Cool Club the glow sunglasses for survival race. I'm dead meat near attend solid arm up. Welcome to a special episode of girls of the mignon. We are doing something a little bit different today. It's just to Leah and I on tonight for starters and we are just doing a kind of quick reflection episode for the high holidays. We did a holiday episode for Tisha b'av and it was you know very much more our usual style where we don't have into the history and went into the nitty-gritty of all these different things. Today's episode is going to be Little bit different it's just going to be totally and I kind of reflecting on some stuff and you know giving you are sort of thoughts and Impressions and feelings about the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom, Kippur to holidays that I know are super important to both of us not just as Jews but also as ways of informing our action as leftists, so yeah, I don't know. So how exactly you want to start? I'm drinking Narragansett the my favorite cheap beer because it's what I have in the fridge. I am sorry drinking water drinking alone. I'm so sorry, but it's a new year new me and I started working out today. So I know I just have you you need to hydrate. Oh, geez, it's fine. It's fine. So did you go to Services? I guess we can start there. Like what did what did we to do for Rosh Hashanah? So for the listener, we're recording this on the second night of Rosh Hashanah or the second day of Rosh Hashanah. I should say just ended or is it just ending where you are to Lea's at nightfall? Yep, the Sun is setting right now right now. Alright, so it has ended where I am it is ending where you are. So I guess that's probably the best place to start is just What did you do for the new year? You know Shana Tova. What did you do tonight over I I woke up early. I recorded my bit for the podcast about what I want from the new year. I took it really easy. I don't go to Services here in St. Louis because they have uniformed police officers and services and it makes me really uncomfortable. Yeah, and it's a it's a barrier to a lot of Jews the color too. The synagogue's have been told that it is but they seem Louis is a racist town. So the one synagogue that I would want to go to also has uniformed police officers. And those are the same uniformed police officers that threatened to tear gases synagogue two years ago. Wow during a protest. I don't want to go there. That's an incredibly hostile. Should I thought I was I was just like not going because I don't really like my parents sheol. Oh, yeah, so there's that and then there's the whole Zionism that comes with Rosh Hashanah and I just don't want that. I don't want to start the new year off seeing the Israeli flag. Yeah, that was definitely what kept me from going to services with my folks and trying to explain that to them after Rosh Hashanah dinner. Thankfully everyone else had left turned into Looks like a hours long drunken rant from me about just I just went I ended up going full Tanki. I like did not mean to swear. I didn't mean to I was trying to be really gentle. We're like, you know, my old man was just like well, we got a new Rabbi was like Yeah Dad like no matter what the rabbi is like, it's not going to be what I want from a synagogue and I was trying to be like really Jenn's like hey, man, they like they have the Israeli flag up on the bema, you know, and then he was like, well what's wrong with that? That and then I was off and by the end by the end it was like I had gone through like dates and events and why exactly how Israel was fucked up and you know, like how does it keep us save? It doesn't keep you safe but another but then it also went into like, you know denazification didn't happen in West Germany and the dprk is good actually and it turned into this whole fucking thing. Sounds dope. Yeah, it was but but I guess that that says a little bit about what I do, which was I went down to my parents house and did have Rosh Hashanah dinner with my my aunt who is the like the the Lefty in the family of that generation who like back in the day was like really involved in like anti-nuclear power protest. I was looking hard environmentalist like Like chained herself to the the fence of the like Plymouth power plant and shit super badass. I love my aunt and on the other side, you know, a like reaganite Republican Uncle. So we just studiously avoid talking politics at the dinner table my parents the like trade unionists who is like caught in the middle just like look what makes yep so does Avoiding all that conversation. I think that was why I like once once I was given an inch at the end, I was like a few beers in and had just eaten the shit ton of brisket and I was like, all right, Dad buckle up yum Prescott has the best so good. We have brisket. We had semi-sweet a very, you know, Ashkenazi typical Rosh Hashanah dinner chicken soup with Canadia, you know the usual Nice. Yeah, I just hung out with people. I liked hell. Yeah, just took it easy. Tried my best to take it easy. Yeah, so that's nice. It was really nice outside. And yeah, it was a gorgeous day here to the actual day of Rosh Hashanah the first day of Rosh Hashanah when my parents went to Services. I just like I read outside played Fetch with my dog, you know, I just kind of like read and meditate. Dated and with my dog and just kind of just chilled out. So yeah, I'm here except with my cats. Yeah. I had a red claw, just so everyone knows white claws are Red Claws. Yeah, because - I mean it's, you know, like shit right whenever you know Red Claws still the law Clause the law it is. So yeah, that's what I did. That's what you did. Yeah. All right. So let's let's talk about these holidays. So I guess for the for the listeners who you know are not of the tribe Rosh Hashanah is the New Year. It's in the seventh month. I know that strange don't worry about it. There's there's lots of them lots of ink spilled about why Rosh Hashanah is the new Your holiday when it's not in month number one, I particularly like the sort of I don't know mystical like kabbalistic tradition version of it where the the like the creation process was pregnant in month one and then gave birth for Russia China and it doesn't quite line up to you know, human pregnant. It was a preemie the Earth Earth