From what the designers said at GenCon, The Wraith’s alter-ego, Maia Adriana Montgomery is Jewish!
This leads me to question her level of observance. Clearly that costume is not very snyous/modest so my guess is that she is Reform. Would crime fighting be allowed on Saturdays?
She is indeed Jewish, though I’d say her observance level is not high. Reform Judaism is probably accurate - crime doesn’t keep the Sabbath, and I imagine her “night life” makes getting to Synagogue on time difficult.
crime doesn’t keep the Sabbath
Hahaha! This is my new battle cry when playing The Wraith.
So good!
Although… saving lives /is/ allowed on Shabbat (doctors can get called into work in emergencies for example) so she could be mildly shomer shabbos (cue John Goodman in The Big Lebowski 
).
I love that “Crime doesn’t keep the Sabbath” is an unofficial catchphrase now. It’s really great to see that catch on.
For defeating a kraken … dayenu
That just made me snort my Squirt.
Why is this villain different from all other villains?
As a kid, I always thought that was the setup to a joke, and was disappointed when no punchline came.
Sydney Abrahams, an olympian for the UK, was concerned about remembering the appropriate Latin phrase to say when he was knighted. When the time came, he panicked and said the first non-English phrase that came into his head: “Ma nishtana ha leila hazeh”
The queen, puzzled, turned to her advisor and asked, “Why is this knight different from all other knights?”
Sadly, I don’t get it. Is this because I’m not a Reform Jew?
Don’t feel bad, you’re not the only one.
What a setup! Perhaps I’ll let someone who knows him (or her?) tackle the question of why WriterRyan does or does not get ‘it’.
the nice answer: The Hebrew is the same thing the queen says, except for the pun of night/knight
That is the funniest joke I’ve heard this week for sure.
I agree, it made me laugh out loud in the middle of my store. I got some looks.
Ryan, that phrase is part of the Seder, specifically part of a set of questions customarily asked by the youngest child that relate to the telling of the story of Moses’ leading the Jews from slavery. It’s not exclusive to Reform Judaism, but it’s a very familiar phrase to anyone who grew up observing Passover.
arenson9, That is hilarious!
Wait, so if the Wraith is Jewish, then why does her gravestone have a cross on it?
Good question! Seems to me there are a few reasons for this:
While Maia is Jewish, The Wraith displays no outward clues that could give away her identity.
The grave is not actually her grave (as she’s clearly not in it). It’s more of the trope where a villain has dug a grave for their nemesis intending to place them within it.
Also, unadorned crosses, which is to say crosses rather than crucifixes, have more symbolism than just representing Christianity.
A cross marking a grave is an American symbol (like how Santa Claus drinking Coca Cola is an American symbol) rather than a strictly ‘Christian’ symbol. However, it is an insult to Jews to have their graves marked with crosses (this is a Thing with Arlington National Cemetery that they are super into and aware of - my Great Grandfather, first graduating class of the Coast Guard Academy, is buried there with a big honking Star of David) which lends further credibility to the idea that it is not her grave.
I like to think that The Wraith is super into 90’s Goth stuff and just hangs out in cemeteries - perhaps the entrance to her secret lair is hidden in a cemetery and incapacitated she is limping back?
Aside to areson9 - best joke ever.
The secret lair entrance is very plausible. While we never specified what exactly is going on, I think it’s that, or that a villain has dug the grave and put her name on it.
As though it somehow matters, I vote the villain digging it scenario.