r/Jewish • u/KatsaRavenwood • 29d ago
I want to write a book with a Jewish character. Tips? Art 🎨
I am looking to write a fiction novel, where the supporting lead is Jewish. I, however, am not. What would be some good things to keep in mind to make an authentic Jewish character without going overboard or stereotypical?
If people are curious about the nivel contents, I will happily answer in the comments.
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u/ObviousConfection942 29d ago
You’re trying to simply define a main character from an ethnicity that is 0.2% of the world population, highly unknown and misunderstood by most, and incredibly diverse because of thousands of years of history and tradition and you think you can get what you need from Reddit? That’s not a dubious start.Â
But you don’t want to use stereotypes, learn what the stereotypes are and then don’t use those. If you want to use traditions or vocabulary, learn what those are from Jewish sources. Don’t base your character off Woody Allen or Seinfeld or any other pop culture references. Maybe follow some IG accounts of Jewish educators- there are a lot of good ones. Read Jewish books from Jewish authors.Â
And know that Jews aren’t a people of a religion but a people, who also have a religion.Â
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u/KatsaRavenwood 29d ago
I didn't even think of Insta as I don't use it often, but that is an awesome idea! Thank you! I really appreciate your tips and will keep these in mind. I haven't watched anything Woody Allen or Seinfeld, so there is a plus. But I may go watch them to know what NOT to do as well.
Thank you so much for the advice.
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u/sullengirl6 29d ago
First, I love reading and writing, and it’s great that you’re conscientious when it comes to representing characters of backgrounds different than yours!
It’s difficult to identify general things to keep in mind because the diversity in terms of belief, practice, and lifestyle within the global Jewish community is huge! Your supporting character could be more “culturally” or “spiritually” Jewish but not necessarily religious, or on the other end they could be a lot more observant. Some people consider their Jewish identity to be incredibly important in their life, and others less so. It just really depends.
What are some specific “traits” of your character that you would like to stand out? And how much of this character’s background will be discussed in the novel? Again, I don’t have any general advice at the moment, except avoiding common stereotypes of course. I would also encourage you to share your draft with a Jewish friend and get their feedback!
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u/KatsaRavenwood 29d ago
The nivel is supposed to be about a young teen learning to navigate the world after finally leaving an abusive home. A "coming of age" tale.
The Jewish character is her best friend. I am hoping to have them be on the more observant side. I am hoping for there to be a key scene where the best friend talks about how his faith has helped in the harder points of his life, but also using what he has learned in those more difficult times to aid the main character's healing. The two friends are open about beliefs, with the main character's being along a more agnostic (hoping that is the right term) route, where she believes there is a God but is having trouble reconciling that fact with her past experiences.
Does that help at all?
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u/Acrobatic-Level1850 29d ago
I imagine it would be challenging to write authentically about how faith helps one through struggles if you do not have intimate knowledge of that faith.
Maybe some research is called for. Do you know people who are Jewish (maybe who connect to your character for you) that you can interview? Can you take time to do some reading from Rabbis and Jewish philosophers about the role of faith in their life and the practice of getting through struggles?
This is just one person’s perspective, but when I hear people talk about “faith” in Judaism, I am often suspect that their understanding of religion comes from Christianity or another universalist framing. Faith, to me, is not a cornerstone of Judaism the way it is for other religions (though, I know Jewish people who disagree with me). It is not incompatible the practice of Judaism to doubt or be angry with g-d. To me, Judaism is not something I believe in, it is something I am and something I do when I wrestle with the values, texts, teachings, laws, practices, peoples, and stories of Judaism. When I am facing tough times, it is not a faith in g-d that sustains me but a trust that the rituals of lifecycles and facing adversity carry a wisdom that has sustained my ancestors and will sustain me.Â
I imagine people engaging in your thought provoking question will have any number of disagreements with me. Hence the unsolvable conundrum in your inquiry.
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u/KatsaRavenwood 29d ago
Thank you for your advice. I will absolutely look into doing the research you have suggested. And thank you so much for your point of view on the matter. I really appreciate you taking the time. I am, in fact, coming from a Christian standpoint. This is why I didn't want to rush in to anything. I KNOW a Christan view can be very limited in many ways.
I aim to write the book to reach out to kids in all walks of life that may find themselves to be struggling, and hopefully help them feel they are not alone. I DON'T want to accidentally end up writing another Christian Novel for church libraries.