was a preemie baby. I guess what it comes down to go by human standards. Anyway, I don't know because they are. I mean the Kabul is always trying to make something on microcosm macrocosm thing. So it doesn't really line up with that way. But also like the world being born as a premature kind of feels right because maybe that's why it's so fucked. There's a lot of problems a lot of health problems. We had a growing pains. Yeah, that's cool. I really like that. Yeah, so that's that is Rosh Hashanah. So when we said Shanah tovah that that means a good year. It's how you wish Jews a happy New Year. So if you have a Jewish comrade out there it is still the New Year season. If you're listening to this close to the release date. So yeah, what's your comrades are still not tovah? Hmm, and then there's ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom, Kippur the second of the high. Holy days the two most important days. Is of the Jewish year and those 10 days are often referred to as the days of awe and that's a time for self-reflection for making amends. I know so totally and I both come from a reformed background and I know the reform liturgy on Yom, Kippur talks about for for transgressions against God the day of atonement atones for transgressions against another person the day of atonement. Atonement does not atone until those two people Rectify with each other. And so the days of awe are the kind of ritualised time when you think back over your year and basically like all right. It's basically self crit itself crit time. Yeah juice, you know, that's how I think of it. Yeah. It's really emotional. It can be really emotional to and like in in the reformed tradition. Anyways, it's taught that you should do face-to-face. Apologies and if that doesn't work or if that's impossible, then you can go through like a phone and then email and then text but whatever you can and if you reach out three times and they deny you three times, then you're done. You've done your due diligence and you can just say well I tried my best to apologize and they're not going to accept it then. So be it let it be if and then that's on them. Yeah. Yeah, but it's all about accountability. Yeah. Yeah, it's beautiful. It really is. I've always found it extremely powerful and like when I was a kid my my dad would you know, my mom didn't care so much but my dad would make sure that like I took off school for all the festivals so like pesach so code all of it, but the only ones I mean, I love Passover I really do but as far as the services go the only services that Really grabbed me were Rosh Hashanah and Yom, Kippur and particularly young people. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You don't keep poorest my favorite. Yeah same it's so powerful. It's always such a huge deal and I've been like inspired by lines from the seed or or the haftarah that I'll read later or you know, just like it sticks in my head, you know all year round as when I was in a hardcore. And several years ago. I did like a like weird noise interlude where I just screamed the V Dewey horrible feedback noises just shrieking, you know, Josh I'm new but God knew that other that and I had the guitarist do you like the intro track was him kind of angling it but he was trying his best to do the like a like a riff of the You draw a Melody because that always just like that music is so haunting. Yeah and Ivy no Mal que. No. Yeah, it kills me. Maybe there should be a Jewish black metal band that does stuff and I are trying to start up Jewish black metal band. I think we should end this with Barbra Streisand's cover of Elle being a monkey. That's sweet Chef kiss. Good old Barb. What's really awesome? It's with Rosh Hashanah how it starts off with blowing the shofar which is a Ram's Horn and then at the end of Yom, Kippur Services, they blow the shofar again to symbolize that It's the end of the days of our and the Book of Life has closed. I have a Ram's Horn that I have a shofar that I'm a I'm a blow the shofar at the end of the episode to like figure this out because I fucking love it. It's the greatest. I love my so far. But yeah, so I guess I guess we should probably talk about the The Book of Life for a minute for those who are not not too familiar. Because they're there is a lot of symbolism and like this is where a lot of the it's a highly religious holiday. Right? Like the last one we did to shop was a highly historical holiday. And so a lot of the background stuff we had to explain was history and we're not going to get too bogged down. Obviously we can we can handle like the real nitty-gritty stuff. I guess next year, but but for now like What is The Book of Life? What do we need to know about that kind of thing? I talked about it a little in my like snippet that I recorded for Rosh Hashanah. It's the Book of Life rights. They God writes down the names of those who live in those who will die in the new year. And once it closes your fate is sealed, basically. Yeah for the year. Yeah. Yeah further year. I just I think it's super cool because it ties into the whole tree of life and ties into the books of being living text and how we can continue to learn from them. Yeah, it's really not a joke that were people of the book like it's it's all over and into everything. But yeah, the the books of The Book of Life is is super it's like a really powerful. That I really love so one of the one of the blessings that you say throughout the days of Oz, you know may you be inscribed for blessing in the book of life and that's that's a beautiful thing to wish for people, you know, like maybe maybe in spite inscribed for blessing. That's I don't know. It's the symbolism of the days of our fucking sick. I love it. Yeah awful between the the shofar is the books. Yeah. Yeah. And then like on Yom, Kippur you fast for twenty five hours just like you do on Tisha be i-i've and this time it's so you can focus completely on the services you're supposed to be in service has a whole time so you can focus on that focus on what you've done in the past year feel sorrow for what you've done. I just I really love the fasting holidays. Yeah, they really make you focus. Do they do definitely? Yeah, I've always even before I was bar mitzvahed. Like I remember I think I was probably seven or eight