D E T E R M I N E D

1.  Please don’t write them as “Jewish in name only.”  For one thing, that essentially takes away representation, which is hurtful, and for another, trying to prevent assimilation is a really big thing in the Jewish community.  The characters’ parents died when they were kids?  Write them as having been raised by other Jews (eg family members).  Honestly, doing otherwise is a cop out.  For centuries, people who hated us have wanted us to leave our Jewishness behind and fully assimilate.  You are inadvertently tying into that when you do write the characters as “Jewish in name only.”

2.  Consider writing them as at least somewhat religious.  Of course, there are certainly secular Jews in real life, but there are hardly any religious Jews in media and it gets tiring.  There would absolutely be practicing Jewish wizards regardless of whether Harry is religious; if we can keep our traditions despite progroms, the Holocaust, forced assimilation, and the American melting pot, being wizards won’t faze us.  There are religious Jews who participate in many cultures and subcultures around the world.  That there are no explicitly religious characters in Harry Potter is more of a function of Harry’s inability to notice these things (and JKR’s struggle with portrayals of minority groups) than an indication that there are no religious wizards.

3.  Even if they’re not religious, please write them as being at least culturally Jewish.  What I mean is, have them participate in Jewish culture. They celebrate Chanukah, for instance (if Harry celebrates Christmas, the Goldsteins can celebrate Chanukah, even if they’re secular).  They know some Yiddish words.  You don’t necessarily have to write that in, but it should be the background in your head.

4.  Don’t have them celebrating Christmas, unless they’re doing it solely for the benefit of Christian or culturally-Christian friends.  Cultural Christians tend to see Christmas as secular and universal, but for us, it’s not.  I don’t know any Jews who celebrate Christmas who aren’t part of interfaith families.  This may not seem like a big deal, but it is.  Christmas is a major signifier of complete assimilation.  When you write Jewish characters celebrating Christmas for themselves, you’re making a much stronger statement than you intend.

5.  Consider including positive details.  This is not strictly necessary (for fanfic writers, that is; JKR and Stuart Craig should have done it) but it is nice.  Positive details are little things that won’t disrupt the flow of the story, but will be recognized by your Jewish readers and will make them happy.  Examples can include a reference to candlesticks on a mantelpiece when describing a room, or mentioning that Passover is the reason a character is visiting his sister-in-law but not going into detail about the Seder meal.  Here’s an excerpt from a fic I wrote:

It is three years later (but somehow, it feels so much shorter), when Newt finds himself sitting in the afternoon sunlight, Tina by his side (her hands folded in her lap and somehow still breathtaking at the age of 109), looking up at the couple standing in the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves twined into the posts of their wedding canopy. His grandson, grown into a handsome and capable young man, and Luna, as ethereal as she was at age twelve but now carrying herself with the maturity of someone who has seen all the horrors the world has to offer and has decided still to view the world with wonder, stand face to face, gently clasping one another’s hands and exuding quiet strength.

They are clearly following the Jewish custom of having a wedding canopy (chuppah), but I do not explicitly mention that it is a Jewish custom, and while it is clearly mentioned, it is not the focus.  The advantage to using positive details is twofold; it ensures representation without distracting from the focus of the story, but it also portrays Jewish customs as normal for Jews.  When I’m performing a Jewish ritual, it’s just a part of my life – I don’t stop and think about the fact that it’s Jewish, or think it’s at all out of the ordinary.

6.  Omit negative details.  These are things that would be inappropriate for a culturally or somewhat-religious Jewish character.  I can’t speak for anyone else, but they interrupt the flow of the story for me.  These are things like having a character eat something blatantly unkosher (pork, shellfish, dairy-and-meat-together).  It’s possible that they could be doing this if the character is very secular, but I already addressed that in Point 2 and, if this is the 1920s, plenty of secular Jews actually kept some level of kosher.  It’s entirely possible that secular Jewish characters in the 1920s could even have a fully-kosher kitchen.  That might seem very strange to you if you are culturally Christian, but Christianity and Judaism are very, very different.  The idea you have in your head of “religion” isn’t entirely applicable to Judaism.  Keeping kosher has cultural as well as religious significance.

7.  Mention major Jewish holidays if your fic takes place on or near them.  You don’t need to go into detail, but it would be odd to have, say, a fic during April with not even a single passing mention of Passover.  Likewise October and the fall holidays. This can be easily avoided if you simply set the fic at a different time.  If you’re not sure when the holidays are, Hebcal is a great resource.  Google “hebcal [year]” or “[holiday] [year].”

8.  Consider going into more detail.  This is not necessary by any means, but it a lovely thing to do and will certainly get you a reblog from @jewish-harrypotter if you let me know about it (fics with a lot of positive details will, too).  This is harder because it requires more research, but I’m always available as a resource.  I can’t tell you exactly what Jewish life looked like in the early 20th century, but if you’re okay with the fic not adhering to precise historical accuracy I can tell you what Jewish life looks like now (and the most basic aspects of the rituals haven’t really changed much).  I also very much recommend My Jewish Learning  as a resource.  Also, if any Jews reading this are also available as resources, please comment on this post.

9.  Listen to Jews.  If a Jewish reader points out that something’s off, trust them to know what they’re talking about.  If they’re telling you that Christmas is not a universal holiday, don’t tell them it is.  No one expects someone who isn’t Jewish to know about Jewish culture or religion, but there’s a difference between not knowing something and rejecting what someone is trying to tell you.

