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
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...
The autism IS moving along nicely today, though, if I do say so myself.
I’m gonna go eat my samefoods & read my little books now.
I’m gonna go eat my samefoods & read my little books now.
TRUMP: And the autism -- that's moving along?
RFK JR: We've commissioned now dozens of studies, maybe over 100, and we're gonna get those done for you
TRUMP: Good. That's so important.
RFK JR: We've commissioned now dozens of studies, maybe over 100, and we're gonna get those done for you
TRUMP: Good. That's so important.
January 29, 2026 at 8:28 PM
The autism IS moving along nicely today, though, if I do say so myself.
I’m gonna go eat my samefoods & read my little books now.
I’m gonna go eat my samefoods & read my little books now.
Reposted by Rachel
The existence of autism is only a problem if your believe in eugenics.
TRUMP: And the autism -- that's moving along?
RFK JR: We've commissioned now dozens of studies, maybe over 100, and we're gonna get those done for you
TRUMP: Good. That's so important.
RFK JR: We've commissioned now dozens of studies, maybe over 100, and we're gonna get those done for you
TRUMP: Good. That's so important.
January 29, 2026 at 5:35 PM
The existence of autism is only a problem if your believe in eugenics.
Whenever you say anything about the Tanakh or Bible online, there’s always a few of these replies!
"I enjoy teaching people about the dirty puns Hamlet makes in Act 3, Scene 2."
"Umm actually, Hamlet never said anything, because he's fictional! 🤓 Please clap for me."
"Umm actually, Hamlet never said anything, because he's fictional! 🤓 Please clap for me."
January 29, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Whenever you say anything about the Tanakh or Bible online, there’s always a few of these replies!
Reposted by Rachel
Antisemitism in the U.S. is at historic levels. At the same time, the term antisemitism has been increasingly weaponized in ways that exploit Jewish suffering and fear to advance anti-democratic agendas.
January 29, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Antisemitism in the U.S. is at historic levels. At the same time, the term antisemitism has been increasingly weaponized in ways that exploit Jewish suffering and fear to advance anti-democratic agendas.
Reposted by Rachel
I’m so thrilled that @nexusproject.bsky.social is building an antisemitism research center. We need research & leadership from Jewish orgs dedicated to Jewish safety & solidarity with other targeted groups rather than prioritizing Zionism & Israel
NEW: Today, we’re excited to announce the creation of the Nexus Center for Antisemitism Research (NCAR), which will work to improve the quality of research, data, and analysis available to advance the broader mission of confronting hate and promoting Jewish safety.
Senior ADL antisemitism researcher leaves to lead competing effort at watchdog Nexus - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Aryeh Tuchman will direct a new Nexus research center focused on improving data, definitions and public understanding of antisemitism.
www.jta.org
January 29, 2026 at 7:36 PM
I’m so thrilled that @nexusproject.bsky.social is building an antisemitism research center. We need research & leadership from Jewish orgs dedicated to Jewish safety & solidarity with other targeted groups rather than prioritizing Zionism & Israel
Apparently people on bsky like Torah lessons! As I do my reading this term, I’ll see if I bump into any other fun facts for y’all.
But yeah, in Hebrew it’s “yam suf,” Sea of Reeds!
But yeah, in Hebrew it’s “yam suf,” Sea of Reeds!
I love seeing Christians’ first reactions to the Hebrew text of the Torah. Today, my Catholic classmate learned for the very first time that Moses split the “Reed Sea,” not the “Red Sea.” It blew her mind! #Jewish
January 29, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Apparently people on bsky like Torah lessons! As I do my reading this term, I’ll see if I bump into any other fun facts for y’all.
But yeah, in Hebrew it’s “yam suf,” Sea of Reeds!
But yeah, in Hebrew it’s “yam suf,” Sea of Reeds!
Reposted by Rachel
But if you lose the word “suf” (reeds), you lose the connection to the story of Pharaoh’s daughter finding Moses in the “suf” of the Nile! So correct translation makes the themes & metaphors clearer & stronger.
January 29, 2026 at 3:30 PM
But if you lose the word “suf” (reeds), you lose the connection to the story of Pharaoh’s daughter finding Moses in the “suf” of the Nile! So correct translation makes the themes & metaphors clearer & stronger.