when I first started fasting on Yom, Kippur because you're not like required to until your your b'nai Mitzvah, but I just loved it so much the symbolism of it at all and you know the kind of self-denial not as like, oh, woe is me, but just yeah like you said as a way to sharpen your focus and really We get you to think about like, okay, what is really important here? You know like what really matters what can I do without how have I because a lot of the there's a communal blessing aren't really blessing. I'm more of a dirge really that I know you're going to be reading a version of called. All Kate that is its kind of you you collectively as a community admit to these kind of very basic human failings, which I Love it's not it's not this like I have done this and I've been bad like know I am part of a human Community humans are flawed creatures. We do things that are not great sometimes and collectively you admit this this culpability a you take part. But if you're taking part with everyone around you it's very powerful experience. I've always found but a lot of them really come down to some form of arrogance or selfishness or like aggrandizing yourself at the expense of others neglecting others like things where you put yourself and your individual needs over and above those around you that's like a running theme throughout the like what we're apologizing for what we're atoning for in the in Yom Kippur, which is is called the day of atonement. That's that's what it means and and I think like I've always found it to be a really critical like call to action. You know, I always think like, okay. What can I be doing more in the next year and that? Yeah that question is always sharpened when I'm fasting, you know, like it's so much more potent. I'm always kind of wondering like all right. What can I do? That's different and like, how can I how can I do more? How can I contribute to the cause that had uh, but when you're fasting on Yom, Kippur and your atoning for what? You have done that disparaged others or what? You haven't done that failed to help people. It really sharpens. Like all right, what can I do to step up this year? And that's kind of why we wanted to do this, you know, we weren't we didn't life's been crazy for a little bit wacky right now for everybody here at the minion, but we wanted to get something out there because this holiday is so important to I know for the two of us. And I know we haven't like Tim hasn't spoken as much about it as like Central to his practice as for you and I but I think it's fair to say that it's very important to Tim as well. I know it is for many other Jews who are organizers or leftists. Another thing about Yom Kippur. I like I just thought of it's like you use that day to plan ahead for the next year and as marxist-leninist. We also have a plan for the next year or classically five years. So yeah, like when you're sitting there and I don't know you just think of all of these things you need to do in the next year and how you're going to do it right? Because yeah, it's looking back and looking forward which is dialectic. Yeah, so do you do you want to jump right to I we didn't really plan this one out. Y'all behind the curtain. Yeah, he's behind the curtain. This was like Thalia putting it out there. Like hey you want to do a little thing like today and I was like, okay sure. Let's do it. So we're Flying Blind here tonight at the minion. So do you do you have anything else you want to talk about before you read some some allocate for us? If people can I highly recommend streaming tzedek Chicago's High? Holy day services, and I'm going to be reading Rabbi Brandt. Rosen's Al Kut. They are a non-zionist synagogue in Chicago and they are so good. Yeah, so this is Al Kut by Rabbi Brant Rosen L cut ticket on ool if Anna For the wrong we have done before you I'll have schuchat a new Leaf anecca for forgetting that we were all once Strangers In a Strange Land the AL Kut sheket a new life Annika for preferring militarized fences to open borders. I'll catch a cotton. Ulla faneca for supporting trade policies and murderous regimes that uproot people families and communities the a Hut Shikata new left on Yucca for drying. Lines and turning away those who come to our country seeking a better life. I'll have to check out a new left on Yucca for demonizing migrants as threats to be feared. The al-qahtani left mecca for labeling human beings as illegal Val coulomb Aloha sell a cult salak La New Mexico law new cappella new for all those sorts of forgiveness. Forgive us. Pardon us receive our atonement. I'll have to check out a new left by Neca for internalizing and assenting to racist ideologies the a hatchet a new life Annika for allowing oppressive systems to continue unchecked Alcott, Chicano laughs Anika for our complicity and regularly profiling incarcerating and murdering people of color. Valhalla. Hat Shikata new La Femme Nikita for denying fair housing public schools and greater opportunity to our black and brown communities. I'll have to check out a new life Annika for dehumanizing excluding and murdering gay lesbian trans and queer people the hot chocolate on Olaf Annika for shaming and stigmatizing the infirm the mentally and physically disabled and the elderly fell coulomb Aloha. So la Cote du Lac la new makalah new Capilano for all these sorts of forgiveness forgive us. Pardon us receive our atonement. I'll have to check out a new life a mecca for buying into and promoting the ideology of American exceptionalism. The Alcott Chicano left on Yucca for oppressing other peoples and nations in the name of American power and influence. I'll capture Kitano left mecca for profiting off of weapons of death and destruction the al-qahtani left a mecca for contributing to the increased militarization of our nation and our world. I'll catch a katana. Laughs anecca for expanding our military budget while we cut essential Services here at home the hat check out a new life anecca for believing that militarism and violence will ensure our collective security Val coulomb Aloha sell a couch salak La New Mexico law new Capilano for all these sorts of forgiveness forgive as pardon us receive our atonement. I'll catch your Katana left mecca for the destruction of homes. Appropriation of land and warehousing