Eshel Across America
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…
Read the latest on Eshel’s work advancing LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Orthodox world. From blog posts and op-eds to news articles and podcast interviews, learn more about our work from the people behind it.
Lezbitzen, Queeruv, and Gaymara: Queer Jewish Language with Miryam Kabakov and Eden Moyal
Miryam Kabakov, executive director of Eshel, and Eden Moyal, a sociolinguist, discuss the intersection of queer identity, Jewish languages, and Orthodox spaces. Eden details the sociolinguistic mechanics of identity, explaining…
The Eshel Tree: Rooted in Welcome
It begins with a seed. וַיִּטַּע אֵשֶׁל בִּבְאֵר שָׁבַע וַיִּקְרָא שָׁם בְּשֵׁם ה׳ אֵל עוֹלָם “[Avraham] planted an eshel in Be’er Sheva, and invoked there the Name of the Eternal,…
Keep The Word Close
כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשתו Know the word is very close to you- on your lips and in your heart may you enact it. This verse in…
Finding My Way Back to Shul
I was ten years old when I was finally able to put a name to the feeling I had known my whole life – that I was attracted to women.…
Like Clay in the Potter’s Hands
This Yom Kippur, we will sing together: כִּי הִנֵּה כַּחֹֽמֶר בְּיַד הַיּוֹצֵר / בִּרְצוֹתוֹ מַרְחִיב וּבִרְצוֹתוֹ מְקַצֵּר / כֵּן אֲנַֽחְנוּ בְּיָדְךָ Like clay in the hands of the potter /…
Building Community, Belonging, and Sustainable Support with Miryam Kabakov
Miryam Kabakov, co-founder and executive director of Eshel, knows firsthand how powerful it can be to discover that you are not alone. Her own experience coming out in the Orthodox Jewish…
Supporting LGBTQ+ Communities in Orthodox Judaism
On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Diego Garcia Blum speaks with Miryam Kabakov, co-founder and executive director of Eshel, a national organization that supports LGBTQ+ Orthodox Jews and their…
A New School Year, An Old Question: Do I Belong?
As summer comes to a close, students, parents, and teachers are gearing up for back to school season. The start of the new school year brings many feelings: excitement, nerves,…
How to Move Jewish Institutions from a “Welcoming” Approach to a “Belonging” Atmosphere
The following is an edited excerpt from the conference session “How to Move Jewish Institutions from a ‘Welcoming Approach’ to a ‘Belonging’ Atmosphere.” How to Move Jewish Institutions from a…
When We Failed to Make Space
“The test of faith is whether I can make space for difference, whether I can make space for the Other.” — Rabbi Jonathan Sacks As the High Holiday season approaches,…
Who are the Leaders for Us and Our Families
In Pirkei Avot, we learn to take initiative for finding ourselves our own Rav to whom we may go for support and advice, and a friend with whom and from…
If You Build It, They Will Come
Two of our three kids came out as LGBTQ a few years ago, one after the other, three months apart. As a pretty open-minded and still very frum couple, my…
Love and Liberation this Tu B’Av
The grape harvest is upon us! It is but one of many socially significant occasions to the Jewish people that coincide with the auspicious date of 15 Av, or the…
You’ve Got to Have Faith
When LGBTQ people come out, the first questions they ask often have to do with place and belonging: where will my home be now, and who are “my people”—my family,…
Aviv Foundation grants $1 million to expand operations of Orthodox LGBTQ inclusion group Eshel
Ely Winkler, director of advancement at Eshel, Mendel Weintraub, a program director, and Sophia Nachmanoff, campus fellowship coordinator, attend the 2026 New York City Pride parade on June 28, 2026.…
The God Who Hates Lies and the People Who Blame the Victim
Who is to blame for the destruction of Judea and the razing of the Temple? Every year during the three weeks, including the nine days and the ninth of Av,…
From ‘feigele’ to free: What does it mean to be LGBTQ+ and Orthodox?
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…
Claiming Space in the Eshel Parent Retreat Community
By An Eshel Parent | June 25, 2026 It’s really scary to have your child come out to you as queer when you live in an Orthodox Jewish community. There…
I’ve spent a decade building acceptance for LGBTQ Orthodox Jews. Now I’m watching it unravel.
Only compassion can resist the political and cultural trends making our institutions less welcoming, writes an educator at Eshel. By SAUNDRA STERLING EPSTEIN For the past decade, I have been…
4 Questions to Ask Your Photographer Before Your Queer Orthodox Wedding
When you ask a potential wedding vendor, “Do you know what a tisch is?” the question underneath is usually much bigger than vocabulary. What you are likely really asking is:…
YES to our traditions, AND to our full identities
As observant Jews, we know what it means to navigate challenges and make difficult choices. Across generations, we have drawn on resilience, faith, and commitment to our families, communities, and…
Conformity is a Closet
In the process of preparing my d’var Torah last month (read here), I felt like I was grasping at straws to make meaning out of the hypertechnical nature of that…
A Student too Eager
Eshel has been working with shuls and schools for more than a decade now on policy issues. In 2018 we encouraged schools to “take the pledge,” a document drafted by…
Census and Consensus
This past week’s Parsha, Badmidar, isn’t really my jam; I tend to gravitate more naturally toward the narrative-based chapters contained in Bereishit and Shemot over the intricately detailed portion of…
Orthodox, Queer, and Refusing to Leave
Imagine belonging to a faith that is fighting to keep you out—and refusing to leave. Some of you in our Mama Dragons community know this experience well. Some of you…
Saying Yes, AND
This year, I had the pleasure of attending three spectacular weekends: the Eshel in Israel Parent Shabbaton, the National LGBTQ+ Retreat, and Eshel Parent Retreat. While each is unique in…
Why Should We Be Excluded?
This Friday will be the 14th of Iyyar, exactly one month after Pesach. We celebrate Pesach Sheni, an ancient reminder of the value of inclusion. It originates the first year…
Eshel Retreat Creates Space for Orthodox Parents of LGBTQ+ Jews
By Andrew Guckes – April 21, 2026 Since 2010, Eshel has helped strengthen inclusion for LGBTQ+ Jews within the Orthodox community. For 13 of those years, Eshel has hosted a…
One Day at a Time
The season of sefira draws our attention to the passage of time. We mark each day with an account of the days and weeks that have gone by. This ritual…
LGBTQ faith leaders say Supreme Court’s conversion therapy ruling will harm youth
(RNS) — The court sided with an evangelical Christian therapist who argued Colorado’s conversion therapy ban restricts her right to free speech. By Kathryn Post (RNS) — As LGBTQ-affirming…
Not Just Accepted, But Celebrated
Eshel’s retreat for parents of LGBTQ kids gives support, builds community Community is where you build it. It’s where you find a home. Where you can talk about the things…
The Choice to be Visible
As an infant, Moshe was bundled up and sent down the Nile in a tiny raft. Yocheved gave him up, still in vital danger, but spared from certain death at…
Thinking About the Eshel Parent Retreat?
