Matt Perry (גרשום בן אברהם)
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mgop.bsky.social
Matt Perry (גרשום בן אברהם)
@mgop.bsky.social
Technologist by day, writer and thinker at other times. Minimal overlap. Jew. Realistic optimist. multitorah.org, multitorah.substack.com
Hope is a mode of resistance
- Barbara Kingsolver
December 10, 2024 at 7:58 PM
Why don't more of us talk about Etty Hillesum? Her incredible diaries were published in the 90s, but now having read them I don't think the Jewish world has properly appreciated their importance and honesty.
April 9, 2024 at 9:55 PM
Having a tough time with the Arthur Green / Hebrew College situation. Tragic. Baffling. Disappointing.The closet, a domain of sheker, is a place where souls are degraded.Bi men in particular are frequently its prisoners. Being closeted excuses no misdeed and removes no blame. Bu it's not irrelevant.
January 30, 2024 at 1:05 AM
@theautisticcoach.bsky.social I like your drash www.theautisticcoach.com/autism-spiri... and your integration of Breslov ideas and themes related to autism. I'm not autistic myself but write about (neo-)Hasidic things and (this year) lots of Bresolver-stuff over here multitorah.org +1 follower
January 25, 2024 at 4:36 PM
Hey maybe I'm late to this party but, per the Talmud (Bava Metzia 87a):
- Abraham was the first human to visibly age
- Jacob was the first human to get sick and then die rather than just dropping dead
- Elisha was the first person to recover from illness (before that all were fatal)
Pretty rad.
January 3, 2024 at 12:40 AM
Mr. John Scott Eccles is extremely gay. In the best possible way. #SherlockHolmes en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adv...
The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 27, 2023 at 7:46 PM
Reposted by Matt Perry (גרשום בן אברהם)
Does issuing an apology in Hebrew, a language that 85% of American Jews cannot read, prove that you're *not* antisemitic?
December 27, 2023 at 12:44 AM
Something I've discovered over the past 10 years: Christmas is better for Jews in Latin America. In the South of Mexico (where I am now) it's pretty chill. Lots of public drinking and fireworks. Low-key Catholicism. Cake. Fewer ads. Businesses generally open.
December 25, 2023 at 1:40 AM
Reposted by Matt Perry (גרשום בן אברהם)
the most harrowing, moving and well-researched piece i’ve read so far on hamas’ massacre on october 7th: an hour-by-hour account of the bloody and cruel attack on the kibbutz be’eri. a must read.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
The Day Hamas Came
No Israeli town suffered more bloodshed than Be’eri in the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7.
www.nytimes.com
December 23, 2023 at 1:31 PM
Speaking of James Agee, a great intro to his life and work is Ross Spears' 1980 documentary "Agee". Incredible. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL2_...
December 23, 2023 at 8:29 PM
I wrote a piece about the writer James Agee, trauma and the Biblical Joseph. multitorah.org/2023/12/23/w...
Who shall ever tell the sorrow of being on this earth
Was Joseph really OK with his past? I still don’t fully know. But I do know that I regard figures like James Agee with great awe and pity. I understand how trauma can devour a promising life …
multitorah.org
December 23, 2023 at 8:27 PM
Cleaning one's digital environment feels good. Mine was like an overgrown garden since I rage-quit all social media during the Trump administration (no regrets!) Given where I work (WordPress) you'd think I'd know that there still were non-evil options .. but yah it's taken this long ...
December 21, 2023 at 1:11 AM
What’s the halakah on how awake one should actually be when saying מודה אני?
December 19, 2023 at 1:57 PM
Anyone else's 🕎-Federation blast emails tilting HARD right these days? 🇮🇱's right to safety and defense? Yup! Ignoring most of the death when counting the impact of this war? Hard no. Negating brave Israeli voices for remembering the dead and building an actual future (like Elana Kaminka)? I'm out.
December 18, 2023 at 9:40 PM
Made red sauce while writing and doing other work this afternoon. Main ingredient: hours of slow cooking. Also much garlic. Also 2 kilos of good tomatoes. Also bad Chilean wine.
December 18, 2023 at 12:27 AM
A minor Talmudic sage is named אפרים מקשאה תלמידו של רבי מאיר -- "Efriam the cucumber seller, student of Rabbi Meir" ( Bereshit Rabbah 85) ... cucumber seller!? Per Dr Susan Weingarten, some vegetables were a status thing in the Talmud ... so weird www.openstarts.units.it/server/api/c...
December 15, 2023 at 3:35 PM
I really miss Amos Oz z''l right now. With all his flaws, I know he would have something to say, and I know he would say how he feels, and I know he would hold contradictions and I know he would mean all of it. Which is more than I can say for much of what I hear and read in these sad days.
December 15, 2023 at 3:18 PM
Noah Millman's article Tamar, Helen, and Love's Ambition in Jewish Review of Books made me reflect on Tamar's centrality as a mystical figure. I wrote this reflection from a QueerJew pov, but might be relevant to all Jewish outsiders multitorah.org/2023/12/12/t... warning: somewhat Torah-nerdy
Tamar: the eye of the world to come
Reading Tamar’s story, I dream two dreams for every Jew that has ever felt themselves to be excluded, beyond the margins, unfit, misfit, or undeserving in any way.
multitorah.org
December 13, 2023 at 5:37 AM
Reposted by Matt Perry (גרשום בן אברהם)
Hello Jews of Bluesky. If you would like to be included in the new JewSky Plus feed repost this! And if you ever want to be removed from it, undo the repost!

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:24atmhsxslaeuvf2gcmv7fh3/feed/jewsky-plus
August 16, 2023 at 3:25 AM
Trying out bluesky since .. well … the alternatives have become impossible. Let’s see if I can stomach social media again :) if you’re into expanding Jewish horizons, fiction and other nerdery, feel free to connect here. Or something :) שלום
December 10, 2023 at 9:11 PM