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Judaism Unpacked

@judaismunpacked

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Unpacking all things Jewish. No background required.
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Americans use chutzpah as a compliment. In Hebrew, ancient and modern, it’s an insult. But the rabbis found one situation where they praised it too.
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Save this and send it to anyone who’s used the word without knowing where it came from.
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Follow @judaismunpacked for more of the stories behind the words you already use. by @judaismunpacked

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17 hours ago

Everyone remembers Noah as the righteous man who saved the world from the flood. Jewish tradition remembers him as the man who didn’t say a word to stop it.
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Follow @judaismunpacked for more answers to questions about Judaism, the Torah, and Jewish tradition that most people get wrong. by @judaismunpacked

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3 days ago

There’s a sin offering in the Torah for a person who gave up wine.
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Not for drinking too much. For stopping.
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Follow @judaismunpacked for more on how Judaism actually thinks about alcohol, responsibility, and the choices behind the cup. by @judaismunpacked

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4 days ago

Harvard, UC Davis, and the US Surgeon General have all independently landed on five therapeutic practices for mental health, from Shabbat and gratitude to mindful eating, structured grief, and community. Jewish tradition has been quietly practicing all five for 2,000 years.
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Follow @judaismunpacked for more Jewish traditions, practices, and ideas that modern research is just now catching up to. by @judaismunpacked

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5 days ago

Most people picture pearly gates and the forever. Jewish tradition tells a different story, with more stops and no final address.
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Follow @judaismunpacked for more honest answers to the biggest Jewish questions. by @judaismunpacked

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6 days ago

This week, Jews around the world open the Torah again from the very first word. And three of the most famous things about Genesis aren’t actually in Genesis.
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Follow @judaismunpacked for every parsha, every holiday, every teaching that goes deeper than the retelling. by @judaismunpacked

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11 days ago

The Jewish refusal to leave anyone behind is older than you think. So what is this promise that Jews have been keeping for so long?
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Follow @judaismunpacked to explore how Judaism has thought about grief, loss, and what we owe the dead. by @judaismunpacked

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13 days ago

The most joyful holiday on the Jewish calendar was made up.
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No one commanded it. For most of Jewish history it didn't exist. Jews built it from scratch because the love was too big to leave alone.
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Follow @judaismunpacked for more answers to questions about Judaism that most people get wrong. by @judaismunpacked

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14 days ago

This is why Jews stopped putting the Torah on a table and started dancing with it.
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🔗 Full episode on Jewish History Nerds, wherever you get your podcasts by @judaismunpacked

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18 days ago

In the 4th century, Latin translators got one Hebrew word famously wrong. The mistake has been sitting in Bibles ever since.
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The phrase "hevel havalim" comes from Kohelet, one of the books of the Hebrew Bible (known in English as Ecclesiastes).
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Swipe to see what it actually says, and how a Jewish holiday about impermanence became one of the most joyful weeks in the Jewish calendar.
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Follow @judaismunpacked for more answers to questions about Judaism that most people get wrong. by @judaismunpacked

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21 days ago

Sukkot doesn't look the same in Morocco, Mumbai, or Manhattan.
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From lantern-lit courtyards in Baghdad to Persian carpet sukkot in Central Asia, Jewish communities have made the holiday completely their own.
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Comment SEND ARTICLE for the full piece. by @judaismunpacked

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24 days ago

One of the most universal ideas in the Jewish holiday calendar - Sukkot has always had the whole world in mind.

Chag sameach. by @judaismunpacked

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24 days ago