Sagittarius (Nov. 21-Dec. 20): Oif itlechen terets ken men gefinen a nei’eh kasheh: To every answer you can find a new question.

The archer always hits his mark. Sagittarius was the tribal symbol of Ephraim and Manasseh. The sign was also associated with Joash, king of Israel, shooting arrows out of the window eastward at the command of the dying Elisha.

Your astrological symbol is the Centaur, half-man and half-horse, exemplifying humanity’s dual nature. The archetypal explorer, Sagittarius is the sign of the bachelor: you are both a seducer and an upholder of wisdom and justice. Your mutable nature highlights the tension between the civilized human and the instinctive animal. Sagitarrians are often said to be tactless. More likely, however, like the archer, you know exactly what to target when you are angered—you have the ability to sense others’ weak spots

You see the world for what it is and want to explore it to the farthest ends. Most comfortable when you are doing things on your own, you have the courage of your convictions by your side and are adept at explaining anything with frankness and candor. Very analytical and patient, you make an excellent teacher.

The high social energy of the full moon lunar eclipse in Gemini, November 28 lights up your need to share your philosophies, while the new moon in Capricorn on December 13 encourages you to apply them to your own life. These energies are great for gaining perspective on the past. Broaden your horizons, and actualize the changes you’ve resolved to put in action. Az me zucht, gefint men: If you seek, you will find.

Famous Sagittarius Jews: Isaac Bashevis Singer, Ben Stiller, Bette Midler, Woody Allen, Eugene Levy, Gary Shandling, Harpo Marx, Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, Baruch Spinoza, Sammy Davis, Jr., Rahm Emanuel, Mose “The Rabbi of Swat” Solomon, Eli Wallach, Harold Gould, Jon Stewart, Steven Spielberg, Jakob Dylan, Mandy Patinkin, Howie Mandel, Paul Celan, Randy Newman, Ira Gershwin, Nostradamus (either Dec 14 or 21).

CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 21-JANUARY 20): Action-hero Mars will be in your sign from November 16 to December 25, encouraging you to gantseh k’nocker (put it all on the table). While these energies direct you toward things to come, keep an eye on the past: a historical artifact or philosophy may be the key to your future.

AQUARIUS (JANUARY 21-FEBRUARY 20): With your ruling sign Uranus turning direct on December 13, you have the opportunity to actualize the psychological exploration you’ve been doing since the summer. With the big pay off for all of your intuitive inner-changes around the corner, don’t be afraid to rock the boat!

PISCES (FEBRUARY 21-MARCH 20): Life seems to have been putting you through one trial after another, but how you come out of the wringer is up to you. Your ruling planet Neptune is finally moving direct, which should help you apply the lessons you’ve learned. Try not to feel farfaln (hopeless)—but remember: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 20): Your ruling planet Mars will be in earthy, practical Capricorn until the end of December. This gives you a chance to focus on your career and other worldly tasks, you gantseh makher (big shot). However, something may still be stuck in your craw. Before you get all broygis (pissed off), consider any minor adjustments you’ve been ignoring—maybe you need to take a page from Dr. Ruth and pay more attention to your love life.

TAURUS (APRIL 21- MAY 20): Your ruling planet Sweet Venus is in the intense sign Scorpio. You eingeshparht bulls may be fools for love, but staying grounded can help you combat the intensity. Keeping busy and listening to your heart is the first step to sharing it with someone else.

GEMINI (MAY 21- JUNE 20): Even if it’s true that Az men hot nit tsu entfern, muz men farshveign—If one has nothing to say, it’s best to shut up—you Geminis resent being told to bite your tongue. The Mercury retrograde was rough on you, but now that your ruling planet will be moving direct for the rest of 2012, your communications will ease. Use your powers of persuasion and your rich imagination more subtly: it’ll give you an air of mystery.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 20): The Lunar eclipse on November 28th in social butterfly sign Gemini gives you cause to criticize your fun-loving astrological neighbors, priding yourself on the fact that you don’t suffer fools gladly. But it might do you some good to take a look in the mirror before throwing any more stones. Before you start schvitzing, take a chill pill and focus that constructive criticism inward.

LEO (JULY 21-AUGUST 20): What gives light must also endure burning, and your bright Leo sun has burned you more than you’d like to admit. It may seem like you’ve been fighting a losing battle, but maintain some balance, you volatile beasts! The total eclipse of the heart on November 28 will give you a much needed boost.

VIRGO (AUGUST 21-SEPTEMBER 20): With your ruling planet Mercury mercifully direct for the remainder of 2012, channel your energy into a more creative direction. Profound mood changes may coincide with the Full Moon eclipse in Gemini. Ignore the impulse to give into the plotka-macher sitting on your left shoulder. Instead, let the socially astute maiden on your right guide you.

LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 21-OCTOBER 20): You may be swamped with responsibilities, misinformation, and money problems: oy gevalt! It may be difficult, since you Libras tend to be pisk malukheh—all talk and no action—but try to solve these problems on the New Moon on December 13. If you commit to finding a solution, it should pay off by the end of the year.

SCORPIO (OCTOBER 21-NOVEMBER 20): A ligner darf hoben a guten zechron: A liar should have a good memory. You not only play your cards close to your chest, you also play for keeps. With Lovely Venus is in your sign until December 15, you may experience an intense yearning for what’s far away. Look beneath the surface of things to determine what you really want.

What’s Your Sign?
Stinging Scorpio (October 21-November 20)
Lovely, Lawful Libra (September 21-October 20)
Virgo, the Anxious Maiden (August 21-September 20)
Leo, King of the Jungle (July 21 – August 20)

The post Jewcy Horoscopes: Sagittarius, the Adventurous Archer (Nov. 21 – Dec. 20) appeared first on Jewcy.

According to the Internet, Krusty is supposed to be based on Jerry Lewis, and indeed both make funny faces, are beloved by the French, and have substance addictions. But we are trying too hard if we don’t point to the resemblance most obviously suggested in the Season 3 episode in which Krusty, asked to say grace at the Simpsons’ Evergreen Terrace abode, proceeds to recite the motzi and, prompted by Lisa’s characteristic prying, reveals that his real name is Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofski. (“A Jewish entertainer?” wonders Homer. “Get out of here.”) He is Al Jolson, which is to say he is also Al Jolson’s character in The Jazz Singer: an entertainer who has betrayed his father—”my father was a rabbi,” sighs Krusty, “his father was a rabbi, his fathers’ father was a—well, you get the idea.” To a lesser extent, he is the comedian Jackie Mason, who also comes from a long line of rabbis, but who clearly does not feel so weighted by that burden that he couldn’t guest-star as the voice of Krusty’s father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofski.

There is betrayal: Rabbi Krustofski is shamed that the sandwich named after his son at Izzy’s Deli features “ham, sausage, and bacon with a smidge of mayo—on white bread” (maybe they should call that the Ted Danson). There is, of course, reconciliation at the end: Bart’s quotation (supplied by Lisa) from the Babylonian Talmud fails to move the rabbi, who easily ripostes with a different authority; but a melodramatic line about Jewish persecution from the autobiography of Sammy Davis, Jr., leaves the rabbi with no response. Mason won an Emmy for the part. In a post-Golden Age episode (Season 15), he returns, and Krusty gets bar mitzvahed.

But that’s about it. You most likely don’t remember Krusty saying the brucha (his word). You remember him betting against the Harlem Globetrotters (“I thought the Generals were due!“); taking a break to show an Itchy & Scratchy sketch; nearly killing Bart by merchandising shoddily made cereal that has o-shaped pieces of metal in it; hosting an unfortunately named Krusty Komedy Klassic at the Apollo Theatre; and, of course, having unleashed the sinister Sideshow Bob on the world.

Ultimately, we see Krusty as the Simpsons do: as an entertainer. In fact, Krusty is one of the earliest Simpsons characters, tracing his origins all the way back to Matt Groening’s shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show—and even there, in the The Simpsons‘s Mesozoic Era (they looked like this), he is not a stand-alone character, but somebody the Simpsons watch on television. From the beginning, he’s the TV actor within the TV show—the other prominent example being local news anchor Kent Brockman, born Kenny Brockelstein.

Because in the world of The Simpsons and in the Simpsons’ world, that’s who the Jews are. And so Krusty’s Jewishness ultimately says the most when it articulates what makes The Simpsons distinctive. You would probably have to go back to the mid-1960s and The Andy Griffith Show—and cede the rule-proving-exception of South Park, which owes a self-acknowledged, tremendous debt to The Simpsons—to find a quality and popular television series that isn’t either set in a major city or among a milieu from a major city: in either case, among people for whom Jews are neighbors, bosses, friends, or enemies—just other people. The Dick Van Dyke Show had Carl Reiner playing Sid Caesar. Mary Tyler Moore’s boss was Ed Asner. The doctors in M*A*S*H* are sophisticated city-folk transplanted to a warzone. Dallas was in Dallas, Cheers in Boston, The Cosby Show in Brooklyn. Oh, and then Seinfeld happened, and you can take things from there.

But there was and is The Simpsons. We don’t know what state Springfield is in, but we do know that it’s the sort of small American town that actually doesn’t typically have many Jews (Krusty grew up “on the Lower East Side of Springfield,” literally ghettoized). If they do have Jews, they are likely to be entertaining you on television. More than any other show, Jews can watch The Simpsons and watch them watching Krusty, and watch Krusty through their eyes, to feel like real Americans. Or, at least, the sort of Americans that would eat a ham sandwich with mayo—on white bread.

Previously on Network Jews:

Schmidt from FOX’s breakout hit New Girl

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at Tablet Magazine. He tweets here.

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