Mini-challenge: Jewltide

[larissabernstein]

This mini-challenge is meant to bring together people who love to read or create for fandoms that feature Jewish themes or characters.

Jewish themes are understood in a broad and varied way: from the religious to the cultural sphere to historical events, and this includes also how these big topics influence the lives of the characters on a smaller, daily-life scale. If a character puts importance on their Jewish identity in some way, this is already reason enough to include them in this challenge, even if Jewishness is a subtle background flavour in a canon text. 

Jewltide is open to anyone, no matter whether you identify as Jewish or not, and I just ask all participants to act in good faith and tread respectfully.

If you would like to see more Jewish representation and want to point people towards your requests, please leave a comment under this post and mention your AO3 username, relevant fandoms/characters, your letter (if you have one), possible prompts or anything you want to highlight. Here's a handy template:

<strong>AO3 Name:</strong> <user name=YOURUSERNAME site=ao3> <strong>Letter Link:</strong> <a href="YOUR LETTER URL HERE">My Letter</a> <strong>Fandom(s):</strong> <strong>Character(s):</strong> <strong>Comment:</strong>

I have also started compiling a list of fandoms in this year's tagset that feature Jewish characters or Jewish themes: feel free to add more to the spreadsheet. (It's open to editing for anyone who has the link, so just be careful with it, please. Unfortunately, spreadsheets tend to get messed up easily.)

If you write a gift or treat in these fandoms and think it fits the Jewltide challenge, please tag them with "Jewltide" on the AO3, so interested readers can find them more easily.

Sometimes Jewish characters are, to put it mildly, less than flatteringly depicted in canon media, and sometimes the way Jewish themes are approached may irk us. I would still like to allow such media in this mini-challenge, with the caveat that if you want to see fic for it, you should address possibly problematic aspects in the comment (here on DW and on the spreadsheet). The beauty of fic is that it can fix where canon falls short. <3

I expect our list to grow, so I will update this post accordingly. For now, we have these fandoms listed on the spreadsheet (in alphabetical order):
 

• Addams Family (Sonnenfeld Films)
• Alpennia - Heather Rose Jones
• Babylon Berlin (TV)
• Beetlejuice (Perfect/Brown & King)
• Being Human (US/Canada)
• Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
• Bombshells (DC Comics)
• Call Me By Your Name (2017)
• Clueless (1995)
• Covert Affairs
• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
• Dance of the Vampires (Broadway 2002/2003) - Steinman/Ives/Kunze 
• England Series - K. J. Charles
• Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
• Fantastic Four (2015)
• Fantastic Four (Comicverse)
• Fantastic Four (Movies 2005-2007) 
• Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules 
• Fiddler on the Roof
• Fudge Series (Judy Blume)
• God of Vengeance - Ash
• His Royal Secret - Lilah Pace
• Houdini & Doyle (TV)
• John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme Season 9 
• King Falls AM (Podcast)
• Little Shop of Horrors - Menken/Ashman
• Mean Girls - Richmond/Benjamin/Fey
• Oliver Appropriate - Say Anything (Album)
• Rabbinic and Talmudic Judaism RPF
• Russian Doll (TV 2019)
• Seinfeld
• Shiva Baby (2020)
• Spinning Silver (Naomi Novik)
• Tanz der Vampire | Dance of the Vampires - Steinman/Kunze
• The Alienist
• The Magic School Bus
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show
• The Try Guys (Webseries)
• The Will Darling Adventures - K. J. Charles
• These Violent Delights - Micah Nemerever
• Water Rats
• Where the Sky is Silver and the Earth is Brass - Sonya Taaffe 
• Yudah Cohen Series - Rebecca Fraimow

Comments

Dance of the Vampires (Broadway 2002/03) - Sarah Chagal

[larissabernstein]

Let me start with the first comment:

AO3 Name: larissabernstein
Letter Link: My Letter
Fandom(s): Dance of the Vampires (Broadway 2002/2003) - Steinman/Ives/Kunze
Character(s): Sarah Chagal
Comment: Sarah Chagal and her parents are canonically Jewish characters. The Broadway version pretty much erased their Jewishness. However, given that the original German-language version leant quite much into stereotypes, to a degree that could even be called antisemitic (especially regarding Sarah’s father), I was actually not unhappy about this change. But I would be delighted about Sarah getting her Jewish identity back in fic, and I think it would make for a good plot bunny (how does Krolock cope with it? how does Sarah live her Jewish religion and culture after turning a vampire?), be it in a more serious or more humorous way.