I love seeing Christians’ first reactions to the Hebrew text of the Torah. Today, my Catholic classmate learned for the very first time that Moses split the “Reed Sea,” not the “Red Sea.” It blew her mind! #Jewish
January 29, 2026 at 1:15 AM
I love seeing Christians’ first reactions to the Hebrew text of the Torah. Today, my Catholic classmate learned for the very first time that Moses split the “Reed Sea,” not the “Red Sea.” It blew her mind! #Jewish
Reposted by Rachel
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 5:02 PM
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Reposted by Rachel
An autistic woman attributes the bulk of her mental wellbeing to the violent video game she knows back to front, it has been reported.
Autistic woman’s mental wellbeing held together by video game she has memorised entirely
An autistic woman attributes the bulk of her mental wellbeing to the violent video game she knows back to front, it has been reported. Ima Onwugbenu, 28, has been playing Wild West action-adventure…
thedailytism.com
January 28, 2026 at 6:02 PM
An autistic woman attributes the bulk of her mental wellbeing to the violent video game she knows back to front, it has been reported.
Reposted by Rachel
It is literally false that the Jews being hunted by Nazis were citizens, because the first step toward genocide was stripping them of citizenship and making them stateless. As Arendt reminds us, citizenship is a legal category created to facilitate a machinery of exclusion of the out-group.
January 28, 2026 at 4:19 AM
It is literally false that the Jews being hunted by Nazis were citizens, because the first step toward genocide was stripping them of citizenship and making them stateless. As Arendt reminds us, citizenship is a legal category created to facilitate a machinery of exclusion of the out-group.
Reposted by Rachel
The music swells. The mysterious man slowly reaches up to remove his mask. He reveals his face to the audience! Gasp!
And I have no idea who he is, because I’m faceblind, so this plot twist flies right over my head. #ActuallyAutistic
And I have no idea who he is, because I’m faceblind, so this plot twist flies right over my head. #ActuallyAutistic
March 20, 2024 at 2:05 PM
The music swells. The mysterious man slowly reaches up to remove his mask. He reveals his face to the audience! Gasp!
And I have no idea who he is, because I’m faceblind, so this plot twist flies right over my head. #ActuallyAutistic
And I have no idea who he is, because I’m faceblind, so this plot twist flies right over my head. #ActuallyAutistic
Reposted by Rachel
I struggle to recognize faces. While I’ve never been formally diagnosed, the term for it is prosopagnosia. I don’t recognize people by their face but rather their style, piercings, clothes, hair, etc. I’ve walked past people on second dates multiple times. So I have this constant anxiety when 🧵
January 28, 2026 at 4:32 AM
I struggle to recognize faces. While I’ve never been formally diagnosed, the term for it is prosopagnosia. I don’t recognize people by their face but rather their style, piercings, clothes, hair, etc. I’ve walked past people on second dates multiple times. So I have this constant anxiety when 🧵
Reposted by Rachel
Subtweet.
It does not fill me with the warm and fuzzies that the messaging on RFK Jr. focuses on the harm the antivax movement is doing/will do, without addressing the hatred of autistic people that is the antivax movement's life blood.
It does not fill me with the warm and fuzzies that the messaging on RFK Jr. focuses on the harm the antivax movement is doing/will do, without addressing the hatred of autistic people that is the antivax movement's life blood.
January 28, 2026 at 3:21 AM
Subtweet.
It does not fill me with the warm and fuzzies that the messaging on RFK Jr. focuses on the harm the antivax movement is doing/will do, without addressing the hatred of autistic people that is the antivax movement's life blood.
It does not fill me with the warm and fuzzies that the messaging on RFK Jr. focuses on the harm the antivax movement is doing/will do, without addressing the hatred of autistic people that is the antivax movement's life blood.
I fucking hate the term “Judeo-Christian.”
A single hyphenated word to co-opt Judaism & erase Islam. 🤢
A single hyphenated word to co-opt Judaism & erase Islam. 🤢
January 28, 2026 at 1:13 AM
I fucking hate the term “Judeo-Christian.”
A single hyphenated word to co-opt Judaism & erase Islam. 🤢
A single hyphenated word to co-opt Judaism & erase Islam. 🤢