u/flashmumriken

Adding a spoiler since I will delve into quick contexts for my picks—Cleo's abilities are so cool and I absolutely loved the arena fight against Drift where everything gets surrounded in thorned berry bushes! Only rivaling hers is Apo's abilities; shapeshift herself *and* other champions and speedily moving around while out of sight/hearing are things that are so easy to fantasize having as well haha. And I just have a good feeling that she'll be responsible for ALL SORTS of trouble and enemy-making with the shapeshifting ability.

Shabbat Shalom everyone! I'm reading selections of d'var Torah as is my weekly routine, and I found another one I really liked for Parashat R'eih; the topic coincidentally matched a d'rash that a member of my shul gave during a service earlier where they gave particular attention to the clashing placement of "there will be no needy among you" and "there will never cease to be needy ones in your land" and the conclusion to treat others in need with dignity (which reminded me of the value of b'Tzelem Elohim).

Some personal highlights from Rabbi Chaiken's insights:

>Citing the medieval commentator Nachmanides, she [Rabbi Jill Jacobs] suggests that the Torah here is “optimistic but realistic”. But in addition to taking a pragmatic attitude toward poverty, this passage suggests that the Torah has a different understanding of what money is and should be.

>Your Economics 101 textbook will teach you that money is a means of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value. But the Jewish practice of periodic debt forgiveness, rather than amassing money over time, resets the economic table and levels the field between the haves and have-nots. It ensures that those who need to borrow money to survive in one season do not find themselves haunted by that debt ever after.

>A holy society ensures an economy in which everyone has the ability to sustain their lives from the land that sustains all life. [...] A holy society acts to limit money’s power to store value over time and to ensure a basic level of subsistence and equity for all.

I always find myself finding both joy and enlightenment from all the ways my rabbis have described, or paralleled experiences with the Shema before we chant it during Erev Shabbat, and I thought it'd be nice to share just a couple examples of what I mean (to the best that I can recall).

Last Erev Shabbat, we had our monthly Zoom-only services, and my rabbi talked about how Shabbat is not just dedicating the space for rest and delights, and communal gathering, but also taking in a moment in time - the fact that our congregation were all participating in the same moment in time together to relish in our practices and presence, despite all being in different places meant that our experiences were not any less complete nor meaningful from others. Afterwards, we turned to the Shema, affirming the importance of (inhabiting) time equally to space. My rabbi did cite someone else for this insight and that it wasn't solely hers, but I just wished I could remember who, maybe I can write to her and ask.

And during the Shabbat service after Tisha B'av, my cantor talked about how in the preoccupation of doing and acting for the sake of love and goodness, it's as much valuable to be a good listener, not just between individuals but to the world at large - its conditions and what it ought to need - literally putting Shema (listen) into practice. Apart from hearing what is outlined in the prayer itself, hearing everything else in the world at large is just as much applicable in meaningfully shaping our lives, identities, character and praxis.

With all this, my personal takeaway on my congregation leaders' wisdom is that to be present is a great contribution by itself in life - to be there, show up, and be an observer - and your presence, whether it's a Shabbat service, a funeral, a rally, etc. makes you just as much a part of something, something amazing we can reckon, as opposed to the idea of being a mere bystander or absentee.

In the same way we chant that HaShem is one (יְהוָה אֶחָד), our connection to whatever in life we put our sights to are also one, in any point of time we inhabit.

I thought there was nothing that could beat using the fire-towers to send Pearl and Impulse getting teleported a gajillion miles away (specifically the 2nd time around when Impulse vanishes mid-speech) - and then I saw Gem's recent episode and my face is aching from chuckling and smiling too much.

The prank didn't even start yet but everything preceding it was so funny SDFGDSFW; seeing the first-person POV of being launched out during testing was hilarious on its own and then Bdubs acting grumpy and done with everything when he and Scar were called even more so. "I'LL NEVER FINISH MY BRIDGES" got me so much 😭 On the surface, opening a door only to get launched into the air at break-neck speeds is such a simple prank but seeing the Hermits getting launched in real time and the reactions being elicited was the most hilarious thing I've seen all month - it's the same energy as Spongebob characters randomly exploding if that makes sense ('cause it also just looks like they straight up blew up Bdubs and Scar)- I LOVED it. Also the way E.G.G. keeps sending other Hermits to absurdly far chunks that it takes nearly a dozen minutes to come back is perfection 😭 Also, E.G.G. has the absolute most infectious laughter together when they're laughing at the results of their chaos.

Hoping for a thriving business for The Good Egg/The Bad Egg 🥚🫡

A small and maybe silly question, but I was wondering: when lighting a candle for Shabbat at home, can I use any candle regardless of size or material that I already have at home, or are there specific guidelines for the candle I should be lighting on Shabbat (since I typically see taller kinds put on candle holders)

Lastly, any advice on how to safely keep the candle lit throughout Shabbat at home without creating a fire hazard?

Thank you! L'Shalom

What prompted me to ask is because I've noticed for a long time how diverse the Hilda fandom is and how a lot of us come from different parts of the world that aren't the UK or US and Canada, despite also being a relatively small and niche fandom, which is incredible! And it got me thinking if anyone had originally watched Hilda in the dub of another country? If so, how would you describe and compare it to the original English performances of the show?

I've been studying French for over a year now (currently in B1/intermediate level 🥳), and I've recently rewatched the series in its French dub as a little activity for comprehension practice. Sometimes the subs in English and vice versa aren't very consistent, but I ADORE the voice acting of everyone in the French dub, especially Hilda's; she captures the energy and whimsy of Bella Ramsey's performance really well so French Hilda is just as adorable.