Rachel
@rachelneedsanap.bsky.social
Religious Studies & Hebrew Bible PhD student📚/Jewish✡️/ADHD & Autistic🎧/Mythology Nerd🏺/Recovering Attorney ⚖️/Perpetually Sleepy💤
(she/her)
(she/her)
Pinned
Rachel
@rachelneedsanap.bsky.social
· Oct 18
A little about me:
I’m an #Autistic #PhD student in #ReligiousStudies, researching myth & ritual in the Hebrew Bible. I was an attorney for 10yrs, until I hit autistic burnout & decided to build a new career around my special interests in myth & religion. Nice to meet you all!
I’m an #Autistic #PhD student in #ReligiousStudies, researching myth & ritual in the Hebrew Bible. I was an attorney for 10yrs, until I hit autistic burnout & decided to build a new career around my special interests in myth & religion. Nice to meet you all!
Reposted by Rachel
Stop judging yourself by the standards of evil men. Stop determining your goals according to theirs. There is joy and importance and meaning in the world, and their world is not the world.
February 1, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Stop judging yourself by the standards of evil men. Stop determining your goals according to theirs. There is joy and importance and meaning in the world, and their world is not the world.
Reposted by Rachel
Wanting to be thin isn’t a fringe perspective, nor is it edgy. It is the dominant narrative in a profoundly anti-fat culture. And in this particular moment, making media about how it’s okay to want to be thin also acts as de facto advertising for some of the wealthiest corporations in the world.
February 1, 2026 at 5:50 AM
Wanting to be thin isn’t a fringe perspective, nor is it edgy. It is the dominant narrative in a profoundly anti-fat culture. And in this particular moment, making media about how it’s okay to want to be thin also acts as de facto advertising for some of the wealthiest corporations in the world.
Reposted by Rachel
it's done, it's up. I decided to go with the silhouette for the shirt design because I think it reads faster.
All proceeds benefit MIRAC (Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee)
www.bonfire.com/exodus-23-9/
All proceeds benefit MIRAC (Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee)
www.bonfire.com/exodus-23-9/
Exodus 23:9 | Bonfire
Buy Exodus 23:9 merchandise that supports Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee Education Fund. Featuring Solid Black Blend Premium Unisex Tees, professionally printed in the USA.
www.bonfire.com
February 1, 2026 at 3:39 PM
it's done, it's up. I decided to go with the silhouette for the shirt design because I think it reads faster.
All proceeds benefit MIRAC (Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee)
www.bonfire.com/exodus-23-9/
All proceeds benefit MIRAC (Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee)
www.bonfire.com/exodus-23-9/
Reposted by Rachel
Another ABA therapy sticking point: "Conditioning a child to 'play right' may look harmless in the short term. But the message it sends is 'your way is wrong; our way is correct.' This becomes a lifelong wound." From @endseclusion.bsky.social:
endseclusion.org/2025/10/31/t... #BetterWaysThanABA
endseclusion.org/2025/10/31/t... #BetterWaysThanABA
The Illusion of “Play-Based ABA”: The Gentle Mask of Control
One of the newest rebrands of Applied Behavior Analysis is “play-based ABA.” At first glance, it looks comforting to parents and teachers who may have heard critiques of traditional ABA. Instead of a ...
endseclusion.org
February 1, 2026 at 5:23 AM
Another ABA therapy sticking point: "Conditioning a child to 'play right' may look harmless in the short term. But the message it sends is 'your way is wrong; our way is correct.' This becomes a lifelong wound." From @endseclusion.bsky.social:
endseclusion.org/2025/10/31/t... #BetterWaysThanABA
endseclusion.org/2025/10/31/t... #BetterWaysThanABA
Reposted by Rachel
I don't know if anyone has written about the fact that your average Yiddish language textbook gets you up to speed very quickly with the vocabulary for talking about state violence against a minoritized group but like you could
February 1, 2026 at 4:17 PM
I don't know if anyone has written about the fact that your average Yiddish language textbook gets you up to speed very quickly with the vocabulary for talking about state violence against a minoritized group but like you could
Reposted by Rachel
"The nazis will see me and shoot me dead. There's no way out! I have to jump down to the other side and whatever happens will happen."
די נאַציס װעלן מיך דערזען און װעלן מיך דערשיסן. ניטאָ קײן אױסװעג! איך מוז אַראָפּשפּרינגען און זאָל געשען װאָס עס װעט געשען.
די נאַציס װעלן מיך דערזען און װעלן מיך דערשיסן. ניטאָ קײן אױסװעג! איך מוז אַראָפּשפּרינגען און זאָל געשען װאָס עס װעט געשען.
Sending this to ever elder who’s asked me “Why would you learn Yiddish now?”
February 1, 2026 at 4:08 PM
"The nazis will see me and shoot me dead. There's no way out! I have to jump down to the other side and whatever happens will happen."
די נאַציס װעלן מיך דערזען און װעלן מיך דערשיסן. ניטאָ קײן אױסװעג! איך מוז אַראָפּשפּרינגען און זאָל געשען װאָס עס װעט געשען.