of humanity valiquette Chicano left a mecca for a brutal and crushing military occupation Al Kasha Catania left mecca for blockading 1.8 million gazans inside an open-air prison Val hat Chicano left Annika for repeatedly unleashing devastating military Firepower on a population trapped in a tiny strip of land. I'll catch a tan. You left a mecca for what? In sacred Jewish spiritual tradition to political nationalism and militarism. They'll hatch got a new life a mecca for rationalizing away. Israel's oppression of the Palestinian people that are coulomb. Ella has so a coach the Lac la New Mexico law new copper lanu for all these sorts of forgiveness. Forgive us. Pardon us receive our atonement. Fuck. Yeah. Goddamn it. That's so good. So for the listeners that is obviously a modern rendering of the al-Qaeda prayer, but the the originally is as kind of similar version where this is the collective atoning that I mentioned earlier where it starts off with. Okay, check out the new left on Yucca and then you know, it's all various. You know, we've seen before you by doing this by doing that by doing that. And I think it's so crucial to update it right like to talk about what we are complicit in now because again, this isn't like washing our hands of it. Like I mentioned earlier with the phrasing in the reformed liturgy. The only atoning that's guaranteed is the stuff that doesn't have to do with people in the material world, right? The only atoning that happens on just saying like just saying the blessings and whatnot is You and your conception of the Divine all the other shit. You have to fucking work for like that. You need to work to atone for that. So everything said in that all Kate all of that is stuff that we're not saying, you know, like what was the name of the rabbi Rabbi Brant Rosen? Yes a rabbi. Rosen isn't saying Grant is atonement. And now we're going to wash our hands of it. It's grant us atonement as a way to like spur us to not even need to atone for it next year. Right, like this is stuff that we need to try to fix the next year. We don't need to read that list of awful awful awful fucking things and it set up that same way where it's every few lines. There's a break and I don't know if this is the melody that that you're used to but this is the one from the conservative Shoal that my family belong to because we went to both reform and conservative, but it just one of those ones that sticks in my brains. They are cool. I'm a little high silly old Salah numeric all new copyright law new and just like you have you know, I don't know 7,500 people singing that all together after like, you know beating their breasts as they read these things and like the hair just stands up all over your like I get goosebumps. Think about like you fall. Fall on Your Knees and your beat your breasts or like, please please forgive us and it's because it's shit, we're all guilty of right like the old-school version is all kind of like very basic human interaction stuff. It's nowhere near this specific but it should be because we are all complicit in this and this should be our call to action which I guess in in the spirit of trying to keep this short, which we're already at a half hour in so like, you know, we're just not ever every time Every fucking time but in the spirit of you know, keeping this at a bit of a quick clip that kind of leads us to what I wanted to read for for a reading because that call to action, you know, not just like, oh we've atoned we're done now, but we have atoned for what we're capable of atoning for just as you know an individual talking to whatever your conception of the Divine is now it's time to go do the work that is also built into the liturgy. So for those in aren't aware whenever you have a Shabbat service or any Jewish holiday, there is a reading from the Torah. So the the pentateuch the five books of Moses whatnot. And there's a paired reading along a similar theme called the haftarah that's from the prophets. And this one sticks in my head all year round Tim actually referenced it on our Tisha Bob episode just because we were chatting about it because it's It's a different Isaiah passage for Tisha b'av, Isaiah is full of these good nuggets. But this is from the the haftorah for Yom Kippur. So this is Isaiah 58 and this is the translation from the stone Edition art scroll to knock that. I was given for my bar mitzvah. Yeah. I still have it all these years later. So it's a bit dramatic in its language was part of why I like it Isaiah 58 cry out votes. Seriously, do not restrain yourself Raise Your Voice like a shofar Proclaim to my people their willful sins to the house of Jacob their transgressions. They pretend to seek me everyday and desire to know my ways like a nation that acts righteously and has not forsaken the justice of its God they inquire of me about the laws of justice as if they desire The Nearness of God asking why did we fast and you did not see why did we afflict our souls and you did not know he hold on your fast. A you seek out personal gain and you extort all your debtors because you fast for grievance and strife to strike with a wicked fist, you do not fast as befits this day to make your voice heard above can such be the fast that I choose a day when man merely afflicts himself when it can sorry can it be merely bowing one's head like a bull rush and spreading sackcloth and Ashes. Do you call this a fast and a day of favor to Hashem surely. This is the Fast I choose to break open the shackles of wickedness to undo the bonds of Injustice and to let the oppressed Go free and a null all perversion. Surely. You should break your bread for the hungry and bring the moaning poor to your home. When you see a naked person clothed him and do not hide yourself from your kin. Then your light will burst forth like the Dawn and your healing will speedily Sprout Your Righteous deed will proceed you and the glory of Hashem will gather you in What goddamn motherfucker? Holy shit. Every fucking time. I mean capable of reading this and not being like that white of Hashem like breaking the shackles of wickedness. That's what it's all fucking about. You know, like it's not just oh we should afflict ourselves and feel fuck that know like we gotta go out and and Make the world better, you know