What is it? How do I know if it’s for me? Eshel’s Parent Retreat is a supportive space for Orthodox parents with children who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer,…
A Seat at the Table for Everyone
Every year, on the 15th of Nissan, Jews around the world gather around tables, with their families and friends, in their own homes and as guests, to partake in the…
Rest, Reflection, Renewal
After fifteen years of holding Eshel – its vision, its people, its future – I spent three months letting it go. Not abandoning it, but doing something that can feel…
Out in Shushan
The Megillah is, among its many faces, a story about the complexities of identity. A number of its characters are imposters of sorts, struggling to be something that they are…
If You Will It
“If you will it, it is no dream.” Im tirtzu, ein zo agadah. Theodor Herzl was speaking about a homeland for the Jewish people. But as I look back on…
In new letter, Orthodox rabbis say Jewish law forbids ‘conversion therapy’
Photo by Mercedes Mehling/Unsplash/Creative Commons by Yonat Shimron (RNS) — A group of Orthodox rabbis from the U.S. and Israel issued a strongly worded letter condemning discredited practices that try…
When Leviticus isn’t the Last Word
by Nadine Epstein As a teenager in West Hempstead, NY, on Long Island, Oliver Paneth loved spending time at their family’s shul and was a popular babysitter in the Orthodox…
New Queer Resolutions
It’s a new year, and a time full of opportunity to reflect and plan and grow. What will 2026 hold for us? What are we striving towards? What are some…
Lighting Up the Darkness
I remember being ten years old and feeling uncomfortable as I tried to explain to my Christian friends in public school what Chanukah is about. The miracle of an oil…
Turning Letters Into Faces: Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Queer Belonging
Imagine being told you belong to a faith that is fighting to keep you out—and refusing to leave. In this week’s Madlik, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz welcome Rabbi…
Bottom Up Torah: How Queer Jews Are Changing Orthodoxy
Imagine being told you belong to a faith that is fighting to keep you out—and refusing to leave. In this week’s Madlik, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz welcome Rabbi…
What’s in a Strategic Plan?
At my first Eshel retreat in 2010, I remember feeling like the idea of queer Orthodox community, or a true observant future was unfathomable. I couldn’t wrap my head around…
Giving Thanks
What Eshel staff are grateful for this year: I’m grateful for continued support in living authentically in every aspect of my identity. – Mendel I’m grateful to have access to…
On Being a Trans Ally
As Jews, we know the dangers that come from dehumanizing rhetoric. For thousands of years, antisemitism has flourished by asserting that we are less human, somehow other than the rest…
Eshel | And Here’s Modi
Modi and Leo are joined by Miryam Kabakov, the executive director of Eshel, an organizing that seeks to build LGBTQ+ inclusive Orthodox Jewish communities. Listen: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1826078/episodes/18107758
Ely Winkler Celebrates LGBTQ+ Inclusion Within the Orthodox Jewish Community
In this powerful and deeply personal 93rd episode of No Hair, All Heart, Mookie Spitz sits down with Ely Winkler, the Director of Advancement at Eshel, an organization devoted to LGBTQ+…
Hospitality as a Central Pillar
“And He (Abraham) planted an eshel (tamarisk) in Beersheba, and he proclaimed there the name of the Lord, God of the universe” (Genesis 21:33). Every year, when we read Parshat…
We’re Here, We’re Queer, We’re Making History
Over the past few months, Eshel has had the honor of being featured in the Capital Jewish Museum’s exhibit “LGBT Jews in the Federal City,” which celebrates more than a…
Q&A | Comedian Modi Is Running on ‘Moshiach Energy’
The gay, married Orthodox comedian is serious about Judaism, inclusion and making you laugh. Modi is the mononym of actor and comedian Mordechi Rosenfeld, who was born in Tel Aviv…
A Sacred Pause
Last week, as we read Parshat Breishit, beginning the Torah reading cycle anew, I was reminded of the words of my colleague Yavilah McCoy: “Rest is an intrinsic part of…
Breaking Silence, Building Sanctuary: A Conversation with Miryam Kabakov
This episode centers on faith, identity, and advocacy — how one woman’s courage to create space for LGBTQ+ Orthodox Jews sparked healing in communities that once refused to see them. Through Miryam’s…
Faith and Identity: Miryam Kabakov on Building Inclusive Orthodox Communities
In this conversation, Miryam shares her journey of growing up in a modern Orthodox community while grappling with her LGBTQ identity with Brian. She discusses the challenges of acceptance within…
Enjoying the Fruits of Our Labor
While we often include Sukkot in the trio of pilgrimage festivals, Sukkot is really best understood as the last act of the high holidays. After we have examined ourselves, identified…
Lessons from Yonah
When I learned about Yom Kippur in day school, I was told of a magnificent judge in the vast heavens, passing verdicts on the other side of slowly closing gates.…
Sidelined at Pride celebrations, pro-Israel LGBTQ Jews find breathing room in Tel Aviv
Organized by the JFNA, the trip included 15 first-time visitors to Israel and came amid a broader sense of alienation many had been feeling in their LGBTQ communities back home.…
Finding My Voice
As a closeted Orthodox kid, I internalized explicit and implicit messages about my identity that led me to self-censor various forms of expression, out of fear that doing so would…
How Orthodox Jewish families are finding ways to support their trans children
By MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ Ziva Mann remembers how joyful and smiley her daughter was as a child — the family even gave her the nickname “Giggles.” “She was just sunshine,” Mann…
Reflecting on safety from a safe room
By Miryam Kabakov I am always trepidatious about travel. Am I heading into the unknown? What will I find when I get there? Will the flight be safe? At the…
We Don’t Grieve Alone
It is not good for humanity to be alone. לֹא־טוֹב הֱיוֹת הָאָדָם לְבַדּוֹ Loneliness is the first aspect of creation judged to be bad by God. Yet it is this…
October 7th attacks continue to fray LGBTQ+ Jewish communities, 20 months on
An LGBTQ+ Jewish group surveyed the community over the last two years and found they are experiencing alienation at incredibly high rates — but it didn’t start with October 7th.…
Three Weddings, One Marriage
I was married three times, to the same person. Our first wedding was almost everything I could have hoped for – spiritual, communal, religious, and deeply meaningful. The only problem…
The Rainbow of Belonging
When I began working for Eshel in June one year ago, one of my first questions was “why are there no rainbows in our logo? Aren’t we proud?” I learned…
The True Meaning of Pride
Since October 7, social media and real-life encounters changed my experience of the world as a Jew: for the first time, I am repeatedly encountering people who think I should…
‘It feels like home’ Local Orthodox parents of LGBTQ children find community at Eshel retreat
By Joanne PalmerJune 5, 2025, 9:59 am Robin Siegel, left, talks to another parent at the retreat. (Stefanie Diamond) It’s a near-universal truth that parents want to protect their children. That…
In seesawing decisions on pride club, Yeshiva wrestles with recurring identity questions
“One hopes that both sides in the Yeshiva University dispute can model how intra-Jewish disputes should be carried on,” Jonathan Sarna told JNS. Emily Goldberg Rabbi Steve Greenberg, the founding…
As LGBTQ+ Jews face antisemitism in queer spaces, the Jewish community must support them
A Star of David pride flag during a Capital Pride Parade in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Ted Eytan (CC BY 4.0)) (RNS) — It feels even scarier in 2025, not…
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…
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.…
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…
Senior rabbis shouldn’t quit Yeshiva University over a gay club on campus
by Rabbi Steve Greenberg Senior rabbis at Yeshiva University were ready to quit. The impetus for their drastic threat to leave was the administration’s recent settlement agreement to let a…
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…
Visibility as Healing
Growing up, I often felt invisible. As the fifth of six children, it was easy to fly under the radar as one of the middle children. Although my parents gave…
Putting the Matza Back Together
On Pesach, before we can begin to tell the story of yetziat mitzrayim, we perform Yahatz by breaking the middle of our three matzot in two. Pesachim 115b-116a outlines the rationale…
Rabbis revolt over LGBTQ+ club, exposing fight over queer acceptance at Yeshiva University
Signage on the campus of Yeshiva University in Washington Heights. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images By Louis Keene Yeshiva University’s approval of a campus LGBTQ+ club in a landmark settlement…
Sowing a Brighter Future
Last week, I had an opportunity to witness an incredible moment of community at our Orthodox Allies Training in Detroit. Towards the end of our time together, one woman raised…
Rabbi Eliyahu Fink, compassionate voice in the Orthodox world, dies in road accident at 43
Rabbi Eliyahu Fink, who died March 21 in a car accident, appeared in a 2013 episode of National Geographic’s ‘Church Rescue’. (Screenshot via YouTube) By Jackie Hajdenberg Rabbi Eliyahu Fink, a…
Yeshiva University drops opposition to LGBTQ+ student club
The Yeshiva University Wilf Campus in Manhattan. (Photo courtesy Google Maps) By Yonat Shimron (RNS) — Yeshiva University in New York City has settled a long-running lawsuit with its LGBTQ+…
Inclusion, Integration or Pity? A Perspective From an Eshel Parent
by Yocheved Lindenbaum The aftermath of Thanksgiving dinner 2012 will remain etched in my memory forever. Our son, Asher, asked my husband and I to join him at the resolute…
