#jewish batman

[captainlordauditor]

@dickgraysonweek  Day 3: Growing up as the First Child Hero

Ma Nishtana (traditionally performed by the youngest present at a seder) gets a little strange when Robin and Shazam are both present.

#dickgraysonweek #dick grayson #billy batson #shazam #robin dc #dc comics #my art #jewish batman #dc fanart

[frownyalfred]

if you feel like it (and if this question even ends up making sense lol), would you mind talking about how you feel about bruce being jewish? not like the idea of jewish bruce wayne, i mean the fact that in 2011 or so he was retconned kind of accidentally into being jewish. i ask bc i, as a jewish person, have a lot of mixed to negative feelings about the whole thing, and you seem not to. i really hope this doesn't come out as like judgy. i don't think you should feel negatively about it. i'm genuinely just interested in your thoughts and feelings about this. two jews, three opinions, lol

It's not judgy! As you said, two Jews, three opinions -- there's no right answer here.

As I mentioned in my Jewish Bruce post, the likely accidental ret-con of Bruce to likely being Jewish is a tricky subject. It's simultaneously a good moment for Jews who want to feel represented, and a bad one for those who think Bruce's story is not an adequate or appropriate vehicle to convey Judaism.

The reality is, Bruce isn't visibly Jewish now, nor is he practicing or displaying overt cultural, ethnic, or religious influences. He's Jewish by halacha, which is its own mess of significance for Jews.

Personally, I feel that Bruce's emergence as a Jew by halacha, and not by practiced religion or culture, is an important discussion to be had in our modern, interfaith, assimilating culture.

Barring the Orthodox communities, the number of young observant Jews is dropping. Jews are increasingly marrying into other faiths, assimilating, and raising their children outside of the faith. When Jews do stay in their communities, they tend to stay in more "liberal" ones such as Reconstructionist or Reform congregations. You can read more about this at the Pew site.

There are, and will continue to be, many people who find themselves cut off from Judaism and either halachically or ethnically Jewish in the next few years, with little to no connection to the religion, ethnicity, or cultural traditions.

So in this respect, Bruce being cut off from Judaism by nature of his family structure and abridged childhood is good to see, because it's representative of a new generation of Jewish children or interfaith families. Or it will be?

But. There are many Jews who do not identify with this at all -- who grew up in the community with strong ethnic, religious, and cultural ties, who see Bruce's (accidental?) ret-con to Judaism as rushed, dissatisfying, half-hearted, a million other words.

I don't want to assume what you or other Jews are thinking about this, but I can guess. It's not fun to see your religious identity thrown around somewhat flimsily, especially when there remains such a deep and consistent Jewish influence throughout the DC comics.

Why Bruce? Why not Hal? Why hint at it, or make him somewhat Jewish? Why not have a fully-Jewish character? Why not have a character who embraces Judaism as a belief system?

I think the mixed feelings over Bruce's ret-con highlight the growing divide within the Jewish community over who is, and isn't Jewish, and by which standards we judge those who are peripheral to the community.

Having worked with many converts and patrilineal Jews, I have deep sympathy for those cut off from the Jewish community, especially when it is by halachic rule. How can someone who was raised by a Jewish father, who is 50% Ashkenazi, who had a Bar Mitzvah and attends shul regularly, not be as Jewish as someone who was born to a Jewish mother and rarely, if ever, practiced the religion?

We make conversion to Judaism a tricky, difficult, and conditional process. Reform marriages and conversions are questioned by Orthodox rabbis and not considered valid by others. Some people are Jewish in one synagogue and not Jewish enough in another. It's so hard.

So yeah, in my other post linked above I think I called this a happy accident, which is how I'm trying to view it. It makes me happy to have a character to push Jewish headcanons and fic ideas into to, and to tease out the themes of community and what it means to truly be Jewish from Bruce's story. But I don't expect that to be everyone's else's experience at all.

I'd be curious to hear your, and anyone else's, thoughts on this. Again, two Jews, three opinions -- nobody is right here, and we all change our minds a LOT.

