11th Eshel National Retreat - Virtual Event
2021-01-14 17:30 - 23:30 (America/New_York)
11th Eshel National LGBTQ Retreat

Unmask. Unwind. Reunite.

01/14 Thursday
01/15 Friday
01/16 Saturday
01/17 Sunday

Retreat Help Desk
If you experience any technical problems or difficulty logging in, please call the Eshel Retreat Help Desk at 302-354-0705.

Who Is This For?
We gather during our annual weekend with other Orthodox/formerly Orthodox/traditional/Ortho-curious LGBTQ+ individuals who seek connection and community. During the retreat, we get to know each other, learn, sing, and shmooze, watch a film, and have lots of fun! Sign up below!

Confidentiality
Some participants may not be out as LGBTQ+ in their daily lives or may have other important reasons for keeping their attendance at the event confidential. You will need to agree not to share information you have heard about individuals at the retreat with anyone else. For many people who attend, strict confidentiality is crucial.

Highlighted Speakers & Presenters

​Rabbi Benny Lau
Rabbi Benny Lau is the founder and co-head of the Israeli initiative 929 along with Gal Gabbai. In addition, he served as the rabbi of the Ramban synagogue in Jerusalem for many years and is a community leader, activist, author, and public speaker.

​Abby Stein
Abby Stein is an American transgender author, activist,blogger, model, speaker, and rabbi. She is the first openly transgender woman raised in a Hasidic community, and is a direct descendant of Hasidic Judaism’s founder, the Baal Shem Tov. In 2015, she founded the first support group nationwide for trans people of Orthodox Jewish background.

Caleb and Gedalia Robinson
Caleb and Gedalia got married with a drive-in wedding in Washington, DC in August. Since then, they’ve moved together to Philadelphia where they live with their dog, Booker, and are remotely pursuing Rabbinical and Cantorial degrees at JTS, respectively.

​Joy Ladin
Joy Ladin holds the Gottesman Chair in English at Yeshiva University, and, in 2007, became the first openly transgender employee of an Orthodox Jewish institution. Author of nine books of poetry, a memoir (Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey Between Genders), and The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective, she has long served on the Board of Keshet, an organization devoted to full inclusion of LGTBQ Jews in the Jewish world.

Liz Glazer
Liz Glazer is a standup comedian, actor, and writer who used to be a law professor, a job she was very funny at. Recently Liz was the first place winner/champion of the Boston Comedy Festival. In 2021 Liz will be part of the HBO Women in Comedy Festival, assuming it happens. During the pandemic, Liz has been keeping busy reading her old journal entries (2014 was quite a year!), getting COVID tests, and yelling into her laptop on Zoom. She loves Eshel as it brings her back to her Jewish day school roots (Moriah ’93 and Ramaz ’97!) and is extremely happy to be here.

Ruben Shimonov
Ruben Shimonov was born in Uzbekistan and raised in Seattle. Ruben is an educator, community builder, and social entrepreneur with a passion for Jewish diversity. He previously served as Director of Community Engagement and Education at Queens College Hillel. Currently, Ruben is the Founding Executive Director of the Sephardic Mizrahi Q Network, a grassroots movement building a supportive and much-needed community for LGBTQ+ Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews.

DJ Wildstyle
DJ Wildstyle is a 14-year-old Latinx Jewish teen from the Los Angeles area who has been DJing for the last 7 years. She brings a spirit of creativity, gratitude, and joy for life with her to the turntables! Raised in a multi-ethnic/multi-racial family, she has an energetic soul that gets a crowd moving and loves spinning all kinds of music for people of all ages. For more information about DJ Wildstyle, visit www.djwildstyle.com or @djwildstyle18 on Instagram.

Yseult Polfiet
Yseult Polfiet is a Queer Jewish woman from the Rwandan diaspora—Brussels-raised, now New York City resident—wants to create spaces for tough conversations. Together with her Co-Founder, she has launched a consultation company that addresses and works on dismantling racism and antisemitism and co-hosts “The Kinswomen”—a podcast that was named top podcast from Cosmopolitan, Elle, Marie Claire magazines. Also a fashion model and designer, Yseult has rolled out a non-gender brand.

Leana and Sandy Jelen Tapnack
Sandy and Leana were married in 2018 in New York. Sandy is a lawyer from London and Leana is a Sign Language interpreter and soferet. They live on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with their dog Nemmy.

