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A Short List of Possible Ways to Continue Incorporating Judaism into the Buffyverse
Anything involving King Solomon, right there. "Solomon's Compendium" of assorted demons, outstanding in its field, still the go-to source for a number of species and creatures. Maybe a codex, or some jewelry - definitely have Willow and Wesley reference him at least a few times, whether as a scholarly source or something read about in Sunday school fairy tales. Maybe both.
Giles saying a language needs to be read right to left, Willow smiles, "And Katie said Hebrew school was only good for a Bat Mitzvah." And then she uses that education fairly regularly, correctly grasping the pronunciation of some Aramaic chants and commenting that a pronunciation guide is almost identical to the cantillation trope symbols she learned way back when.
Willow mistakenly thinking Tara was Orthodox when they first met, because her cousins in LA are the only other women she knows who wear floor-length skirts in Southern California.
Los Angeles' eruv being the equivalent of "a brick wall across a motorway" to Angel as he's chasing someone down a seemingly unremarkable street and then hitting something he didn't even know was there, then finding himself deeply thankful he wasn't driving at the time. Because the eruv needs to be strictly monitored and maintained, he's not invited inside. He respects that, though it bothers him a little when the negotiator pulls out a card table, sets it right across the line, and pushes over a folding chair.
(Wolfram and Hart get a tiny office inside the eruv's boundaries, keeping all their Angel-related information secure in there. It wouldn't stop a human from breaking and entering, but it's a way to keep the guy from barging in on meetings.)
(Willow explaining why she can't wrap an eruv around Sunnydale, but she can probably make one around the edges of her family's property if Buffy wants to sit on some grass safely at night again.)
Willow lighting the Sabbath candles and then apologizing for the painfully straight language before reciting "Eshet Chayil" to Tara.
Buffy being explicitly described as "a woman of valor."
A golem or two. Because the eruv's big enough someone has to actually go inside at some point, and they weren't expecting a constructed person to be quite so jovial. And having them on Angel would serve as a nice foil to the robots on Buffy.
Spike mentions bargaining with one of Los Angeles' kosher butchers - cow's not as sweet as pig, but mix in some chicken for flavor and it's tasty enough.
Hamsas as protection - keeping Dawn safe from scrying eyes during season five, keeping everyone who wears one safe from curses, a very expensive item ordered through a secondary supplier from the Magic Box who only takes money orders, because she's one of a half-dozen people who know how to make them correctly and she's got to keep the demands down to what she can actually afford to make. Wesley has one in his apartment, and later his offices in Wolfram & Hart. Of the latter, he says he appreciates the illusion of control.
Lorne listening to Jewish chants and prayers on CD, because of course he listens to everything.
Tikkun olam being discussed, in concept and in practice, in reference to what they do and why it has meaning. To force healing upon the world. To fix the holes in the world.
Stars of David as a holy symbol with the same power to repel vampires and other demons as any cross.
Gunn saying he thought English guys weren't usually circumcised.
("Does it bother you? Using a cross?" Gunn asks, some time later, looking down at the little star hanging from a delicate-looking chain.
Wesley shakes his head, shrugs as best he can while laying down. "I tend to think of them as one more weapon." He considers. "And it's easier to make one in an emergency.")
Giles saying a language needs to be read right to left, Willow smiles, "And Katie said Hebrew school was only good for a Bat Mitzvah." And then she uses that education fairly regularly, correctly grasping the pronunciation of some Aramaic chants and commenting that a pronunciation guide is almost identical to the cantillation trope symbols she learned way back when.
Willow mistakenly thinking Tara was Orthodox when they first met, because her cousins in LA are the only other women she knows who wear floor-length skirts in Southern California.
Los Angeles' eruv being the equivalent of "a brick wall across a motorway" to Angel as he's chasing someone down a seemingly unremarkable street and then hitting something he didn't even know was there, then finding himself deeply thankful he wasn't driving at the time. Because the eruv needs to be strictly monitored and maintained, he's not invited inside. He respects that, though it bothers him a little when the negotiator pulls out a card table, sets it right across the line, and pushes over a folding chair.
(Wolfram and Hart get a tiny office inside the eruv's boundaries, keeping all their Angel-related information secure in there. It wouldn't stop a human from breaking and entering, but it's a way to keep the guy from barging in on meetings.)
(Willow explaining why she can't wrap an eruv around Sunnydale, but she can probably make one around the edges of her family's property if Buffy wants to sit on some grass safely at night again.)
Willow lighting the Sabbath candles and then apologizing for the painfully straight language before reciting "Eshet Chayil" to Tara.
Buffy being explicitly described as "a woman of valor."
A golem or two. Because the eruv's big enough someone has to actually go inside at some point, and they weren't expecting a constructed person to be quite so jovial. And having them on Angel would serve as a nice foil to the robots on Buffy.
Spike mentions bargaining with one of Los Angeles' kosher butchers - cow's not as sweet as pig, but mix in some chicken for flavor and it's tasty enough.
Hamsas as protection - keeping Dawn safe from scrying eyes during season five, keeping everyone who wears one safe from curses, a very expensive item ordered through a secondary supplier from the Magic Box who only takes money orders, because she's one of a half-dozen people who know how to make them correctly and she's got to keep the demands down to what she can actually afford to make. Wesley has one in his apartment, and later his offices in Wolfram & Hart. Of the latter, he says he appreciates the illusion of control.
Lorne listening to Jewish chants and prayers on CD, because of course he listens to everything.
Tikkun olam being discussed, in concept and in practice, in reference to what they do and why it has meaning. To force healing upon the world. To fix the holes in the world.
Stars of David as a holy symbol with the same power to repel vampires and other demons as any cross.
Gunn saying he thought English guys weren't usually circumcised.
("Does it bother you? Using a cross?" Gunn asks, some time later, looking down at the little star hanging from a delicate-looking chain.
Wesley shakes his head, shrugs as best he can while laying down. "I tend to think of them as one more weapon." He considers. "And it's easier to make one in an emergency.")
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And yeah, there was a lot of potential there that just...sat around. One of many reasons I like calling Buffy a great show trapped inside of a good one. The show usually did creative stuff with the tools and toys it had at its command, which makes this a huge missed opportunity on so many levels.