“Shabbat Shalom, Twilight!”
A man with a small black cloth balanced on his head waves. Next to me, Twilight Sparkle fiddles with a pair of bobby pins, attempting to attach a rainbow cap to her head. She pauses to wave at the man and reply in kind, “Shabbat Shalom, Mr. Brown.”
“Please, Winter’s fine. ‘Mr. Brown’ just makes me feel old.” He chuckles at his own joke, while Twilight’s lips curl politely. As he speaks, it dawns on me that his deep, scratchy voice reflects years of vocal damage. Cigarettes, most likely. “I see you’ve brought a friend.”
Satisfied that the cap will stay on, Twilight gestures between the man and me with her newly free hand. “Sunset, this is Winter Brown, a congregant at Beth Chaim. Winter, this is Sunset Shimmer, my girlfriend.” I grow pink at the introduction. A little knot twists in my stomach. Twilight and I still share the daily butterflies of young love, but I’ve heard human religions don’t look kindly upon same-gender relationships, let alone interfaith ones. Simply entering the synagogue beside Twilight tempts fate. To hear her introduce us so casually to an elderly religious gentleman?
Let’s just say I’m grateful my motorcycle is parked outside for a quick getaway for two.
Winter Brown turns to me. “Shabbat Shalom, Sunset. Twilight’s told me a lot about you.” Judging by Twilight’s sudden blush, those conversations were not intended for my ears.
Ignoring my better judgement, I mirror his smile. “Good evening, Winter.”
Winter nudges Twilight. He whispers all too loudly, “Twilight, you never told me she was a goy.”
“Mr. Brown!” Twilight chides. I don’t need to speak Yiddish to spot gossip, the unflattering sort judging by Twilight’s reaction. I glance at the door, clench my jaw, and suck in a breath.
“Pah.” Winter swats his hand. Twilight’s glare doesn’t budge. Winter smiles at me. “Welcome to Beth Chaim. Any friend of Twilight’s is a friend of mine.”
Although Twilight relaxes, my eyebrows raise through the ceiling. “We’re not just friends. That train left the station months ago.”
“Sunset!” Twilight’s gaze pierces mine, and the expansions and contractions of her chest grow more pronounced to my immediate regret.
Oblivious, Winter laughs. “Oh, I know that.” He winks at me. “I already have a suit picked out for the wedding.” I open my mouth, but before I can object, he adds, “Don’t say you’re too young. You’re both well over Bat Mitzvah age. You girls just need to pick out rings and a date.”
Let’s blame the flames in my cheeks for my inability to think of a retort. Twilight surely has that excuse: she is now preoccupied running her fingers across the spines of books on a nearby cart. Twilight selects two books but keeps her back turned away from the conversation.
Winter’s teasing grin softens to a genuine smile. “All I’m saying, if you were looking for a nice Jewish girl, you made a great choice.”
I steal a glance at Twilight’s back, tack on a confident grin, and drop the blush. “I wasn’t looking, but I certainly found one. Isn’t that right, Twi?”
Twilight squeaks, turning towards the conversation and shoving an upside-down book at my chest. Or maybe a backwards book? She looks like she might burn up if Winter and I keep chatting. “How about we find our seats?” She flashes an all-too-wide grin at Winter. “Good to catch up with you! I… I need to show Sunset the siddur before the service starts. Okay! Thank you!” She throws her head towards the room’s interior.
I wave to Winter. “It was great meeting you.” He returns the gesture with an amused smile, but before I can comment, Twilight tugs the side of my shirt, taking me with her to some empty seats in front of a raised platform. Once we approach the farthest seats in the row, she sits down and exhales.
I sit beside her. “I’m sorry for embarrassing you.” I click my tongue, and she seems to forgive me, until I continue, “Okay, I’m not that sorry. Please understand how hard it is to resist. You’re so cute when you’re flustered.” True to my word, she turns adorable. “Wait, should I not be flirting with you in a synagogue? Is that bad?”
She giggles. “I mean, it’s not great. Probably a little sacrilegious, but nobody’s going to call you on it.”
I bite my lip. “Sacrilegious because we’re both girls?”
“No.” She kisses me on the cheek. “Because we’re in a place of worship.”