Ron Kaplan and Yoni Bock
Ron works in strategy at Capital One and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and on the development committee of Keshet. Yoni has worked for various humanitarian organizations, managing complex disaster responses, and currently consults for a Massachusetts-based research laboratory.Ron and Yoni were married in November 2011 by Rabbi Steve Greenberg and currently live in Washington D.C.

​Janet Green
For the first 40 years of Janet’s life, she had little understanding of her body or the ways it was surgically altered to look more normal. Janet was told she was the only one in the world with a body ‘like that’ and she learned shame, secrecy and isolation from her family, caregivers and synagogue. There was something unspeakable about her differences and as far as Janet could tell; if most of us are created in G-d’s own image, that would not apply to someone like her. In wasn’t until the dawning of the internet two decades ago that Janet learned how her rare medical condition (Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia/CAH), genital differences and same sex attraction were experiences of a majority of all CAH XX females AND there were others! Janet has spent the past 20+ years being an activist and advocate to bring about change in thought and practice against early genital surgeries. Both inside the medical establishment and also in education of people, parents, and the general public, the quest to erase our differences continues in surgical corrections offered to parents of infants. As long as that is “standard care”, the phrase “first do no harm”, does not apply to intersex people and bodies like hers.

​Dana Friedman
Dana Friedman is, in all likelihood, New York’s first Orthodox Jewish, transgender comic. During the COVID-19 crisis, she produced and performed in FunOrthodox: An Evening of LGBT+ Jewish Entertainment (benefit show for Eshel on FunOrthodox.com), and has written as wrote for the show’s host, TV star Mayim Bialik. She’s been a guest on SiriusXM’s “Tell Me Everything” with John Fugelsang, and has appeared with or opened for major headliners at clubs, colleges theaters, and Zoom shows all over the world. Check out her work at http://www.danafriedman.com.

​Mab Abbasgholizadeh
Mab is a women’s rights activist, documentary filmmaker, and educator who believes food provides a special opportunity for connection and empowerment. Mab was born in Khorramshahr, a city with a large Arab population in southern Iran, but her parents have roots in the Azeri region of northern Iran, an area whose cuisine Mabknows well. She learned about ingredients from her dad, who owned a restaurant, grocery store, and tea importing company, and about the importance of cooking “low and slow” from her mom. As a young woman in the late 1970s, Mab became involved in the Iranian Revolution, but later, when she became a vocal advocate for women’s rights in Iran, she was persecuted by the Islamic Republic. After being imprisoned three times during the 2000s for organizing peaceful protests, she fled Iran and moved to New York City. Before joining the League of Kitchens, Mab managed the nonprofit organization Zanan TV, and she continues to work as an educator in schools around New York City.

​Rabbi Steven Greenberg
Rabbi Steven Greenberg is an Orthodox ordained educator, writer, and speaker who has led the call for LGBTQ inclusion in the Orthodox world. He appeared in the groundbreaking film, Trembling Before G-d, in 2001 and accompanied filmmaker, Sandi Simcha DuBowski, all over the world in over 500 post-screening dialogues. He is the author of the award-winning book, Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition, (University of Wisconsin Press) for which he won the Koret Jewish Book Award for Philosophy and Thought in 2005. He is the founding director at Eshel.

​Dr. Benjamin Ellis
Benjamin divides his time between medical work as Head of Rheumatology at Imperial College Healthcare, London, and as Senior Clinical Policy Advisor to a UK-wide non-profit, Versus Arthritis. As a volunteer, Benjamin helped establish and is now chair of KeshetUK, the organisation working so that no one should ever have to choose between their Jewish and LGBT+ identity. Benjamin grew up in an Orthodox family in Leeds, England, then studied for two years at Yeshivat Har Etzion before completing degrees at Cambridge then University College London.

​Liz Alpern
Liz Alpern (she/her) is co-founder and co-owner of The Gefilteria, a new kind of food venture launched in 2012 with a manifesto and a mission to reimagine eastern European Jewish cuisine. She is also co-author of narrative cookbook, The Gefilte Manifesto: New Recipes for Old World Jewish Foods. When not diving deep into Jewish food culture, she is active in the LGBTQ food world and founded the global event series Queer Soup Night.

Event

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Movie: Marry Me However

Variety Show &
DJ’d Dance Party

Gallery walk, food and drink demos

Speed-friending

Panel Discussions

Interactive Workshops

Each year at this retreat we show up for each other, coming together in all of our amazing diversity to learn, to connect, and to have fun. With no barrier to participation, this virtual retreat is going to be bigger than ever!