[choirwoman]

AO3 name: sinkauli
Letter Link: Here!
Fandom: Alpennia - Heather Rose Jones
Character: Anna Monterrez
Comment: Anna's father, the goldsmith, has some standing in the Jewish community, but this is in a Catholic-dominated town. I'd love to see a Jewish writer explore how Anna and her family handle this. Also, the friendship (and possibly budding romance) between Anna and Efriturik is interesting (though nothing may come of it as he's a Catholic possible claimant to the throne and she's a Jewish artisan). Side note: Cafe Chatuerd may actually be kosher like similar establishments in places like Vienna, because there's a scene in which everybody including Anna eats cakes there!

(I'm not Jewish and neither is the canon writer, but as far as I can see she handles it respectfully.)

[aelisheva]

AO3 Name: aelisheva

Letter Link: My Letter

Fandom(s): Birds of Prey (2020 Film)

Character(s): Harleen Quinzel, Dinah Lance

Comment: Harley is canonically half-Jewish in the comics, and Dinah's actress Jurnee Smollett has Jewish heritage too, so I'd love to see either or both characters written as Jewish. A Chanukah fic could be fun but no worries if no inspiration for one strikes. (See my letter for more prompts and DNWs.)

Fandom(s): DC Comics Bombshells

Character(s): Zatanna Zatara, Kate Kane, Raven

Comment: John Constantine is also nommed here too, but he's not canonically Jewish in this comics run like these ladies are. Something about period-typical holiday celebrations (music, clothes, food, travel, etc) could possibly be fun. (See my letter for more prompts and DNWs.)

Fandom(s): Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik

Character(s): Miryem Mandlestam

Comment: Out of the characters I'm requesting here she's the only one that's canonically Jewish. But any Jewish headcanons for the other characters are totally welcome. Again, a Chanukah celebration or a character study of their Jewish identity could be interesting. (See my letter for more prompts and DNWs.)

***NOTE: I also have 10 Things I Hate About You (1999 Film) nommed, and even though none of the characters are canonically Jewish, the actor who plays Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is, so anything about Cameron (or the others!) celebrating Chanukah could be interesting.

[kass]

AO3 Name: Kass

Letter Link: My Letter

Fandom(s): Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night, Toby Daye books, Incryptid books, Spinning Silver, Newsflesh books, The Good Place.
Comment: Spinning Silver and Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night both have Jewish characters. The Good Place has Jewish themes (teshuvah, anyone?) And I think there's room for Jewish content arising out of the Seanan McGuire / Mira Grant works on my list too. :-D

[bronze_ribbons]

AO3 Names: ribbons (have also participated as "mechaieh")

Letter Link: I rarely sign up for Yuletide proper because of RL deadlines, but I manage to post pinch-hits/NYRs every few years (just posted one under the wire for the below, in fact), and the drabble invitational looks exceptionally distracting enticing (and I know that enough people are requesting the below fandom to plug it, plus I want to read the fics written for them . . . =) )

Fandom(s): England Series - K. J. Charles

Character(s): Daniel da Silva (who also has some significant cameos in the Will Darling Adventures)

Comment: Think of England is set in 1904, and period-typical anti-Semitism/thoughtlessness is present throughout (even in the HEA - there's one phrase by Daniel's lover that makes me cringe from head to toe every time I revisit it), as Daniel is not the POV character (except in an epilogue published outside of the book, available on the author's website). I've seen some readers troubled by aspects of his characterization that struck them as problematically stereotypical (e.g., his overly oily hair, albeit self-inflicted and in keeping with his persona as a dandy), but I also know of other Jewish readers who adore the series wholeheartedly, so mileage definitely varies. (Full disclosure: I am Jewish-adjacent but not Jewish; that's a long story in itself.)

I don't want to go into detail as to why Daniel is an absolute gift of a character (both from reading and fic-writing perches), as part of the fun of first encountering Think of England is facet after improbable yet believable facet coming to light to the astonishment/chagrin/enchantment of the POV character, but oh goodness, he is a gift. He's both stunningly, sexily competent and a snarky asshole, and man is that catnip to my circles. ;)

[xslytherclawx]

AO3 Name:xslytherclawx
Letter Link: My Letter
Fandom(s): Oliver Appropriate - Say Anything (Album)
Character(s): Oliver B.
Comment: in the prequel, ...Is A Real Boy, Oliver mentions having gone to Hebrew school and having a rabbi, among other references to his Jewishness. Those aren't as strong in Oliver Appropriate, but I'd like to see something exploring it!
(Karl has no real religious or ethnic background, so if you'd like to make him Jewish, too, that's absolutely welcome!)

[celli]

AO3 Name: celli
Letter Link: My Letter

Fandom(s): Crooked Media RPF
Character(s): Jon Lovett. I can't speak to his exact relationship with his Judaism, but he definitely makes a point of it on the pod.