and this this is the tikkun Olam that that gets so watered down and played out by all these like liberal institutions. They're like, you know, oh, yeah you go like I don't know whatever some like bullshit that they'll hit call it the coulomb drive or something but like no we really need to like you can't just have a food can drive is awesome and lots of Shoals do that on Yom Kippur. I know mine did all growing up where you like you coming you donate food? Yeah, right that's classic you. And donate food the synagogue brings it to you know, a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen, which is that's great. But like if we're talking shackles of wickedness, we need to smash some systemic oppression right like that. That's what the shackles are. And so I think about this passage all the time. It just like it's stuck in my brain for years. It's really good one. It's just like it's permanently lodged somewhere in my brain. but that's that is what you read on Yom Kippur as you are fasting as you are proclaiming your participation in these shared human transgressions that we all do, you know, like the purpose of it is framed through this lens because that's the thing like the the readings for the holidays Shabbat readings are based on just like a cycle of the year, but the the festival in the holiday readings their chosen based on theme so Like the rabbit has decided that this passage in particular is the lens through which we should be viewing our atonement. So it always it also because it always sticks with me. My heart is racing right now. I've died damn good and then I just think about like the synagogue's with uniformed police officer, right exactly. Lie, like taccone Alum is repairing a broken world and you're still excluding people by having these fucking cops. There is it would be pissed wrestlers. Yes. Well, yeah Isaiah would be fucking fuming if he could see the state of Zionist Judaism today, you know, and I mean we've talked about this on other episodes, but I think it's super important on the holiday ones that like For 5780 what we hope to do and what people we've been talking to hope to do like we're trying to build a Judaism that is fully flourishing and anti-zionist because that does not exist right now. It's like in its infancy. There's people trying to do like fits and starts. There's non-zionist shoals, but like I want to I don't know about you. I want to see an anti Zionist shill. I want to see you. But yeah, like I want us to build and I feel like what we're doing is so important and and people have told us that like they found our show really interesting and all that but I want to start really building networks to start building this community of you know, marxist-leninist at the center would be great, of course, but like I'm willing to go beyond the confines of our, you know leftist tendency to build an anti-zionist. meanest Anti-Imperialist Jewish Community, you know, like if if you identify as this that or the other but you're on board with anti-imperialism, you know, like maybe you don't have the jargon to understand like it is the primary contradiction whatever but like you know that your job as a diaspora Jew right now as far as like tikkun Olam as far as making the world better is to combat this horseshit that they throw at us from all the beam has of all the normal Shoals out there from from Right in front of the fucking Israeli flag they have up there as it were supposed to goddamn worship it like if you know that that's wrong. You're part of the minion, you know, like you're part of our our congregation that like we don't have a rabbi, you know, I want to become a rabbi someday. It's a pain in the ass because like there's no as far as I know and seriously, if you're listening and you can correct me on this, please for the love of God do but as far as I know, there's no path to ordination. That isn't Touched by Zionism. Yeah, you have to go to Israel for Years. Everybody has to do like at least a semester and it's like yeah, I would go and obviously like work with Palestinians while I was there, but it's it's like this weird, you know you I'd have to like go undercover basically as not who I am to go through rabbinical school, which has been one of the many roadblocks to me pursuing it, but but fuck it Rabbi or no Rabbi, you know, like I I take a lot of inspiration from the the cavora movement in the 60s, which was a sort of deliberately lay LED. No rabbis necessary. Just yeah, it was a bunch of like new left Jews and and hippie Jews who I got together and like what if we all just taught each other, you know, it was like Each one teach one kind of thing. And I think I think we're on the cusp of something like that happening that is explicitly anti-zionist, you know, like there's been enough Rumblings for the past few years. Years. I want to start I want to try to get more connections out there and start getting people really engaging who are you know, not just non-zionist but again like empty right? Yes. It's like the the like to paraphrase the Angela Davis quote, right? It's not enough to be non-zionist. You must be anti-zionist like and that's that's what I want for 5780, you know aside from all the personal shit. Like I want to get faster at playing drums and bass and you know, No, I want to I want to get my license to carry and I want to the own personal goals. Whatever know like what I want and dear listener. You are a part of this so help us out, right? I want to build that Network. I want to start building those connections, you know, because we don't we definitely don't have a critical mass of people on the ground in any one location maybe in New York, but aside from there nowhere else, but building building up these Online community is I don't think it's anything to sneeze at you know, like it's important. It's been super important to me over the past several years. Yeah. So so here's to another year of building that up. Yeah. I'm yeah I'm sweating right now. Getting so agitated. It's really lonely being an anti-zionist June when you don't especially during the high. Holy days really is it is? Yeah. I'm like, I'm I recently just joined jvp Boston and like jvp recently came forward with a statement proclaiming that they are anti-zionist that they oppose. They didn't actually use