List of (my own) Jewish fanfic

[kassrachel]

ETA: Some shameless self-pimping: I just posted a list of all the stories I've written with Jewish content -- 14 stories in 8 fandoms. Figured I'd drop a link here in case people are interested.)

B'teavon / enjoy!

Comments

[eveningblue]

Thank you for posting this!

I see fanfiction as a form of midrash

I've often thought of the correlation between these two things and I've wondered if my being Jewish and raised in a culture of analysis and argument rather than passive consumption had anything to do with my being drawn to fandom.

I think there's a kind of fanfic--the explanatory story, in which a piece of canon that doesn't make sense or that could have many interpretations is explained by the writer--that is most closely related to the midrash.

Now, whenever I'm at Torah study and a familiar midrash comes up (for example, the story of why Moses didn't speak well--that he'd had a hot coal put in his mouth as a baby), I think to myself, fanfic!

I'm not familiar enough with other religions to know if something like the Talmud exists elsewhere. Do you know if it does?

Looking forward to reading your whole essay when I have time...

[kassrachel]

I think there's a kind of fanfic--the explanatory story, in which a piece of canon that doesn't make sense or that could have many interpretations is explained by the writer--that is most closely related to the midrash.

Oh, absolutely -- that's an impulse that I think we as fans, and the rabbis as midrashists, totally have in common. \o/

I don't know of anything quite like Talmud anywhere else. Some people see it as parallel to the Christian Scriptures, because some of it was written down around the same time and because both texts function as "sequels" to the Tanakh, but obviously the tone of the two texts is very different...

[astaria51]

I think there's a kind of fanfic--the explanatory story, in which a piece of canon that doesn't make sense or that could have many interpretations is explained by the writer--that is most closely related to the midrash.

Ooh, indeed!
Or the missing scene story.

[rydra_wong]

Yay! So glad to see that linked.

[kassrachel]

\o/! Thank you for your encouragement.

[polaris_starz]

I don't remember if I commented on the original essay-- but it's in my memories and I think it's amazing. I think it's a wonderful way to look at fandom.

(Also, I covet your icon. *g*)

[kassrachel]

Thank you kindly! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. \o/!

(Also, you're welcome to make an icon just like this one, if you want; I certainly have no ownership of the text. I just typed it on a purple background because I'm not a very skilled icon-maker and couldn't think of anything more creative to do. *g*)

[astaria51]

Thank you for linking that essay! *runs to look* The excerpt is fascinating.

...this is what I can tell my mother next time she wonders why I'm wasting my time writing things about someone else's characters. "They're midrash, Mom!"

[kassrachel]

::grin:: I hope you enjoy the essay!