There will be lots of opportunities to connect, from speed-friending to hang outs, you will meet new people and make friendships that will last a lifetime.

Welcome to the 11th Eshel National Retreat! The registration fee is $55, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
But first, we want to know a little about you, so please fill out the form below. Then you will be taken to the payment page.

Partnering Organizations

Eshel Parents Chaburah Group
2021-01-20 20:00 - 21:30
The Parent Chaburah Group meets on the Third Wednesday of each month at 8 pm Eastern, 7 pm Central, 5 pm Pacific Time.

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Tu BiShvat Shiur - Dr. Sunnie Epstein
2021-01-21 16:00 - 17:00
With Dr. Sunnie Epstein
An interactive discussion about the many different ways we add to and enrich our communities with our many gifts, similar to how the many different fruits and their sources add to and enrich our understanding of the environment and our relationship to it.
Bring a story of something that is unique or special about you. This is how we will begin!

Eshel Baltimore/DC Parents & LGBTQ+ Joint Meetup
2021-02-03 19:00 - 21:00
Get together with our Baltimore/DC Eshel family. Join us in this intimate, confidential setting to meet others, like yourself, in the extended Eshel network.
WHAT: A private gathering for LGBTQ+ individuals who are Orthodox, Ortho-curious or formerly Orthodox and for traditional Jewish parents of LGBTQ+ people who may be struggling with their child’s sexual orientation or gender identity and/or wish to connect with other parents like themselves.
WHEN: Meetings are usually held on the first Wednesday of every month, 7:00-9:00 pm.
Where: For notifications and sign-in information, please register here. (You only need to register for this group one time.)

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Eshel Speed Dating
2021-02-14 08:00 - 21:30
Get ready to have some fun!
On Sunday, February 14, at 8:00 pm ET, we’re going to get very silly (or alarmingly competitive) with this speed and dating battle for the ages!
In teams, you’ll be given different fun challenges to complete. The teams will be divided up by demographics like age, location, gender identity, sexual identity, and religious practice, and each round you’ll have an opportunity to meet a brand new group of people. At the conclusion of the event you’ll have an opportunity to indicate who you want to get to know better and we will make the connection in the following week. Prizes in store for the winners!
This event is for LGBTQIA+ identified folks who are Jewish Orthodox-friendly, curious, formerly or currently Jewish Orthodox, and for those who love them!
BRING YOUR FRIENDS. The more queer Jews the more potential matches…

The Fee is $15. Register Today!

Two Exciting Purim Shiurim
2021-02-16 16:00 - 17:00
Hidden Identities – Meeting Challenges
with Dr. Sunnie Epstein Tuesday, February 16, 2021, at 4:00 pm ET
Esther is the paradigmatic woman leader in so many ways; her leadership and meeting the challenges she faces must come from somewhere deep inside of her as is often the case with women leaders of our past and our own leadership in the present. We will explore this and other stories of hidden identity and the strength of meeting formidable challenges, with spiritual strength and faith in G-d as we come to terms with our authentic selves.
Masks and Meaning
with Rabbi Steve Greenberg Thursday, February 18, 2021, at 4:00 pm ET
Most all of the characters of Purim are all in drag until they are not. How does the Book of Esther help us navigate the tension between what we perform and what we are?
Who are you? Who knows you…and how? Masks and Meaning of the Self in the Book of Esther
View the performance of Derrick DelGaudio, In and Of Itself, on Hulu, and read Rabbi Greenberg’s essay on the Purim story and come for a discussion of the mystery of selfhood.
(If you can’t watch the performance, no worries…come anyway.)

Sign up Today

Eshel Parents of LGBTQ+ Children Chaburah Group
2021-02-17 20:00 - 21:30
The Parent Chaburah Group meets on the Third Wednesday of each month at 8 pm Eastern, 7 pm Central, 5 pm Pacific Time.
The next meeting is scheduled for February 17th, the 5th of Adar.
Masks: What role do they play?
We know how important masks have been to us this past year. We will explore what role our metaphorical masks play in our day-to-day lives? How many do you have? Which do you put on for what occasions? When are they no longer necessary?
Bring your favorite COVID mask for some show and tell.