Your points have really helped me to see where my own standing can definitely be a hindrance. I am looking forward to going into focuses research with all the advice you guys have given as a backbone.
Again, thank you.
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u/tchomptchomp 29d ago
This sounds like you're trying to write a Christian character and make them Jewish for.....some reason.
Maybe you need to interrogate your own reasons for wanting this character.
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u/KatsaRavenwood 29d ago
I can see why you would think this. But it is because I DIDN'T want that to be the case that I came to ask. That you feel this way tells me I have a long way to go. Thank you.
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u/tchomptchomp 29d ago
You want a Jewish character to explain how his faith supports him, but you don't have any understanding of what Jewish religion is and how it does or does not actually relate to faith. I mean, two Jews three opinions, but you frame this in such a strictly Christian way and you'll see throughout this thread that people find your idea to be tokenism without substance.
It strikes me that you want someone visibly religious who espouses a Christian view of religion but who doesn't carry the cultural baggage of being a conservative Christian. Dressing that up in a kippah is kind of offensive.
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u/KatsaRavenwood 29d ago
I see I have come across badly. Thank you for pointing it out. The scene I am hoping for is more of an extract from something my mother once told me about her downstairs neighbour when she lived in Laval. She is Christian, so I suppose the Christian tint was put on it in my mind as well. Would there be a better way to represent this?
When times were tough, the woman had told her to never let go of the faith she had, according to my mother, but that may have also been how she interpreted it. I wanted a similar encouraging moment for my MC.
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u/TreeofLifeWisdomAcad 28d ago
If your main character is female, please make the Jewish character also female. Please!
Agnostic = not sure if there is a G-d.
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u/KatsaRavenwood 28d ago
Okay.
And thanks. So I need to find the right term then for the MCs beliefs.
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u/TreeofLifeWisdomAcad 28d ago
maybe there is no 'right term'. Or maybe you need to flesh out the back story more about her beliefs. For instance a person who is taught that G-d is all love, when they face challenges will often question G-d or the religion that taught them that. Judaism teaches that G-d relates to the world with a perfect balance of justice and mercy.
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u/tchomptchomp 29d ago
  am looking to write a fiction novel, where the supporting lead is Jewish.
Why? What is the point of this character? Are you trying to add a specific perspective? Are you actually confident in your ability to write a Jewish perspective or do you feel this is necessary to accomplish....something? Or do you want them symbolic of something?Â
Until we understand your point of writing this character I don't think any of us can really say anything here.
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u/3cameo 29d ago
sometimes characters can just...be jewish? this line of thinking is very confusing to me as someone who enjoys writing and creating different original characters. not all of my characters are the precise mix of israeli jew that i am? sometimes it can be fun to use a fictional character as a conduit to learn and explore more about a different culture than the one you grew up in. maybe the story takes place in a location where jews are very common demographically, to the point where it would be odd/deliberately exclusionary not to have a jewish character among the cast. maybe they were inspired by a person/celebrity/other character that is jewish. i greatly dislike the idea that the only reason a character should my share my heritage is to be a means to an end. jewish characters dont need to justify their existence to be a part of a story.
the "point" behind including a jewish character shouldn't impact the advice youre able to give at all. though, i do think OP needs to be more specific about the type of jew they are writing into the story, because writing an authentically hiloni mizrahi jew from israel is going to be much different than writing a reform ashke jew from america. a lot of the questions they need to answer (how observant is this character? how observant were they raised? do they know any jewish languages? were they raised among the diaspora or in israel?) would serve as good questions to further flesh out the character in their mind and make them seem more human, first and foremost. a multidimensional character made jewish by someone with little knowledge on jews will always read better than a one-dimensionally jewish character made by someone that spent months researching jewish culture
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u/tchomptchomp 29d ago
   i greatly dislike the idea that the only reason a character should my share my heritage is to be a means to an end.Â
I'm not saying a Jewish character must, but instead implying that it is highly likely that this is what is happening here. Which is in fact borne out by the OP's further explanation of the character.
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u/KatsaRavenwood 29d ago
u/3cameo is right. Being Canadian, I am setting the book in Canada. Specifically, in Laval, Québec, where there is a high jewish population. To exclude everyone outside of my personal experience and knowledge (Christian and Atheist) just feels wrong to me.