The Oneness Of Being Queer and Jewish
How do you balance faith, sexuality, and life—without losing your mind? Finding the just right path to authenticity can feel overwhelming, even chaotic. But here’s the truth: authenticity is…
Reimagining “V’nahafoch Hu”: The Joy of Finding Balance
It’s easy to look at Purim and see a story opposing extremes – either very quiet, with hidden identities and secret meetings, or loud with parades in the streets, month-long…
A Local Parent’s Perspective on the Eshel Annual Parents Retreat
By Stefanie Diamond | February 20, 2025 There’s a saying that when a child comes out of the closet, the parents go in. This isn’t always the case, but just as coming…
Rejected elsewhere, these LGBTQ+ Jews find love and acceptance in the Connecticut woods
The Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village, Conn., was the site of an annual retreat for queer Orthodox Jews on Jan. 17-19, 2025, hosted by Eshel, a nonprofit…
How to Be an Ally Right Now
With attacks on queer and trans rights increasing in quantity and visibility, being an ally feels more important than ever right now. It is also more overwhelming and humbling than…
Transgender Jews and their families search for safety as Trump takes aim at their rights
A person wears a pride-themed yarmulke in the West Village in New York City, on June 26, 2020. (Noam Galai/Getty Images) By Asaf Elia-Shalev After trying for five years to dissuade…
Building the Community We Need
Every year, as I stand in the closing circle of the Eshel National Retreat, I hear the attendees defining what belonging to this community means to us: connection, friendship, joy,…
New Year, New Goals
As the new calendar year begins, Eshel’s staff members are taking stock of what lies ahead in the new year, both for Eshel and ourselves. While we’ll be sharing some…
Learning to Make an Impact
It’s that time of year: organizations, particularly at the end of the calendar year, will talk about making a year end gift to their work, to make an impact. But…
Holding On to Our Dreams
Every year, I look forward to celebrating Hannukah. In the darkest of times, the lights of the Hanukkiah and the songs of the holiday have always lifted me up and inspired me to renew my faith and hope in our people and in Hashem. This year, I have needed this light and renewal more than ever. As the parshiyot shift to the journey of Yoseph the dreamer, one of my favorite stories of the Torah, during Hanukkah, I’m noticing the parallels between the Maccabim hiding and standing up for themselves, and Yoseph’s journey into and out of a pit and a jail cell for believing in his dreams.
Yoseph knew he was born to be someone different than everyone else around him. He dreamed of things he didn’t quite understand, but nonetheless believed in. He was ostracized and isolated by his own family for sharing his dreams, only to go on to serve a greater purpose in bringing his family down to Egypt and saving them from famine. The Maccabim as well, forced to hide and run, were ultimately on the path that led them back to the restored Beit Hamikdash
Gay, Jewish and Orthodox. How one group is working to open minds in Florida
By Lauren Costantino December 05, 2024 5:30 AM Daniel Gammerman, a lifelong Orthodox Jew, began noticing some changes at his South Florida synagogue. Gammerman, who is originally from Brazil but spent…
Grief and Gratitude: Marking Trans Day of Remembrance
One of the more popular themes for the month of November is gratitude. This year, our theme can be grief and gratitude. How can they both exist, and how do…
Press Release: Eshel Hosts First-Ever Retreat in South Florida
Download Press Release For Immediate Release Contact: Raina Grossman raina@eshelonline.org 646-879-5859 ESHEL HOSTS FIRST-EVER WEEKEND RETREAT IN FLORIDA FOR LGBTQ+ ORTHODOX JEWS TO CREATE NEEDED COMMUNITY DUE TO POLITICAL POLARIZATION,…
A Gay Orthodox Jew Comes Home
The idea that time is not a flat circle but a spiral is easy to see during Rosh Hashanah, the chaggim that follow it, and the other holidays on the…
Are LGBTQ Jews welcome in Orthodox communities? This is how they are building spaces of their own
Daniel Gammerman poses for a photo on his balcony where he sometimes prays as he prepares to worship at home for the Jewish High Holy Days, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024,…
Beyond the Shabbos table: LGBTQ+ allyship as a communal responsibility
chaofann/Getty Images Beyond the Shabbos table: LGBTQ+ allyship as a communal responsibility by Ely Winkler Since Oct. 7, I have personally felt caught between my Jewish and LGBTQ+ identities, as…
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 —…
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…
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…
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…
A Special Look: Modi
“To be honest with you, I love Eshel … I’m a member now. I’m in Eshel … they’re basically helping other people feel the way I do. Just be a…
How Change Happens
How does a community as committed to preserving tradition as Orthodoxy change? In Orit Avishai’s recent book, Queer Judaism: LGBT Activism and the Remaking of Jewish Orthodoxy in Israel, she…
A Home to Come Back To
For the last fifteen years, I have worked in fundraising in primarily Orthodox spaces, where I asked for gifts for day schools, Yeshivas, social justice organizations, and special needs support.…
Change is in the Air
Two weeks later, I am still on a high from our Celebration of Eshel. It was an incredible, star-studded night. I’m so grateful that Modi, Leo Veiga, Talia Reese, and Rabbi Gavriel Bellino were able to be on stage with me, our amazing volunteers and staff, and our honorees to help celebrate Eshel’s incredible journey over the past 13 years. What started out as a tiny dream to bring frum LGBTQ+ Jews together once a year has blossomed into something larger than any of us could have imagined.
Unity and Diversity at Sinai
As Shavuot approaches, we prepare to reenact the experience of receiving the Torah at Sinai, as it was experienced by all of am yisrael, across every generation. The revelation at…
Reflection on Pride
In just a few days it will be June, which means it is time to celebrate how far the LGBTQ community has come, band together as a community for more…
What Eshel Means to Me
Our upcoming Celebration of Eshel is our version of a B*Mitzah party. We are celebrating all that we have accomplished so far in the past 13 years, and looking forward…
Creating Communities Where There Are None
Not everyone lives in New York, LA, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, or other cities with large Jewish communities and numerous organizations supporting Jewish life. For LGBTQ+ Jews and those who love…
Seeing Ourselves in Torah
This Shabbat will be Parshat Acharei Mot, which we know can be a painful moment for many in our community because of the prohibitions against same sex relations. I remember…
The Blessings of Totality
At 3:27 on Monday, April 8th in Crystal Lake, Vermont the moon totally covered the sun for three minutes. The recent total eclipse was among the most stunning natural experiences…
‘It’s not about inclusion — it’s about belonging’
When their baby is born, most parents have dreams about how that new life will unfold. Those dreams are unrealistic — by definition, because they’re dreams — but they usually…
Two Calls
Two Calls From the Editor by Larry Gordon I received two phone calls last Friday in rather rapid succession, and the subject matters of both calls had nothing to do…
The Meaning of Retreat
Dvar Torah on Parshat Tzav Given by Nathan Lindenbaum at the 2024 Eshel Retreat Rabbi Aaron Lichtenstein pointed out two psukim, one in Parshat Tzav and one in Parshat Shmini,…
Pearlstone Retreat Teaches Orthodox Parents About LGBTQ Allyship
By Jillian Diamond Dr. Ann Stark (left), a Manhattan-based pediatric radiologist, and Aaron Kogut, a past Eshel board member, who lives in Manhattan, have “the talk” with Orthodox Jewish parents…
A Mifgash that Matters
The night before I left for Israel, I talked to a friend about what he should do: his father, who lives on the other side of the continent, had just gotten a cancer diagnosis. I remembered back to when my parents had been sick and I had been far away. “Go be with him. He needs you and you need to be near him. You’ll feel better sitting by his side instead of sitting here, wondering how he’s doing. You’ll see with your own eyes
Celebrating Purim as Coming Out Day
What would it mean to celebrate Purim this year as a National Jewish Coming Out Day? Whether for those of us who has been out for years, or those who…
Every Neshama has a Place at Shul
For several years, Eshel’s Welcoming Shuls Project has guided shuls and Rabbis in LGBTQ+ inclusion and helped LGBTQ+ people find the right shul for them and navigate shul life. Despite…
Spotlight on Social Events
A critical part of Eshel’s mission is to build community for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families so that they can break isolation, grow, and thrive. We do this not just…
Crafting Our Own Self-Care Practice
I’m Sara Hessdorf, and I’m excited to be joining Eshel this year as a social work intern. I’m passionate about finding ways to strengthen the Jewish community through empathy and…
Leaping Into a New Month
Another new month! Last month, we explored journaling as a form of reflection. This month, as we enter Adar Aleph and February (a double leap year), let’s explore journaling as a form of self inquiry. Leap years are the way our calendar resets so that we don’t drift too far away from the cycles of the natural world. This month, let’s take a moment to investigate the ways we may have lost our rhythm or feel off-kilter, and how we can return to equilibrium. Whether the changing seasons, personal struggles, or global events are contributing to feelings of unsteadiness, we can utilize self inquiry, journaling, and mindfulness to manage our reactions.