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Eshel Chicago Parents Meetup
2021-02-24 19:30 - 21:00, 2021-04-13 19:30 - 21:00, 2021-05-11 20:00 - 21:30
What: A confidential support group for observant/Orthodox Jewish parents of LGBTQ+ individuals who may be struggling with their child’s sexual orientation or gender identity and/or wish to connect with other parents like themselves.

Where: For notifications and sign-in information, please register below. (You only need to register for this group one time.)

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Purim Events with Welcoming Shuls
2021-02-25 08:00 - 17:00
Looking for Purim Events near you? Here are some suggestions!

Baltimore:
Rabbi Chai Posner, Beth Tfiloh, https://www.bethtfiloh.com/religious-services/holidays/purim
Rabbi Yerachmiel Shapiro, Moses Montefiore Anshe Emunah Hebrew Congregation (MMAE), http://mmae.org/events.html

Connecticut:
Rabbi Yitzchak Adler, Beth David West Hartford https://www.bethdavidwh.org

New Jersey:
Rabbi Nati Helfgott, Netivot Shalom, Teaneck, NJ. https://www.netivotshalomnj.org/about-us
Rabbi Daniel Geretz, Maayan, West Orange, NJ. http://www.maayan-nj.org/

Greater New York:
February 25:
The Purim pArTy, a dance festival @ 8:30 PM featuring DJ tiny hat. Register here. Rav Avrum Molotek, BASE https://basemovement.org
February 25:
Purim play featuring Ravi and Hillel Mlotek premiers at 4:00 PM. Register here.
February 26:
Mitzvah Mission (distribute tzedaka & pre-packaged soup to homeless in costume) and receive mishloach manot (Purim gift packages) from The Mlotek kids @ 11AM. Email Rabbi Avram to RSVP.

Philadelphia:
Rabbanit Dassi Fruchter, South Philly Shteibel. https://www.southphiladelphiashtiebel.org

Toronto
Eshel Toronto is partnering with Makom and Toronto Partnership Minyan for a series of events including a lecture about archeology, Megillah readings, services, family programming, a Persian music concert, and games and socializing for all ages! https://guestlist.co/events/676632

Washington DC:
Rabbi Uri Topolosky, Kehilat Pardes. https://www.kehilatpardes.org/upcoming-programming/
Rabbi Haim Ovadia, Torah v’Ahava. https://torahveahava.com/

Eshel Purim Seudah
2021-02-26 13:00 - 14:00
Celebrate Purim as we approach our collective LockDownAversary!
Seudah with games, Purim Torah, drink demos, Hamentashen contest, and prizes!Masks optional, costumes mandatory, kid-friendly.

Friday, February 26, 2021 at 1:00 pm ET | 12:00 pm CT | 10:00 am PT

Register Today!

Eshel Baltimore/DC Parents & LGBTQ+ Joint Meetup: Post-Purim Games
2021-03-03 19:00 - 21:00
This week: Join us for some post-Purim games and fun. Dress up in your funniest hat! The second half of the evening will be normal meeting format.
This meetup is a get together with our Baltimore/DC Eshel family. Join us in this intimate, confidential setting to meet others, like yourself, in the extended Eshel network.
WHAT: A private gathering for LGBTQ+ individuals who are Orthodox, Ortho-curious or formerly Orthodox and for traditional Jewish parents of LGBTQ+ people who may be struggling with their child’s sexual orientation or gender identity and/or wish to connect with other parents like themselves.
WHEN: Meetings are usually held on the first Wednesday of every month, 7:00-9:00 pm.
Where: For notifications and sign-in information, please register below if you haven’t already. (You only need to register for this group one time.)

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JOFA 10th International Conference: Is Intersectionality Possible in 2021?
2021-03-07 09:00 - 17:00
On Sunday, March 7, 2021, JOFA will be hosting its 10th International Conference on Feminism and Orthodoxy: Building a Vibrant and Equitable Orthodox Community. Choose from sessions focusing on education, leadership, ritual practice, and contemporary issues, with guest speaker Miryam Kabakov.

Is Intersectionality Possible in 2021?

In recent years, questions of loyalty have come to the fore. In an effort to accommodate “conflicting” ideologies, do we need to compartmentalize aspects of our identities and beliefs, or can we show up with our full selves?
Read more and register here.

