r/Judaism • u/HaggleMcDaggle • 6h ago
Sensitivity Reader Needed
I'm writing a fanfiction and I (briefly) mention Judaism as one of the characters is raised between two seperated parents, one Jewish and one (kind of) christian. I have family on my father's side that is Jewish but I was raised Catholic, so I'm not entirely sure what I can and can't say. I don't think it's offensive but I'm not Jewish so I don't think I'd catch everything. This is mentioned very briefly in the grand scheme of things, but I still wanted to double check.
Here is the lines:
"Well, uh." Spike spluttered, "With my mom, she doesn't celebrate Christmas, she's Jewish and all. I do Hannukah with her. My dad does Christmas, but we don't eat meat on Christmas, since we do it with my grandparents and all and that's how they did it back where they came from."
Bumblebee nodded as if he understood (but truly he didn't). "That's real interesting. Hey, what's the difference between Christmas and Hannukah?"
"Bumblebee, you can't just ask a man that!" Spike sighed. "Alright, so Hannukah is celebrated over eight nights, and it's because a container of oil burned for way longer than it should have, it was supposed to be one day and then it was eight. Christmas is because some guy was born who was special. I don't know, I don't care about him."
Thank you very much if you read this, I'd much appreciate a second pair of eyes.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Crab720 5h ago
As a Jewish person I think it is fine! Both holidays are described in a similar irreverent flippant way by the character who is speaking. It is a bit humorous because he clearly has no use for religion. OP IMO there is no reason whatsoever for a Jewish person to take offense. I applaud you for coming here to check it out.
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u/HaggleMcDaggle 5h ago
Thank you for the kind comment! I appreciate the opinions brought forth. Spike doesn’t really have a need for religion, he kind of exists in his own world without pondering about any greater meaning to life or existence, much like the typical teenage boy. Thank you for looking over this short snippet, I didn’t think it was offensive but I appreciate another eye, an eye I gladly welcome.
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u/jdgordon 6h ago
What's the point of the whole conversation? Why bother making the character (briefly) Jewish?
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u/HaggleMcDaggle 6h ago
In the context, they're talking about religion and religious practices in the context of a school assignment. The other person is from an alien culture and they're curious about what their friend's culture is like. It leads into talking about what the alien culture is like and how they're similar but different.
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u/jdgordon 6h ago
Christmas and Hanukah have no similarities at all other than the rough time of year.
→ More replies (1)
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u/kawabunga666 6h ago
If you want to make a character jewish but dont know anything about it to the point that you think asking reddit anonymously for free is a good way to fact check you probably shouldn't be writing a jewish character. It feels like the same level of hallmark making hanukkah movies lol
Just hire a jewish person skilled at this to review
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u/HaggleMcDaggle 6h ago
this is for a transformers fanficition, though i will take that into consideration if i choose to write at a professional level. I know about judaism, but I wanted another set of eyes upon it as though I do know, I am not personally jewish.
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u/kawabunga666 5h ago
Ok you're not helping your case
As someone that reads a lot of fanfiction it's very obvious when someone introduces elements they're not fully knowledgeable about or comfortable talking about to be spicy or interesting
Your fanfiction will be 100% better if you write about things you're knowledgeable about and comfortable writing about
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u/lala4now 1h ago
I was raised Orthodox, and people raised in other denominations may have different perspectives.
It really annoys me that people basically think of Hanukkah as the Jewish Christmas. It's not. It has nothing in common with Christmas other than being a religious holiday and usually occurring at around the same time.
As an aside, Hanukkah presents for kids only became a thing because Christmas is so ubiquitous in places like the US. Hanukkah isn't even a major Jewish holiday like Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot are.
Spike's explaination of Hanukkah is really just the explanation for why Jewish people who celebrate Hanukkah light the menorah, not an explanation of Hanukkah itself. That's like saying Christmas is about putting a decorated pine tree in your living room and leaving presents under it for your kids.
I'd prefer the character just say something along the lines of "They're both winter holidays but they're totally different from each other" and leave it at that.
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u/anclwar 2h ago
I don't understand why you've included "Bumblebee, you can't just ask a man that!" It's not like Bumblebee asked him about the color of his underwear, he asked about two holidays that people celebrate publicly.
Other than that, I don't see any reason Jews would be offended, but I can't speak for every single one of us.
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u/OC_neighbor 6h ago
It’s a bit flippant but I don’t think Jews will be offended. Christians might not like the diminishing of Jesus.