I encourage you to set aside some time to investigate whatever feelings you’re experiencing now, and try to identify patterns of similar feelings in the past. That knowledge of self can help you face the future.
The Story Behind the Warmline
Before Eshel began, I ran a support group for Orthodox women who were LBT. I opened a phone line so people could contact me. Not exactly knowing what I was…
Reflections on Past Parent Retreats
“Wow. What a weekend.” This is what one Eshel parent said when she got back from her first Eshel Parent Retreat for Orthodox parents of LGBTQ+ children. She attended her…
Eshel and the Garden of Eden
Happy Tu B’Shvat! This is a holiday that thrills both accountants and mystics. In the land of Israel, fruit could only be freely eaten from the fifth year after it…
Ritual and Retreat
Rituals give us a predictable format and routine that we can count on; some we repeat day after day, or year after year. And within those predictable ritual moments, we…
A Time for Growth and Renewal
If there’s one thing I believe about new year’s resolutions, it’s that you can do them any time during the year. At time of publication, we’re 9 days into 2024,…
Your Existence is Activism
I was raised in an Orthodox home, and transitioned in 1990. In 1986 I stopped all Jewish observance. I was certain I’d never be welcome in an Orthodox shul or…
Making Space: Being LGBTQ+ and Jewish in a Christmas-Centered World
This month, my neighborhood has exploded with Christmas decorations – on lampposts, on Starbucks cups, and in store windows. The adorable card and gift store next door to me has…
Remembering as a Transformative Act
Remembering those who have died is a communal activity in Judaism. Not just at funerals and shiva, where the community bands together in a big way immediately after someone dies,…
Why We Need the LGBTQ+ Retreat
Last year, after I came home from the National LGBTQ+ Retreat, my dad asked me about the experience. He wanted to know what the retreat was like, and asked me…
Supporting LGBTQ+ Jewish College Students in Crisis
There are no words to describe the agony of Israelis, and all of klal yisrael, over the past month. The brutality of October 7th is beyond words. While our circumstances…
From Suriname to Amsterdam with Jerusalem In Between
Several years ago, at around this time in the Torah cycle, I was rather pregnant and my life was about to change in ways I could not imagine. My spouse…
Caring for Your Mental Health During a Crisis
During the height of our joy celebrating the holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, we were all crushed with unimaginable, nightmarish news coming from Israel. Particularly during tragedies of…
Introducing Our New York Program Manager!
We are excited to introduce the newest member of our team! LV joined us recently as our New York Program Manager. She brings a wealth of community building experience and…
Giving a Face to Difficult Texts
The Torah reading for Yom Kippur mincha contains some of the more difficult verses for lesbian, gay, and bisexual Jews. On Yom Kippur, we read both Leviticus 18:22 and the…
First Day of School Jitters
It’s a new year and students are heading back to school. The uncertainty of a new situation brings anxiety and jitters. Whether it’s a new job, a new home, a…
Cultivating an Accepting Home
As a new mom, things like news stories, divrei torah from the bima, even conversations with friends and community members hit differently. I can’t help thinking, “what does this mean…
Oceans and Rivers
The high holidays end with a dramatic focus on water in the form of rain. Jonah finds in the depths of water a renewed sense of God’s patience and love.…
Finding A Home for the Yamim Noraim
אַחַת שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת־יְהֹוָה אוֹתָהּ אֲבַקֵּשׁ שִׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית־יְהֹוָה כׇּל־יְמֵי חַיַּי One thing I ask of Hashem, only that do I seek: to live in the house of Hashem all the days…
Celebrating Our New Board Members: Strengthening Our Path to Growth and Inclusion
We are thrilled to introduce and celebrate two exceptional individuals who have joined our dedicated team serving on Eshel’s board. Peninah and Yaakov bring with them a wealth of experience,…
Tu B’av: A Holiday of Love and Liberation
Tu B’av is one of the happiest days in the Jewish calendar. Mishna Taanit teaches: “Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: There were no days as joyous for the Jewish people…
The Failure of Too Much Humility
On the ninth of Av, in the year 70, Roman legions broke into the Holy Temple and set it ablaze. We are taught that the second Temple was destroyed due…
The Baal Shem Tov and Compassionate Awareness
One of the most beautiful and fundamental teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic movement, is that every thought, feeling, and experience contains Divine light, and…
Curiosity Over Contempt
“Two Jews, three opinions.” I was raised to appreciate multiplicity within our tradition. Through my study of Gemara, I learned to wrestle with texts, to ask lots of questions, and to challenge initial assumptions. I was taught the value of makhloket leshem shamayim, conflict in the name of heaven. Basically, I was encouraged to be curious.
So when I came out as transgender and faced some people in the Orthodox world saying that was “against the Torah,” I was confused, to say the least. Where was the complexity and nuance that other aspects of Jewish life are afforded?
It’s Not About Us vs. Them
This Sunday, Eshel will be hosting a forum in West Orange to discuss and learn about what it means to be an Orthodox ally to the LGBTQ+ community. Several members…
An NJ town took down Pride flags at the request of 2 synagogues — then put them back up
By Andrew Lapin “There is a cultural divide between the rabbis and the LGBTQ+ community,” Miryam Kabakov, executive director of the nonprofit Eshel, which supports LGBTQ Orthodox Jews and their families,…
When It Comes to a Future for LGBTQ+ Jews, Seeing is Believing
When I got married (almost two years ago!), my best friend was our officiant. This past Shabbat, we kicked off celebrations for her wedding – the second this month of…
Everything is Above Ground Now
I recently spoke to Rabbi Jeff Fox on MaharatCast about the history of the LGBTQ+ community’s presence in the Orthodox world. I reflected on how since founding Eshel, the conversation…
Why I Celebrate Pride
Pride Month, to me, is an occasion to celebrate visibility. It provides an opportunity for a community that can sometimes operate under the radar to proudly showcase our unity.
