Eshel Out Loud
News, Views, and Updates from the Eshel Community
Beyond the Shabbos table: LGBTQ+ allyship as a communal responsibility
chaofann/Getty Images Since Oct. 7, I have personally felt caught between my Jewish and LGBTQ+ identities, as though I have to take a stand on one side or another — choose between posting a slogan or a violent meme on my social media. I was isolated in spaces that were once warm and friendly, but [more]
Elul and the Interpersonal
While we often think about Elul as a time of preparation for the New Year, Rosh Chodesh Elul is a new year itself, one of four listed in Mishna Rosh Hashanah. Along with Tishrei and Nissan, we mark Tu B’shvat as the new year for trees and plants, and Rosh Chodesh Elul as the new [more]
What’s Love Got To Do With It?
When I see that rabbis are still advocating for celibacy if an LGBTQ+ individual wants to remain Orthodox, I wonder if they have heard the Tina Turner song, What's Love got to do with it? Because the answer to Ms. Turner’s question is, in their eyes, clearly, nothing. The education I received at Yeshiva University [more]
Failure and Resilience
As I began the intensive preparations for Tisha B’av this year, marked by the start of the Nine Days, I was reminded of a Tisha B’av I spent twenty years ago in Jerusalem with twelve queer clergy. I had organized this trip to engage queer religious leaders with our shared Abrahamic roots, and open dialogue [more]