I throw up my hands in defeat. “Fair enough.”
She holds my hand. “I know you’re worried about being seen with me here, but I promise, nobody minds. And if they do, they’ll have Winter to deal with. You do not want to cross that man.”
“No?” I squeeze her hand.
“He served in the army.” Twilight shivers. “Super scary stuff.”
I glance over to the octogenarian in question, who is now greeting another congregant. “Uh-huh. Terrifying.”
Another giggle. “You’re teasing me.”
“Always.” I cup my hands over my head, forming a little halo.
She swats my hands away and kisses me on the lips.
I kiss back.
“I…” She extracts herself out of the situation. “I admit that more observant Jews might object to us. But sapphism isn’t outright condemned in the Torah, so I’m happy for our story to be a midrash snuck into a little loophole between two letters in Leviticus.”
“What’s a midrash?”
“Midrashim are rabbinic stories that fill in the gaps of the scripture, or raise questions about it. ‘Midrash’ is Hebrew for ‘study’. Indeed, the reading and writing of midrashim is a component of Jewish religious study.” She blinks and rephrases in a dull nasal, “It’s rabbis writing fanfiction.”
“Gotcha.” I form my hand into an okay sign.
After a moment of silence, Twilight sighs dramatically. “On further thought, I’m sorry, but I don’t think me dating you is kosher.”
I droop. “Why not?”
She leans over to nibble on my hair, and whispers in my ear, “It’s prohibited to eat bacon. It’s treif.”
I bonk her head with mine. “Very funny, Twilight.”
She grins.
“Okay, joking aside…” I glance at her prayer book. “Do you believe in God?”
She nods. “Yes, but not in the way you expect. Are you familiar with deism?”
I shake my head.
“So, imagine you understood every law of physics – even the laws governing Equestrian magic – and they turn out to be deterministic.”
“Sure.”
“That means at every instant, what happens is a pure function of what happened an instant prior. By extension, the world today is determined by the initial state of the universe during the Big Bang. That means there’s no room for miracles, no room for free will, probably no real consciousness.”
I frown. “That seems bleak, and a bit unlikely.”
“Maybe.” She shrugs. “Determinism is admittedly challenged by new findings in quantum mechanics. I’m not an expert, but it seems that some interpretations of quantum mechanics imply there really is randomness in the world.”
“Is that good or bad?”
She shrugs again. “Neither. It just is. At any rate, the key idea – that the universe is a self-driving system – still holds. The universe doesn’t need God to call the shots. After the Big Bang, the laws of physics have reigned supreme. The universe becomes a machine, a computer, integrating equations over time. The evolution of intelligent life is a happy accident.”
“I don’t know if I buy that.” I bring my hand to my chin. “What created the universe? Or the laws it obeys? What caused the Big Bang? Physics says that energy is conserved, so what put in all that energy?”
“Whatever did,” Twilight replies, “you may as well call God. It’s easy for me to believe in. It’s not a useful belief, though. There’s no sense dwelling on it.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
She pauses. “Acknowledging a Creator doesn’t affect my daily life. It doesn’t change how I live. Creating the universe doesn’t grant a being moral authority over its inhabitants, you know?”
“Uh, no, I don’t know.” I’m not sure what I expected her to answer, but it wasn’t that.
She chuckles. “Earth is the teensiest speck of a massive universe. The solar system is a rounding error compared to all that exists. From what I understand, Equestria is even smaller. Do you think the Creator of everything gives a damn about humans and ponies?” I wince. “Human ethics are questions for humans to work out. My ancestors did their best to provide answers when they wrote the Torah, the holy scripture.” She glances around and lowers her voice. “The first five books of what Christians call the ‘Old Testament’ of the Bible.”
I try to process her answer and find myself gesturing my hands around the synagogue. “Are these traditional Jewish beliefs?”
“Not at all, but that doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t make me less Jewish. Judaism cares more about doing the right thing than believing the right thing.” She adds with a giggle, “And even if I do the wrong thing, a Jew is a Jew. Speaking of, do you know how conversion to Judaism works?”
I shake my head. “If Judaism is about practice, not belief? I guess you have to observe the Jewish laws and then you’re a Jew.”
