blake shaw 🇵🇸 on Nostr: npub1y58yk…cu7kz I strongly disagree with the idea that goy is a slur, in Yiddish ...

npub1y58ykdl7wh5feq5lewp382au22fa5jq0mu4qfhetj4puwj8dplms5cu7kz (npub1y58…u7kz) I strongly disagree with the idea that goy is a slur, in Yiddish communities in particular. I'm also deeply opposed to the Isralien bastardization of Hebrew. As you may be aware, goyim is the in scripture for "nations", and goy, the profane. In the VaYole Moshe, which I consider to be perhaps the greatest work of Holocaust theology, Teitelbaum embarks on a deep exegesis of the Jew's relation to "goyim"/nations historically, to demonstrate Judaism's contrast to goyim. Which isn't to say a Jew isn't goyim, but that we are goyim in our average-everyday profane existence, as Americans, or Lithiunians, or Iraqis, etc. The point being that, as a Jew, one is exhilic, devoid of a nation or national pride and part of the major err of zionism is that they are absolute goyishe kopf: profane, profane and disquiet, unable to submit with G-d's will. And maintaining a constant distance from the nation I belong to is a very important value to me.

But even at the vulgar level, I honestly think its fine; its absurd to think "gringo" or "bule" are words of hate, and yiddish deployments of goy occupy that same space. Israliens call everyone whose not a zionist goy. They call me goy, despite the fact that I'm more observant that most of them. Similarly, Chasidim call everyone who isn't haredi goy. But they are far worse to Palestinians, typically calling them "kushi" today. That is a slur, goy is just vulgar street slang that occupies an honestly pretty innocent place in Yiddishkeit.