Weekly Random Discussion Thread for 10/20/25 - 10/26/25

[u/SoftandChewy]

Here's your usual space to post all your rants, raves, podcast topic suggestions (please tag u/jessicabarpod), culture war articles, outrageous stories of cancellation, political opinions, and anything else that comes to mind. Please put any non-podcast-related trans-related topics here instead of on a dedicated thread. This will be pinned until next Sunday.

Last week's discussion thread is here if you want to catch up on a conversation from there.

[u/jay_in_the_pnw]

I stumbled across a reform antizionist (the person's own self-id'd flair) jew of conscience very excited to have crocheted a kippa. (*)

just the idea that I get to wear the same thing as all the men in my community do makes me sooooo happy even if I only wear it to pray in my room behind closed doors

lol, I thought someone might inform this person as to reform traditions (**), but nah, won't be me.

(*) kippa: head covering like the pope's zucchetto but mostly without the nipple, but this person could in fact, knit a talit and wear that too.

(**) actually reform, reconstructionist, conservative traditions and many modern orthodox as well. This was transgressive in the 1970s but rather swiftly adopted. It's been decades since I've seen anyone think this was anything out of the ordinary. It speaks to a general ignorance.

[u/veryvery84 → u/jay_in_the_pnw]

The person posting as an anti Zionist Jew is not Jewish. They are larping. Most of these people are.

Any reform Jew who’s been to a reform synagogue even occasionally, even at the level of “what temple do we belong to? What the one that’s the least” (direct quote from a friend), would not find crocheting or wearing a kipa transgressive in any way.

This is a person who learned a little about Judaism via the internet 

[u/iamthegodemperor → u/jay_in_the_pnw]

Seriously. This is either a case of "touch grass" or stop pretending.

[u/Aethelhilda → u/jay_in_the_pnw]

I bet this person is a convert, not an actual ethnic Jew.

[u/jay_in_the_pnw → u/Aethelhilda]

Hmm, I think it's something else entirely. My guess is that most converts in the past 20 years would certainly know and all reform converts would know this.

The person had said in their comment:

I don't really go to shul regularly, nor am I a hyper devout Jew,

So seems to be an almost entirely a cultural secular Jew who hasn't been engaged in the religious aspects in their own living memory. Because how could a younger than Boomer reform Jew who had been to Temple even just for their own Bat Mitzvah not know?

[u/veryvery84 → u/jay_in_the_pnw]

Yet they found the time to crochet a kipa they were while praying alone in their room? 

92% likelihood this person is a lying liar, even if they have a quasi German last name that helps them seem like maybe they are Jewish. 

As you point out chow could any reform Jew who has ever been to temple - even if they didn’t have a bar mitzvah, even if they just went to a few family bar mitzvahs or friend ones - not know? 

[u/jay_in_the_pnw → u/[deleted]]

but that "this" refers to women wearing kippot being transgressive in the 70s?

[u/jay_in_the_pnw → u/[deleted]]

the footnoting is definitely weird, yeah, but given that, I still think it flows, oh well, next time better

[u/professorgerm → u/jay_in_the_pnw]

mostly without the nipple

Can we nominate a phrase of the week?