“If only!” She laughs. “Traditional Judaism is hard. There are over six hundred laws that Jews are supposed to follow. Non-Jews have just seven, and they’re pretty basic. If a person isn’t Jewish, it’s better that they stay that way. That’s why we don’t proselytize Judaism. It’s not like someone converting to Judaism helps us.”
“Huh. What if you want to convert anyway? You know, someone like me, full of hubris and never satisfied with anything less than perfection.”
She beams and leans in against me. “Then you have to ask a rabbi very nicely, and hope they say yes.”
“Will they?”
“According to tradition? Probably not.” She laughs. “But you can come back later and ask again.”
“So you have to ask twice?”
“Eh, they’ll say no the second time too.”
“This system is ridiculous.”
“Hey, it’s not all bad,” she says. “By the fourth time or so you ask, they’ll say yes. Then you have a mikveh, a ritual bath, and you’re a Jew.”
“Wow. Why do you bring all this up?”
“Well, there’s this joke.” She bites her lip then repeats it quietly. “Other religions make it easy to join. Judaism makes it hard to join… but impossible to leave.”
“Got it.” I laugh. “Your family is Jewish, though. You didn’t go through all that, right?”
“No, I can’t say I did.”
“So, I realize you don’t have much choice, but… Do you like being Jewish?”
She scrunches up her face adorably. “That’s a bit of a weird question. Do you like being Equestrian?”
“Hmm, do I like being a literal magical unicorn? Yeah, I think so. What’s your excuse?”
“Eh, tradition?” She waves around her hand. “Look, the Torah is an excellent work of literature, featuring great allegories, compelling characters, and a clear moral. What’s not to like?”
“Fair, fair.” My mind drifts as I process her unorthodox theology. “Okay, this is unrelated, but can I ask a dumb question?”
Twilight bites her creased lip. “It isn’t dumb if you ask it.”
I exhale an airy laugh. “Why are our books upside-down?”
She perks up at the opportunity to infodump. “Oh, the prayers are written in Hebrew, plus a bit of Aramaic. Semitic languages – Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic – are written from right-to-left. As such the book is read from right-to-left. That means the orientation of the binding is reversed from English-language books.” She opens her book to a random page and points at the page numbers, which indeed increase from right-to-left.
“You can read Hebrew, then?”
Twilight nods. “Your book has transliterations, so you don’t have to, but yeah. Growing up, Bubbe Sparkle took me to shul every Saturday. That stopped when Bubbe and Zayde moved to Miami. But for a while, every week, I used the time as an educational opportunity to study Hebrew linguistics.”
“Worth it?”
“Probably not.” She giggles. “In high school I did email an Israeli physics professor at Technion in his native language, so that must count for something.”
“Sure.” I mull over the implications of Twilight’s connection to her religion hinging on understanding a foreign language and wonder how deep the multilingualism goes. “What about your name?”
She tilts her head at me. “What about it?”
“Why don’t you have a Hebrew name?”
“Actually, I do.”
I raise an eyebrow. “‘Twilight Sparkle’ sounds pretty Equestrian to me.”
“But does Dimdum bat Or V’ketifa?”
I blink. “No?”
“Ah.” She sticks out her hand expectantly. “Sh’mee Dimdum. Pleased to meet you.”
I laugh. “Enchantée.”
She scoots closer to me in her seat, letting her arm touch mine, a fact I try to ignore even without nosy onlookers to worry about. “Hebrew names are useful for religious purposes. But you’re right, ‘Twilight Sparkle’ isn’t a traditional Jewish name. My parents lived in Canterlot their whole lives; the influence isn’t so strong. But if you look at someone like Winter, it’s a different story.”
It’s my turn to tilt my head. “‘Winter Brown’ is a Jewish name?”
Her face turns downcast. “He was born Braun, not Brown. His mother changed their last name when he was an infant, when they immigrated after the Shoah.”
“The…?”
She looks at her feet, and every trace of warmth disappears. “The Holocaust.”
I choke on my breath. “Oh.”
I will never understand the extent of human cruelty, let alone over something as trivial as religion.
Maybe I should keep that triviality in mind the next time I start stressing.
Whatever else Twilight might have said on the subject is cut off by chanting from the front of the sanctuary.
“Hinei mah-tov uma-na’im…”
Chanting along, Twilight opens her prayer book to a page in the back – rather, in the front, from the right. She places her open book on her lap, opens mine to the same page, and points to a spot on the page for me.
“Shevet achim gam-yachad.”
Her fingers hover over Hebrew letters that bear no resemblance to my native alphabet. To the left of the Hebrew I see gibberish, but at least it’s gibberish in letters I recognize.
Twilight – and the congregation – repeat the sentence.
“Hinei mah-tov uma-na’im, shevet achim gam-yachad.”
I think I catch onto the pattern, but the rhythm changes, slowing down to emphasize each vowel.
“Hi… nei… mah tov…”
…and I try my luck, mumbling out with the crowd,
“Shevet achim gam-yachad. Hi.. nei… mah tov, shevet achim gam-yachad”
I don’t sound like much, barely whispering in case I mess up. Although her gaze remains fixed on the leader at the podium at the front of the room, Twilight’s lips curl up, and she nuzzles up against me.
Underneath the Hebrew is a single line of translation.
How good it is, and how pleasant when we dwell together in unity.
I curl up against Twilight.
Good and pleasant indeed.
Behind the scenes:
In all seriousness, this is going to be a fascinating look at questions few ponyfics raise. Well, few ponyfics that aren’t unbearably preachy. This one doesn’t fall into that category. You’re all in for a treat.
This is interesting! You have my curiosity piqued!
Ok, curious. Nice mix of comedy and information. Will this be an anthology with each of the mane six, or continue from this onwards?
One quick question I have, regarding the description: when in the story will we see what Equestrian religion actually is? If I recall correctly, we weren't really shown any in the show, unless Equestrian religion is, like Confucianism used to be, very closely intertwined with the state.
Other than that, looking forward to seeing where this goes, especially with the rest of the Humane 6.
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For what it's worth, one of my fics has a brief scene that shows ponies just believing in whoever/whatever seems helpful. Rarity the romantic is fond of Aphrodite (of course), but she also throws some worship towards Bast in the hope of blessings for her cat, Opal.
I'm just sad that no one ever caught what I was doing with the pony goddess Rulena the Maker: "Rulena" is an anagram of "Lauren".
So all these downvotes are over... what, portraying Judaism at all?
Really nice start, and it's interesting seeing Twilight's perspective of religion. I wonder what the Drama tag is about...
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Which story isn't unbearably preachy? Besides this one so far? Cause I can't think of any, and I've read a few in the hope that the author doesn't preach.
Yup. That's precisely Twilight's sense of humor.
Boo, Twilight. Boooooooooooo.
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- MLP: FiM
- Dark
- Comedy
- Sad
Celestia goes on vacation, gets drunk, and makes a new friend.It’s less “ponies discover religion” and more “ponies stumble on religion in the middle of a vacation,” but it’s still an entertaining read.
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It's framed as an anthology with the mane cast, but there is a larger story at play here.
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There are some snippets throughout, especially in tomorrow's chapter. That said, this story is (quite transparently) about human religious traditions, on the experiences of the humane 6. Although I considered Equestrian chapters, in the end this seemed to distract from the story's driving questions which are intimately human. A sequel to this story would likely take place in Equestria, and there are intriguing questions to explore there. But this is a different story.
If Equestrian religion is more your cup of tea, check out Ponky's excellent "If Horses Had Gods".
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Drama seemed more fitting than slice-of-life for the story as a whole. Some of the later chapters are... loaded. (I am fully expecting downvotes on Sunday and Monday. Pretty baffled about the downvotes today, this is as mild as the story gets. Maybe I need to add more content warnings.)
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If my records are correct, that line is credited to Gay for Gadot, when discussing the concept for this fic a few years ago. Seemed too good not to keep it in ^^
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Please try to ignore those, there is nothing you've put here that could justify them or warnings missing. We'll see what Sunday and Monday bring but for now, this is good.
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Don't worry about the downvotes, I'd ascribe them more to the fact that the story features religion as a driving factor than any content of the story itself. I can understand the discomfort (as a practicing Roman Catholic, I await the chapter discussing that and/or Christianity with equal parts anticipation and fear), but I would also feel free to dismiss most of the dislikes that discomfort generates; they're discomfort with the subject matter, not the story itself.