the phrase anti-zionist, but they said we Pose Zionism in all its forms and that statement is what made me join because I want to be involved in the design is organizing. This is the longest-running organization. That's been you know for Jews that's been a Palestinian solidarity group and they finally took a hard line what I found out at the jvp Boston meeting. Anyway was that that vote was super contentious and like to make that declaration and there's a out of the Old Guard who's really still not very comfortable with it. And so even there even in jvp, I felt somewhat isolated which was as exciting as it was to go to the meeting and to be involved and to like be encouraged to get more involved. It was kind of frustrating that like, wow even here. I feel like I'm on the outskirts. Yeah, which you know ties back into our episode with Shelby where I talked about how like You know liberal Shoals are I think honestly like not close enough for us to really work with and I think our schools for struggle in the kind of like, you know, when a mistake on reactionary trade unions kind of approach is organizations, like jvp that are closer but there yet like there is clearly a struggle going on within that org. I would love it. If if not now would also have a similar struggle that could like those organs can be moved more in line with our values. Yeah, I think so. But but that doesn't solve the loneliness of not having a congregation, you know not having like the unit around which Jewish life has been constructed for the past couple thousand fucking years, you know not having a Shoal fucking sucks. Yeah, does it really fucking sucks? Yeah, so, you know near and far we will be our own Minion, right? That's what we decided to. Call yourselves with a purpose like we are each other's minion. And and that's for everyone listening. You know, Jewish goyish. Don't fucking matter. If you're on board with what we're what we're talking about your part of the minion. Yeah, so that that brings us, you know, what laughter, you know, I've been talking a lot about what I want to Leah. What do you want in 5780? I know you recorded a clip it. Is there anything else you wanted to add before? I play your clip. I want a Jewish. Black metal band Yes. I talked a lot about how I wanted to do more music and I think that's it. Fuck. Yeah. I I'm starting to finally read a lot more about Kabbalah a Jewish demonology. And that shit is tight. So fucking call. Yes a Jewish black metal bands who use the words, you know, there's so Many fucking black metal bands that reference like the Khalifa boat and the Saphira and blabbity blabbity blah like the copters. Oh, yeah. It's because they're beyond the reference in Kabul. I with a fucking Q. It's like which also not for nothing. Thanks for ruining the the use of the queue as a way to transcribe a cuff which is how it should be. It should be a cue. That's how it is in Arabic when you transfer when you transliterate it, so like thanks Western. The cultists fucking stealing the most accurate way to represent the letter kaph in English you fuckers friends who are a cultist so I welcome but it's still very weird to see like my shit other stuff. Yeah. I mean, it's like it's like the fucking Evangelion shit which like this is cool. But like do you need to put It was everywhere. Like do you have to really come on now? Yeah, so that's basically what I want my Jewish black metal band fucking sick. Yes. I'm so excited. Alright, so as I hinted at earlier, we're gonna go to some some clips up first will have to Lea's clip and then we'll hear from Tim and then the only I think the only other clip that we got sent was from Thalia and my good good friend and the Cover Lane of you way everybody. But you you fucker you fucker you recorded the exact thing you knew we wouldn't want to play on. Are you ass I can hear your smirk. I can hear you smirking you're saying this, but but here it is. What should I drove my beautiful comrades? So here at pearls we decided we wanted to hear from you and from everyone about what you wanted from the new year of 5780 and we each recorded a little bit of our hopes and dreams for the new year. And I usually do this once a year. I write out a little thing that I post on Facebook. And Rosh Hashanah is New Year. We're supposed to eat apples and honey to remind us of the sweetness of a new life. We get a second chance every year we get a second chance in after Rosh Hashanah. We have the days of awe which is when the Book of Life is open and our names are written down of who will live and who will die. So I'm going to read what I wrote out and I hope that you all will have a beautiful new year because it's wonderful 5780 is upon us and so is a new beginning many great things have occurred in 57 79 and many things. I truly wish to leave behind with the New Year. I hope to focus on the two constants in my life music and education. These have been with me since I was Born researching and recording Pearls of the minion has been incredibly rewarding especially all the positive feedback that we have gotten from everybody has just kept me going playing with my band has made me realize that I can play metal. I play keyboards and I have enough free time for another project if anybody wants to do anything. I look forward to diving deeper into researching and recording the pearls of the minion and tolerant left and playing more music and 5780. I look forward to unlearning unhealthy behaviors and 50s 5780. I look forward to seeing a free Palestine in a free Ireland and 5780. I look forward to pursuing zedeck daily and 5780. I look forward to learning more about Kabbalah and 5780. I look forward to finally meeting. my money on the red pesach 5780 Finally, I look forward to ending capitalism and 5780. Shinato Valk other room, this is Tim. My only goal for 5780 is to be part of a socialist organization with regular and frequent Community programs. It's about it. Everyone had a great holiday. Hope everyone continues to enjoy their Year. All right, should I do father? She'll not to have everyone this is yaakov coming to you from the editing Booth. I didn't actually prepare one of these in advance but splicing in Thalia and Tim's clip to the episode. I wanted to hop on the mic and share something that I didn't really talk