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Rafe Neis (((they/them)))

@postrafelite.bsky.social
296 followers 328 following 229 posts

🏳️‍⚧️ 🎨✍🏻 🦋 Londoner in the Middle West. Historian of late antiquity and Talmud scholar. Comics artist and painter. First Gen x 3.

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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
It is this fucking simple. Here are four fully enclosed toilet stalls in a bathroom for all genders. If this can be done at @ UM school if Ed, it can be done everywhere. #transwhilepeeing #transwhilepooping #allgenderbathrooms
Photograph of Bathroom with 3 fully enclosed stalls, plus a store at the end for PWD. At the UM school of education.
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Also for Chanukah shopping ;-)) get this!
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
The things we do to keep our own spirits up, while piously pretending its "for the sake of the children" Video: grownup and two little ones doing silly dancing on living room floor.
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
Mimesis with 2 y o and stuffed animals. 4 y o does their own thing.
A grown up wearing a colorful cap and a toddler in profile, look at  each other, both saying something. Grownup holds two stuffed animals. Behind them is a kid in a multicolor cardigan.
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Monika Amsler @monikaamsler.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Guys, if you haven’t had a chance to read Rafe’s “When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven” (open access with UCP) do it! It’s a game-changer! If you don’t have time for the entire book, my review came out this week with AJS Review.
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Thanks @monikaamsler.bsky.social for this iconic pic of the wonderful panel in which #SarahIlesJohnston, #JeremyMcInerney, #KarenBritt, #RaananBoustan, #BlakeLeyerle, and #Denisa Hradilová, engaged my book in dialogue with their own work on art, hybrids, monsters, animals, and menageries! 1/x
In front of powerpoint project of drawing of image of demon from
Incantation bowl, a white besuited person with short brown hair speaks into a mic.
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Aderaba Podcast @aderaba.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
Gilah Kletenik and Rafael Neis are at it again, in Ep. 5 "Jewish Studies, Naturally." For the full episode, visit the link in bio or click on the link below. #jewishstudies #aderaba #podcast #nature @postrafelite.bsky.social youtu.be/p6yp7m-Ob2E?...
youtu.be
Jewish Studies, Naturally
YouTube video by Aderaba
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
#USPATH feels so good to be in a trans majority space talking about the issues
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
Am I the only one who pronounces it as Bloo-skee?
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Aderaba Podcast @aderaba.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Season 1, Episode 4: "What's Wrong with the West" just dropped! Come for the insightful analysis and critique of contemporary investment in a so-called "Western" tradition currently ascendent in right-wing circles, including by specific Jewish groups. beacons.ai/aderaba @postrafelite.bsky.social
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Aderaba Podcast @aderaba.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Season 1, Ep 2 of ADERABA: What’s Bad about Being in the Image of God? Hosts Gilah Kletenik & Rafe Neis unpack how this idea shaped Jewish & Christian thought—its dangers, its hierarchies, and its potential for rethinking human dignity & ecology today. #aderaba #talmud #philosophy #theology
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Craig Perry @caperry.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
You can now read and download the Introduction to my new book Slavery and the Jews of Medieval Egypt - to be published in January. press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
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Aderaba Podcast @aderaba.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Season 1, Ep 3 of ADERABA: Why Halakhah is NOT Law We unpack the history and politics of reducing halakhah to “Jewish law,” its Christian inflections, and its impact on Jewish legal thought today. Heated (and personal!) lawyer–rabbi debate inside. #halakhah #jewishstudies #judaism #law #philosophy
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
Jews and stomach problems have apparently been a theme for a while. (from Berakhot 55a)
"With regard to what Rav Yehuda said in praise of one who prolongs his time in the bathroom, the Gemara asks: Is that a virtue? Wasn’t it taught in a baraita: Ten things bring a person to suffer from hemorrhoids: One who eats the leaves of bulrushes, grape leaves, tendrils of grapevines, the palate and tongue of an animal, as well as any other part of the animal which is not smooth and which has protrusions, the spine of a fish, a salty fish that is not fully cooked, and one who drinks wine dregs, and one who wipes himself with lime and clay, the materials from which earthenware is made, and one who wipes himself with a stone with which another person wiped himself. And some say: One who suspends himself too much in the bathroom as well. This proves that prolonging one’s time in the bathroom is harmful."
