Date: 22 Aug 2013 04:14 Title: Chapter 1
Very nice piece, jespah, and a good complement to all the Christmas tales out there. Informative for the crew of the NX-01 as well as those of us readers who are only perpiherally familiar with Chanukah.
However, I liked the bit more about the ritual gathering and prayer upon the death of a family member. I wish you had explained a little more about the Kaddish ceremony - the purpose and meaning behind it, and why there have to be at least ten people in attendance.
The Trek world is all about diversity - about us learning to understand and be inspired by the beliefs not only of different ethnic groups of humans, but by the many species that populate the galaxy. A wonderful and enlightening addition to the Trek universe.
Author's Response:
Thank you!
There actually isn't much to Kaddish. When you aren't sitting shiva or burying the body, the process of mourning is very, very bare bones. It's really just - here, read this prayer, and have 10 people with you. I believe the idea behind it is to have a sense of community (and it's not just Kaddish that requires 10 people - technically, all Jewish praying in synagogue is supposed to be with a quorum of 10). Saying the prayer is a means of letting people know, kind of elliptically, that something tragic has happened in your life, and someone is gone. Hence you don't need to broadcast that. People will know, and can offer their condolences. For the first year after a death, you're supposed to say the prayer once a week.
We also say the prayer every year (again, it's supposed to be with a minyan) on the anniversary of the death. That ritual is called Yartzeit, and it's meant as a commemoration but for the other 364 days out of the year, you don't have to do that.
And Ethan is also, in a way, overdoing things, as technically he doesn't have to do any of this. But he's a kind person and he also recognizes that, because Rachel had no children, he and his sister are as close as anyone can get to being Rachel's grandchildren.
And - spoiler alert - eventually Karin notices this, too.
Date: 20 Aug 2013 06:59 Title: Chapter 1
Perfectly lovely. The multiculturalism really is a delight to see, particularly being accepted and shared with nonjudgmental friends. Plus, your characterizations are, as usual, realistic amd kind of adorable, without diving into cliche or being somehow out of place.
Author's Response:
Thank you for reading!
The thought, always was - why is the only place where we see any sort of faith, in alien cultures? I realize it is Trek and we want to see how aliens live, but the people of the future, even the humans, are going to be as alien to us as the ones of the time of the US Civil War are. And probably more so, as the pace of change continues to accelerate.
So who are these people? And do they see something in the stars that isn't just big balls of hydrogren and helium gases? I like to think that some people do.
Date: 04 Feb 2012 19:56 Title: Chapter 1
Aw, jespah. I loved this for a particular reason. That reason being that I love fanfics that do a bit of world building, that show a little bit more to an alien race - their culture, beliefs, traditions and way of life. And here you do that - but not for an alien race - but for a part of humanity. I'm not particularly versed in many Hebrew traditions - some yes by virtue of linkages to Christian faith such as Passover and others by the likes of Fiddler in the Roof (I know right?!) or through Howard in The Big Bang Theory. Ok, not as restricted to those sources as all that but essentially there is a lacking in my knowledge og many Hebrew traditions So I really liked this story for the manner it was presented and for learning about Chanukah. it was also presented in a neat way that allowed the remainder of the crew to get in on the story and to learn something too abotu these traditions. Well done.
Author's Response:
Thank you!
I see so many Trek Christmas stories, and a part of me screamed for years – "Give us equal time!"
With the TOS episode "Patterns of Force", and the "Zero Hour" and two-part "Storm Front" episodes in ENT, there is a history of Jews in the Trekverse, but really only in the context of Nazis. I wanted a peaceful look, perhaps a bit educational, to show that it's not just victimization that defines a people.
For the Jewish folk on the NX-01, it's an occasion to get together, but they spend most of their free time together, anyway. And for the non-Jews, it's a chance to get to know these characters a bit, and to see something of what makes them tick. Why don't they eat cheeseburgers? Why are they incommunicado for 3/4 of every Saturday?
