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RNS) — “The kid is a feigele!”
I can still hear my relative saying the derogatory phrase, used to refer to a gay man or boy, aiming his ugly remark at a young man at a bar mitzvah celebration.
In Yiddish, “feigele” literally means a little bird, but became a popular, if distasteful, euphemism for a male who did not quite cut it in the masculinity department. It might be used to refer to the boy who was insufficiently athletic, too artsy or good at theater.
I’m reminded of the phrase during Pride Month, for which I want to recognize the amazing work of Eshel, a group that advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusive Orthodox Jewish communities.
An eshel was the tree under which Abraham sat when he welcomed the strangers. It fits.
Eshel builds these inclusive Orthodox communities for LGBTQ+ Jews and their families through education, advocacy and programming — including holding annual retreats for both LGBTQ+ individuals and Orthodox parents, support groups, Shabbatons and Pride Month events. It has engaged more than 300 Orthodox synagogues nationwide and has chapters across North America, from Atlanta and Toronto to Los Angeles and Brooklyn.
Miryam Kabakov and Rabbi Steven Greenberg co-founded Eshel in 2010. Greenberg is among a small number of out gay Orthodox rabbis and the author of the 2005 book “Wrestling With God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition.”
Greenberg is also an old friend whom I interviewed for this Pride Month.