די נאַציס װעלן מיך דערזען און װעלן מיך דערשיסן. ניטאָ קײן אױסװעג! איך מוז אַראָפּשפּרינגען און זאָל געשען װאָס עס װעט געשען.
Thank God. That poor baby went through hell. But there are more children imprisoned in that place, & we need to save them all.
Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning.
Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.
Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.
February 1, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Thank God. That poor baby went through hell. But there are more children imprisoned in that place, & we need to save them all.
Reposted by Rachel
Thing is, if I’d gone to grad school straight out of college, I would have studied folklore, & I don’t think I SHOULD be a folklorist. I think I should be a historian of religion, & it took me a few more years to get there. The late start is bad for my career, but maybe good for self-actualization?
January 31, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Thing is, if I’d gone to grad school straight out of college, I would have studied folklore, & I don’t think I SHOULD be a folklorist. I think I should be a historian of religion, & it took me a few more years to get there. The late start is bad for my career, but maybe good for self-actualization?
Reposted by Rachel
Once you’ve realized that you don’t feel the same feelings as other people, it becomes difficult to accept over-generalizations about “humanity.”
January 31, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Once you’ve realized that you don’t feel the same feelings as other people, it becomes difficult to accept over-generalizations about “humanity.”
Reposted by Rachel
Relatedly: Every once in a while, I have to read some theorist arguing that there are universal religious tendencies in all humans, or worse, universal myths. And I think: Neurodiversity is just too complex for that.
January 31, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Relatedly: Every once in a while, I have to read some theorist arguing that there are universal religious tendencies in all humans, or worse, universal myths. And I think: Neurodiversity is just too complex for that.
Reposted by Rachel
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Hesiod’s Theogony, Works & Days
2. Oral Literature & History of Folkloristics
3. Old Norse Language & Literature
4. Epic, Romance, & Saga
5. Intro to Historical Linguistics
And then I went to law school 🙃
1. Hesiod’s Theogony, Works & Days
2. Oral Literature & History of Folkloristics
3. Old Norse Language & Literature
4. Epic, Romance, & Saga
5. Intro to Historical Linguistics
And then I went to law school 🙃
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Cultural History of American Television
2. History of the Holocaust
3. Historicizing American Literature
4. Irrational Media
5. Analysis and Performance of Literature
(radio/tv/film & history dual major)
1. Cultural History of American Television
2. History of the Holocaust
3. Historicizing American Literature
4. Irrational Media
5. Analysis and Performance of Literature
(radio/tv/film & history dual major)
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Creative Writing - Poetry
2. Modern Art
3. Shakespeare
4. Contemporary Fiction
5. Topics in Religious Studies
1. Creative Writing - Poetry
2. Modern Art
3. Shakespeare
4. Contemporary Fiction
5. Topics in Religious Studies
January 31, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Hesiod’s Theogony, Works & Days
2. Oral Literature & History of Folkloristics
3. Old Norse Language & Literature
4. Epic, Romance, & Saga
5. Intro to Historical Linguistics
And then I went to law school 🙃
1. Hesiod’s Theogony, Works & Days
2. Oral Literature & History of Folkloristics
3. Old Norse Language & Literature
4. Epic, Romance, & Saga
5. Intro to Historical Linguistics
And then I went to law school 🙃
Reposted by Rachel
Sorry if I come off like I'm themsplaining at times, it's usually just because your post made me see a new connection, and I got excited about it bc of my ADHD and felt compelled to write an abstract to a future academic article in your mentions.
February 1, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Sorry if I come off like I'm themsplaining at times, it's usually just because your post made me see a new connection, and I got excited about it bc of my ADHD and felt compelled to write an abstract to a future academic article in your mentions.
Reposted by Rachel
I think a lot of Christians tend to think of Judaism as essentially pre-Jesus Christianity and so see it as this static unchanging thing, when in reality Modern Rabbinic Judaism is almost as different from Second Temple Judaism as Christianity is.
Judaism having its own independent heritage, traditions and thoughts distinct from the other Abrahamic faiths is something a lot of people seem to miss out for some reason. They end up treating it as a mirror for Christianity (in the West) not its own thing.
I think the thing that a lot of Christians and atheists miss is that, while Jesus's Jewishness is relevant to Christianity, it's irrelevant to Judaism
August 26, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I think a lot of Christians tend to think of Judaism as essentially pre-Jesus Christianity and so see it as this static unchanging thing, when in reality Modern Rabbinic Judaism is almost as different from Second Temple Judaism as Christianity is.