Inside Our Families, Outside in Our Orthodox Community
2019 Parent Survey and Report Parents are finding ways to manage, but shuls and schools largely fail LGBTQ+ Jews and their families. In December 2019, Eshel held its seventh annual…
Marry Me, However: Envisioning a Gay Future
R. Steve Greenberg Envisions a Gay Future as he discusses “Marry Me, However” in The Times of Israel. Rabbi Mordechai Vardi is the rabbi of Kibbutz Ein Zurim and a…
Discussing Jewish LGBTQ+ Pride with the World’s First Openly Gay Orthodox Rabbi
Rabbi Steven Greenberg is the first Orthodox rabbi to come out as gay. He is the founding director of Eshel, a non-profit organization that helps LGBTQ+ Jews in the Orthodox…
Sparring Partners: Our Arguments with God and What We Learn From Them!
Sparring Partners: Our Arguments with God and What We Learn From Them! Shiyur for Tikkun Leil Shavuot 5781 Prepared for the Eshel Community מחלוקת לשם השמים By Dr. Saundra Sterling…
Inside Out by R. Steve Greenberg
I just saw a truly amazing and profounding moving performance by Derrick DelGaudio in a one-man show, In And Of Itself. We are inviting everyone in the Eshel community and beyond…
Just Like Us study shows disproportionate LGBT+ school struggles
This December our #YoungerMe campaign is raising awareness of the need for inclusive education. A new survey by Just Like Us has found that LGBT+ people struggled with bullies and…
2 JTA Articles on an Orthodox Jewish Framework for Relationships
Leana Tapnack, seen here with mikvah attendant Talia Lakritz at the West Side Mikvah in New York, decided to observe the laws of niddah together with her wife, Sandy. (Courtesy…
The Only Unnatural Way to Be Is Alone
Lo tov heyot ha-adam levado, it is not good for the earthling to be alone (Gen. 2:18). As the product of a traditional Jewish education, I have always heard this…
Kept At A Distance
Isolation is an unfortunate norm for LGBTQ Jewish youth. The Coronavirus pandemic has only made things worse. By Idit Klein, Rachael Fried, Asher Gellis, Miryam Kabakov, and Rebecca Stapel-Wax As leaders…
Changing Not Changing by Joy Ladin – Video
How Orthodox Jewish Communities Respond When Members Come Out as LGBTQ For much of the 21st century, Miryam Kabakov and Rabbi Steven Greenberg have been agents of change in Orthodox Jewish…
Model Yseult Polfliet Has Finally Found Her Jewish Story
The Rwandan model — Burundi-born, Brussels-raised, now New York City resident — wants to create spaces for tough conversations. Read more.
Social Isolation, Mental Health, and Halakha
By Rabbi Zach Truboff With the three day yom tov this week there have been a lot of conversations about what can or can’t be done for people who…
Articles on the Impact of Social Isolation
The psychological impact of quarantine Social Isolation by Zach Truboff
Eshel Newsletter – March 20, 2020
Wishing you a Shabbat of peace and health The last time I was in a room filled with people… …I was celebrating Purim in shul. The wild costumes…
Coronavirus – by Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Rabbi Nathan Cardoza, a long-time rabbinic ally and a friend has shared with some colleagues this very thoughtful article. While we are in the midst of a dangerous and fearful…
How Sephardic Mizrahi Q Network Was Born
By Ruben Shimonov As a traditional Mizrahi-Sephardic gay Jewish immigrant, I never thought that it would be within the realm of possibility for me to proudly and confidently hold all…
Bridging the Divides, Fostering Inclusivity: Panel Discussion with Miryam Kabakov
(This speech was given Miryam Kabakov, Executive Director of Eshel, at the panel discussion entitled ” Bridging the Divides, Fostering Inclusivity: Rabbinic, Psychoanalytic and Academic Perspectives on Traditional Judaism and…
Queer Orthodox Jews Want More Than Tolerance
According to Miryam Kabakov, executive director of ten-year-old Orthodox LGBTQ+ organization Eshel, the Orthodox community has become exceedingly more open over the past decade. “When we started,” she says, “Orthodox communities…
A War Over the Future of Judaism Rages in This Small Long Island Community
West Hempstead’s Jews pride themselves on their ‘live and let live’ attitude — but their rabbis’ hard-line response to the LGBTQ community has infuriated many. An unbelievable tale of love,…
Eshel Executive Director Miryam Kabakov one of 10 Women Social Entrepreneurs named for JWFNY’s Inaugural “Collective”
After Shifting its Strategy, a Foundation Gets Behind Jewish Women Social Entrepreneurs June 6, 2019 Debra Nussbaum Cohen Evie Litwok got emotional when she opened up a letter from The Collective,…
R. Steve Greenberg’s Speech at the We, Too, Are YU March
Calling Yeshiva University to Rise Up and Fulfill Its Own Aspirational Values I am Steve Greenberg, the founding director of Eshel, a support, education and advocacy organization for LGBTQ Orthodox…
An Open Letter To Principals Of Orthodox Day Schools
Eshel’s leadership published a call-to-action in the Education Supplement of the Jewish Week. You can help us get the message out by sharing this open letter with those who are…
Contemporary Orthodox Rabbis Speak
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, in an article written in nearly twenty years ago, stated the challenge for rabbis in these words: “…. how can we deny a human being the expression…
Every Orthodox Rabbi Ought To Read This Book About The Lives Of LGBTQ Orthodox Jews
By Simone Somekh July 10, 2019 To read this article on the Forward website, click here Just a few days ago, a Jewish teenager from South Africa committed…
Rav Benny Lau “The Religious Community and Homosexuality”
I want to begin with a story from 26 years ago. It’s about 1993 and it was my first year as a rabbi in Kibbutz Sa’ad, in the Negev.…
Shavuot and the Wellbeing of LGBTQ+ Youth
For ten days last month, we accompanied two of our British colleagues from Keshet UK to five US states as they shared a rather unusual story. Dalia Fleming and Benjamin…
The Day My Rainbow Got Kicked Out of Shul
I am an Orthodox Jew. I’m also an openly Bi-woman who is an active part of the Jewish LGBTQ community, particularly the Orthodox group for support and acceptance called Eshel.…
Between Acharei-Mot and Kedoshim
My bar mitzvah date was totally messed up. The synagogue bureaucrat who assigned it gave me the double portion of Aharei-Mot/Kedoshim to be read on April 26, 1969. But I was born in…
Bar or Bat Mitzvah? Hey, What About a Both Mitzvah?