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Pesach Shiurim: The Mixed Multitude
2021-03-10 16:00 - 17:00
What can we learn from Erev Rav, the Mixed Multitudes?
Our Fears, Challenges and Potential Resolutions for our Eshel Community
Presented by Dr. Sunnie Epstein

Who was included in the exodus from Egypt?
Who are the Erev Rav–the mixed multitudes?
How certain are we of our identity?
What identity questions do we have based on commentaries, historical perspectives and genetic data about our pure Jewish identity?
How do these questions inform how we should regard the others as part of all of us as potential others?

Through text study and discussion, we will explore these questions together and develop new conversation topics for our own Seder experiences this year.

Register Today!
By registering, you agree to Eshel’s policy of confidentiality: respectful dialogue, no screenshots, and not sharing with others who was in the class.

Pesach Shiurim: Servitude & Freedom
2021-03-17 16:00 - 17:30
Servitude and Freedom: A Queer Reading of Rav Soloveitchik’s Pesach
with Rabbi Steve Greenberg
Rabbi Joseph Dov Soloveitchik is famous for his embrace of duality. He spoke passionately about submission to God’s will along with a robust affirmation of human creativity and freedom. We will explore the meanings of human liberty in the works of Rav Soloveitchik (and others) as they explicate the Haggaddah to enrich our celebration

Register Today!
By registering, you agree to Eshel’s policy of confidentiality: respectful dialogue, no screenshots, and not sharing with others who was in the class.

Eshel Parents of LGBTQ+ Children Chaburah Group
2021-03-17 20:00 - 21:30
The Parent Chaburah Group meets on the Third Wednesday of each month at 8 pm Eastern, 7 pm Central, 5 pm Pacific Time.
Pesach Hacks!
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
8:00 pm ET | 7:00 pm CT | 5:00 pm PT
Learn from the experts (you!) how to make your Pesach prep and cooking easier. Bonus recipe share!

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Marry Me However: Philly Panel
2021-03-21 16:00 - 18:00
Marry Me However

Eshel is partnering with Go2Films and Rabbi Mordechai Vardi, to bring his groundbreaking film, “MarryMe, However” to North American audiences.

"

View Trailer

Marry Me However by Rabbi Mordechai Vardi
and
a Zoom Panel on “Marry Me However”: Hoping for the Wrong Future
Sunday, March 21st at 4pmET.
Eshel is partnering with Rabbi Mordechai Vardi and Go2Films to carry this powerful documentary into the North American Jewish community. The film has begun to spur awareness among Orthodox religious leaders that the absence of an approved life arc for young gay Jews damages them and many others as well.
Join Miryam Kabakov, Executive Director of Eshel who will moderate a discussion with filmmaker, Rabbi Mordechai Vardi, author/educator Rabbi Steven Greenberg, clinical social worker, Motti Salzberg and Shoni Braun, a mother of four children, formally married to gay husband.
We are very excited to be partnering with Eshel, a national support, education and advocacy organization for Orthodox LGBTQ Jews and their families. Eshel is working with the filmmaker, Rabbi Mordechai Vardi and with Go2Films to bring this groundbreaking documentary to North American audiences and has put together a stellar panel for today’s discussion.
To watch Marry Me However with the Israel Film Festival of Philadelphia, register here. The Film Festival will send you the Vimeo link on Thursday, March 18, and Sunday, March 21.

Register for the Panel Discussion Here:

Eshel Baltimore/DC Parents & LGBTQ+ Joint Meetup
2021-04-07 19:00 - 21:00
Get together with our Baltimore/DC Eshel family. Join us in this intimate, confidential setting to meet others, like yourself, in the extended Eshel network.
WHAT: Post Pesach Discussion & Games
Now that all of the cleaning and cooking for Pesach is over, it is time to relax with a few Pesach themed games. We will also be sharing our recent Pesach experiences and discussing some LGBTQ+ inspiration from the Haggadah. Looking forward to seeing you there!
WHEN: April 7, 2021 at 7:00 pm.
Where: For notifications and sign-in information, please register below, if you haven’t already. (You only need to register for this group one time.)

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Parents Day-Long Conference: From Cocoon to Flight
2021-04-18 10:30 - 15:30
From Cocoon to Flight:Helping Our Children Safely Emerge
April 18, 202110:30 am ET | 9:30 am CT | 7:30 am PT

View the Schedule
Sessions
LGBTQ+ Mental Health: LGBTQ+ Adults, Adolescents, and ChildrenMindy Shankman, M.D.
Controversies in Treating Transgender Children and AdolescentsJack Drescher, M.D.
What Every Parent Needs to Know: Dating, Intimacy, and the LGBTQ+ Social SceneDr. Ann Schechter Stark and Aaron Kogut
Brain Food, Good FoodLunch with Jeff Ingber
Open Forum for Various Breakout Discussions
See Bios Below

Register Today!
The Registration Fee is $36. No one will be turned away. If you would like to pay another amount, please contact info@eshelonline.org for the Discount Code.

