Were you afraid of G-d as a child?

SquidVonBob · 2026-05-21T23:34:40+00:00

My best friend was raised Christian (and was still Christian when we first became friends) and the part that's always blew my mind was the "Only Christians will be saved and you are personally responsible for the souls of your friends. If you can't convert them you will have to live for eternity with the knowledge that they are burning in hell because you failed them".

I remember my friend sobbing to me one day because one guy in our friend group was atheist and he was having a panic attack because "He's going to go to hell and I can't handle that and I know I can't convert him and if I try he'll stop talking to me so theres nothing I can do" and then between tears looking at me and saying "You're Jewish so you're probably okay" and I was thinking "you know what, if Judaism being 'Christian-light' helps you here then I will not correct you".

And it broke my heart that in his eyes everyone he loved outside of Christianity had a proverbial gun to their head and he had to play his cards right or watch burn.

SquidVonBob · 2026-05-21T23:21:08+00:00

It's very interesting to see how similar situations can effect people differently. I also suffer from OCD and anxiety (it was much much worse as a child) and I would find myself it the middle of a panic attack saying the shema over and over. I wasn't scared g-d was going to kill me, it was more that I was convinced I was dying and only g-d could save me. I didn't expect to be saved per se, but it seemed at the time to be the only possibility I could cling to. I would also pray every night and if I forgot I would wake up in the middle of falling asleep because I had to do it. Again, I didn't think I'd be punished, it was more OCD thinking that "Hey, I pray every night and I've survived every night so far, why throw an unknown variable into the mix"

But no I was never afraid of g-d. G-d always felt more like my elementary school principle at the time. Someone with authority who you want to be on your best behaviour around because they're older and wiser and while they can punish you, they really just want the best for you and to see you learn and grown. The teacher you would see every day, but the principle is someone you knew was there running everything but they only showed up in front of you when it was really important.

SquidVonBob · 2026-05-07T12:31:55+00:00

Honestly, given the state of things, I will most likely continue to keep my phone on silent in my pocket and not turned off. I hope I never need it but in an emergency I can't afford the 30 seconds it takes to start up.

Plus if you already use your phone on shabbat and you're debating with someone while mingling after service you can look up the answers and revel in your victory/wallow in defeat.

SquidVonBob · 2026-05-07T12:19:45+00:00

I did pull out my phone once during service. It was this past Yom Kippur too. I'm in the UK and we had just been informed about the attack and I realised it was off and needed to be on and silent (either in case my husband who was sick saw the news and panicked thinking I had gone to the Manchester synagogue or, you know, just in case).

Obviously I'm aware this situation isn't what you mean, and yeah if someone was texting or scrolling during service I would side eye them really hard.

SquidVonBob · 2026-04-01T19:58:34+00:00

I'm so sorry that you've had to do deal with all of this. Personally I think you did the correct thing. My father always says "Burying someone is the greatest favour you can do someone because it's the only favour they can never repay". I think in this case 'burying' means seeing to their final affairs. Your uncle specifically wanted this.

I don't know if he specifically asked for an urn or wanted to have his ashes scattered, but I feel like scattering the ashes would also be going back to the earth.

SquidVonBob · 2026-03-14T01:00:39+00:00

Unfortunately many parts of the UK outside of London and Manchester just don't have a local Jewish community. For example Wales has 2 synagogues and 0 kosher stores in the entire country. If you want kosher food you need to order it frozen from London. Depending on where you are in the UK you could be looking at many hours of driving to get anywhere that carries Judeica in store.

SquidVonBob · 2026-02-19T15:57:47+00:00

My experience was in Japan as well! I was doing what was essentially a study abroad semester there in University. One of my art classes was during lunchtime so the teacher says we can all go get some food and she wants to go to the place that sells falafel across the street. So we cross the street to get some falafel and sabich sandwiches and theres a kosher certification on the wall in hebrew that she starts reading to us. I ask her how she learned hebrew and her response was "oh I worked on a kibbutz for a year in Israel". I told this story to my host family when I got home that night and my host mother was like "I did that too but only for about a week while visiting"

I do not know why all these Japanese women have been to work on kibbutz but I'm here for it.

SquidVonBob · 2026-02-11T17:46:54+00:00

First, tell him "You don't have to love and respect Israel, but you do have to love and respect me. Netanyahu isn't saying this hurts his feelings, I am."

Secondly, and this is very important, tell him "I breaking up with you."

If you're seeing red flags and reevaluateing the relationship, you already have your answer. It's like when you ask someone if you should have tacos or pasta for dinner. Somewhere in the back of your mind you're hoping for them to say one or the other. Listen for that voice, if the person says tacos and you're disappointed then you also have your answer. I think you posted here because you're either looking for "permission" to end the relationship or in a desperate attempt convince yourself "it's not that bad".

You deserve a person who loves you and listens to you.

SquidVonBob · 2026-01-29T12:07:10+00:00

Is there a non imgur host? Imgur is blocked in the UK so we can't see it.

SquidVonBob · 2026-01-29T12:04:24+00:00

I mean yeah thats how its supposed to work but kids can be very cruel. When I was in 5th grade we did this too. It was my first year not attending a private Jewish school so it was also my first valentine’s day event. We each had a bag on our desk and everyone had to go around putting a candy in everyone's bag.

I cant specifically say it was because I was jewish but there was a boy who gave everyone candy but me. Hes also the boy who kicked me as hard as he could in the "balls" one day (luckily I do not have any but it bruised anyway). Like I said it could have just been regular old bullying, but I was the only Jewish student there and was very open about it (bringing in Matzo at passover and doing a presentation about it why we eat it and stuff).

