From breakthroughs in Orthodox LGBTQ+ inclusion to conversations shaping the future of our community, Eshel’s work continues to make waves. Explore news coverage, op-eds, and articles that highlight our mission and the people behind it.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
(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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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
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+…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
“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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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+…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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,…
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…
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 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…
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…
“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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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,…
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…
‘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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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 by Maharat Rachel Kohl Finegold It was a parenting moment that came much sooner than I thought it would. My six…
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…
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…
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…
‘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…
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…
‘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,…
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…
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 “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
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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,…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…”…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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 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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