This was an intriguing read, and I learned some stuff I genuinely didn't know before! I like that it feels really lived-in, too. And of course Twilight would seize any opportunity to do a knowledge dump on Sunset, hah...
I've had ideas for EqG stories where Sunset and/or Twilight are religious (in the "believer but not dogmatic" way), with explanations for how they square their faith with their respective backgrounds and experiences. This is tempting me to revisit and explore those further.
i'm with bacon horse on this one.
Yeah, I can see human Twilight having a Jewish background, especially with odd confusion she has about it, which is something I also share. And I think the downvotes you are getting are completely unfair.
But I do have one bone of contention: the background you are creating for this fic isn't very consistent. You are using a real-world religion, but you also seem to be using a specific EG setting.
You're creating a world where an alternate version of Miami and the State of Israel exist side by side, which I find to be a bit weird. The issue with me is I am one of those people who wish the EG series did more world-building that distinguished it from Equestria and our own world.
I would prefer if you either take our world and use it as a setting or seek to develop the EG world and its own unique geography and culture, not try and mix both.
But aside from all that, this is a solid story and I hope you write more.
Mm, cool. If you want information first hand about Catholicism in Europe and the Neocatecumenal Way you can contact me if you want
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The existence of Israel is sad
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Hey, if you have any good pony puns for "Israel"...
I suppose the real fix is change "Mareami" to "Miami" (or "Florida" more generally but pony puns). Stories about Equestria Girls are stories about humans; the real life location of Israel is important to both the Jewish and Christian characters in this story. And then that fits with the interpretation of "horse puns are constrained to the city of Canterlot and its surrounding municipalities" which I think is consistent and canon-compliant but honestly I didn't watch much past Mirror Magic.
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Well, I do have my own headcanon for the EG version of Jews that I plan to put in one of my stories: Yehuvim. With combines the Hebrew word for Jews, Yehudim, with "hoof." You could call it "Yehudia?"
That makes sense.
I was thinking of coming up with your own EG version of these faiths. In one of my stories, the EG version of Christianity is Ameliorism.
But ultimately, it is your story. Do what thou wilt!
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Sunset: "Great. That's all we need. A Eweish princess."
Spike: looks at the camera "Funny. She doesn't look Eweish."
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The EG world seem to have a fascination with horses.
The name of the social media platform in EG is "MyStable."
The portal to Equestria is in a horse statue.
Canterlot High uses "Wondercolts" as their mascot.
My headcanon is that they treat horses as their national symbol the same way Americans obsess over the bald eagle.
I literally just read fanfics that had a religion called "Markism" which worship Harmony and their 'God' is freaking Celestia.
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I read one story where Celestia bans the worship of herself because the fanatics commit horrible crimes in her name.
As a Jew, I fully endorse this chapter.
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Yeah she wasn't happy, the one i read was set in EqG world. The Markisim religion had use magic artifact where the human counterpart temporary took over the bodies of their pony counterpart to learn about their 'mark'/destiny. Celestia takes exception to that and if she caught any human in her ponies she just banishes them back to their regular bodies.
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You have my curiosity
Can you send me the link to the story?
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Me too!
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https://www.fimfiction.net/story/512933/on-the-fine-art-of-giving-yourself-advice
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Thank you!
Ya know what would be cool, If you mentioned Pentecostal Holiness in this. I'm a Pentecostal and we get very little representation when it comes to discussions about Christianity, even in the south. I'm not saying you make a big story out of it, but a mention would be cool.
I can see Sci-Twi having this view. Your characterization of her in this exchange in particular is very good.
You know, I wonder what *Celestia*, would think of human religion?
let's say for the sake of argument that About half of humanity is religious. Those that aren't embrace the view that humans are a tiny slice of life on a spec of dust orbiting a spark. In a universe incomprehensibley big.
