Are You There God? It's Us, The Kumzits.
Remember the time our digital assets + website got sucked into the global GoDaddy hack? That was fun. We're back now and slowly getting back to our plans for Jewish space laser world domination.
It’s been a tough few millennia months to be Jewish. After the atrocities of October 7th, the world turned against Israel and the Jews. And that’s the short version. Of course, we have allies and friends, and we’ll be forever grateful for each and every one; but the scope of antisemitism, Holocaust whitewashing and appropriation, erasure of the hostages, and the brutality against Israeli women especially. We’d say unprecedented, but that word got used up and wrung out during the pandemic.
And so here we are now.
A people bruised but not defeated, trying to channel our inner Maccabees and constantly singing some version of Am Yisrael Chai.
Some days are better than others. Today is meh with a side order of salty. We’re tired, but we’re also kvetchy. And we’re getting ready for Purim, though we’re not feeling a major vibe this year.
Bring back Eylon. First off, we’re cranky that the charming, brilliant and funny Israeli spokesperson (and our internet boyfriend) Eylon Levy has been suspended after UK complaints. There have been so few bright spots in this struggle and Eylon Levy has been one of them. We definitely need him back. As the ever reliable i24 reports, “Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister's wife, sought Levy's dismissal over his past criticism of Netanyahu and his involvement in protests against judicial reforms.” Our official response is: Go away, Sara. We need Eylon, stat.
Bond. JBond. On a happier note, there might just be a Jewish James Bond in our collective future. Rumor (rumour?) has it that Jewish actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson could be the next 007. Let the JDate and cholent jokes commence.
Shemah Yisrael. Tomorrow, Thursday, March 21st is Taanit Esther, (the fast of Queen Esther before she faced King Ahasuerus and asked for mercy for the Jews from the evil Haman). There’s a global call to recite the Shemah prayer to pray for the release of the hostages and everyone connected to this great trauma including soldiers, families, and all Jews around the world. The prayer will be recited on the East Coast at 11:30 am, please adjust for your own time zone. It can’t hurt, right? For a quick refresher, the Shema prayer’s first verse is:
“Hear, O Israel: The L‑rd is our G‑d; the L‑rd is One”(Deuteronomy 6:4, the first verse of Shema)
Pur-Yum.Moving right along, we find ourselves slightly obsessed with these Key Lime Pie Hamentashen.
And with that, we will wish you Shalom.
Stay safe, be smart, come hang out with us again,
Your chevra from The Kumzits