obviously muktzeh

But also living with unhappy people day in and day out is extremely hard and wearing.

oh man i know a lot of people gloss over non-food brachot in daily life because life is busy and a lot goes on (including v observant ppl), but saying the brachot on thunder and lightning in the dark as an incredibly powerful storm rages outside is . . . something else.

I’ve been thinking a lot about compassion in Judaism, and being kind. In that light, I would like everyone to know that my current favorite Jewish supernatural headcanon is that, instead of driving vampires away with crosses or stakes through the heart, we say the Mourner’s Kaddish for them. I mean, that’s just so adorable. You see this threatening undead creature, and instead of yelling murder, you feel bad for them, and you mourn for them. Imagine being a vampire at the receiving end of that, having been chased away for years and years and told you’re a monster when you come across someone who sees you and your existence and accepts that you’re in a pretty bad place and offers help in the best way they can. I’m actually tearing up about this a little. If someone adds to this post I’ll love them forever.

…this is gorgeous.

Tbh I would definitely add disability to this list, both because traditional practice has often intentionally excluded people with disabilities and because I have yet to see enough effort being made in many Jewish spaces to make things actually accessible. It’s also a great litmus test for how much the space cares about accessibility in the broadest sense of the term.