Fandom(s): The Will Darling Adventures - KJ Charles
Character(s): I did not request Daniel Silva, the canonically Jewish character in Think of England/The Will Darling Adventures, but I did mention him in my prompts. He's described in bronze_ribbon's comment, very well I think.

[muggle95]

AO3 Name: muggle95
Letter Link: didn't write a letter this year sorry
Fandom(s): Two of my four requested fandoms have open enough worlds that even though none of the characters are canonically Jewish, it wouldn't be terribly surprising for any of them to be Jewish and it just didn't come up in canon. Specifically, I'm looking at Luca (2021) (Disney movie set in modern-ish Italy, maybe not quite as recent as cell phones/smart phones) and A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (set in futuristic-dystopian North America)
Character(s): none canonical, so anyone goes. Preferably not just Ercole/the Viscontis; also preferably not just Coryo, but he's not a tagged character and Tigris is and I'd love to see if being Jewish influences how she and the Grandmere react to difficulty so it's okay if the Snows are the only Jewish characters. really i just don't want the only Jewish characters to be villains.
Comment: copied from my fandom intro/disclaimer: Two of my four requested fandoms have open enough worlds that even though none of the characters are canonically Jewish, it wouldn't be terribly surprising for any of them to be Jewish and it just didn't come up in canon.
For Songbirds and Snakes I'd rather Jewish themes while reacting to hardship over Snow family chanukah celebration, but for Luca, anything goes.

[smakibbfb]

AO3 Name: derry_rain

Letter Link: My Letter

Fandom(s): The Alienist

Character(s): Marcus Isaacson, Lucius Isaacson, Bitsy Sussman

Comment: All three characters are canonically Jewish, and for Marcus and Lucius, it's very significant in text to their character and storylines. Bitsy is a much smaller character in the narrative, but all three are highly important to the plot of both seasons.

I will warn that as it is set in 1890s New York, both Isaacsons have to deal with discrimination against them, both explicit and implicit. I will also warn here about canonical character death at the end of the second season.

I'm always hunting for more stories about the Isaacsons, so anything featuring them would be utterly wonderful. I go into more detail in the letter, but I am ultimately hugely enamoured of their great smarts and competence, and gorgeously realised sibling relationship. I'd love to see more stories dealing with them and their family.

[skazka]

AO3 Name: skazka
Letter Link: My Letter
Fandom(s): These Violent Delights - Micah Nemerever
Character(s): All three characters in the tagset for this novel (Paul Fleischer, Audrey Fleischer, and Julian Fromme) are Jewish. I'm requesting fic about Julian and his relationship with Paul.
Comment: This novel is a fairly dark love story between two brilliant and intense young men in 1970s Pittsburgh, and is firmly in dark-academia/thriller territory. The cast of characters is predominantly Jewish and the novel deals with Jewish identity; heads-up that in addition to more general dark themes (grief, suicide, murder, homophobia) there's also some heavy content concerning the Holocaust, antisemitism, and the work of Hannah Arendt.

[traincat]

AO3 Name: Traincat
Letter Link: My Letter
Fandom(s): Fantastic Four (Comicsverse), Scarlet Spider (Comics)
Character(s): Peter Parker, Kaine
Comment: While not hardline canonically Jewish in the 616 continuity as of the time of this writing, Peter Parker's got enough Jewish subtext for ten men, from his childhood home in Forest Hills to his use of Yiddish to his invoking of a multitude of Jewish holidays from Hanukkah to Shavuos. His co-creator Stan Lee was Jewish, and other Jewish creatives, such as Brian Michael Bendis, who have worked with the character since have identified him as Jewish or spoken about how the character reflects their Jewish identities. Even if the character is not hardline canonically Jewish, he's been thoroughly brined in the Jewish identity. Likewise, Kaine, while having more a Christian bent in the comics, is Peter's clone, so it would be interesting to see an exploration of that identity through him. (While not requested by me, Fantastic Four (Comicsverse) also has Ben Grimm, who is canonically Jewish, and who my other Fantastic Four (Comicsverse) character, Johnny Storm, has lived with for his entire adult life.)

[zdenka]

AO3 Name: Zdenka
Letter Link: My Letter
Fandom(s): Wind Will Rove - Sarah Pinsker
Character(s): I requested this fandom with no characters, because I just wanted to read more about this setting. There are no canonly Jewish characters, but I welcome making canon characters Jewish or Jewish OCs.
Comment: This is a sci-fi short story, about travellers on a generation ship, but it's also about tradition and memory and music, what you keep and what you don't and what inevitably changes. The story is set a generation after an event that wiped out most of the ship’s memory banks of things like art and literature and music and history. The ways the ship’s culture(s) evolve to deal with that loss are fascinating to me. Some people try as hard as they can to hold onto tradition unchanged, some people respect tradition but want to take it in new directions, some people reject tradition altogether. (There’s one character, Nelson, who is basically the Wicked Son from the Passover Haggadah—but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s wrong.)