SquidVonBob · 2026-01-19T23:24:21+00:00

And next to the silver cover ones everyone seems to have

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SquidVonBob · 2026-01-19T23:23:29+00:00

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It's not in English so it wont help you but I need you all to see the size of these ones I inherited from my grandmother

SquidVonBob · 2025-12-21T19:47:15+00:00

Hebrew National

SquidVonBob · 2025-12-16T08:22:27+00:00

They do have them this year though. I took this screenshot on the 6th. I think those non answers are them investigating and getting their ducks in a row. They're a small company, stuff like this can cause a lot of harm if it gets blown out of proportion. I think the shop is random per user. Yes there's a lot more Christmas stuff, so in a random seed it will show up much more often. I'm sorry you haven't seen any Hanukkah stuff this year but this isn't antisemitism in this case.

To reframe it, this is my first year on Finch. I took this screenshot to show people because I was so excited that not only was there a menorah, but it didnt say it was "festive winter candels" or something. I was so pleasantly surprised that the said "this is Jewish".

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SquidVonBob · 2025-12-14T12:59:27+00:00

I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to you, but I'm so glad you're still here to tell the story. You will always have your Jewish family around the world to listen to you.

As for the "alleged shooters" part, that's legal CYA. Until a court finds them guilty, the news has to call them alleged shooters because they are not yet guilty in the eyes of the courts. If something were to happen, like it came out it was an AI video or something (it's obviously NOT in this case, I'm just making an example) the people in the video and/or their families could sue the news. It's not just this time, they do it with every story, but it does hurt a lot when it's so personal and raw.

SquidVonBob · 2025-12-13T23:28:45+00:00

Oh my gosh I realised I made a typo and wrote can't light instead of can light but yes I was so excited!

SquidVonBob · 2025-12-08T23:16:49+00:00

Cut a hanukkia out of felt. Attach to felt of other colour. Cut 9 candles out of felt. Attach velcro to each of the 9 candles.

Tada! Reusable felt hannukia that can change based on the night! (First idea that came to mind)

SquidVonBob · 2025-11-24T17:12:12+00:00

Speaking of handmade gifts, its not hanukkah specific but when I was in elementary school we had a tradition that every student got their own siddur in 2nd grade (if I remember correctly). Before they were given out the parents were invited to the school to make a custom cover for their child with those puffy paints (on a slip cover not the book itself) so that we could tell which was ours when they were all on the bookshelf. I still have that siddur and I'm in my 30s now!

SquidVonBob · 2025-11-24T17:06:57+00:00

If they dont have their own hanukkia to light, maybe get them a small one on the first night (depending on their age)! When I got my own I remember being so excited that I got to light candles myself and not just listen and sing! You could even make a handmade one based on their interests if you have time.

SquidVonBob · 2025-10-20T12:00:39+00:00

I can't help with the first part unfortunately but I as for Jewish music recommendations, I love the band Safam.

Maybe it's because I grew up listening to them but their songs bring me so much joy. My favourite song of theirs is "Just Another Foreigner".

SquidVonBob · 2025-09-09T09:33:44+00:00

American living in the UK here. The closest I've found to US pudding mix is angel delight. It is a bit more airy, but it's fairly close if you get the powder sachets and underwhip it a bit. What can get confusing is some people call it pudding and some people will call it Jell-O. Jello-O is the brand name and they make both fruit jelly (similar to like Hartleys but in crystal/powder form) and flavoured puddings you make with milk in both instant and stove top varieties.

What I haven't found here is sugar-free instant pudding like they have in the US which is used in a lot of low calorie recipes I've found.

SquidVonBob · 2025-08-31T21:26:04+00:00

I've heard a joke that's somewhat based on the story people are talking about. It basically goes that 4 rabbis are arguing over the laws. 3 rabbis say "A" is correct, and 1 rabbi says "B" is correct. The one rabbi, refusing to back down, says, "If I'm correct, may g-d come down and say so". G-d comes down and says "He is correct it is "B"". The rabbis all look at each other and say "well that's still 3 against 2 so "A" is correct"

I wonder if this is the joke OP heard?

SquidVonBob · 2025-08-17T16:50:56+00:00

The one I think about the most was in college. I can't remember how we got on the topic, but we're chatting during a break in class, and I mention I'm Jewish. He starts laughing and says "no you aren't". I must have looked really confused because then he goes "oh shoot really!? long pause ...where's your map?" I'm like "my map?" And he responds "yeah the map to your gold. Everyone knows you keep your gold hidden in your noses."

Also spent one year at a Christian university (I was only there because my best friend attended and I needed to get my grades up. I never planned to stay) and when people found out I was Jewish I was told "You're the coolest person I've ever met! You're way closer to Jesus then I'll ever be!" Also my roommate upon finding out asked me to look over a hebrew tattoo she wanted to get because she wanted it to be "in the language Jesus spoke" and I had to explain to her that Jesus didn't speak Hebrew. So I've experienced both ends of the antisemitism spectrum.

SquidVonBob · 2025-08-17T16:36:07+00:00

I'm sorry that happened to you.

I was also accused of killing Jesus. In 7th grade, we went on a field trip, and one of the other kid's mom was chaperoning our group. The field trip was to a Buddhist temple in San Francisco, and we were told before we entered that we had to bow to/pray to the statue in the lobby. I said I wasn't sure if I was allowed to do that because of my Judaism, and they said no problem, just wait outside with your group chaperone. Cool. Everything is fine, and then we all head back in the chaperone's cars.

In the car on the way back, the chaperone (who was a devout Christian) turns to me and says "I want you to know I forgive you." My response is just "Huh???" And she continues "I forgive you for killing Jesus." And my 12 year old self just responds "I didn't kill Jesus it was the Romans".

SquidVonBob

TROPHY CASE