TRIGGER WARNING - Please note, in this episode we discuss the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh, PA along with a few other instances of hate crimes perpetrated towards Jews.

In this episode we complete our exploration of the VERY Jewish RAGMAN!

Batman #551, 1998
“Suit of Evil Souls”
Written by Doug Moench
Drawn by Kelley Jones
Inked by John Beatty

Colored by Gregory Wright and Android Images
Lettered by Todd Klein
Edited by Dennis O'Neil and Jordan B. Gorfinkel

Ragman: Suit of Souls #1, Dec 2010
“Tattered Remnants”
Written by Christos Gage
Drawn and inked by Stephen Segovia
Colored by David Curiel
Lettered by Rob Leigh
Edited by Joey Cavalieri and Chris Conroy

Shadowpact #8, 2018
“Ragtime”
Written by Bill Willingham
Drawn by Shawn McManus
Inked by Raul Fernandez
Colored by Mike Atiyeh
Lettered by Pat Brosseau
Edited by Joey Cavalieri

BRANDON'S NOTES:

Batman #551, 1998
“Suit of Evil Souls”
Written by Doug Moench
Drawn by Kelley Jones
Inked by John Beatty
Colored by Gregory Wright and Android Images
Lettered by Todd Klein
Edited by Dennis O'Neil and Jordan B. Gorfinkel
Page 2
Batman hunts Hitler Youth swastika tattooed man
Member of the Aryan Reich
"You murdered Benjamin Mizrahi! Half the Congregation of Temple Beth Israel saw you!... why did you hate him?"
"He was a Jew! And Jews take over everything-- even this stinkin' slum!"
Temple Beth Israel
There's an M.O. Congregation Beth Israel West Side Jewish Center at 34th and 9th Ave (1925 built current building - Hell's Kitchen!)
There's Temple Beth Israel in Port Washington, NY (Nassau county Long Island, Conservative, building opened in 1960)
How satisfying to see Batman beat up Neo Nazis
Page 4
Jewish cemetery
Page 5-6
Rory Regan meets the victim's rabbi, Isaac Ben Luria
Rory is wearing a kippa!
A shooting on "the Sabbath" outside the synagogue
...oy, Pittsburgh, Poway
Humboldt Street Synagogue in Halle, Germany
Someone throws a brick through the shul window
Page 11
"A new shred of the Ragman… forever bonded by a protective shem."
Emet written in wrong direction (top to bottom, tav first)
Page 12
Radio interview between Vesper Fairchild and Dr. David Levy on anti-semitism
Diaspora
I guess that's one word for the exiles
Lachrymose Conception of Jewish History - Salo Baron, 20th Century historian, taught at Columbia University, opposed this concept
Should have ended with the creation of modern Israel
Seems to be a summary of the thought behind Zionism. That if Jews became like the rest of the world…
Page 13
"The scriptures speak of a 'dispersion of divine light' throughout the universe -- and this has been interpreted, on a human level, as the purpose behind the constant wandering of the Jews… dispersing and disseminating the truth of God throughout the world."
Seems to be a possible reading of Lurianic Kabbalah, in which mitzvot help restore shattered vessels
Carl Friedman's 1993 novel, The Shovel and the Loom. Character Chaya studies Luria
"With the dispersion of the divine light began the Diaspora of the Jews, whose task it was to gather the stray sparks and in that way restore the cosmos to its former perfection… Under the influence of Luria, the Diaspora became a positive force, the condition for, as well as introduction to, Olam HaBa, the World to Come. The person of the Messiah became less important. The crucial thing was to prepare the way."
Light unto the nations?
Isaiah 42:6 I the LORD have called unto you in righteousness, and have taken hold of your hand, and submitted you as the people's covenant, as a light unto the nations
Mentions xenophobia, how kashrut may be to discourage socialization with other peoples
Page 14
Vesper asks if that means Jews are also xenophobic
Dr. Levy says the traditions derive from God's law
Page 15
Review of golem, meaning "body without soul"
Kind of…it's inchoate form, mass without animating force
Review of Ragman mini
Page 18
"Know that we shall seek God together- through piety and prayer, humility... and love.

