun in a different gender than you’re used to and all of a sudden you’re like “NO. CHAIRS ARE GIRLS”
It’s all “radical queer acceptance” until someone says the moon is a boy and then it’s just malding and screaming about how everyone knows the moon HAS to be a girl and the sun is OBVIOUSLY a boy yes this is now about “la luna” vs “der Mond” don’t fucking touch me rn
(via peasantexchangeprogram)