Those that are religious? You have the eastern religions which broadly speaking see life as a lesson to be learned over and over again in the search for some knowledge, understanding enlightenment or evolution, and can be stuck in a cycle of life death and rebirth until such a thing is reborn. Or you have the more western religions where humans have some inherent flaw or break within them that requires the intervention of some all knowing all loving super being we would never possibly live up to to intercede on our behalfs. Mileage can vary depending on that this action should take. Notions of either guilt or dishonour become our driving factors.
Then one element that is nearly universal across our cultures is the notion of our own insignificance or u worthiness and a desperate search for either meaning or grace. The only people who believe themselves to be the exception to the rule are our worst dictators and monsters. There vast majority of us seem almost resigned to our insignificance... One way or the other.
I don't know if it's true or not. I'm not even sure if it's a bad thing. As I said, the hubris to believe they can change the course of history is a trait shared by all of the worst of the Children of Men.
I wonder what an outsider might think of that? Someone from another universe that might actually have the right to critically judge humanity. The Equestrian universe is a kinder, gentler place. With a God who is present and, whilst maybe not all powerful is demonstrably all loving. Where the worst abuses of power by nobility is a snobbish attitude and the world's problems can actually be solved in 20 minutes with tea, an honest conversation, and some compassion. I wonder which of earth Religions would appeal to Celestia? If any? Luna, I think, would see the appeal of a benevolent merciful deity.
But, as I think all too many people know... Wanting to believe in something is never enough.
Oh, boy. The comment section on this story is gonna be a friggin' minefield.
Not that that's your fault, it's just something that's pretty much guaranteed to happen.
I never realized that Twilight is horse-jewish. The fact that her cutie mark is literally a six pointed star should have clued me in a long time ago.
Orthodox Jew here. A few key things to note.
1) While Sapphism isn't explicitly prohibited in the Torah She'Deoraisa "Written Law", it is heavily implied to be prohibited under the Torah She'Rabanan (Oral Law). See Hilkhot Giluei Arayot (Sexual Immorality).
2). The acknowledgment of God is in fact a core tenet of Judaism, much to Sci-Twi's dismay. It says as much in Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith, which all observant Jews recite in their morning prayers.
3) Assimilation is a big problem in the Jewish community. Mr. Braun's initial hesitation, both at Sci-Twi's dating of Sunset AND of her gentileness (being non-Jewish) is warranted from a traditional Jewish standpoint. Especially after the Holocaust, the Jewish community is reeling to ensure that the population reaches prewar parity, which can only be done through having Jewish children.
4) Nevertheless, Sci-Twi does make an excellent point about Judaism. Depending on your level of observance, Judaism can also be an ethnic identity and not just a religious practice. Most sociologists would agree, listing Jews as an ethnoreligious group, meaning the ethnic community and religion are often intertwined.
5) It is *slightly* sacrilegious of Sunset and Twi to enter a synagogue and publicly display their affection. This isn't because they are both women, but because modesty laws (tzniut) dictate proper decorum in a Jewish house of worship.
Critiques aside, making Twilight Jewish is hilarious for a few reasons, not including that Tara Strong is Jewish, and vocal about her identity on Twitter.
If you ever make another chapter on Sci-Twi and Judaism, I don't mind helping you out. Perhaps rabbi Clockwork can provide some insight?
Take care, and be kind!
I spit out my coffee reading this. I couldn't stop laughing. Going to a Yeshiva (Jewish seminary) for all of primary and secondary school, this analogy couldn't be closer to the truth.
Speaking of which, the Talmud has some pretty cool Jewish folklore in it. Religion aside, it's a fascinating read!
One more thing.
Women are supposed to cover their hair in synagogue, and in public, depending on your level of religiosity. However, the yarmulke, or skullcap, is usually in the domain of male practitioners. Women usually wear a shawl, or a wig.
Perhaps non-Orthodox congregations do different things, but I am providing insight from what I know.
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1. I think that's compatible with what's written here?
2. Don't tell Sci-Twi that ... For what it's worth, my intention was to contrast Judaism's emphasis on actions (following the mitzvot) rather than (especially Protestant) Christianity's emphasis on beliefs (sola fide). (I.e. the distinction between "orthopraxy" vs "orthodoxy"). But you are completely correct, faith is far from optional in Judaism. (Look no further than the sh'ma...)
