1. To offer a specifically Jewish message that is positive, sincere, and LGBTQ affirming.
2. To present many individual video messages as part of an entire community reaching out, and that the value of a series presented by a community is that its strength, diversity, and very existence can provide a meaningful amount of comfort and guidance.
3. To use the best knowledge of Prevention experts to guide messaging and ensure that all attempts are made to have a true and positive impact on the individuals who will see these videos.

The first video, by Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum has gone up and CBST expects to roll out videos from community members on a regular basis over the next month at least.

More information is at http://cbst.org/Community/Strength-Through-Community

So what wonderful news it was when these two announced that they were getting married. And, as a good Jewish couple, they were doing it young so they can undoubtedly start a family. Pure speculation. But the point is, if you’re looking for model Jewish families, this is one that if they were straight more of the Jewish world would celebrate.

Even more exciting was that their announcement was carried in The New Jersey Jewish Standard. One of the fun things about being a young LGBTQ Jew is that a lot of what we do gets to be the first or among the first of its kind.  In this case, the first announcement of a same-sex couple in that paper.

Long story short, some Orthodox leaders objected, the paper said it would no longer publish such announcements of same-sex couples, and then they reconsidered and said they would continue to publish same-sex marriage announcements.

There is plenty of coverage but I think the initial response, even though it has since been retracted, is worth looking at:

A group of rabbis has reached out to us and conveyed the deep sensitivities within the traditional/Orthodox community to this issue. Our subsequent discussions with representatives from that community have made us aware that publication of the announcement caused pain and consternation, and we apologize for any pain we may have caused.

The Jewish Standard has always striven to draw the community together, rather than drive its many segments apart. We have decided, therefore, since this is such a divisive issue, not to run such announcements in the future.

I’ll simply say this, is it not astounding that anyone, even for a moment, in this day and age, in this area, could think that the way to draw the community together is to exclude part of it?

JTA has good coverage, with a video of the couple:

Do Not Stand Idly By: A Jewish Community Pledge to Save Lives

As members of a tradition that sees each person as created in the divine image, we respond with anguish and outrage at the spate of suicides brought on by homophobic bullying and intolerance.

We hereby commit to ending homophobic bullying or harassment of any kind in our synagogues, schools, organizations, and communities. As a signatory, I pledge to speak out when I witness anyone being demeaned for their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. I commit myself to do whatever I can to ensure that each and every person in my community is treated with dignity and respect.

Campaign launched by Keshet [www.keshetonline.org] in partnership with (as of 10.5.10):
The Adventure Rabbi Program
Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado
The Anshe Emet Synagogue, Chicago, IL
Bay Area Masorti
Beth Chayim Chadashim, Los Angeles, CA
The Bronfman Youth Fellowships (BYFI)
California Faith for Equality
Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR)
Cleveland Jewish LGBTQ2A Inclusion Project
Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston
Congregation Am Tikva, Boston, MA
Congregation Bet Haverim, Atlanta, GA
Congregation Beth Ahavah, Philadelphia, PA
Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn, NY
Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, New York, NY
Congregation Beth El, Berkeley, California
Congregation Beth El Binah, Dallas, TX
Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, New York, NY
Congregation Kol Ami, West Hollywood, CA
Congregation Netivot Shalom, Berkeley, CA
Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, San Francisco, CA
The Dobkin Family Foundation
Gay and Lesbian Yeshiva Day School Alumni Association (GLYDSA)
Gay and Lesbian Outreach and Engagement Program (GLOE)/Washington DC Jewish Community Center
Hebrew College
He’bro
Hazon
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
Institute for Judaism & Sexual Orientation, Hebrew Union College-JIR
InterfaithFamily.com
Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center
JALSA - The Jewish Alliance for Law & Social Action
Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance
JESNA - The Jewish Education Service of North America
JewishBoston.com
Jewish Communal Leadership Program, University of Michigan
The Jewish Community Center in Manhattan
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
Jewish Gay and Lesbian Group, London, UK
Jewish Gay Network of Michigan
Jewish Milestones
The Jewish Multiracial Network
Jewish Organizing Initiative
Jewish Outreach Institute
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
Jewish Transitions
Jews United for Justice
Joshua Venture Group
Judaism Your Way, Denver, CO
Jumpstart
Just Congregations of the Union for Reform Judaism
JQ International
JQYouth
Kehilat Hadar, New York, NY
Kehilla Community Synagogue, Piedmont, CA
Kehilla School
Kolenu, Seattle’s Young Adult GLBTQ Group
LGBT Alliance of the Jewish Community Federation, San Francisco, CA
Lippman Kanfer Family Foundation
Ma’yan
Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh
Mechon Hadar
Moishe House Boston: Kavod Jewish Social Justice House
The Morningstar Foundation
The Natan Fund
Nathan Cummings Foundation
Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue, Jamaica Plain, MA
Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture and Spirituality
New Jersey’s Lesbian & Gay Havurah
North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY)
Orthodykes NY Progressive Jewish Alliance
Rabbinical Assembly Rabbinical School of Hebrew College
The Rainbow Center, Atlanta, GA
RAVSAK: The Jewish Community Day School Network
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Repair the World
ROI Community
Romemu
Ruth Allen
Ziegler Foundation
The Samuel Bronfman Foundation
Shalom Amigos, Mexico
ShefaNetwork: The Conservative/Masorti Movement Dreaming from Within
Storahtelling
SVARA
TBS Keshet, Temple Beth Shalom, Needham, MA
Trembling Before G-d Outreach Project
The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ)
University of Washington Hillel
UpStart Bay Area
A Wider Bridge
Women of Reform Judaism
Zeek Media, Inc.
Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies

Well, along comes Jayson Littman and He’Bro to solve this little dilema. This year Jayson is putting on “High HomoHolidays: Pray. Repent. Party.” at Slate in Chelsea. This is an unusual event to have during the Days of Awe, but I suppose there is something to be said for bring all those Jews together connected to the holidays in some way. Personally, I think it’s great.

Jayson and his project He’Bro have a history of extremely successful events and his email list is the envy of organizations local to NY who want to get to the young LGBTQ Jewish crowd. (Every meeting I’ve had in which an event is planned and Jayson is in the room has someone asking if he would send something out to his list.)

Have you been to one of his events?
Do you have thoughts about this High HomoDays party?

Now, the same debate rages in our Jewish communities as we grapple with the questions of how much religious tolerance is too much tolerance. How close is too close for an Islamic Cultural Center to be to Ground Zero? The answer to both these questions: no such thing. Religious freedom is one of the founding values of this country and it is central to the vibrancy of Jewish communities. Jews have been kept out of neighborhoods, clubs, universities, political organizations, entire countries even! How can we turn around and do the same to our Islamic neighbors? How dare we even consider putting a limit on religious freedom? When the Anti-Defamation League betrayed their mission of ending bigotry and extremism by opposing religious freedom, I felt the misguided pain of their trauma.

Read the full post from Rabbi Kleinbaum about Islamophobia and the “Ground Zero Mosque” on CBST’s Social Justice Blog.

What do you think?

This post is from Rabbi Sharon Kleibaum, senior rabbi of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, New York’s LGBTQ Synagogue.

Judge Walker’s decision last week to overturn Proposition 8 in California is a momentous and prophetic one–a decision that cries for a more just world. Despite the appeal, August 4, 2010 is a date that will go down in the history books. The question I am stuck with now is: Whose history books will record this day?

Without a doubt, this will be a day of mourning and rage in the conservative Mormon history books, the history of the religious right, and the rest of the hatemongers who work tirelessly to make this world a more broken place.  The religious right has infused the marriage movement and LGBTQ rights into their daily lives, their prayer, their sermons, their donations–it has become a central part of their religious lives. If I am one hundred percent honest with myself, they probably think and take action on LGBTQ rights more than most of us in the Jewish community do, myself included. And this is what terrifies me.

Will August 4, 2010 be a date in the Jewish history books? Will Prop 8 being overturned be remembered as a day of significance for the Jewish people? For many of us as individuals, I am sure the answer is yes. From those of us in New York to those in California who were at the front of this fight, I know that many, many Jews will remember August 4th as history in the making. Some whole congregations will be celebrating this week, and while I find this thought heartwarming, I know this is not enough.

Jewish institutions have not yet taken on LGBTQ justice with the same commitment as the religious right. Federations, JCCs, Hillels, our schools, our synagogues, our political organizations–we have the infrastructure and institutional power necessary to advance LGBTQ justice, but most of us stay silent or only take action occasionally. What would it look like if Jewish communities across the country made LGBTQ justice the same kind of priority as the religious right did in California? What would our communities look like then? What would our history books say about us?

From Judge Walker’s decision, the following statement seems to be generating some excitement among people, “Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians.” This is true, and it is not enough. If we only take on the legal discrimination that denies LGBTQ people basic access to rights and we do not take on the moral and cultural discrimination that fuels it, then we are not doing our jobs. It is the abuse of religion in the name of hatred that leads to violent hate crimes, queer youth being kicked out of their homes, and trans individuals being denied healthcare. As Jews and as people of faith, it is upon us to redouble our efforts not just in the legal realm, but in the moral realm as well. We need to act.

With Rosh Hashanah fast approaching, it is a time for all of us to take stock of this past year and ask questions about how we want to live and what we want our world to look like. What will be recorded in our history books and who will be inscribed in the book of good life? It is time for all of us, myself included, to work even harder to fill our books with words of justice in the coming year.

Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum

Forward:
http://www.forward.com/articles/129696/

Jewish Week
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/controversy_over_therapy_’curing’_homosexuals

Jewish Star:
http://thejewishstar.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/out-of-the-closet-rabbis-offer-new-approach-to-keep-gays-in-orthodox%C2%A0fold/

Jewish Chronicle:
http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/36302/american-rabbis-call-gay-acceptance

Haaretz:
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/news/u-s-orthodox-rabbis-urge-community-to-accept-gays-and-lesbians-1.304661?localLinksEnabled=false

Ynet
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3926452,00.html

Failed Messiah.com
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2010/07/alleged-abuse-at-orthodoxfounded-cure-the-gays-program-123.html?cid=6a00d83451b71f69e20133f28d1b33970b

Here’s how his site describes it:

Engage in an intimate community experience that fosters personal growth on your life path. Encounter sacred Hebrew texts with depth and reflection to learn about yourself, your world, and your relationship with the Divine. The tele-midrash will meet via conference call twice a month to review and discuss a pre-determined text. In addition to the full community call, participants will be paired into spirit buddies to learn together via specified guiding questions that relate to the texts. Participants will also be offered a one-on-one session with the tele-midrash facilitator to help tailor the program to their individual needs.

There are only ten spots and I imagine with his network and reputation they’ll fill up quickly. But go check it out and maybe you can get in on the phone action. You know you want to!

If you’ve taken a class with Zvi in person or on the phone let us know what you thought in the comments…

Full info is on his site at http://www.meaningthroughbeing.com/2010/07/fall2010-queer-telemidrash/

Shabbat Shalom,

Steven

Commentary on Matot-Masei 5766 (2006)

This week we conclude the reading of the book of Be’midbar/Numbers with the double parashah/portion of Matot-Masei (30:2-36:13). In Parshat Matot we read of the laws given to the Israelites concerning the making of vows, as well as a description of the war against the Midianites. It concludes with Moses resolving a request by the tribes of Gad and Reuben to live on the “other side of the Jordan river”which is permitted.

Masei recounts the forty years of the journeys of the Israelites (masei b’nei yisrael) from Egypt to the Promised Land. Moses then provides instructions for conquering the land, defining its borders and dividing it among the tribes.

How ironic that we read of the conquering and division of the land, as well as of a war against an enemy at a time when the State of Israel is engaged in a war to protect its borders and define not only those borders, but the meaning of its existence.

In preparing to write this d’var torah I have made a conscious decision to stay away from politics as much as possible. I will say that I believe Israel must defend itself against those who wish for nothing more than its destruction, among which I include Hezbollah and Hamas.

However, I would like to create a more spiritual response to what is obviously a difficult and painful situation. For regardless of what I say, more blood will be spilled, of soldiers, civilians and terrorists. Both sides will continue to know death, destruction and hatred no matter what I write. However, what we must keep in mind as we watch the events unfold on the screen and in our hearts are the divine-human qualities of compassion, openness and acceptance. For these are the only qualities that can ever lead us to a true peace, whether in our times or for future generations. As a way of demonstrating this I would like to relate to you something that I experienced this past Shabbat in Jerusalem.

Last Shabbat was the final day of my 12-day trip to Israel, one that was marked by many high points, as well as by the outbreak of war in Lebanon and the continued fighting in Gaza. That Shabbat I decided to walk through the streets of the Baka and German Colony neighborhoods of Jerusalem one last time, ending up at one of my favorite spots, Gan ha’Paamon, the Liberty Bell Garden. This beautiful garden, situated between the German Colony and the area around the King David hotel was built with money donated by North American Jews. It contains not only of gardens, but playgrounds, picnic areas and basketball courts. Not to mention a replica of the Liberty Bell! As I walked through the garden last Shabbat I was reminded of why it is one of my favorite spots in Israel. For as I entered the garden I first saw a group of young Jewish men and women, some wearing more traditional (though not “ultra orthodox”) Shabbat garb, others in shorts and sleeveless shirts, all sitting together sharing Shabbat lunch, laughing, singing, and eventually playing a game of touch football. They were clearly enjoying the peace of Shabbat.

Not far from them, there sat an Israeli Arab family from one of the nearby villages. They were preparing a feast for themselves while numerous children ran around the garden or road their bikes on one of its many paths. Not far from them was another Arab family enjoying an afternoon of leisure.

As I watched these Arabs and Jews sharing the same space I took notice of joyous, raucous music that was being played through a nearby sound system. I soon found that these sounds emanated from a gathering of about 30 Ethiopian Jews beneath a grape arbor in the garden. They were eating, laughing and dancing together to the beat of their native music, many of them wearing traditional Ethiopian garb. As I watched them, I noticed an older Jewish couple, the man wearing a kippah/yarmulke and the woman a traditional head scarf, walk by, stop and smile, before continuing on their Shabbat afternoon walk.