First of all: superhero comics are a Jewish medium. Superman and Captain America are the best examples of how being created by Jews bringing their traditions into the world matters. Supes is a Moses story, not a Jesus one, and his immigrant story reflects Ashkenazi culture at the time. Cap was a hero who looked like a gentile but would enthusiastically beat the hell out of Hitler, at a time when much of America was like “IDK the Nazis have some good points.” That movie and TV canon has given us extremely limited Judaism (we’ve got, like, the DCEU Flash and that’s it, right?) despite utilizing many characters who are canonically Jewish and many actors who are Jewish in real life, does not mean that we, the fic writers and fanartists and headcanon creators of all sorts, should be equally lazy.

Being secular but still expressing a Jewish viewpoint is a SUPER possible thing, too. And have fun with it! It doesn’t have to be melodrama. Let a character eat a cheeseburger but tell their friend that if they ever tell their Bubbe about this, they will start believing in Hell just so they can make sure to send their friend there. Let a character attempt to celebrate Christmas with their partner but everything they know comes from cultural osmosis so they keep asking when the Ghost of Christmas Past is going to show up.

venuscommissions‌:

I  NEED  TO  BUY  SOME  EXPENSIVE  ASS  ANTIBIOTICS  FOR  MY  DAD,   it’s  gonna cost  approx  $300  in us dollars ,  which is  a  lot  in  my  currency.   so,   here  is a  quick  EMERGENCY  SALE !   PLEASE  REBLOG .

A  LINK  TO  MY  KO-FI  IF  YOU  WISH TO  HELP  BUT DON’T  WISH  TO  BUY  ANYTHING .

i.m.  me  for  the  paypal  discounts ,  deviantart  discounts  are  already  available  as  commission  options  on  my  deviantart page &  can  be  directly  requested.

PAYPAL  DISCOUNTS  :

ANY 4 PSDs ,  2 ICON BORDERS  & 1  GRAPHIC TEMPLATE OF YOUR CHOICE    —–    13 USD

ANY 7 PSDs ,  2 ICON BORDERS  & 1  GRAPHIC TEMPLATE OF YOUR CHOICE    —–    18 USD

ANY 10 PSDs ,  3 ICON BORDERS  & 1  GRAPHIC TEMPLATE OF YOUR CHOICE    —–    23 USD

ANY 13 PSDS , 6 ICON BORDERS , 3  GRAPHIC TEMPLATE OF YOUR CHOICE   —–    28 USD

ANY 16 PSDS , 8 ICON BORDERS , 3  GRAPHIC TEMPLATE, 1 DASH ICON TEMPLATE PACK OF YOUR CHOICE   —–    33 USD

ANY 21 PSDS , 10 ICON BORDERS , 5 GRAPHIC TEMPLATES, 1 DASH ICON TEMPLATE PACK OF YOUR CHOICE    —–    43 USD

ANY 36 PSDS , 15 ICON BORDERS , 7  GRAPHIC TEMPLATES, 2 DASH ICON TEMPLATE PACK OF YOUR CHOICE    —–    53 USD

DEVIANTART  DISCOUNTS  :

ANY 4 PSDs ,  2 ICON BORDERS  & 1  GRAPHIC TEMPLATE OF YOUR CHOICE   —–    10 USD

ANY 7 PSDs ,  2 ICON BORDERS  & 1  GRAPHIC TEMPLATE OF YOUR CHOICE    —–    15 USD

ANY 10 PSDs ,  3 ICON BORDERS  & 1  GRAPHIC TEMPLATE OF YOUR CHOICE    —–    20 USD

ANY 13 PSDS , 6 ICON BORDERS , 3  GRAPHIC TEMPLATE OF YOUR CHOICE    —–    25 USD

ANY 16 PSDS , 8 ICON BORDERS , 3  GRAPHIC TEMPLATE, 1 DASH ICON TEMPLATE PACK OF YOUR CHOICE   —–    30 USD

ANY 21 PSDS , 10 ICON BORDERS , 5 GRAPHIC TEMPLATES, 1 DASH ICON TEMPLATE PACK OF YOUR CHOICE   —–    40 USD

ANY 36 PSDS , 15 ICON BORDERS , 7  GRAPHIC TEMPLATES, 2 DASH ICON TEMPLATE PACK OF YOUR CHOICE    —–    50 USD

UPDATE ( 22 July ) :  my dad has completed the antibiotics course, but I still need to raise enough money to pay back my uncle from whom I had to borrow half the money from to buy the medicine. 

         So, i’m increasing the sale for another week. Please consider buying one of these discount bundles or buying me a ko-fi, it’d be much appreciated. Or maybe just reblog the post? Please

NEW  DISCOUNT  BUNDLES :

BLOG  STARTER  PACK  001    —–   2 image / gif promo graphic, 1 mobile header,  1 dash icon,  1 custom / premade psd  +  border  &  250 rp icons   —–    35 USD  via  DEVIANTART   /   45 USD  via  PAYPAL 

BLOG  STARTER  PACK  002    —–   1 theme background,  2 image / gif promo graphic, 1 mobile header,  1 dash icon,  1 custom / premade psd  +  border  &  300 rp icons  —–   50 USD  via  DEVIANTART   /   60 USD  via  PAYPAL

BLOG  STARTER  PACK  003   —–  1 fully custom theme  (  code + graphics ) ,  2 image / gif promo graphic, 1 mobile header,  1 dash icon,  1 custom / premade psd  +  border  &  400 rp icons  —–   80 USD  via  DEVIANTART   /   100 USD  via  PAYPAL

DISCLAIMER  —–   these will be done throughout the next two months ,  in the order i recieve them, but can only be bought during this week.  meaning you will have to be patient with me.

dekalonize‌:

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