about when I talk to Thalia for the recording of this episode, you know, then I I focus more on the big picture goal for 5780 but getting personal for a second. I really want in 5780 to find a way to address my chronic knee pain so that I can get back into more physical Pursuits that used to be a big part of my life. I trained in different self-defense martial art styles over the years and I was always very important to me growing up and obviously tactically it's very sound and frankly. I miss it. So whether that's through surgeries He's or cortisone shots Physical Therapy. Whatever. I would like to get to a point by the end of 5780 that managing knee pain in the way that I have been is no longer a part of my daily life and I hope that all of you out there are able to take care of yourselves physically, which is what I'm focusing on in this case, but also of course emotionally and communally And I look forward to bringing you more Minyan and building up more of that communal support. So here's to a pain-free 5780. Sholem aleichem going to have a room one. Chair Allah Aziz wound right your hello my comrades wishing everyone a sweet and red Year my hopes for 5780 is that the United States elects its first Neo bundestag president Jill Stein. I mean Bernie Sanders Yeah butbut. Thank you Lane for the the well wishes in beautiful Yiddish a red New Year really does you know that that is what we want. We want a nice red New Year. Yeah sweetened red New Year. I like that. But you know, just just to put it out there. I believe the official minion stance on the 2020 elections is when in Style we support Bernie Sanders in as much as a rope supports a hanged man. I love use 80 Bernie, but like honestly, the only reason I'm I will speak for myself and say, you know, I yaakov. I am going to vote for him. But really only because I do think that America needs to pass through a a Social Democrat failing in order for the the contradictions to really be sharpened for more people to join the movement. Yeah. I think not not because I'm trying to Center the Bernie Bros more because I'm trying to make sure Bernie Bros don't become fascists because I think like yeah, I think like if for example another Democratic candidate won and things went South I could easily easily see people like Bernie Bros who are bitter about Bernie not getting it a second time turn right rather than left and so I want him to win so that they don't have Quite they don't have that specific option. I mean obviously social democracy is social fascism. So like there's still going to be people that turn to like the right right, but I think our chances of preventing that segment of the population going towards some form of fascism is greater with a Sanders presidency. So that's at least my take on that but that's some high hopes to think that he's even going to get the prime. I mean, that's some real shit. Like what the fuck does that mean that fucking Better it's going to be mush brain bite in with his we're gonna have fucking president brain worms up there just like mumbling about nothing and just creepily hugging people from behind and touching everyone's hair. Like we're gonna go one one fucking creepy old man or another creepy old man, and it's just going to suck. It's going to suck, but you know Lane. Thanks, I guess. All right, the other ones that was the only audio recording but we did get some responses on our are Tweeter. All right. So let's see what we got here. Eli brand says my goals are to get out to more demonstrations have more open conversations with my friends about the need to end capitalism and start learning more about my Jewish Heritage with a focus on learning Yiddish. Yeah, love the Hope you all have a happy and healthy New Year. Thank you Eli. That's that's great. And totally and I have been talking about actually like learning Yiddish. For real this year. I don't know. What do you think Thalia 5780? Is that going to be the year that we both actually do the thing we've been talking about. Yeah Sherman. I'm doing German on Duolingo every day. So that that'll help ya. It's a good that's a big bridge and actually speaking of that. By Fieri, which holy shit. That's a that's a fucking good name by Fieri on Twitter responding to that says honestly, I started you just classes the week after Yom Kippur. So hey Mazel, Tov by Fieri. Good luck with your classes. Love to see the Resurgence of Yiddish among know people whose people like my family who, you know got pressured into not speaking it anymore because assimilation is a fuck then we're both Americans and from Israel is yeah big time from the fucking Zionist bastards easy a be as always. All right, next up from Twitter Oda replies saying my goal is to put in a better effort to start going to sheol and fully convert to Judaism. Hey tell you no, no, no. No there you've been discouraged three times. Go also to get serious about learning Irish and try to Incorporate both into my and my family's lives. Yeah, that's what's up. I mean Irish to yeah, I like to learn languages. I wish I had more of a linguist t-brain. I'm definitely like a disappointment to my mother who was a foreign language teacher and could like teach Spanish French and German in one year like switching between classes. Like it ain't no thang. She's like, yeah. I picked up a little Chinese and Arabic and Hebrew She's fucking hey Mom. Yeah, meanwhile becomes easier. That's true. I guess like yeah, would you can do more that is that is what I hear. All right communist Mensch are good. Yeah good to cover on Twitter. I'm his men shiz a fucking comrade for sure says, I want to read yeah, truly truly both a comrade and a mensch. I want to read more cook more. Bake more and work with the community is I'm in to manifest a Jewish radicalism that makes our ancestors proud. Fuck. Yeah. Yes hundred percent here for that Communists manage. Love you. Next up. We have our you SSP comrade Colette much. Love to Colette. I'm behind on my research for the odd wanker and Mundi episodes on Ancient Judea, but I promise I'll get it done. So go ahead says wants I framed this as what do you want? What do you fear? What do you hope for so wants to live closer to my girlfriend to no peace to be who I want to be fears death separation from loved ones homelessness again