Not far from there, both Jews and Arabs were playing pick-up games of basketball, children played on the playground and other, such as myself, simply enjoyed taking in the beauty of the day, the park, and what was happening within its confines.

As I sat there I could not help but wonder why all of Israel could not be like that park. Of course, I knew the answer to that question all too well, but that did not prevent me from asking. Why, I wondered, couldn’t everyone stop focusing on their differences and instead focus on their similarities. And yet, I knew that this was the idealist within me speaking, for that was not what was happening in the park at all. For in reality, each of the groups was interacting only with its own members and not with members of the other groups. Of course, they recognized the existence of the other, and this was not a problem, but true interaction was not occurring (though in past visits to Jerusalem I have seen this occur). However, even peaceful co-existence without interaction is better than hostility and violence. Would that the parties in the current conflict could even reach that point!

But what is it that prevents this from happening? Certainly there must be an answer somewhere that is realistic and not fantasy? As I pondered this question I remembered that what was in the center of this oasis of peace in the middle of a country and region filled with war: a replica of the Liberty Bell! What a strange thing to find in Jerusalem! However, we must remember that written on the Liberty Bell is a verse from Vayikra/Leviticus “Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants thereof.”

This verse precedes the verses concerning the release of Hebrew slaves every 50th year (see Parshat Behar). However, in order to connect the essence of this verse to what I witnessed in Israel, as well as to the current situation, one needs to look at the word that is commonly translated as “liberty.” The Hebrew word `d’ror’ is more accurately translated as “release” and it is part of the greater theme of redemption found in that passage of the Torah. This redemption involved the return of the land to the tribes that possessed it at the time it was conquered by Joshua, as well as the release of Israelite slaves from their indentured servitude. In short, it was an effort to release in order to restore balance to the system (at least as defined by the Judeocentric text of the Torah).

This twin concepts of release/redemption involves the ability to let go. The parties involved must release the story line that something or someone “belongs” to them. Possession does not matter any more according to the Torah. What matters is the moment, which is one of release, freedom, and redemption. It is a moment when we let go of our attachments and simply let things be as they were “meant to be” (again I realize that this is being defined in a specific way by the Torah, but we can extend it to a more universal perspective without much effort).

In a way this is the essence of Shabbat as well. I also believe that on some deep level, probably unknown to those present, it was the essence of what occurred in the Liberty Bell Garden. At least for those minutes or hours, those present were able to let go of their individual stories of hurt or hatred. They were able to release themselves from the tyrannies of their stories and simply enjoy God’s creation. What happened after those hours in the park I cannot tell you, but what happened during that time was indeed a lesson for all of us.

Ultimately, this release from excessive attachment to history, to pain, to one’s story and to the sense that “this is mine and I am right” can bring about peace and liberty. It allows us to open our hearts to the pain of others and feel compassion for all of creation, not only for ourselves. How long it will take to bring that vision to fruition I cannot say. Realistically, I doubt that it will happen during my lifetime, though I hope and pray that I am wrong.

Yet, for those few moments on a Shabbat afternoon in Jerusalem, the holy city of peace that has too often known hatred and violence, I witnessed what may perhaps have been a first step, no matter how small, towards this ultimate goal. And if each step on the journey is in itself a destination, then that step, no matter how small it may seem, can have cosmic significance.

Am I dreaming? Perhaps. Is this a fantasy? It may well be. But without dreams and fantasies it is impossible for us to work towards creating new realities for us and for our world.

Over 100 years ago Theodore Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism said “If you will it, it is no dream.” His dream was of a homeland for the Jews. But ours must be that all peoples will have a homeland and know peace, freedom and redemption.

If we will it, it is no dream. But we must also remember that if we do not dream it, it can never become a reality!

Shabbat Shalom.

–
Posted By Rabbi Steven Nathan to Mindful Torah at 7/02/2010 04:42:00 PM

Also, participants here are tweeting, and it’s been great. Head over to twitter.com/gaygevalt to follow our new twitter account, and also set your twitter to search for the hashtag #jqm to follow and join the conversation. Many people that are important to the LGBTQ Jewish movement aren’t here so, please join in the conversation in the comments here, on twitter, and at the Forward.

I sat down to write this post simply to record this: there is actual work happening here and that is a unique and great thing. The discussions are serious, the mood convivial, and the collaboration real. The idea of creating or defining a movement is lofty to say the least, and may even strike some as a bit arrogant. But there has been an LGBTQ Jewish movement for some time now, and these meetings are helpful and productive.

We’re in the middle of a SWOT exercise. We’re identifying Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

What would be on your list of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats? Put em in the comments.