3. Yeah..
4. Yep.
5. Also seems compatible with what Twilight says (..though not what she does )?
I think you're the second person to connect to Tara Strong's Jewishness... something I knew of, but never crossed my mind when writing this chapter. Maybe subliminally, though
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Glad I got something right
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Yeah... To the best of my knowledge, In non-Orthodox congregations in North America, women don't usually cover their heads. The minority that do wear kippot, not wigs or shawls. See also.
Thanks for reading. I'm happy, hearing those critiques, to know I didn't completely botch the chapter!
(I also feel the need to note: my goal is to portray these characters accurately, not necessarily portray textbook 'correct' religious perspectives. For Twilight, an assimilated nontraditional Jew in North America. You've read more of the Talmud than she has ... My views as author may or may not reflect any characters'.)
Some ideas to consider if you do cover Sci-Twi and Sunset again with Judaism:
1) Sexuality, of any persuasion, is considered a "forced action". The Talmud lists an example of this: “Rabbi Eliezer performed as if compelled by a demon”.
2) David and Jonathan. Most biblical scholars think that King David had a homoerotic relationship with Jonathan, King Saul's son.
3) 6 genders in the Talmud. The Talmud actually lists six different sexes. While technically this refers to hermaphrodism, some more modern Jews see this as ancient expression of gender identity.
4) Lev 18:22 means pederasty. We've covered this one already.
5) All humans are made b'tzelem Elokim (in the image of the Creator). This means that: if G-d is perfect, and created man (or pony) in His image, then creating queer humans (or ponies) is part of Intelligent Design, and not something that needs to be corrected.
As for marriage, that's a different issue.
I'm impressed you're (presumably) writing over 1,000 words every day. This fanfic must've taken a lot of research, and I'm grateful about all the effort that obviously went into this.
Twilight being Jewish surprised me at first, but I'm glad you didn't go the stereotypical route and make her an atheist. I find it interesting that Twilight and Fluttershy form a dichotomy of opposites (moreso than Fluttershy and Rainbow or Applejack, I think, because Twilight and Fluttershy both believe that God exists). Twilight was born into being a Jew while Fluttershy chose it, and actions are more important than faith in Judaism, at least for Twilight, while for Fluttershy, faith drives her actions. And Jews not converting people, while Christians do.
Twilight feels the most supportive and understanding of Sunset's search for meaning/answers, which makes sense (she is her girlfriend). She also feels like she cares the least about what religion/lack thereof Sunset finds, next to Rainbow and Rarity to an extent, which is interesting, since mostly everyone else has strong opinions about their (lack of) faith. But Twilight doesn't seem like she's that religious anyway.
The sciset is cute, but that goes without saying.
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Glad you like it! Thank you for the comment C:
I will admit that the fic was prewritten (although it has fleshed out over the past week in response to valid comments here) ... I don't have the stamina to do nontrivial daily writing yet.
Wow, this is neat! Not only is it a good start to a fic but I think I'm genuinely going to learn things IRL. I don't think that's ever happened before. I've even had Jewish acquaintances and we never got this in depth.
true, but since Twilight is a native of this religion, surely her being casual about this is a sign that a negative reaction is not expected in this context! silly Sunset!
always great to see Sunset's canonical motorcycle mentioned
aww!
ah, lesbian erasure working out in our favor for once!
this joke had to be made and i am so glad that it was
the same could be said for most religions historically! the idea that religion is confined to the latter is something unique to the modern ones
i mean, who wouldn't?
oh hey, that is how i feel about the Scriptures as well!
did not ever expect to see a reference to Technion in a My Little Pony fic, haha
so true. Equestria is a nice place, far away from these horrors
aww, it really is! :)
As a liberal Orthodox Jew I love this so much. First Twilight being a non- believing Jew is perfect for her. Secound I love that she is a Jew that practices the laws, and that her community is the same. It is very similar to my community, as strict as any right wing othrodox shul but accepting of everyone. I imagine that Twilight and her community are Liberal orthodox Jews, just like me and my community. However there is a but, the dating a non-Jew would defintaly cause some problems even within a liberal community, but there is probably an expectation that Sunset would probably convert plus it does no good to anyone for being anything other than welcoming and loving.
Cap 1 🤢💩😪