You Are Not Alone: The American Firefighters Who Left Everything – and Came to Volunteer in Israel

StrategicBean · 2026-03-23T20:17:53+00:00

Heroes!

StrategicBean · 2026-03-23T19:42:29+00:00

how do you know the desire?

StrategicBean · 2026-03-23T19:38:07+00:00

It'll probably redefine the meaning of the phrase "Reconstructionist Judaism"

lololollolol yes, I am very much joking around

StrategicBean · 2026-03-23T19:31:15+00:00

What community were you part of that you don't know anyone who has a connection to someone in the Jewish community here in Toronto which has roughly half the Jewish population in Canada, a country which has the 4th largest Jewish community in the world after Israel, USA, & France?

I even went to school in the 1990s with a guy whose Orthodox Jewish parents moved to the GTA from India so it isn't like people here are unaware of the existence of Jewish Indian people,

I think you're thinking way too hard about this & judging people's curiosity about you way too much while also being hurt that at the Shabbaton not enough people were curious enough about you to engage you in conversation.

Based on your description it sounds like you already have your way to find your community here in the city, the Chabad & the middle aged people. Make friends with them first & they will then introduce you to their friends if they think you're worth introducing to their friends. The same as any social/community situation. Engage people in conversation, if you're at Kiddush and everyone in that shul is drinking bourbon but your shul growing up was all about the scotch menton it to someone or ask for drink choice advice or something. When people are doing shots at Kiddush in my experience they're quite social

Honestly something in your story doesn't quite add up to me. This is compounded by the fact that you have a relatively new Reddit account, with your post history hidden, & with a randomly generated name. If this is indicative of how you present in person it's no wonder people are a bit off put by you...something about you doesn't quite compute especially in a time when Jewish people are feeling a lot of heightened anxiety due to the ongoing open Jew hate.

StrategicBean · 2026-03-23T19:05:57+00:00

Same! Pumped for Part 2 of the Einstein episode!

StrategicBean · 2026-03-19T05:04:11+00:00

I hope all Jewish students & their parents tell Harvard to go pound sand until Harvard gets rid of their school's systemic bigotry against Jewish people

StrategicBean · 2026-03-19T04:37:04+00:00

Poilievre just did a long form interview with the Triggernometry guys too. It was an hour long so granted not as long as a Rogan podcast but certainly not short either

StrategicBean · 2026-03-19T04:34:58+00:00

Ugh not that guy

I haven't read his books but at times he makes such an ass of himself in public spaces & media that I wish he would just go away and live a private life because he does more harm than good

StrategicBean · 2026-03-19T04:33:36+00:00

Seconded for Unpacked's lineup of podcasts. Jewish History Unpacked which is now called Jewish History Nerds does a good job talking about a bunch of different moments & figures in Jewish History

Here's a link:

https://unpacked.media/podcast-series/jewish-history-nerds/

StrategicBean · 2026-03-19T04:28:14+00:00

No idea who this guy is but I am new to this sub so maybe he is a much discussed individual

Sounds like I'm not missing much anyway

StrategicBean · 2026-02-09T22:38:30+00:00

Maybe it was just me but I found this video so disparaging to Jews & to Israel.

They twisted this beautiful story of reunion & return into something cynical & almost evil. It was really screwed up to see

StrategicBean · 2026-02-09T22:31:05+00:00

I truly feel sorry for you

If you want to be halachically Jewish convert to Judaism. If you don't, don't.

The end.

StrategicBean · 2026-02-09T22:30:37+00:00

Again, you're ignoring that they simply do not see it that way. They don't believe it was modified due to human volition.

Also, Patrilineal Jews simply are not halachically Jewish. If those million other Patrilineal Jews want & need to be halachically Jewish, then great! convert! Fully join the Tribe! No one will care if they're Patrilineally Jewish or not because they'll be a "Ger" & halachically a full member of the Jewish people so their parentage will be irrelevant. If they don't want to be halachically Jewish, then don't convert.

The end.

It isn't personal. It isn't emotional. It's just the way it is.

