Apr 26, 2013 | Eshel in the News
Gay Orthodox Jews Deserve Our Support A response to Brian Camenker, by Rabbi Zev Farber Letter to the Editor The Advocate The Talmud declares that anyone who has no compassion for others is not a descendent of our father Abraham. My mind went to this statement as I read Brian Camenker’s hurtful words. Gay Orthodox Jews [more]
Apr 22, 2013 | Eshel in the News
The Stranger Within Your Gates Answering Questions about Bais Abraham’s Recent Eshel Shabbat On a recent Shabbat, Bais Abraham hosted speakers from Eshel (www.eshelonline.org), a national organization building communities of support, learning, and inclusion for Orthodox lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Jews. The three speakers were LGBT Orthodox individuals, two of whom came to observance [more]
Apr 13, 2013 | Eshel in the News
LGBT and Observant: St. Louis Jewish Light covers Eshel event Elissa Kaplan says deciding 10 years ago to tell her two oldest children, then ages 9 and 11, that she was gay still stands as the “scariest decision” of her life. It not only resulted in her children knowing, but also, quite unexpectedly, the head [more]
Apr 12, 2013 | Eshel in the News
Tough Love is Needed In response to Eshel’s retreat for Orthodox parents of LGBT people, Brian Camenker wrote this letter to the editor of Boston’s Jewish Advocate. A response by Rabbi Zev Farber appeared two weeks later. See full article.
Apr 6, 2013 | Eshel in the News
Gay Orthodox Jews to gather and discuss challenges they face When Hyim Shafner first started working as the campus rabbi for St. Louis Hillel at Washington University in the mid-1990s, he was approached by a male student with an unusual request. “I’m having trouble meeting guys, rabbi,” Shafner remembers the student saying. “Can you fix [more]
Mar 20, 2013 | Eshel in the News
Retreat set for parents of LGBT Jews: Event was inspired by local mother’s request When Shabbat begins on April 26, Orthodox parents and adult relatives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) children will gather for a retreat to discuss their own concerns and challenges, and to formulate strategies for full inclusion of those children [more]