The Jewish coming-of-age ceremony stretches to accommodate the new gender fluidity. Published by Alyson Krueger on March 27, 2019 in the New York Times. (Read this article online) Lion is a…
INSIDE – OUT: Purim as a Jewish Coming-Out Day
…Esther is told by her cousin, guardian, and Jewish conscience Mardochee (Mordecai) that the time for her revelation has come; at this moment the particular operation of suspense around her…
Survey: Orthodox Parents of LGBTQ Kids Want More Inclusion
by Victoria Brown Published in the Baltimore Jewish Times on February 27, 2019 Mindy Sager Dickler’s guiding philosophy is ahavas Yisrael, love for fellow Jews. “There’s no exceptions. We…
Orthodox Jewish parents want more openness on LGBTQ issues, survey finds
by Zack Evans This was published on JPost on February 7, 2019 Orthodox parents who participated in a retreat for LGBTQ Jews and their families want their communities to engage in…
Parents of LGBTQ children demand end to silence from Orthodox institutions
by Johanna R Ginsberg Published in New Jersey Jewish News on February 20, 2019 A survey revealed that Modern Orthodox parents with LGBTQ children are demanding a place for their…
Life for LGBT+ Students at Maimonides
by JOSH SCHOENBERG ’19 This article was published in the January 2019 volume of Spectrum: the Maimonides School Student Newspaper This is the first part in a series of 2…
Call Me By My Name
GABRIEL KLAPHOLZ GUEST COLUMNIST AT YALE NEWS Don’t make eye contact. Don’t make too much noise. Definitely don’t make it obvious that you’re eavesdropping on that couple’s conversation two…
Confessions of an Orthodox mother and father of an LGBT child
December 6, 2018 Confessions of an Orthodox mother and father of an LGBT child Thank you so much for your compelling article about the experience of Orthodox parents of LGBT…
Protected: They Just Want To Be Regular People
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Eshel Offers Support to Orthodox Parents of LGBTQ Children
Baltimore Jewish Times BY ERICA RIMLINGER FROM LEFT: ESHEL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MIRYAM KABAKOV, EFRAT CHIEF RABBI SHLOMO RISKIN AND CHAIRS OF THE SIXTH ANNUAL ESHEL PARENT RETREAT PENINAH GERSHMAN AND SUZI…
Opinion | Eshel Continues to Grow: What a Difference a Few Years Can Make
By Saundra Sterling Epstein IN 2010, it was clear that something was happening in the world at large and in the world of faith communities, too. We were aware that…
WELCOMING SHULS SHABBAT: Shuls, schools, teens and parents
REGISTER HERE! WELCOMING SHULS SHABBAT Shuls, schools, teens and parents: What do they have in store for our LGBTQ youth? What: Join us for a Shabbat with the Sixth Street…
My Orthodox Rabbi Father Taught Me To Love LGBT People
Originally posted on The Forward Adrianna Chaviva Freedman is an entertainment writer living in New York City. You could find her work on her website and follow her on Twitter at @ac_freedman. Growing…
Homosexuality and the Human Condition
Originally posted on Times of Israel For those who think that Orthodox means static and unresponsive to new understanding, well, think again. In a recent interview (in Hebrew) by a…
Can gay and lesbian teens find a home in Orthodoxy?
Originally posted on The Jewish Journal By eighth grade, Micha Thau knew he was gay. But he also knew that being gay was not acceptable in many of the Orthodox…
LGBTQ Advocacy Group Eshel to Host Retreat for Orthodox Parents
Originally posted on the Baltimore Jewish Times Sometimes, parents know their child is gay even before their child does. That was not at all the experience of Mindy Sager Dickler,…
Support group helps Orthodox parents of gay children out of the closet
Originally posted on The Times of Israel Eshel was formed when relatives of LGBT kids in conservative communities needed a safe space in a homophobic storm. NEW YORK — Mindy…
A Journey Helped by Eshel
Originally posted on The Jewish Link It is perhaps inarguable that for most Orthodox Jewish parents, the path for their children is to get an education, meet the “right” person,…
Orthodox Woman Supports LGBTQ Community
Originally posted on JMoreLiving “When a child comes out of the closet, a parent goes in,” says Mindy Dickler. A retired teacher, mother of three and member of the…
Why Orthodox synagogues should welcome gay couples
A halachic approach to the inclusion of same-sex couples in Orthodox communities by Rabbi Dr. Zev Farber Orthodox Jewish homosexuals in committed relationships who wish to remain part of…
Transgender and Jewish in Philly?
‘It’s not so simple when Moshe becomes Marsha’ In the last few years, the battle over transgender rights has roiled school districts, courtrooms, statehouses, and the national political stage, most…
Coming Out Orthodox
by: Rabbi Haim Ovadia Today I would like to address a question presented to me by many orthodox parents, but first, a brief introduction. It seems that the phrase dreaded…
An Orthodox Trans Woman from Kentucky Finds Acceptance (and a Shul) in Chicago
My reality as I knew it ended in early November 2015. Even though I was assigned male at birth, I came to terms with things I started to realize in…
Where are the Pitchforks? Being an Openly Gay Student at Yeshiva University
Where are the Pitchforks? Being an Openly Gay Student at Yeshiva University
Two events in LA!
Homosexuality and Halakhah: Pragmatic, Ideal and Real Responses to the Challenge Date: Monday, February 27 Time: 8 PM Place: At the home of Dina and Michael Glouberman in Beverlywood. RSVP…
An Orthodox lesbian character — and other reasons to watch ‘Younger’
An Orthodox lesbian character — and other reasons to watch ‘Younger’
What is Truly Great About America: From Sea to Shining Sea
by Rabbi Steve Greenberg This Thanksgiving my husband, daughter and I are in Columbus, Ohio celebrating with my family. I love going home, for my mother’s marvelous cooking and for…
The Pledge
I am a gay Orthodox Jewish teen. That in and of itself may be one of the most controversial sentences in modern Jewish history, but it’s also simply my life.…
האם קל יותר להיות טרנסג’נדר דתי מהומו שומר מצוות
שלח במיילהדפס הם כעסו על אלוהים, התווכחו איתו ותהו למה בחר לברוא אותם דווקא כך. לעומת הקבלה המסוימת של הומואים ולסביות בחברה הדתית טרנסג’נדרים דתיים עדיין נאלצים לרוב להיות עמוק…
The biggest challenge to ’emunah’ of our time
By Rabbi Ari Segal, Head of School Graphic by Gabe Silverstein and Jordan Levine, shalhevetboilingpoint.com, used by permission This op-ed article first appeared in The Boiling Point, the news…
Some Rabbis Fail, Others Rise Above
Shlomit Metz-Poolat When rabbis fail, they don’t just fail me or my family, they fail their community as a whole. This is my story, about how rabbis — and so…
Gay and Orthodox – An Oxymoron No More
6/9/2016 Ysoschar Katz “We did not spill the blood of the wayfarer,” the town elders say when bringing the eglah arufah sacrifice and pleading with God for forgiveness. “We made sure to…
Why I Still Need Eshel
It’s about 7:45 pm on Friday. I’m feeling some pressure about tonight’s dinner, like I don’t need Eshel anymore. Like I could be doing something more interesting, or convenient. Or…
Eshel Internships
Eshel currently has an internship opportunity in the Los Angeles area. Eshel sometimes has other internship openings. If you would like to intern with Eshel, please contact us at info@eshelonline.org…
Support Rabbi Bodner and Rabbi Bellino
Stanton Street Shul and the Sixth Street Community Synagogue have welcomed Eshel into their community for a Downtown Manhattan shabbaton. Unfortunately, a group of local religious leaders is pressuring them…
Despite Gains For LGBT Jews, Frum Families Still Feeling Alienated
04/05/16 Hannah Dreyfus Staff Writer Emotional support is a hallmark of Eshel retreats. Courtesy of Eshel. A pioneering survey of Orthodox parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children…
The Gay Child in My Daughter’s First Grade Class
The Gay Child in My Daughter’s First Grade Class by Maharat Rachel Kohl Finegold It was a parenting moment that came much sooner than I thought it would. My six…
Commemorating Transgender Day of Remembrance
We have a long history of recognizing the mystery and complexity of the human condition. It is well known that the rabbis of the Talmud recognized and addressed a much richer…
Barry Youngerman, Z”L, Biography and Eulogy
The Life of Barry Youngerman, Zichrono Livracha (Of Blessed Memory) August 7, 1946 – October 10, 2015 Barry Youngerman was born in the east Bronx in 1946 to Henry Youngerman…
Merchav Batuach off and running with a great start!