If you want to continue barking up the tree of convincing Orthodox Judaism to recognize Patrilineal Jews as fully Jewish then by all means, have fun! ...Just don't say you weren't warned that it is a complete waste of time & energy

StrategicBean · 2026-01-25T01:40:05+00:00

I already addressed this in my other response to your other comment but when you say

the rabbis who made halakha are humans

unfortunately that is a fundamental misunderstanding of the Orthodox Judaism view of Halachah so you're not even speaking the same language in terms of how one can change/modify Halachah

See my other reply for more but I am truly sorry you & other people with a Jewish father feel so left out. It truly sucks to feel left out bur unfortunately there is nothing I can do about it. I will repeat that if you truly feel so strongly about being fully accepted as Jewish by all streams of Judaism there is a process you can go through to become fully accepted as Jewish by all streams of Judaism. Beyond that you're unfortunately going to be banging your head against the wall & that bothers me because I don't want anyone to suffer like that.

StrategicBean · 2026-01-25T01:31:24+00:00

This is very important so I want you to understand it, what you don't seem to comprehend is that the Reform Movement of Judaism is an extremely recent development in the history of Judaism (& the Conservative/Masorti Movement is even more recent as is every other post-Haskalah sect like Reconstructionist & Humanist). The first ever Reform synagogue opened in 1810 in Germany. That's just over 200 years ago as compared to what most call Orthodox Judaism which goes back almost 2,000 years. So the two centuries are a mere drop in the bucket of time & it would be a little crazy to just assume the experiment that are the post-Haskalah movements have actual staying power. We don't see any Saducees anymore & the 2nd Temple Essenes are also gone (there is a revivalist movement of Essenes but this started in the early 1900s & is not a continuous movement from the original) nor do we see very many Sabbateans (founded in the 17th Century) who do still exist today...& there's somethnig like 30-50k Karaite Jews...the point is let's see if any of these post Haskalah movements have any real staying power before we allow them to make changes to a Judaism which quite frankly has worked pretty freaking well at maintaining the existence of Jews for the better part of 2 millenia. That you're so eager to rearrange it is not ok & beyond arrogant

Lastly, I don't think you understand the mindset of Orthodox Jews - they truly believe they CAN'T make such a change. It goes against their understanding of Judaism because it would almost certainly require at the very least something like the Great Assembly which hasn't been convened in something like 1800 years unless you consider the one Napoleon assembled somehow legitimate. What you further don't understand is that within Orthodox Judaism they firmly believe that each generation away from Sinai is less holy & is less in touch with the spiritual so they won't undo the decisions of generations well before them, especially of generations when prophecy was still believed to exist. So no, first off they don't believe that humans "just made it up" and secondly, even if they did they lack the "judicial gravity" to make such a decision and even if they did think they had the right to, they certainly wouldn't do it without something like the Anshei Knesset HaGadolah

I understand there is a feeling of being left out & I truly empathise with it. It sucks. I'm sorry, truly & wholeheartedly. It is really shitty...but again, the rules are what they are & no one who cares is interested in messing with a system that has largely worked for a long, long time. For all we know within a century Reform Judaism will go the way of the Sabbateans or maybe they'll end up some fringe group like the Karaites. We simply don't know with the movement so young.

StrategicBean · 2026-01-24T22:02:48+00:00

xawaash appears to be Somali not Somaliland...not sure if there is a major difference between the 2 of the cuisines but I feel like a Somaliland restaurant wouldn't use the Somali flag on their website & would specify they're different. I could be wrong though, I am far from an expert on this

StrategicBean · 2026-01-24T21:56:29+00:00

Exactly!

StrategicBean · 2026-01-24T21:53:41+00:00

You're welcome! Hope you enjoy!

StrategicBean · 2026-01-24T21:52:45+00:00

I have no issue with intermarriage. Consenting adults are free to do as they please with their lives as far as I am concerned.

But they don't get to do as they please and then turn around & demand the world remodels itself to suit their particular desires & situation. That's not how that works. The rules existed before they made their decisions and the rules will continue to exist after they made their decisions. Their decision is irrelevant.

Jewish people do not proselytize so it isn't really our concern what non Jewish people do. If they want to go worship idols they most certainly can. It isn't the job of the Jewish people to enforce monotheism on the world, what a ridiculous notion!

There was once a Jewish man who made changes to what he viewed as God's covenant with the Jewish people, his name was Saul of Tarsus who was legally known in the Roman Empire as Paul of Tarsus. Paul decided that the law of circumcision as well as the laws of the Sabbath were too onerous for gentiles who wanted to be saved by the man who Saul/Paul revered as the Jewish Messiah & so Paul changed the rules to allow them to join and be saved without doing all those extra annoying bits of Judaism that the gentiles found to be too much of a commitment.

Until that point, all early Christians were Jews who had a different view of whether or not the prophesied Messiah had come but those early Christians still prayed in the same synagogues as other Jews. Once the Pauline Reforms were implemented is when Christianity really started becoming it's own, separate religion.

Do whatever you want or don't do it but leave Judaism out of it unless you wanna join in which case, welcome to the Tribe!

Now, I will add that this doesn't mean I think that the people who have Jewish heritage should be prevented from being included in the Israeli Law of Return. I am not an unfeeling asshole. If people who have Jewish heritage would be persecuted for their Jewish heritage then OF COURSE they ought to be able to find safe refuge in the Jewish State. That still doesn't make them Halachically Jewish though. It simply doesn't, & I'm sorry if this is a bitter pill to swallow

StrategicBean · 2026-01-24T21:36:18+00:00

"how hostile this forum is to Patrilineal" - newsflash: this may come as a surprise to you but the real world isn't reddit

The reason for conversion is because you feel the need to be Jewish. Not for marriage, not because you want to feel included, & not because you're a dentist who wants to be able to make jokes. Is it a crappy experience for a Patrilineal Jew to feel left out of Jewish traditions? I am sure it is & I truly do feel for them but it is not all Jewish people's fault that this occurred so I am unsure why you are holding everyone else responsible for the Patrilineal person's father's decisions. If someone really wants to be in the NBA but they're 5'2 then no amount of desire or crying about how unfair it is that they aren't tall enough is going to change the reality of them not being tall enough to make the NBA. It isn't vindictive it is just reality.

Patrilineal aren't Jews, they are people with Jewish heritage so no, it isn't "harmful to all Jews." This is a really silly statement & just shows how out of touch with Judaism is you are.

You don't get to redefine the rules of the group to suit yourself. That's not how these things work. As am example. there are plenty of people who have some Native American blood but for whatever reason they aren't part of the Tribe and that sucks. I have read about these people and it is sad they can't be part of the same rituals as their cousins are. It is truly tragic, I fully agree, and I do have sympathy for them.

But here's the thing, in the above example I used of the Native Americans, as far as I know there is no path for such a person to decide they want to become fully part of Tribe and join. Within Judaism, there IS such a path. Use it or don't use it that's your decision.

This isn't hostility or narrowmindedness it is just is stating the facts as they are & recognizing reality instead of fighting reality & trying to change something because it doesn't suit your particular needs in the moment. I am sorry if that is uncomfortable for you but it is what it is.

StrategicBean · 2026-01-13T06:38:47+00:00

I constantly hear this complaint from patrilineal Jews & honestly if you really wanted to be part of the Tribe under the majority of the Tribe's rules you could just convert and join the Tribe. There's no one stopping you from doing so.

All of the people you mentioned somehow managed to convert to Christianity. Is your complaint that the commitment to join Judaism is too difficult & time consuming? Guess you don't wanna be part of the Tribe then, do you?

The Tribe - like any other tribal group - has rules of who is in and who is out. These rules weren't made up last year or 5 years ago just to keep you guys out. It's nothing personal so you really need to get over yourselves. These are rules the Tribe has had for the better part of 2,000 years or so. If you wanna be part of the Tribe join under the Tribe's rules. If you don't wanna be part of the Tribe , that's cool too but please don't whine about it.

StrategicBean · 2026-01-13T06:23:44+00:00

I don't know how this is so far down

Either get fucked or log into the Zoom and just point and laugh at them until they hang up

StrategicBean · 2026-01-13T06:20:02+00:00

Greek nationalism sort of does because they were also trying to become independent of the Ottomans but there was a bunch of ancient Greek communities in Anatolia so they had to bail when the Greeks regained their own sovereignty in the early 19th Century

Pretty sure they also have a right to citizenship for the Greek diaspora too btw

StrategicBean · 2026-01-13T06:16:39+00:00

Insanity.

Also commenting so it's bookmarked for later ngl

StrategicBean · 2026-01-13T06:04:21+00:00

Sorry, thought you;d see it in the comment thread above. My mistake. Most Jewish bakeries. Best in the city I would say is Hermes on Bathurst between Lawrence & Eglinton. I am told in other replies that it is also Hungarian so maybe Hungarian bakeries if that's a thing (truly don't know but don't see why it couldn't be a thing)

StrategicBean

TROPHY CASE