It’s time to write my #ish, I want to get it just right, and I need your help. Of course, you know what an #ish is, right? You don’t? Really? In that case, I’m also thinking about thug aim. (you lose) Back to my #ish.
For those of you that are in that same state of ignorance I was in just a couple weeks ago, I’ll give you the quick run down of the hot new Jewish website www.whatsyourish.com. Actually, I’ll just copy it off their site, here it is…
Being Jewish means something different to everyone. Whatever it means to you is your #ish. It can be heartwarming. Or funny. It can be anything you want. And sharing yours makes a difference, because for every definition, a quarter goes towards the #ish fund.
Got it? There are tons of them on the website if you want to see some. There’s also a very funny video by our locally-bred comic hereos the Sklar Brothers.
While I don’t see a character limit on ish posts, most seem to have a Twitter like feel to them. So, I guess that means short and sweet, terrible grammar, and some abbreviations most of us can’t figure out.
Again, the topic is basically what does being Jewish mean to me. Here’s some ideas for my #ish, let me know your thoughts.
- The look on my mother’s face when I tell her about the latest non-Jewish girl I’m dating, the restrained agony pulsing through her body, only relieved by me assuring her that this one is not “the one”.
- Watching my children help each other with Hebrew homework, so confident and self assured in themselves and their Judaism.
- Apologizing to my parents as they face the community with two sons that are neither doctors nor lawyers. Not even a dentist.
- Coming together for the May Young Leadership Happy Hour at Loring Kitchen on May 27. (Alex, you owe me one for that plug).
- The ability to be a liberal and maybe even a pacifist while at the still time vehemently defending Israel’s right to take any action necessary to defend themselves and their land.
- The guilty pleasure of eating our forbidden fruits – like ham, improperly slaughtered cows, and non-Jewish women.
- Grandfather dodging bullets in Nazi Germany, surviving so that I can be here today and my children tomorrow.
Okay, now it’s your turn.
- Tell me which #ish I should post on the site, feel free to edit and criticize. I can take it.
- Go the website, post your #ish, be creative, and feel good about the quarter that just got donated because of you. You can also vote on other people’s. Feel free to copy your #ish in the comments section below this article.
- If you want to feel more than a quarter’s worth of goodness, and if you haven’t already pledged your gift to the Minneapolis Jewish Federation this year, go to their site and donate, and give more than a quarter (you’re welcome Barb and Mort).
Notes – 1: Full disclosure, whatsyourish.com is part of the Jewish Federations of North America, parent organization to the Minneapolis Jewish Federation, an organization I am actively involved in. 2: thug aim – look it up on urban dictionary, I had to.
If you’re going to link to Urban Dictionary, why wouldn’t you link to what “ish” actually means?
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=+ish
That would be a great ish for someone to post… My ish is smoking some ish with my Jew Crew buds, snacking on Bamba and sipping Manischewitz.
Thanks for the post, Jason! “What’s Your #ish?” was launched last week jointly by the United Jewish Fund and Council of St. Paul and the Minneapolis Jewish Federation in partnership with the Jewish Federations of North America. We hope you will join the coversation on http://www.whatsyourish.com and share what being Jewish means to you. For every #ish response, JFNA will credit 25 cents to a $50,000 #ish Fund for charity. The Fund will cover the core thematic needs supported by the Jewish Federation Annual Campaign, including poverty, elder care, Jewish identity, Israel solidarity and more. You can check out the UJFC’s website at http://jewishstpaul.org or call Ted Flaum at 651-695-3185 for info on how you can support the greater St. Paul and worldwide Jewish community by volunteering and/or donations. 🙂