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Christopher B. Zeichmann @cbzeichmann.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
More self-promotion: a lecture I gave earlier this year about radical forms of democracy in antiquity (and the lessons they might offer us) can now be seen on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iluz... #democracy #anarchism #canpol #antiquity
youtube.com
Radical Antiquity: Ancient Lessons for Modern Democracy
YouTube video by Knox College
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Diskette Press @ A2CAF @diskettepress.com · 14/09/2025
there is an hour and a half of SPX left so make sure you find all of the clues to discover the true meaning of zines
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onion person @junlper.beer · 13/09/2025
what we’ve seen from the right is the most insane case of cancel culture i’ve ever witnessed. the left has never even done close to a fraction of a fraction of what they want to do now
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Ancient Jew Review @ancientjewreview.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
Rafael Neis offers a response to panelists, highlighting the unique position of both author and artist.
ancientjewreview.com
Author Response | Neis, When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven — ANCIENT JEW REVIEW
“I view my book not only as a celebration of resemblance and its nonsensical relations, but also an interruption of an exceptionalized and recurring image: that of God. The play of resemblances that…
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Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
I am having a hard time reconciling "Charlie Kirk was a fierce advocate of open dialogue and free expression" with "we must identify and persecute everyone who is insufficiently mournful"
nbcnews.com
After Charlie Kirk's death, teachers and professors nationwide fired or disciplined over social media posts
At least a dozen faculty and staff have faced fallout over insensitive comments online.
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Spoiler: what do Augustine, Hitler, Augustine, Obama and (Mike) Pence have in common? Gilah Kletenik and I argue about the value of the idea that humans are in the divine image.
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Episode 2 of ADERABA out today! WHAT IS BAD ABOUT BEING IN THE IMAGE OF GOD? Two clips below 👇🏻 Full episode on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc. youtube.com/shorts/gK8z5... youtube.com/shorts/vWyNJ...
youtube.com
ADERABA S1 E2 CLIP 2 - "What's Bad About Being in the Image of God?"
YouTube video by Aderaba
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
I am teaching Ancient Law this semester. It's a surprisingly tough subject to teach if you live/are affected in any way by the present. myriad presumptions we have about law are hard to bear when certain people are criminalized for existing.
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Literati Bookstore @literatibookstore.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
My hometown school librarian is now being counter-sued... Here's how to donate to the GoFundMe to help legal fees: www.gofundme.com/f/legal-supp...
gofundme.com
Donate to Legal Fees for Librarian Christine Beachler, organized by Michelle Vanallsburg
WZZM 13 On Your Side Story No one should be consistently attacked… Michelle Vanallsburg needs your support for Legal Fees for Librarian Christine Beachler
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
This episode is for people who teach/study/have interest in: #religion #religiousstudies #ancienthistory #antiquity #lateantiquity #jewishstudies #talmud #classics #transgender #trans #transgenderstudies #cis #cisstudies #gender #sex #sexgender #trancestors #history #ancientjudaism #bible
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
ADERABA features hosts Gilah Kletenik and me. Our podcast name is Aramaic for "On the contrary." We expect contrary takes on Jewish themes, Talmud, philosophy, bible, law, gender, and more
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
ADERABA first episode just dropped! Have Trans People Always Existed - What Would the Rabbis Say? Subscribe eg here podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a... Clip below has split screen with Gilah on top, me on bottom, talking about Adam's gender.
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
New Podcast! ADERABA: Jewish Studies on the Contrary. episode 1 - "Have Trans People Always Existed? What Would the Rabbis Say?" - drops tomorrow Fri 9/5! open.spotify.com/show/4Ly49AO...
open.spotify.com
Welcome to ADERABA!
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Ancient Jew Review @ancientjewreview.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