Plus it was a chance to sneak in the name of one of my favorite uncles – Murray Orenstein. :)
Date: 01 Dec 2011 15:17 Title: Chapter 1
It started from a sad event, but in the end the story left a positive and optimistic feeling in me :) And I literally laughed out loud at Archer's "Not a word to Starfleet."
In TOS we saw that religion was still present in the future (the chapel on the Enterprise sends such a message), so no surprise other religions and culture are also celebrated. It seems that in Picard times it wasn't as spread--or shown in the show.
It was nice to see that friends could join and help in celebration--help in making the celebration happen. I especially liked Azar presence here; not only that he came, but also that it was not an issue and seemed nothing special. I hope some day something like this really wouldn't cause any reaction and be a natural thing to do. It would be proof that humanity really advanced and left behind all conflicts and can finally be one :)
A lovely story about celebration and holding to traditions :) And friendship :)
Author's Response:
I had this vision of Archer and Reed dancing a hora, a kind of loosening up for two very stiff guys.
The sad occasion into the happy one is also meant to be reflective of a lot of parts of the faith, e. g. the shattering of a glass at a wedding, etc., where in the midst of happiness you're reminded that sometimes things don't go so well.
I also wanted for there to be people - Azar included - who have traditions and differences, and they continue them on, that getting along with different humans doesn't and shouldn't mean that people just become one large, homogenized mass, where there are no differentiations.
Thank you for the review!
[Report This]Date: 03 Aug 2011 18:27 Title: Chapter 1
Delightful story, Janet! It's nice -- and timely -- to see a happy, hopeful story about cross-cultural understanding. Including Azar was a nice touch.
Author's Response:
Thank you, David! Perhaps I'll do some research and figure out a story for Azar to star in.
[Report This]Date: 13 Jul 2011 13:58 Title: Chapter 1
I agree with Ln X. There is ample evidence that religion was still around, at least on the original series. Kirk's argument with Nomad pretty much rested on some sort of belief in God. I may or may not agree with the use of God(s) in Trek, but for story telling purposes, I'm not against it at all.
Author's Response: In a lot of ways, I wanted them to be more culturally Jewish than anything else. Otherwise, if you're really strict, you should be eating off separate dishes, rest on Saturdays, etc. and that's just not gonna happen in the Trek universe. But I also think of a cousin of mine who is pretty Orthodox but works as a Treasury Agent (and I believe has also worked for the Secret Service -- talk about your Section 31 vibes...) and how he must work around things. I figure that, once Jews go into Space in the long term (with apologies to Mel Brooks), the minyan question would have to be settled, because sometimes you just can't find 10 Jews together but you are still supposed to pray. I wrote this story months ago (it was written for the holidays in 2010) and have also come to see it as the question of, how does anyone maintain an off-Trek, off-ship individuality in deep space? Not just in terms of faith but in terms of almost anything. Maybe I'll craft that into another tale.
Many thanks for commenting and reviewing.
[Report This]Date: 12 Jul 2011 22:33 Title: Chapter 1
Interesting stuff. Star Trek has never actually included Earth's religions, instead it dealt with the Klingon faith and Sto-Vo-Kor, and the Bajorans and their Prophets.
But never did it touch upon the subject of an actual Earth religion, like Christianity, Judaism or Islam (and others of course).
Of course it would be too politically sensitive if an actual TV series of Star Trek did that. Having spiritual believes myself, I am quite interested in what you have written.
It was also a nice touch to use the crew of the Enterprise, out of all the crews they were the ones (aside from T'Pol and Phlox) who more closely resembled humanity as it is today. So I think it's quite fitting to use the crew of the Enterprise in this story.
Author's Response: Thank you for commenting. I was thinking a bit about in TOS when Uhura mentions "Son of God" (I am forgetting the episode), plus the Nazi episodes in both ENT and TOS. I've also often thought of "You will be assimilated" as said by the Borg -- well, if you're Jewish, you're often told of the dangers of assimilation, e. g. that the faith may die out if it becomes too watered down (and I am not that strict, but I can understand the motivation behind that). Kinda wanted, just once, for an obviously Jewish character to yell, "Assimilate THIS!" at the Borg while going out in a suicidal blaze of glory.