#asks #jewish bruce wayne #jewish batman #jewish batfamily #dc #dc comics #bruce wayne #batman

[capsrecedinghairline]

Just saw a clip where David Mazouz talks about how a WB exec called him “too Jewy” to play young Bruce Wayne so uhhh now I have decided that Bruce should have thick curly hair, he should have bold, broad features, he be exactly what people think of when they stereotype Jews.

And yeah, obviously there is no singular way to “look Jewish”. That’s not the point. The point is that a Jewish kid had to load his hair down with gel in order to play a canonically Jewish character. I shouldn’t have to spell out the rest for you.

The point is visibility. The point is that Jewish-American comic book innovators used the concept of superheroes’ secret identities to explore identity and assimilation. The point is that I want Bruce Wayne in a kippah and I’m not gonna shut up about it.

#tw antisemitism #is there such a thing as goy washing? is that a term? #it’s worth noting that Mazouz is Sephardic and i think most goyim only think of Ashkenazi features as the stereotypical ‘jewish look’ #if this post makes no sense it’s because I’m angry #batman #bruce wayne #jewish batman #jewish bruce wayne #Gotham

[lakeofthesocknessmonster]

What do you MEAN batman isn't "canonically jewish", as far as I'm concerned he and batwoman dressed up as each other for purim

#batman #batwoman #bruce wayne #kate kane #jumblr #jewish bruce wayne #jewish batman #you can literally pry jewish batman out of my cold dead hands #dont even get my started on how much of kate's jewishness gets ignored/hidden

[scribbling-scientist]

Inspired by the discord convo that @littlegreenfag 's Post about Jewish Riddler in turn inspired

Convo and answer under the cut

#batman #jewish batman #the riddler #jumblr

[vexic929]

ok so like Bruce is Jewish we know this and I know that Judaism is passed down through the maternal line but are adopted kids considered Jewish when they're adopted? if so does that make the Batkids Jewish or are they not since there's no adopted mother?

#this feels like a silly question but it's been stuck in my head for two days and I can't find answers #bruce wayne #batman #jewish batman #batkids #batfam #batfamily #the batfamily #vexic lives

[rhinestonex]

Bruce Wayne, sick as a dog, answering the door for the person delivering Matzah ball soup from the local synagogue, assuming it’s going to be another Granny that’s known him since he was a kid: Thank yo—

Harley Quinn, on a Good Samaritan kick, doing the care kit delivery for the synagogue that week: 🧍

#Bruce Wayne #Batman #Harley Quinn #harleen quinzel #dc comics #Jewish Batman #Jewish Harley Quinn

[meirmakesstuff]

I'm so embarrassed--I've lived in the Berkshires my whole life and never heard of Ramah. Can you expound a bit on that please?

Ramah is a network of Jewish summer camps affiliated with the Conservative movement. While I didn't attend one myself, my youth group had yearly end-of-summer retreats at the Berkshires, specifically for the kids in the greater NYC region (I didn't grow up that close to the city but close enough to count), so specifying Berkshires in the Batman-Superman post was a little dig at Gotham's not-quite-NYC-ness. Likewise, Jewish groups I was with would have retreats at Camp Isabella Friedman, which is a retreat center rather than a kids' summer camp but does host some kids' retreats, particularly focused on Jewish ecological learning.

I name-checked those two specifically just because the aesthetic matched the ones in the post: Isabella Friedman's kid programs bring that crunchy ukulele vibe, while at Ramah a teen is more likely to find themself exploring taking on outwardly visible personal Jewish practices like the ones in the Batman-Superman post, mostly through exposure to fellow campers who do them. There are Ramah camps all around the US and Canada, as well as Jewish camps from other denominations and no denomination--I'm sure someone can give a more compelling suggestion for where Kansas-raised Clark might center his Jewish nostalgia.

#meir makes stuff #jewish #jewish camp #jewish clark kent #jewish bruce wayne #jewish batman #jewish superman

[incorrectbatfamandpals]

Arthur: Are sharks kosher?

Bruce: No, marine animals need both fins and scales to be kosher.

Arthur: Sharks have scales. They're just tiny scales made of teeth.

Bruce: Scales defined in a very particular way. Kashrut works on a "defined by whatever century ancient rabbi with limited technology" rule.

