Joyful Jewish Moments are Having a Moment

Your responses to a Substack note about Jewish joy

Hebrew Word of the Week:
Someone taught me the term for peer pressure, which is lachatz chevrati (לַחַץ חֶבְרָתִי). Thanks, Ariella!

---

Hey friends,

Welcome to another joyful Jewish Friday!

It’s that time of year when the temperatures are higher, the days are slower, and I’m more likely to be found outside reading romantasy than writing indoors. So, August Drops may be a little shorter or more sporadic. Thanks for your patience!

This week’s Drop is simple. As some of you may know, I recently wrote a Substack note complaining about my too-depressing feed. It’s very Jewish, so it can be pretty negative, since there’s a lot of frustrating and scary stuff going on in the world. Like the fact that antisemitic assaults in the UK increased by 82% in the first half of 2026. Or just look at Michigan politics from this week.

While it’s important to make others aware of today’s climate of antisemitism, we can’t always be reactive or angry. We need to be the light in the world. It says so in the Tanakh!

"I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness... I will keep you and make you a covenant for the people and a light to the nations." -Isaiah 42:6

To me, light doesn’t only mean positivity and improving the world. It also means ~keeping things light~. I don’t know about you, but after Tisha B’Av, I could use more of that.

It’s been fun reading the 100+ responses I received! Some commenters, including Jewish personalities I admire, shared links to fellow ‘Jewstackers’. Some shared sweet personal stories. Some non-Jews shared their positive interactions with Jews (love it!!).

I even made connections with all sorts of joyful creators. I’m now featured on the Kosher Duck Revolution website (have I peaked?!), and I’m getting a Torah oracle reading next week!

Thanks to all who commented and contributed. Keep spreading more light. As the Kosher Duck Revolution website says: If hate can go viral, why can’t love?

Here’s the note and some responses. Read all of them here. Enjoy!

---

✍️ Shabbat Prompt

Now it’s your turn! What’s something that brings you Jewish joy? And why is it so important to embrace that Jewish joy? How do you sustain it?

Feel free to journal about it or write in the comments below (I started in the first comment to kick things off).

Shabbat Shalom. With love and challah,

💦 If you like joy, check out these Drops: