This week we read Parshat Vayera, where Avraham plants an eshel tree to offer rest and sustenance to those who pass by. This simple but profound act of making room for someone else is where Eshel gets its name. Avraham and Sarah’s tent was open on all sides. Their hospitality wasn’t just about providing food or shelter. They nourished their guests’ souls, bringing them under kanfei hashechinah, into God’s presence. For so many years, I felt Orthodoxy had no room to include people like me – but Eshel showed me how to open our homes and our communities.
Over the past eight months, I’ve been intentionally building my own home, filling it with Shabbat meals, holiday gatherings, warmth, laughter, Jewish and LGBTQ+ friends. I used to only dream about sitting around my Shabbos table sharing food and Torah with loved ones, and knowing I could show up as my whole self. After years of envisioning what belonging in Orthodox Jewish life might look like, I was finally able to create some of it. It reminded me that we don’t have to wait for anyone else to build the spaces we want to inhabit.
That’s what inspires Eshel’s new Microgrant Program. What if more of us had the opportunity to create moments of connection? You don’t need to run an organization or plan a big event. Maybe you want to host a Shabbat meal, come together for a holiday, or invite LGBTQ+ Jews to spend time with others who understand their experiences.
Through our Eshel Across America Microgrant Program, we are supporting LGBTQ+ Jewish gatherings everywhere that there are frum LGBTQ+ Jews. Belonging shouldn’t depend on your ZIP code. If you live somewhere without frum and fulfilling LGBTQ+ programming, you don’t have to miss out on creating connections. You can build the kind of space you want to see, by bringing people together.
The eshel Avraham planted offered comfort and nourishment to anyone who needed it. Eshel carries that spirit forward by opening doors, providing support,, and making space for people to connect with Jewish life, and with each other. If you want to bring your LGBTQ+ Orthodox+ community together, I hope you’ll apply for an Eshel Across America microgrant and help carry Eshel’s message of welcome and belonging into your own community.
Ely Winkler
Director of Advancement