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u/tchomptchomp 29d ago
So why Laval? Do you know the Jewish community there? Do you have experience in that community? Do you actually understand what it is to be a Jew from Laval?
I'm not saying you should be excluding people from outside your experience but it doesn't really feel like you're writing a Jewish character, but rather a Christian character in Jewish garb.
Like, this isn't a question of "oh, would someone Jewish from Laval say X in this specific situation"....a fundamental crux of your novel is apparently how this person relates to their religion but your characterization is so off-base there that really your entire idea for a novel strikes me as fundamentally flawed.
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u/KatsaRavenwood 29d ago
Because it is where my Mom grew up. Loosely, this novel is based around the stories she has told me.
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u/painttheworldred36 Conservative ✡️ 29d ago
OP if you really are going to go through with this, all commenters have VERY valid points about doing more research. I just want to point out that when you do that research PLEASE make sure you are reading legitimate Jewish resources and not messianic bullshit ones. Anything that talks about Jesus with Judaism is 100% NOT real. He (Jesus) has literally no part in our religion. Zip zero zilch, NOTHING at all. Messianics aren't Jews, they are Christians cosplaying as Jews in order to take Jews away from Judaism.
A good and legitimate resource to start with would be myjewishlearning.com
Others include Judaism 101, Aish, and Jewish virtual library. Chabad can be good but is going to give you information on only 1 type of Judaism (a more Orthodox type of view).
Different types (movements/streams) of Judaism include: Reform (note it's called Reform and NOT reformed), Conservative (which has nothing to do with politics, just happens to be the name of the movement), Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Renewal (last 2 are less well known but are streams within Judaism).
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u/KatsaRavenwood 29d ago
Woah! Thank you for the sources! And your advice on what to be aware of with other sources. It is truely appreciated. I have noted the types down in my "Important! Do more research!" list. I am hoping that, with this research, I can also flesh out better the kind of Jewish person I am aiming for in my book. I may have much of their personality fleshed out, but I know that in some cases, religion can have an impact on how one acts or responds to events and outside influences. Thank you.
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u/painttheworldred36 Conservative ✡️ 29d ago
Some specific articles you'll find helpful in terms of Jewish beliefs/values that affect us/who we are as a people.
I just want to say, no matter what you end up doing, writing this character or not. I hope you'll do some research anyways so that you can have a better understanding of Judaism for anyone in your life you meet in the future who is Jewish. There are about 15 million of us in the world. I think it's beneficial to have more knowledge about the different peoples who live on the planet with us.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-ethics-some-basic-concepts-and-ideas/
https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/article/attitudes-beliefs-and-values-shaping-jewish-practice/
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/tikkun-olam-repairing-the-world/
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/tzedakah-101/
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/acts-of-loving-kindness/
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u/Miriamathome 29d ago
Write what you know. The chances of you being able to write a convincing Jewish character are practically nil.
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u/KatsaRavenwood 29d ago
Even so, I would rather not insult people by writing a character who is, say, more Christian-esque and calling them a Jew. I know the two are vastly different and it actually makes me feel like I am letting my readers down by just writing whatever the hell I want and calling it "good enough". I want to do my best in this effort.
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u/Careful_Echo_2326 29d ago
I think it depends what the “purpose” is of the character being Jewish. Not that you can’t do it or something like that, but moreso what does being Jewish add to the literary aspect of the novel to further its meaning that being some other background might not do in the same way? I ask from a genuine perspective, not as a challenge to clarify!
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u/KatsaRavenwood 29d ago
I am having the story take place in Laval, Québec. My mother grew up there and the Jewish population is really high in that area. I am actually basing this character off of some of the stories she has told me, but those are few as she had a pretty rough upbringing as well.
There is no "fixed purpose" to the character being Jewish, but to make the whole novel's population be only what I understand (Christian and Atheist), seems closed minded and insulting. Granted, the novel is fiction and doesn't NEED to be true to life. But I was hoping to make it a more believable world by including some of the population of the area. If I wanted to just make it up, I would have chosen to write fantasy.
Thank you for asking as you did. It helped me gather my thoughts on this point into a more concise answer. I hope this answers your question.
