Hey Summer! Do you have any tips on writing Jewish characters?
I do! Keep in mind that I'm a conservative-jewish American teenage girl so my experiences are certainly not universal or all-encompassing for every Jew (since every experience is different) but this is basic stuff that should help.
Naming your character:
Traditionally, babies are named after dead relatives. If you want to look for names, you can add that in as a detail. Keep in mind that being named after a relative doesn't necessarily mean you take the exact name; I was named after my great grandmother, and our names just have the same first letters.
Many Jewish names are Hebrew or Yiddish. They might come from the Torah (Adam or Moshe or Sara or Leah). You can Google Israeli or Hebrew names and their meanings, but common ones are Miriam, Aviva, Aliza, Noah (Noa for a girl), Nathan (or Natan), Ezra.
Please do not give your Jewish character the last name "Goldstein". While the name certainly exists and is common enough, it's become enough of a stereotype.
Last names can be difficult to navigate. Many Jews changed their last names to sound less Jewish when they came to the US or during world war ll but typically you can look up common Jewish last names and find what you want from the list.
Different types of Jews:
There are a lot of different kinds of Jews. Typically, we're divided into three basic categories: orthodox, conservative, and reform.
Orthodox are the strictest. There’s different kinds of Orthodox Jews, with ultra-Orthodox, the Jews typically portrayed in media, with the long beards, top hats, etc, and there’s modern Orthodox, who are more modern and have newer style clothes, modern culture, etc. If you're planning on writing an Orthodox character, there are a lot of different sections within that. Ultra-Orthodox will marry other Orthodox people and likely have as many kids as possible. They're very strict and the women dont participate in much modern culture; I don't know much about modern orthodox or their day to day lives, so I'm not an accurate source of how one would portray them. I’d ask an actual Orthodox person for this!
Conservative people prefer old traditions, but are flexible. They are a range from going to synagogue every week to only going on important holidays. Conservative people tend to keep kosher but not all do, and they do shabbat but not all will keep it. There are conservative women rabbis, but this was more recent. They're pretty okay with women but some more old style Jews will not approve of bat mitzvahs and such.
Reform Jews are the most relaxed about the Torah and most laws. There are less who keep kosher, services are shorter, they're more accepting of women and other people, more likely to marry out of the religion.
Conservative and reform are more integrated with regular life, and so are modern orthodox do a degree. If you want more detail about any of these, you can ask!
There are different types of Jews outside of the level of observance as well! Jews can be Ashkenazi or Sephardic (which are the main ones I’ve seen) or other lineages (which are smaller but still important) including the Eastern, Ethiopian, and Yemenite communities as well as others! These depend on what place your ancsestors came from. Different lineages might have different ways of chanting Torah, preparing food, interpreting Torah and laws, or vague rules, but many people are a mixture of the two depending on what traditions they prefer and who their teacher/family is. Unless your character is religious, they probably won’t make a huge distinction.
Traditions and holidays:
All Jewish holidays begin and end at night.
This includes Shabbat, which begins Friday night and ends Saturday night. Shabbat is a relaxation day. More observant Jews will abstain from any work or spending money, and avoid technology, which includes phones, ovens, cars, and electricity. Orthodox typically will leave their lights on and cook their food before Shabbat begins. Conservative will vary in observance and might drive but not spend money or just light candles and ignore the rest. Reform usually don't worry about it beyond lighting candles and maybe going to synagogue, but again, it will vary.
Your Jewish character will most likely celebrate Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, which take place during early autumn.
Yom Kippur: you go to synagogue for hours the morning after it begins. You fast (no food, water, gum, etc) from erev (the night of) Yom kippur and break the fast the following night. This is typically a fun party with friends. No work or school during this time, but some people let their kids go to school.
Rosh Hashanah: the Jewish new year! You skip work to go to synagogue the morning of, and you eat apples and honey and other sweet things to hope for a sweet coming year
Pesach (Passover) occurs around April or may and is an important holiday. It lasts eight days and no risen foods may be eaten during that time. The first night (and sometimes the second) there's a Seder with family and/or friends.
Hanukkah is not important but it's fun! Children like it because there's food and games
Yom Ha’atzmaut: Israeli Independence Day! Israelis obviously celebrate this more than American Jews, and celebrations differ; some don’t observe this at all, but a lot of synagogues hold a party or families will have Israeli foods for dinner. You don’t have to support Israel’s actions to eat the food.
Yom HaShoah: Holocaust remebrance day
There are a lot of other holidays during the year of varying importance! You can ask if you have questions!
Things to avoid:
I mentioned this before: don’t name your Jew [firstname] Goldstein. There are other good names for you to try!
Do not make your Jewish character: any sort of demon or demonic formed creature, unnaturally greedy or money-hoarding (there are levels to this one), oily/greasy, having a large nose, having horns or another trait associated with demons, a vampire (for drinking blood reasons), some sort of goblin, explicitly stated to be untrustworthy (especially in regards to business or banking), etc. If you’re worried that something might be iffy, you can ask!
Characters can be greedy without being stereotypical, and they can be ambitious just like anyone else. Jewish characters can definitely be villains, but there are degrees of what kind of villains they should be. Do they steal children? Are they slimy or manipulative? Do they have horns, red skin, or tails? Do they automatically hate Arabs or Palestinians?
These are the most prevalent stereotypes out there. You can ask if you have any more questions
Extra:
When a member of the community dies, the family might hold Shiva, which is a seven day period where the family is provided food, help, company from friends and the community. The family shouldn’t have to cook or work too hard while they’re in mourning; this is a somber occasion, but it’s a chance for the family to be reminded they’re not alone. People will have normal conversations and give the family their condolences. Typical foods brought are brisket, fruit, veggie platters, kugel, bagels, and other long-lasting, easy to prepare dishes.
Common Jewish foods include kugel (sweet or savory noodles in a dish), blintzes (similar to crepes), knishes (filled dough, like baked dumplings), latkes (fried potato pancakes), shakshuka (eggs cooked in tomato sauce), and others. A huge part of Jewish culture is the food, and there are different ones for most holidays!
Brisses or baby namings are affairs for the whole community! The parents invite their friends and hold a party and announce the baby’s name (and gender, sometimes, although these aren’t typically gender reveals).
Bar/bat/bnei mitzvot are important ceremonies. A 13 y/old boy (or 12.5-13 y/old girl) will read Torah first time and lead at least part of the service. They get their tallis, become a full member of the community (a Jewish adult), receive gifts from the community, and typically hold a luncheon after. The service is on Saturday morning, but many will have Friday night services as well, and an afterparty that Saturday night
Feel free to add on/correct something if you’re Jewish or ask questions if you’re not! My inbox is always open!
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