New podcast episode! Lydia Bremer-McCollum interviews Monika Amsler about The Babylonian Talmud and Late Antique Book Culture. newbooksnetwork.com/the-babyloni...
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Ronit Stahl @ronitstahl.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
"But fueling Jewish studies on the fumes of the Trump administration’s attack on higher education is not a win. It’s a trap, and one we fear will bring ill consequences to our field, our universities, and American Jews." From @lilacb.bsky.social, Kate Rosenblatt, and me.
chronicle.com
Jewish-Studies Scholars, Beware: Trump’s Deal Will Corrupt You
We must all resist being turned into court Jews.
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
ADERABA first episode just dropped! Have Trans People Always Existed - What Would the Rabbis Say? Subscribe eg here podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a... Clip below has split screen with Gilah on top, me on bottom, talking about Adam's gender.
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
New Podcast! ADERABA: Jewish Studies on the Contrary. episode 1 - "Have Trans People Always Existed? What Would the Rabbis Say?" - drops tomorrow Fri 9/5! open.spotify.com/show/4Ly49AO...
open.spotify.com
Welcome to ADERABA!
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Monika Amsler @monikaamsler.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
🐣 Our SBL Review Symposium for Mike Chin’s new monograph “Life” has just been published with Religious Studies Review 51/2. Have a look here, especially if you are interested in ancient natural history or new ways of writing old history: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/17480922...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Religious Studies Review: Vol 51, No 2
Click on the title to browse this issue
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Sarah Porter @portersf.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
beautiful symposium for a beautiful book don't miss @postrafelite.bsky.social's cartoon about creation - a beautifully meditative way to start the morning
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Dr. Rebecca J. Epstein-Levi @rjelevi.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Closer to my own scholarly field, if you’re interested in the rabbis and haven’t read Max Strassfeld’s “Trans Talmud” and @postrafelite.bsky.social’s “When A Human Gives Birth to a Raven,” you should rectify that right quick: www.ucpress.edu/books/trans-... www.ucpress.edu/books/when-a...
ucpress.edu
Trans Talmud by Max Strassfeld - Paper
Scholarship is a powerful tool for changing how people think, plan, and govern. By giving voice to bright minds and bold ideas, we seek to foster understanding and drive progressive change.
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Gail Labovitz @gailsl.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Also Sarra Lev’s “And the Sages Did Not Know”: www.pennpress.org/978151282518...
pennpress.org
And the Sages Did Not Know – Penn Press
This book explores the question: How did the rabbis of the first two centuries CE approach bodies that are born with variant genitals—bodies that they coul...
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Dr. Rebecca J. Epstein-Levi @rjelevi.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
I’ve adored every single @restingdinoface.bsky.social book I’ve read. Riley Black is a wonderfully lyrical storyteller, and the temporal scope of her work is really fortifying and hopeful in ways you might not expect. (This is to say: today is an awesome day to buy trans writers’ books!)
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Adne Sadeh @adnesadeh.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Travel book. First a work trip, then to my nephews bar mitzvah. @laurarsamotin.bsky.social’s fiction, Abe Mezrich poetry, @postrafelite.bsky.social study, and my beloved Me’am Loez to keep up with the parsha. Gotta be ready for anything.
Books on a table
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maxel tov! @max3000.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
Thrilled to share my review of @postrafelite.bsky.social's marvelous book, which is a rich and erudite dive into the rabbis' world as well as a really exciting theoretical intervention! Plus it's open-access, so you can go read it RIGHT NOW! I hope this review whets your appetite for it!!!
read.dukeupress.edu
Queer Creatures, Strange Kinds | QTR: A Journal of Trans and Queer Studies in Religion | Duke University Press
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Dr. Rebecca J. Epstein-Levi @rjelevi.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Also I finished (for now) my map of Berakhot 30b-33a:
A map of b.Berakhot 30b-33a, centered around its Mishnah, which is divided into three boxes (one of which has two parts) coming off central spokes. Patterns of Gemara interpretation tendril out from the center, with parts of the line of inquiry represented as shapes—rhombus for Tanakh, box for Palestinian sources, circle for Babylonian—in various colors representing generations.