Nov. 1, 2015 Last month we launched the year’s Merchav Batuach trainings at Queens College, with a meeting of Orthodox allies . The student-organizers were concerned: would those who signed…
Rav Benny Lau’s speech given at Shira Banki’s Jerusalem memorial
Translation of Rav Benny Lau’s speech, given at the rally in Kikar Zion, on the Motzei Shabbat following the stabbings at the Jerusalem Pride Parade If a corpse will…
Canadian Jewish News – May 20, 2015
Q&A Rabbi Steven Greenberg: Don’t demonize gay Jews [see the full article] Jodie Shupac, Staff Reporter, Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Tags: News Boston Conservative Judaism Eshel Kadimah-Toras Moshe LGBTQ Jews Orthodox…
Baltimore Jewish Times – April 16, 2015
Out in the Open It’s no doubt at the forefront of the minds of the approximately 45 attendees at this weekend’s Eshel retreat — designed to support Orthodox parents…
The Jewish Week – April 15, 2015
‘Safe Spaces’ For Orthodox LGBTQ Students Spreads On Campus Program that began at YU gets new grant and intercampus launch [See full article] Jewish college students gather for LGBTQ “safe…
Baltimore OUTLoud – April 3, 2015
Retreat for Orthodox Parents of LGBT Children [See full article] To whom can Orthodox Jewish parents turn when their child tells them they are LGBT? They can join parents and…
NJ Jewish Standard – April 20, 2015
‘Oy vey, my child is gay’ Orthodox parents seek shared connection in upcoming retreat [See full article] Eshel, a group that works to bridge the divide that often separates lesbian,…
Tablet Magazine – March 17, 2015
Out, Proud, and Kinda Loud at Yeshiva University Students are challenging the Modern Orthodox school’s traditional stance on LGBT issues [See full article] Dasha Sominski rushed into the Shabbat…
The Parents Are Our Future
This article appeared in the Fall, 2014 issue of the Journal of Jewish Communal Service, Vol. 89, No. 1. It is disseminated with the permission of the publisher, the JPRO Network. Subscriptions…
Rabbi Greenberg on the Jewish Broadcasting Service
Rabbi Greenberg on “Hachnassat Orchim” and how it needs to extend to the Gay Community at the Ferguson Library in Stamford, which aired JBS in January 2014 and can be viewed online: https://blip.tv/jbs/rabbi-steven-greenberg-jfs-lecture-inclusion-gay-jews-7139294
Does Sexting Lead to Mixed Dancing?
The Joy of Text Highlighting the Orthodox LGBT experience Listen to Miryam Kabakov, Executive Director of Eshel, on the new hit podcast The Joy of Text, hosted by Orthodox sex…
Never underestimate the power of connection
Orthodox Mom of Gay Kid writes about the experience at an Eshel Parent Group. See full blog post here. I attended an Eshel Parent get together recently. As opposed to the monthly…
Slingshot
Eshel Recognized in Slingshot Guide Share the good news! [button link=”#https://twitter.com/EshelOnline” type=”icon” icon=”rss” newwindow=”yes”] Twitter[/button] [button link=”#Facebook https://www.facebook.com” type=”icon” icon=”rss” newwindow=”yes”] Facebook[/button] Eshel is to…
Eshel in L.A.
Jewish Community Foundation Awards Cutting Edge Grant to a JQInternational and Eshel partnership in Los Angeles Funding Will Make Possible Initiatives Supporting Jewish Civic Life, Arts & Culture, Human Services,…
Moment Magazine
Steve Greenberg: How Orthodox Jews Changed Their Minds On Gay Rights Same-sex rights proponents suffered an unusual loss this week when a federal judge in Louisiana upheld the state’s ban on gay…
The Canadian Jewish News
LGBTQ Jews need a place in community In 1952, my dad was a popular senior on his high school football team and my mother was a recent immigrant from war-torn France.…
Leslee Komaiko
A new resource for LGBT Jews by Leslee Komaiko In 2009, nine years into Shelby Ilan-Pacheco’s marriage to her husband, she came to know with certainty something she had felt…
Ha'aretz
Orthodox transgender child is shut out of shul ‘God knows I’m a girl,’ says the Midwestern teen who was shunned from her synagogue upon transitioning from Moshe to Miryam. More…
Ha’aretz
Orthodox transgender child is shut out of shul ‘God knows I’m a girl,’ says the Midwestern teen who was shunned from her synagogue upon transitioning from Moshe to Miryam. More…
Ha'aretz
To be young, Orthodox and openly gay Orthodox Jewish high schools in the United States try to balance concerns for their reputation and their students, as growing number of teens…
Ha’aretz
To be young, Orthodox and openly gay Orthodox Jewish high schools in the United States try to balance concerns for their reputation and their students, as growing number of teens…
Kipa.co.il
Rabbi Avi Gisar: I Will Allow a Lesbian Family to Live in Ofra By: Netael Bendel Translated by EREZ TRANSLATIONS Rabbanit Esti Rozenberg, dean of the Migdal Oz Academy, said,…
The Jewish Week
Inclusion Gets Boost Across County As part of an ongoing effort to ensure that Westchester’s Jewish institutions are welcoming to LGBTQ Jews — and their families — Rabbi Steven Greenberg,…
Richard Dweck
Parents, It’s OK to Be Human By Richard Dweck This weekend I was privileged to be asked to be facilitator at the National Eshel Retreat for Orthodox Jewish parents of LGBT children.…
My Jewish Learning.com
Let’s Get The Conversation Started LGBT Jews and Orthodox Communities We are a group of observant, Orthodox families from across the United States, including Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New…
The Jewish Exponent
Don’t Exclude Our Gay, Orthodox Children As a Modern Orthodox Jew and a Jewish educator, I have written, spoken and taught about homosexuality and our need as a community to…
The Jewish Week
My Secret, As The Father Of An LGBTQ Child — Not What You Think! Editor’s Note: Eshel, an organization that advocates for an Orthodox community that is inclusive of LGBTQ…
My Secret, As The Father Of An LGBTQ Child — Not What You Think!
By Anonymous Editor’s Note: Eshel, an organization that advocates for an Orthodox community that is inclusive of LGBTQ Jews, offered us this piece in honor of National Coming…
The Jewish Week
New Hope For Gay Orthodox Jews The holidays are over. Through the fasting and food, the succession of pageant, discomfort, reconciliation and exultation, a single moment continues to stands out.…
Moment Magazine
Out of the Closet, Into the Fire This March, history was quietly made in a Saturday morning Orthodox minyan (prayer quorum) at Brandeis University. Avi, a 22-year-old then-college junior from the Boston…
Gay City News
Shlomo Ashkinazy’s Reverence For Storytelling As the 1970s turned into the ‘80s, many Jews experienced a spiritual awakening that brought them closer to the pietistic ways of their grandparents and…
OU.org
Orthodox Union Statement on Today’s Supreme Court Rulings Today, the leadership of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of Americaissued the following statement: “In response to the decisions announced today by…
Tablet Magazine
For LGBT Orthodox Jews, Growth of Social Media Creates a Safe Space Online Websites, blogs, Facebook groups, and online support groups offer the chance to connect without the risk of…
St. Louis Jewish Light
Gay and Orthodox: The Mother Road to Acceptance It’s Friday afternoon and I am driving from Chicago down to my friend Aviva’s house in Saint Louis with two of my…
The Jewish Week
Gay Jews Need More Than Tolerance I write in response to Stuart Kurlander’s Opinion piece, “Door Is Wide Open For Gay Jews To Be Leaders” (April 26). I am a…
The Jewish Advocate
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…
Morethodoxy
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…
St. Louis Jewish Light
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…
The Jewish Advocate
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…
St. Louis Post Dispatch
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,…
The Jewish Advocate
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…
Tablet Magazine
Orthodox Parents of LGBT Children Navigate Their Own Coming Out Process A weekend retreat inspires advocacy for gay Orthodox Jews and creates a support network for families in religious communities…
Portland Press Herald
At Hanukkah, rejoicing over peaceful victory for same-sex marriage Loving couples triumphed over wrong beliefs, just as Jews did over the Greek army in ancient Israel. PORTLAND — We Jews are…
My Jewish Learning
Senior Year: APs, College Prep, and Coming Out in My Orthodox High School When I tell my friends who are not Orthodox that I’m out of the closet and attending a Modern…
Eshel Goes to the Mid-West