Reposted by Rachel
I think the thing that a lot of Christians and atheists miss is that, while Jesus's Jewishness is relevant to Christianity, it's irrelevant to Judaism
August 25, 2025 at 6:09 PM
I think the thing that a lot of Christians and atheists miss is that, while Jesus's Jewishness is relevant to Christianity, it's irrelevant to Judaism
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Hesiod’s Theogony, Works & Days
2. Oral Literature & History of Folkloristics
3. Old Norse Language & Literature
4. Epic, Romance, & Saga
5. Intro to Historical Linguistics
And then I went to law school 🙃
1. Hesiod’s Theogony, Works & Days
2. Oral Literature & History of Folkloristics
3. Old Norse Language & Literature
4. Epic, Romance, & Saga
5. Intro to Historical Linguistics
And then I went to law school 🙃
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Cultural History of American Television
2. History of the Holocaust
3. Historicizing American Literature
4. Irrational Media
5. Analysis and Performance of Literature
(radio/tv/film & history dual major)
1. Cultural History of American Television
2. History of the Holocaust
3. Historicizing American Literature
4. Irrational Media
5. Analysis and Performance of Literature
(radio/tv/film & history dual major)
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Creative Writing - Poetry
2. Modern Art
3. Shakespeare
4. Contemporary Fiction
5. Topics in Religious Studies
1. Creative Writing - Poetry
2. Modern Art
3. Shakespeare
4. Contemporary Fiction
5. Topics in Religious Studies
January 31, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Hesiod’s Theogony, Works & Days
2. Oral Literature & History of Folkloristics
3. Old Norse Language & Literature
4. Epic, Romance, & Saga
5. Intro to Historical Linguistics
And then I went to law school 🙃
1. Hesiod’s Theogony, Works & Days
2. Oral Literature & History of Folkloristics
3. Old Norse Language & Literature
4. Epic, Romance, & Saga
5. Intro to Historical Linguistics
And then I went to law school 🙃
Reposted by Rachel
More of you should be autistic and then you will never ever mistakenly assume that someone else will behave like you
January 31, 2026 at 5:40 PM
More of you should be autistic and then you will never ever mistakenly assume that someone else will behave like you
Reposted by Rachel
People do mean well
January 31, 2026 at 3:45 PM
People do mean well
Reposted by Rachel
Reposted by Rachel
love the autistic urge to just keep explaining
January 30, 2026 at 5:21 PM
love the autistic urge to just keep explaining
Reposted by Rachel
Jews have our own biases when we interpret Torah, but we tend to stay closer to the words of the Hebrew text. Most Christians are working exclusively from translations, so they necessarily lose things.
January 29, 2026 at 1:15 AM
Jews have our own biases when we interpret Torah, but we tend to stay closer to the words of the Hebrew text. Most Christians are working exclusively from translations, so they necessarily lose things.
Reposted by Rachel
Just me repeatedly mimicking random sounds I find pleasing.
January 30, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Just me repeatedly mimicking random sounds I find pleasing.
Fun Fact: English translations of the Torah/Old Testament usually describe baby Moses being placed in a “basket” and sent down the Nile. In Hebrew, the word used is actually תבה (tevah), the same word for Noah’s “ark.”
January 30, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Fun Fact: English translations of the Torah/Old Testament usually describe baby Moses being placed in a “basket” and sent down the Nile. In Hebrew, the word used is actually תבה (tevah), the same word for Noah’s “ark.”
Reposted by Rachel
The kicker on the NYT coverage of the new IACC is embarrassingly bad.
“The chelation vaccine hyperbaric oxygen gluten people represent us more than ASAN or Autism Society” is just brain worms. How is that the last word on a panel filled with kooks and quacks?
“The chelation vaccine hyperbaric oxygen gluten people represent us more than ASAN or Autism Society” is just brain worms. How is that the last word on a panel filled with kooks and quacks?
January 30, 2026 at 1:41 PM
The kicker on the NYT coverage of the new IACC is embarrassingly bad.
“The chelation vaccine hyperbaric oxygen gluten people represent us more than ASAN or Autism Society” is just brain worms. How is that the last word on a panel filled with kooks and quacks?
“The chelation vaccine hyperbaric oxygen gluten people represent us more than ASAN or Autism Society” is just brain worms. How is that the last word on a panel filled with kooks and quacks?
One thing I wasn’t prepared for as a scholar of religion: People assuming that because I study the Hebrew Bible, I must be a religious fundamentalist. They can’t imagine any other reason someone would study it. It says “myth” right in my bio & pinned post, guys!
January 30, 2026 at 3:37 PM
One thing I wasn’t prepared for as a scholar of religion: People assuming that because I study the Hebrew Bible, I must be a religious fundamentalist. They can’t imagine any other reason someone would study it. It says “myth” right in my bio & pinned post, guys!
Reposted by Rachel
The detainment of Liam Ramos brought national attention to the family detention center in Dilley TX. But advocate Javier Hidalgo, said he's not an anomaly. “That’s very much the norm,” Hidalgo said.
Our previous analysis found that ICE booked at least 3,800 children last year...
Our previous analysis found that ICE booked at least 3,800 children last year...
January 29, 2026 at 9:20 PM
The detainment of Liam Ramos brought national attention to the family detention center in Dilley TX. But advocate Javier Hidalgo, said he's not an anomaly. “That’s very much the norm,” Hidalgo said.
Our previous analysis found that ICE booked at least 3,800 children last year...
Our previous analysis found that ICE booked at least 3,800 children last year...