Of the pencil colors: green is Tanakh, pink is Mishnah, orange is Tosefta/baraita, blue is stam Gemara.

For named sages, Tannaim are bright marker colors, amoraim are pastels.

Connections are marked with metallic colored lines once. Of note: gold is Hannah, silver is Moses, and sparkly purple is R. Elazar. Copper is lexical/conceptual/attribution links, sparkly green is links between Tanakh verses, and sparkly blue is connections the Gemara itself makes.
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
The admin that cites its concern about antisemitism to justify deporting students who write op-eds for Palestine, is now defending the German far-right party with a neo-Nazi wing, the party that calls for "moving beyond" Holocaust memory. You know, because they care so much about antisemitism.
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
The Vice President of the United States is tweeting in support of a German far-right party with an openly neo-Nazi wing, which has called to “move beyond” historical guilt for the Holocaust. Never, ever take these people seriously when they claim to care so deeply about antisemitism.
Tweet from JD Vance: “The AfD is the most popular party in Germany, and by far the most representative of East Germany. Now the bureaucrats try to destroy it. 

The West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it has been rebuilt—not by the Soviets or the Russians, but by the German establishment.”
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
I trace the idea - that what you see can impact your soul, psyche, and FETUS (!) - across ancient Jewish and other traditions in my book THE SENSE OF SIGHT IN RABBINIC CULTURE: JEWISH WAYS OF SEEING IN LATE ANTIQUITY. "LOVE at first SIGHT" comes from this ancient understanding of power of vision
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Adne Sadeh @adnesadeh.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
@postrafelite.bsky.social picks up R. Yohannan, maternal imprinting & related topics in their book (Free download) "When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven: Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species" Check out their post, and art, on the UC Press blog www.ucpress.edu/blog-posts/6... 5/6
Hand drawn comic of the R. Yohannan maternal imprinting story
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Adne Sadeh @adnesadeh.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
@postrafelite.bsky.social's book is $35 or free download. I've had it on my shelf since it came out but haven't had a chance to dig in yet. I'm hoping to do so soon. We're both local to each other but haven't met yet. I'm hoping to fix that too. www.ucpress.edu/books/when-a... 6/6
Book Cover of "When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven"
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
Comic on Talmud bavli hagigah 12a-b. It is taught, Rabbi Yose says: Woe to creatures, who see and don't know what they see, who stand, and don't know on what they stand. On what does the earth stand On pillars... on water... on mountains... upon wind... upon a storm, hanging on the Holy One's arm.
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Dr. Rebecca J. Epstein-Levi @rjelevi.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
I’m greatly enjoying @postrafelite.bsky.social’s “When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven,” but I can’t resist doing this Very Serious marginalia whenever hedgehogs are mentioned.
Photo of the top left corner of page 96 of Rafe Neis’s “When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven,” in the margin of which I have doodled a hedgehog saying “Dinsdale? Dinsdale!” (a reference to the Monty Python “Piranha Brothers” sketch from s2e1).

(Honestly the hedgehog looks more like an opossum though).

The page itself quotes m. Kilayim 8:5-6:

“The field human (adne ha-sadeh) is a wild animal. Rabbi Yose says: they convey impurity like a human. The hedgehog and the marten: wild animal. The marten: Rabbi Yose says: Bet Shammai says, an olive's worth [of carcass] renders a person carrying it unclean, and a lentil's worth renders a person touching it unclean.”
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Rafe Neis (((they/them))) @postrafelite.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
My dream way of being read! Journal... will you commission a book review by this extremely prickly reader of my book??
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