Eshel Goes to the Midwest! Amram Altzman courtesy of the American Jewish World “Eshel is the only place where I feel completely comfortable. I am completely out as a lesbian…
Jerusalem Post
Suicide rates high for Orthodox homosexual youths Research shows 20% of LGBT sample attempted suicide, compared to 3.5% rate for general youth population. Suicide rates among Orthodox homosexual youth are…
The Jewish Week
Orthodox Gays Need Allies, Not Just Compassion A few months ago, a young Orthodox rabbi decided to “come out of the closet,” in a sense, when he publicly identified himself…
The Jewish Week
Writing Her Way To A New Life Documenting the fraught journey from Jay to Joy Ladin. In an interview, Joy Ladin begins several responses, “When I started living as myself…”…
Oy! Chicago
Reconciling sexuality with religion One would be hard pressed to find instances of Orthodox Judaism and LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) occupying the same sentence. Yet for the women…
Tablet Magazine
Stay Out of It On same-sex marriage, Orthodox Jews should keep the religious and civil separate—as they do on other issues Last week the two leading umbrella organizations of Orthodox…
Morethodoxy
Obama’s Advocacy of Gay Marriage: An Alternative Orthodox Response In an interview with ABC News last week, President Barack Obama said, “I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.” Since…
OUT
Y-Love is Ready for Love The black Jewish hip-hop artist Yitz Jordan has struggled with his public image for years. Now he’s ready to come out. Most people have…
The Jewish Journal
I’m Coming Out of the Closet Last night I spoke on a campus interfaith leader panel about the subject of LGBT and religion. One of the questions we were asked…
New York Times
Vows: Chris Barley and Marc Kushner <nyt_text> DURING a summer internship in 2007, Chris Barley thought that he had found a mentor in the architect Marc Kushner. Both were 6-foot-4,…
The Jerusalem Post
Amsterdam chief rabbi suspended for homosexuality stance The chief rabbi of Amsterdam, Aryeh Ralbag, was temporarily relieved from his post Wednesday by the board of the Orthodox Jewish community, after…
Morethodox
Homosexuals in the Orthodox Community Introduction Few social issues facing the Orthodox Jewish community are as emotionally charged as that of the place of homosexuals, especially the gnawing question of…
The Jewish Week
Nefesh Head Backs Away From ‘Torah Declaration’ On Gays With the controversial idea that gays and lesbians can be “cured” through therapy rippling across the Orthodox Jewish world of late,…
Jewish Ideas Daily
Orthosexuality The Talmud tells a story about one Rabbi Kahana who hid under the bed of his master, Rabbi Abba (better known as Rav), as the latter was having sex…
JTA
Orthodox rabbinic group won’t take position on reparative therapy for gays NEW YORK (JTA) — The Rabbinical Council of America said it will not take a position on so-called reparative…
The Jewish Week
Misguided Rabbinical Priorities Nowadays Orthodoxy is all about sex. Immodesty, promiscuity, homosexuality: the public discourse of the Orthodox Jewish world seems disproportionately to take place in the bedroom, the dressing…
The Jewish Week
The Case for Companionship A month ago I officiated a Jewish commitment ceremony and civil marriage for two men in Washington, D.C. The event was sensationally reported as a “Gay…
The Jewish Week
Orthodox Mental Health Workers Seen Changing On Homosexuality Founder of gay Orthodox support group attends Nefesh conference while ‘reparative therapy’ group is absent. The founder of a support group for…
JTA
At Orthodox mental health group’s forum, openly gay Jews get their say and some support HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (JTA) — The 15th annual conference of Nefesh International, an association of Orthodox…
Huffington Post
Wanted: Orthodox Rabbis to Sign Anti-Gay Declaration When The Huffington Post first published my article “Once Upon a Gay: A Jewish Journey Through the Ex-Gay Movement,” I was amazed to…
HEEB Magazine
Once Upon a Gay…. Many people are surprised when I tell them I voluntarily entered reparative therapy at the age of 21 without pressure from family or religious leaders. I…
Itzik's Well
Good Night Irene, You Shabbos Queen There is much to be grateful for today in New York City, where I happen to be for a week-long, ultimately called-on-account-of-weather Storahtelling training. The hurricane…
Itzik’s Well
Good Night Irene, You Shabbos Queen There is much to be grateful for today in New York City, where I happen to be for a week-long, ultimately called-on-account-of-weather Storahtelling training. The hurricane…
YU Beacon
Finding God At the End of the Rainbow It’s not easy, knowing that a part of your identity, of who you are, has the potential to tear your family apart,…
The Jewish Week
Gay And Orthodox, According To Jon Marans Can homosexuality and Orthodox Judaism mix? In Jon Marans’ new Off-Broadway play, “A Strange and Separate People,” Jay (Jonathan Hammond) and Phyllis (Tricia…
Ha'aretz
Does liberal Judaism benefit from seeing gays as the ‘other’? Representations of sameness help prompt empathy. But depictions of difference may help us come to terms with our phobias and…
Ha’aretz
Does liberal Judaism benefit from seeing gays as the ‘other’? Representations of sameness help prompt empathy. But depictions of difference may help us come to terms with our phobias and…
Huffington Post
Gay Orthodox Jews See Growing Acceptance In Israel By Michele Chabin c. 2011 Religion News Service TEL AVIV, Israel (RNS) Though never short on spectacle, this year’s annual gay pride…
Yutopia
Why Orthodox Jews Should Not Oppose Legalizing Same Sex Marriage On May 23 2011 several prominent Orthodox Jewish organizations issued ajoint statement declaring their opposition to legalizing same sex-marriage. The brief…
Associated Press
Religious gays battle for acceptance Israeli Orthodox homosexuals increasingly rejecting age-old dictates to ignore their attraction, abstain from sex or undergo therapy that supposedly will make them straight A once…
Ha'aretz
Devout and proud The gay religious community in Israel is represented by three different organizations, reflecting divergent views on rabbinical authority, consummation of same-sex relations and raising families. The crowding…
Ha’aretz
Devout and proud The gay religious community in Israel is represented by three different organizations, reflecting divergent views on rabbinical authority, consummation of same-sex relations and raising families. The crowding…
Ha'aretz
Israeli rabbis launch initiative to marry gay men to lesbian women So far, 11 marriages have been performed, and some were surprising successes. Rabbis from the religious Zionist community have…
Ha’aretz
Israeli rabbis launch initiative to marry gay men to lesbian women So far, 11 marriages have been performed, and some were surprising successes. Rabbis from the religious Zionist community have…
The American Israelite
Letter to the Editor Dear Editor, Purim is a holiday that celebrates the power of secrets and their revelation; it is, in effect, the holiday of “coming out.” The rabbis…
The Tablet
Unorthodox Position Meet Washington’s gay-friendly Orthodox rabbi When Zvi Bellin, a gay Washingtonian, heard that a vigil was being organized by members of the gay and Jewish communities in the…
The Jewish Week
Gay Orthodox Shabbaton Was Like ‘Heaven’ For those on the margins, a new sense of belonging at first-ever event. Usually, when Adam goes to shul, he feels like part of…
Psychology Today
When Love Fights with Faith A Community of Jews Learns to Live with Contradiction Some individuals who experience conflicts between their traditional religious beliefs prohibiting homosexuality and their same-sex attractions…
Ynet News
Religious gay teens find safe haven Israel Gay Youth helps teens struggling with conflict between religious, sexual identity reach peace For a little over a year members of the religious…
New Jersey Jewish Standard
Rabbis explore Jewish views of sexuality at Kaplen JCC forum Rabbi Yosef Adler, who is Orthodox, said he might rejoice if his own child established a loving same-sex relationship, but…
The Jerusalem Post
The Morality of Gay Adoption On December 14, Rosie O’Donnell and I will be conducting a public conversation in New Jersey about families and kids, the celebrity culture and the…
The New Jersey Jewish Standard
The answers lie in our love for our daughter The brouhaha that has ensued over The Jewish Standard’s printing a same-sex marriage announcement in September may yet lead to a…
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