Batman #552, 1998
“The Greatest Evil”
Written by Doug Moench
Drawn by Kelley Jones
Inked by John Beatty
Colored by Gregory Wright and Android Images
Lettered by Todd Klein
Edited by Dennis O'Neil and Jordan B. Gorfinkel
Page 6
Aryan Reich attacks Rabbi Luria, "and this ain't Israel!
Rabbi Luria is unphased, claiming no fear or hate
Claims Jews tricked America into joining the wrong side, "but America's changed, Jew, and now you're"
Terrifyingly relevant
Page 7
Rory asks rabbi to use fire from a menorah
come on, Rory
Page 8
"It is said that the sound of smashing glass chases away demons and evil spirits!"
wedding
Rosh Hashanah 16b - why blow the shofar? To confuse Satan
Chullin 105b - Rav Ashi uses horns to excommunicate a demon (מזיקין)
Page 9
A single will of righteousness to overcome the evil souls
Feels very Sodom or zadok
Page 10
"You must use the power of evil to do good… think and feel before you act."
Very rabbinic. Kovesh et yitzro
Yoma 69b - rabbis capture the evil inclination and find nobody possesses a sex drive anymore
Idea is even base inclinations can be ok if guided to holy purpose
"But...how can I not hate evil? " "By loving God more."
Proverbs 8:13
יִֽרְאַ֣ת יְהוָה֮ שְֽׂנֹ֫את רָ֥ע גֵּ֘אָ֤ה וְגָא֨וֹן ׀ וְדֶ֣רֶךְ רָ֭ע וּפִ֨י תַהְפֻּכ֬וֹת שָׂנֵֽאתִי׃
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, And duplicity in speech.
Psalm 97:10
אֹהֲבֵ֥י ה שִׂנְא֫וּ רָ֥ע שֹׁ֭מֵר נַפְשׁ֣וֹת חֲסִידָ֑יו מִיַּ֥ד רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים יַצִּילֵֽם׃
O you who love the LORD, hate evil! He guards the lives of His loyal ones, saving them from the hand of the wicked.
א֭וֹר זָרֻ֣עַ לַצַּדִּ֑יק וּֽלְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵ֥ב שִׂמְחָֽה׃
Light is sown for the righteous, radiance for the upright.
Makhloket in Judaism
Page 12
Explanation of Kabbalah
"Thirty-Two Paths to Wisdom"
From 32 mentions of Elohim in Genesis 1
"It was developed in the thirteenth century as ecstatic contemplation of Ezekial's vision - a chariot believed to be God's 'throne'...and it espouses mixed doctrine that man himself embodies the universe and all its mysteries."
Mixes it up with chariot mysticism - yordei merkavah
Bits of Shiur Komach
13th century, yes. Though it strikes me this rabbi would claim earlier
Connects Kabbalah to Hasidism, all accurate
"The entire universe- taken together- is God, and man is made in God's image. Man is therefore a miniature embodiment of the universe."
Links to Adam HaRishon as giant, cosmic, essentially all
Refers to God as being in everything
Amazing page
Page 13
"Seek and find God everywhere, even in evil--and evil's power will wither before God"
Very Rav Nachman nekudah tovah.
Likutei Moharan 282:1, quoting Psalm 37:10
וְעוֹד מְעַט וְאֵין רָשָׁע וְהִתְבּוֹנַנְתָּ עַל מְקוֹמוֹ וְאֵינֶנּוּ
Why the fuck are they praying on their knees?!
Page 18
Rabbi reminds Rory of command not to kill, then gets shot
Page 19
Take vengeance, but within the law
Din within strict bounds, tempered by love and chesed

Ragman: Suit of Souls, Dec 2010
“Tattered Remnants”
Written by Chritos Gage
Drawn and inked by Stephen Segovia
Colored by David Curiel
Lettered by Rob Leigh
Edited by Joey Cavalieri and Chris Conroy
Page 1
Rory visits Rabbi Mandel
“I had a question..I read about this guy, in the sixties, a grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. The New York Times revealed he was actually Jewish. He killed himself because he couldn’t live with people knowing. Rabbi, how does someone hate himself so much?”
Daniel Burros
Former member of American Nazi Party
Recruiter for the United Klans of America
Most violent group at time
John McCandlish Phillips revealed Burros’ Jewish background in New York Times article
Hours after the article, Burros shoots himself in chest and head
While listening to Richard Wagner
Self-hating Jew
Rory worries father was self-hating Jew because he grew up without Judaism in house
Page 3
“I didn’t even know I was Jewish until I was sixteen. My father gave me an Irish name, after some actor he liked. What kind of father doesn’t tell his son where he came from?”
Rehashes entire 1991 mini
Page 11
Rabbi notes Ragman left a day before the uprising ended.
“Why did he leave when there was still a chance more could be saved?”
“DON’T YOU THINK I’VE ASKED MYSELF THAT?”
Page 17
“Since I’ve worn this suit, my faith and my heritage have become very important to me. I wish I’d known about them earlier in my life.”
YES
“Rabbi Mandel, my father was a good man, a proud man. He wasn’t ashamed of being a junkman, or poor, or old..so why was he asha...

Episode 8 - Ragman - Part 2 (with TRIGGER WARNING)