#batfam #batman #arthur curry #bruce wayne #aquaman #justice league #jewish batfam #jewish batman #jewish bruce wayne

[coffeefrenchandhistory]

Now I’m just throwing this out here.

But Brett Goldstein as Batman/Bruce Wayne.

#personal #Batman #Bruce Wayne #Brett Goldstein #Jewish Batman

[emo-batboy]

Harley: Happy Hanukkah, Brucie!!! Here's your present :D Do you like it? I hope it’s the right size.

Bruce, openly weeping as he holds up an I am Kenough hoodie: It's fine.

#also bruce two seconds later: btw how did you get into my house? #Alfred let her in #they’re both Jewish and I will take NO CRITICISM #Harley went to Hebrew school n everything and Bruce is non-practicing #battinson #bruce wayne #batman #the batman 2022 #batman 2022 #the batman #dc universe #dc #harley quinn #harleen quinzel #hanukkah #happy holidays

[captainlordauditor]

It’s BATMAN DAY! and I have a special extra fancy announcement. My FIRST (!!!) academic publication, Bats and Mitzvahs: Judaism in Modern Batman Comics will be released at the end of the month in the book Jews in Popular Science Fiction: Marginalized in the Mainstream, and I’ve got picture of my copy to show you all.

So if you like Judaism and Batman, Superman, golems, or Star Trek, you can preorder from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, or dm me to see about getting yourself a signed copy! (psst it’s more money for me this way, so do this) Unfortunately as an academic publication it is pricy at $110 USD but I wanted to share my success with tumblr even if I don’t end up making any sales here.

#batman #batmanday #jewish batman #dc comics #jumblr #bruce wayne #superheroes #comic books #not linking the proder links bc tumblr will make my post disappear

[frownyalfred]

Shana Tova! Wishing you a sweet new year full of superbat and batfam and positivity 🎉✨

plus I wanted to show off my rainbow round challah 😂 💕

thank you again for your Jewish batman writing! it's really lovely and makes such a positive difference in my experience and interaction with fandom✨💕

Ketivah v’chatima tovah!

Your challah looks amazing!! I’m slated to make an apple and honey cake today and I hope it looks half as great!

I appreciate your and other people’s headcanons and posts about Jewish Batman so much. It really is amazing to be surrounded by such a community in fandom ❤️

#bruce wayne #batman #dc #batfamily #jewish bruce wayne #jewish batman #personal #about me #jewish stuff #shana tova

[capsrecedinghairline]

The Batfam as Menorahs

(aka hanukkiot)

Bruce

He made it himself when he was six. The shamash dino is named Menorasaurus.

Dick

Jason

Tim

He also made it himself. I have consulted a rabbi and this is indeed a kosher hanukkiah.

Duke

I know in my heart that Duke is a Lego kid.

Damian

Cass

Alfred

There’s no punchline for this one I just think he’d like it

#jewish batman #jewish bruce wayne #batfam #hanukkah #chag hanukkah sameach #i can’t tell from the angle if the moose is kosher #i think the antlers are flat? #cass also likes legos but one time she ate one so

[kartsie]

Presumed dead (by most)

#my art #batfamilyweek2023 #day three #I’m behind yeah but I had a rough week and I liked where this was going #batman #Red Robin #tim drake #bruce wayne #Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake are Jewish I will die on this hill #dc comics

[fakakta-art]

Happy Hanukkah! My gift to you- some quick lil doodles of the batfam celebrating!

#dc #batfam #batfamily #batman #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #cassandra cain #damian wayne #stephanie brown #barbra gordon #bruce wayne #man thats a lot of characters to tag #im experimenting with jason's curly hair and red hair and stuff. i'll upload some doodles later. im unsure how i like to draw him best tbh #he just always looks nice #i dont HC all of them as jewish but bruce wayne is fucken jewish and hanukkah happens in the manor i said so. they at least participate #dick always wants to play dreidel. he wants to family bond. the family will never bond. dreidel is warfare #no weapons allowed and alfred has to supervise and they def have a hundred extra rules #alfred makes the best sufganiyot but i think jason should help him w them and also the latkes #they all have very strong opinions on what to put with latkes and HC specific ones for each of them #okay i have too many hcs to tag actually i'll shut the hell up now enjoy #my art