hopes way too many to list which I am glad that you have so many hopes. That's great because I know in the lead-up to Rosh Hashanah. I was feeling pretty down this it usually happens. Happens where I'm like overwhelmed and like oh my God, what's going to happen in the New Year like that? Just like I could do a little of the like, you know, depression brain ruminating spiral. So having having those hopes to buoy you up is super super important going into the days of awe because it can be overwhelming. So I hope that all the hopes that are too many to list come to pass and that is I think From our listeners. All right. Any anything else that you want to mention before we wrap it up? We're nearing an hour ago. So we're doing you know not great on being short honestly, you know, whatever but is it is it so far time? It's shofar time. All right. I'm going to see what I'm probably going to be not great at this. So. All right, let's do this. Okay, Sookie. Kia Shiva Reem to ruin Takia get Delilah Hell yeah, Happy Mommy's New Year my fiance just busting through them from the shower with their towel on just like well hop on the mic babe. I've gotten really good at the shofar. He's not be able to blow it at all. I haven't played it in months. Chef are the spirit, you know just flowing through me there again for the gets it. Yeah, it happens. Love you. Oh, yeah, my dog is terrified right now. Oh does not she doesn't like it when I cough let alone. Yeah, whatever the hell just happened for her like what what is happening? All right, so So so yeah, that that's great that brings us to the end. I guess although the shofar blowing did remind me of something. I read on Rosh Hashanah that was so I read from this book called speaking Torah, which is spiritual Peak genes from around the mug Eads table. The McGee was one of the Hasidic rabbie's and it's lots of like, you know analysis of metaphors and symbolism and stuff and he talks about the the show far blowing and how you start from a place of constriction and like a tiny little opening and as it as if the sound moves through it blows louder and louder and louder and over this like broader space and in kabbala the the left side of the Tree of Life give awry and like judgment is it works by constricting the Divine flow from you know above to below and so you go and so through the days, right right and so through the days of awe you go through this process of constriction and then expanding back outwards again, right the last shofar blast at the end of Yom, Kippur you've been hopefully inscribed for blessing in The Book of Life, you've gone through this process of constricting yourself judging yourself atoning for the things that you need atoning for right self-creating and then with that Like having gone through that you then broaden yourself out and the expansive side of the kabbalistic tree of life is Hesed loving kindness. And so you move through this period of constriction like the mouth of the shofar and then you emanate outwards like the shofar blast itself moving with loving-kindness back out into the new year and fuck. Yeah, like hey, that was so much more powerful than going to services. as with my folks but be I think like that's a good note to end on like we are going to you know, Echo outwards taking alket from Rabbi Brant Rosen taking Isaiah and you know just shofar blasting that out into our new year so that we are, you know, just motivated and energized to go out and organize and be active in our communities and stand up in solidarity with all They're oppressed people so we can break those shackles of wickedness. Hell, yeah, and I think I think that just about does it our shortest episode to date an hour, maybe nailed it. So yeah, so yeah, that's that's it for us on this short question mark episode of Pearls of the minion as always. You can reach us on Twitter at proles minion at gmail at paroles minion at gmail.com. Check out. Of course our Supreme Soviet the proles of the round table and our other members of the Union of Soviet Socialist podcasts. We have the tolerant left. We have bands of Turtle Island. Very excited. We have some upcoming collabs with them don't want to give too much away because it's also like, you know in still in the planning stages, but very very excited about that. I'd Winker a Monday. I promise I will get the research done book proposal the book club. I always feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh this proletarian life tables of the game table. Yep, pros of the game table as well. You know, what might be coming out soon. So yeah the film review podcast so of Kino I forgot that was starting up soon. So yeah a lot a lot of cool stuff going on in the u.s. SP you can Check links to all of those out at Pros pod.com. Yeah, shinato vowed tickety-boo, you know, may you have a blessed new year and a sweet and red New Year like laying told us. Yeah, and that's about it solidarity forever. Love to all of you should not tow bar. tunnel of underneath Harvey no more candy
In this special and (sort of) shorter episode, Talia and Yaakov sit down and reflect on the meaning of the High Holy Days, with readings of Rabbi Brant Rosen from Tzedek Chicago & the Book of Isaiah, audio clips from the Minyan trio and a comrade from Talia & Yaakov's Jewish Solidarity Caucus days, and the goals and wishes for the new year from more comrades on Twitter. It's a looser, more freewheeling affair than the usual Proles of the Minyan material, but hopefully it's just what you need as you go into Shabbos Shuva, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when we really start honing our thoughts on T'shuvah, repentance. It's the Jewish New Year, so its Self-Crit Season. We look back over the past year and atone for our transgressions, and look forward to what we can bring to the year to come. It's a dialectic. Featuring: A surprise guest appearance from Yaakov's fiancee, and (for those inclined) a longer than usual outro music medley featuring the noise track Yaakov mentions in the episode. Intro Music: "Nitsokhn Lid (Victory Song)," performed by Yiddish Glory & remixed by Eli Bertrum Outro Music: "Avinu Malkeinu," by Barbra Streisand, "Kol Nidre," by Daniel Kurganov, & "We Have Transgressed," by Hedge Fund (Yaakov's old band...what a self-aggrandizing dork. 