Judaism is only mentioned in passing, but “Wind Will Rove” feels like a very Jewish story to me. I would be fascinated to see what happens with Judaism in this context.

If you'd like an optional jumping-off point, there’s a Hasidic story that I love, which "Wind Will Rove" reminded me of, about the Baal Shem Tov. The story says that whenever he was struggling with a particularly difficult or complex problem, he used to go to a certain place in the forest, light a fire, and say a prayer. Then he was able to resolve the difficulty.

After the Baal Shem Tov passed away, his successor did the same thing. He prayed: “Lord, I do not know how to light the fire, but I know where the Baal Shem Tov used to go pray in the forest and I know the prayer. It will have to be enough.” He went to the secret place in the forest and recited the prayer, and it was enough.

When the Baal Shem Tov’s successor died, the next rabbi prayed: “Lord, I do not know how to light the fire, and I do not know how to find the secret place in the forest. But I know the prayer, and it will have to be enough.” He recited the prayer, and it was enough.

And then it came to the time of his successor, and the rabbi prayed: “Lord, I do not know how to light the fire, and I do not know how to find the secret place in the forest. I do not even know the words of the prayer. All I can do is tell the story and hope it will be enough.” And it was enough.

~~~

My other requests this year involve characters who aren't Jewish, but I always welcome Jewish themes and references.

[badritual]

AO3 Name: badritual
Letter Link: My Letter
Fandom(s): The Try Guys (Webseries)
Character(s): Zach Kornfeld
Comment: Zach is Jewish, and his faith comes up in their videos from time to time (see: The Try Guys Try On Naughty Christmas Costumes for one example off the top of my head) (he talks about his background a bit more in the podcasts). I'd love to see Zach inviting the other Try Guys (who are not Jewish) to share with him in his Hanukkah traditions.

[starfishstar]

AO3 Name: starfishstar
Letter Link: My Letter
Fandom(s): Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Character(s): Elio, Oliver, Annella, Samuel
Comment: It means a lot to me that these characters are Jewish and that that's a point of connection between them; one piece of Elio's fascination with Oliver (among many!) is how confidently Oliver expresses his Judaism. (As compared to Elio's family, who are "Jews of discretion.") The Jewish aspect often gets left out of CMBYN fics (understandably, since lots of fic writers aren't Jewish, and anyway I do recognize that Judaism doesn't have to be the main theme all the time!) so it really makes me happy to come across fics that bring the Jewish identity back in, whether it's celebrating holidays/traditions together, or anything else. More in my letter. :-)

[(Anonymous)]

AO3 Name: Rosemarycat5 Fandom(s): King Falls AM (Podcast) Character(s): Ben Arnold Comment: I love Ben Arnold with all my heart. He is canonically Jewish. But he was raised "with a bit of everything", which mainly meant that he celebrated Christmas and stuff. This meant they really did not get to explore his being Jewish in a meaningful way. The Hannukah Harry ad was gold though. The puns and Yiddish curses alone-- I would LOVE to see Ben give Sammy michloach manot for Purim and invite him over for the seder. Some nice Jew-y things, you know? And King Falls is such a small town, I can't imagine there are many Jews there other than Ben's family and Harry Goldstein (who runs Java Negila). That is also something worth exploring.

[acequeenking]

AO3 Name: AceQueenKing
Letter Link: My Letter
Fandom(s): The Mary Tyler Moore show
Character(s): Rhoda Harper, Lou Grant
Comment: I really love Rhoda and one thing I'm really fascinated with is how the show actually does tackle, in some small ways, the sort of prejudices that Rhoda deals with on a daily basis in a few episodes. There's also more than a few hints (though never canonically stated) that Lou is Jewish. I really would love to see fic that focuses on their religious feelings: what's it like to be a jew in Minneapolis in the 70s? Do they ever have seder together? What does the generational gap (Lou is a WW2 vet, Rhoda came of age to the tune of disco) look like and how does it influence their religion?

I have a huge weakness for character studies that focus on the religious feelings of a character and I would love to see that for Rhoda or Lou.

Also although this is the only canon where I have requested canonically Jewish characters, I'd love to see a focus on the Judaism of any of the other requested fandoms I have: ancient Jewish lore AU, a character being Jewish when they have not been mentioned as such canonically, etc.