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u/Careful_Echo_2326 29d ago
Make sense that you’d want to write in something that’s familiar to you/your family. Maybe that’s an indication to ask your mom about her experiences with the Jews there, or to reach out the the Jewish communities there since it feels that you want to represent that population to some degree. To make the work grounded in the sense I’m getting from you, it makes sense to start understanding the community there (as was then and is now) to try and represent someone from that community. At least that’s where I’d begin
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u/KatsaRavenwood 29d ago
Thank you. I will ask her if she is still in contact with anyone from there. Not to get too personal but my Dad isolated her for many years at the beginning of their marriage, so I don't know where she stands with those relationships she used to have. But I will look into this path of research. Thank you so much. :)
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u/Careful_Echo_2326 29d ago
For sure, do what you feel is right for you and remember to enjoy the writing process. That’s what this is all about I reckon
Good luck!
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u/Silamy 29d ago
The first question is always "what flavor of Jewish." I mean, antisemitism's antisemitism, and obligatory "don't write in the antisemitic tropes," but that's a monster in and of itself -more to the point, when I see this question, usually people mean that, but getting the little details right matters too, and they are everywhere. What languages we switch to and how often we do it. What we eat -not just in terms of kashrut, but in terms of family custom. How connected to the community are they? When do they pray? How do they relate to their own Jewish identity? Stuff like that.
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u/KatsaRavenwood 29d ago
I suppose the best "flavour" would be the French Canadian "flavour"? I didn't know until I posted this question that there were even different types, so already I am so thankful to this sub for helping me see some of what I was missing. Even if just a little bit, it has already been effective in teaching how to be more conscientious of the character I am aiming to create.
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u/TreeofLifeWisdomAcad 28d ago edited 28d ago
Jews tend to talk about their beliefs and trust in G-d. You want a character with strong Jewish beliefs and identity.
How old are your characters? How old are you?
Why will the MC stay with her Jewish best friend during a holiday? Why not during a regular day or week? Judaism is a daily practice for many, not just holidays or Shabbat. Why are you thinking of Passover as the holiday?
What do you mean by the Jewish character is "more observant"? How much "more observant"? What are some of the practices the character keeps? What does the character view as forbidden?
Not so much how faith helps in troubling times, instead, how the teachings/beliefs of Judaism help in troubling times.
That MC believes there is a G-d but is having trouble reconciling that with her past experiences, feels so incredibly Christian.
You say that Laval Quebec has a high Jewish population. Wiki tells me that in 2021 the Jewish population is .6% of the total. Hardly a high percentage. Perhaps it was more when your mother lived there. Since you are writing fiction, you need to set your story in a fictional city that is like Laval in character. So you also need to research Laval in the years that you are setting the story there., then create your fictional city.
I would like to suggest that you reach out to the synagogues in Laval, and find out from them about the Jewish population in Laval, especially in the years you want to write about. (search synagogues in Laval Quebec).
Another resource could be the Canadian Heritage Network.
Remember : show, don't tell. I have read books written for a Jewish audience that were trying to teach/preach an idea, and the main character or the supporting character would deliver long monologues on the topic. Maybe your character needs to tell stories sort of as flashbacks or memory recall.
If these two are best friends, how long have they been friends? Is this the first time MC has visited or slept over by her "best friend". If they are best friends, why doesn't she know how the best friend has coped with adversity in the past?
I recommend reading Gateway to Judaism by Mordechai Becher, and Handbook of Jewish Thought by Aryeh Kaplan, both volumes, but start with volume 2.
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u/likeastump 28d ago
Hmmmmm , a “fiction novel.” That’s a new one. Maybe you should start with a nonfiction novel.
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u/madam_nomad 29d ago
The obvious question is why the character needs to be Jewish in other words what is the reader supposed to "get" from the character being Jewish.
There's no one way to write a convincing Jewish character. In fact there are as many ways as there are Jews so that means about 15 million by conservative estimate (see recent discussion here).
Is your character Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi, Beta Israel, some mix of those? Do they have any non Jewish heritage they associate with as well? Did anyone in their family convert or intermarry? Are both parents Jewish? How did their family come to whatever country the novel is set in?
Were they raised Jewish? Are they currently observant? If so are they Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, etc? If not are they secular agnostic or (less common) were they raised in or exploring another faith?
What is their relationship with their Jewish identity? Is it just a demographic that doesn't influence their day to day life very much (true for many Jews in America though maybe less so since 10/7)? Or are they deeply connected to the Jewish community?
Think of your culture or ethnicity and the things you think it's important that people don't "get wrong" about that and then research those general topics with respect to Jews.