dumb

February is right around the corner, which means it’s soon time for Funguary 2023! the drawing event where we draw a bunch of mushroom based characters during the month of feb.

Here’s how it works:

Each week of the month will have a theme with seven different prompts, draw something mushroom related within that theme in order to join. The themes are Weird, Mystical, Malicious and Friendly. You don’t have to complete all the prompts, just one mushroom per theme/week is plenty!

If you’re hardcore you can definitely try and finish all the prompts though ;). The challenge intensity is adjustable to what suits you. This is a chill event where the goal is to just have fun and vibe, and honor the fungi kingdom with some really cool art🍄

I invite you all to come draw mushrooms with me! Use the hashtag #Funguary when posting your creations. I’ll be posting some of the creations here, and I’ll also be hanging out in the hashtag and comment sections! Really hope y’all join and draw fungi with me🥰🍄🌿 See you all on the first of February, LETS GOOOO!!

Our Flag Means Death + tumblr posts from the early 10's (part 2)

Chanukah 1932

"It was on a Friday afternoon right before Shabbat that this photo was taken. My grandmother realized that this was a historic photo, and she wrote on the back of the photo that ‘their flag wishes to see the death of Judah, but Judah will always survive, and our light will outlast their flag.’ My grandfather, the rabbi of the Kiel community, was making many speeches, both to Jews and Germans. To the Germans he warned that the road they were embarking on was not good for Jews or Germans, and to the Jews he warned that something terrible was brewing, and they would do well to leave Germany. My grandfather fled Germany in 1933, and moved to Israel. His community came to the train station to see him off, and before departed he urged his people to flee Germany while there’s still time.” - Yehudah Mansbuch

Written on the back of the photo: “Chanukah, 5692. ‘Judea dies’, thus says the banner. ‘Judea will live forever’, thus respond the lights”.

Today, both the Posner family’s menorah and the photograph are on permanent display in the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum. But each year, the menorah is returned to the family for one week when Rachel and Akiva’s descendants continue to light the Hanukkah candles using the same menorah that was brought to Israel from Kiel 90 years ago.

In case you haven't heard of this artist, Alex Woz runs a small business selling his art that celebrates judaism and the jewish people. His stuff is definitely worth checking out, even just to see the prints and shirts he makes.

I think everyone can benefit from seeing his stuff. Just like last time, I am not being paid to promote this and was not told to, I just love supporting small jewish businesses and bought a few of his things for chanukah. You can check out his stuff here:

Growing up, I loved Disney Princesses, but I never saw any representation of Jewish princesses. Which was a shame, because I grew up with stories of strong Jewish women, I just never got to see their stories in mainstream media. I have two younger sisters, and I wish they could grow up seeing just one Disney Princess from our culture and heritage. So, being an artist, I decided to take the five classic white princesses, and redesign them to be five strong Jewish royalty and nobility. I decided to represent a large swath of time periods and locations, just like Disney Princess stories cover different time periods and locations, and to celebrate the diversity of Jewish history. So, let's go!

Queen Esther

For Cinderella, I chose to depict Queen Esther, because they both share themes of concealing one's identity. Esther is the heroine of Megillat Esther, a book in the Tanakh. She was forced to become the wife of the Persian king Achashverosh, but because of it she was able to save the Jewish people from genocide at the hands of Haman. Queen Esther might be a "typical" choice, but I think that not many people truly appreciate her and her story, despite how well-known it is.

Qasmuna

For Belle, I chose the poet Qasmuna, because Belle is a studious woman, and Qasmuna was a scholar and a poet. Qasmuna was an Arabic-language Andalusian poet during the middle ages. Not much is known about her, but she is one of the very few recorded Jewish Arabic-language poets of her time. Some sources attribute her to having been the vizier Shmuel HaNagid (Samuel Ibn Nagrillah)'s daughter, making her the closest to royalty as was possible for a Dhimmi at the time. I depicted her wearing lavish clothing, but also wearing a yellow shawl and a gold calf necklace to signify her Dhimmitude.

Licoricia of Winchester

For Aurora, I chose to depict Licoricia of Winchester since Disney's Sleeping Beauty takes place in England. Licoricia was a 13th century English businesswoman and community leader. She funded and lent money to prominent gentile figures at the time, including King Henry III. She is considered one of the most influencial Jewish women in her time. She was murdured, possibly in a robbery, but her murderer had never been found or held accountable. I based her outfit off of the recently unvailed statue of her in Winchester, England.

Queen of Sheba

For Ariel, I chose to depict the Queen of Sheba, since they both traveled long ways to a different place. The Queen of Sheba is mentioned in the Tanakh and Apocrypha, as well as folktales. She traveled to the Kingdom of Israel to meet King Shlomo and test his wisdom. Many have attributed her to being the woman voice in Shlomo's Song of Songs. She was a powerful and wealthy leader, and almost managed to best Shlomo in knowledge. According to tradition, she converted to Judaism and travled back to Ethiopia and led her people towards Judaism.

Queen Shelmazion

For Snow White, I chose to depict Queen Shelamzion. Queen Shelamzion was one of the last independent Jewish rulers of Judea before the total Roman takeover. Roman sources absolutely smeared her name, likely because Shelamzion was a powerful Jewish woman who opposed the Roman occupation. However, Shelamzion was a good rular, who attempted to make peace among her people, and is credited with saving seventy sages from Roman slaughter. It is said that because of her righteousness, during her rule, it rained only on Shabbat so that farmers would not miss out on needed worktime due to the rain, since they weren't working on Shabbat anyway, and that the harvest in Judea were always bountiful.

I hope you learned something and appreciate my depictions of Jewish Disney Princesses :)

I have a ko-fi if you'd like to tip, but there's absolutely no obligation.

Michael Twitty, the James Beard award-winning author of the acclaimed “The Cooking Gene”,explores the cultural crossroads of ✡️Jewish and African diaspora cuisine and issues of memory, identity, and food🥘.

To Twitty, the creation of African-Jewish cooking is a conversation of migrations and a dialogue of diasporas offering a rich background for inventive recipes and the people who create them.

The question that most intrigues him is not just who makes the food, but how the food makes the people. Jews of Color are not outliers, Twitty contends, but significant and meaningful cultural creators in both Black and Jewish civilizations.