Eshel Out Loud
News, Views, and Updates from the Eshel Community
10 Years of Welcoming Shuls
For the past ten years, Eshel has been searching for shuls for LGBTQ+ Jews - individuals and families - who want to be part of a frum community. Since the founding of the Welcoming Shuls Project, I have spoken with almost 300 shuls and Rabbis. We work with large and small congregations, independent minyanim, and [more]
Lightening the Load
The journey for most Orthodox parents with a child who is LGBTQ is long and emotional. The social and mental journeys we go through can be difficult, stressful, and joyous. However the most rewarding journey many of us take is the physical trip to Pearlstone Retreat Center for the Eshel Annual Parent Retreat. What [more]
Reading A Perfect Torah
For years I have grappled with the pasuk in this week’s parsha: וְאֶ֨ת־זָכָ֔ר לֹ֥א תִשְׁכַּ֖ב מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י אִשָּׁ֑ה תּוֹעֵבָ֖ה הִֽוא׃ Starting around 13 years old, I began to feel immense guilt and shame whenever this pasuk was read aloud in shul, usually by the Rabbi, who also happened to be my father. I thought that Hashem [more]
The Art of Adapting
The world is changing rapidly. And so we, too, must change. Judaism teaches us the concept of tikkun olam: the responsibility to improve a broken world. Buddhism teaches us that human suffering comes from a refusal to accept what currently is. So which is it: do we accept that things just are the way they [more]