Speaker Bios
More Coming Soon!

Dr. Jack Drescher, MD, is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City. He is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons and a Faculty Member at Columbia’s Division of Gender, Sexuality, and Health. He is also Senior Psychoanalytic Consultant at Columbia’s Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research and Adjunct Professor at New York University’s Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the William Alanson White Institute.

Aaron Kogut, a past Eshel Board member, lives in Manhattan. He has spoken publicly about being gay in several different Orthodox venues including community synagogues and clergy training programs. Aaron currently works as a middle school science teacher.

As a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist, Mindy Shankman works with clients throughout their life cycle. “When treating a child or adolescent, you are really helping a whole family system regain balance and stability.” Mindy works with people with a wide range of disorders and life issues:Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders. She also works with children and adolescents with academic and developmental difficulties which may include Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Learning Disabilities, Executive Functioning Difficulties and Asperger’s Syndrome.

Photo Coming Soon

Ann Schechter-Stark lives with her husband in Atlanta where she is working at St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital with a focus on childhood cancer and immunotherapy. They have 4 children ages 16-26; her 20-year-old son is a student at Parsons/The New School and is gay. When putting together a radiology talk about immunotherapy or childhood cancer, Dr. Stark realized that much of today’s novel cancer treatment is a direct result of the efforts of the gay communities response to the HIV/AIDs epidemic in the 1980’s and 1990s. This has led her into a deeper study of HIV/AIDs both in how it has impacted today’s medical treatments as well as its current implications for the LGBTQ+ community.

Enjoy lunch with Jeff Ingber, Owner of Kosher Catch, who will talk about staying healthy, eating healthy. Jeff will do a gravlax demo along with us. Check back for the recipe list!

Beth S. Taubes, RN, CHC, CYT, is the owner of Wellness Motivations LLC she motivates clients of all backgrounds, ages, and health conditions to engage in improved self-care through nutritional counseling, personal fitness training, yoga practice, tai chi, and stress reduction techniques .

Jeff Ingber’s Gravlax Recipe
1 lb Salmon fillet: skin on
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup table salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp Ground coriander
1 oz Citrus vodka or tequila blanco
1 each: lemon, lime or orange (or a few slices of all 3)
1/4 cup roughly chopped dill
1 beet: optional

Eshel Brooklyn Women's LBTQ+ Meetup
2021-04-20 20:00 - 21:00
Women’s New York Area Meetup on Zoom
What: Meet other individuals who identify as female and who are exploring their Orthodox LGBTQ+ identities.
When: Meeting Weekly: Every Tuesday from 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Where: For notifications and sign-in information, register below. (You only need to register for this group one time.)

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Eshel Parents of LGBTQ+ Children Chaburah Group - Postponed Until Next Month
2021-04-21 20:00 - 21:30

Opening the Door - For Orthodox Rabbis Only
2021-04-25 19:00 - 20:30
Over a period of 15 months, B’nai David-Judea Congregation in Los Angeles, under the leadership of Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky, conducted a process of communal thinking and learning in order to adopt a policy for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families which they named: Keeping Our Families Whole.
Rabbi Kanefsky will share with us the model that he and his committee developed and implemented. After his presentation, you will be invited to a lively Q & A discussion. This is a closed event for Orthodox congregational rabbis, who have been surveyed as part of Eshel’s Welcoming Shuls Project.

Register Today!
Please Note: This event is for Orthodox Congregational Rabbis only.

Preparing for Shavuot: Conversion Activism
2021-04-27 13:00 - 15:00
Conversion Activism: The Evolution of the Laws of Conversion and Its Relevance to LGBTQ+ Inclusion
Tuesday, April 27
Rabbi Kalman Pesach (Chuck) Davidson has been active in establishing Orthodox, non-coercive conversion alternatives to Israel’s Chief Rabbinate (CR) for over a decade. Rabbi Davidson is undaunted if not fearless. He is one of the few Orthodox rabbis in Israel willing to marry people (k’halakha) but outside of the Rabbinate, a crime on the books punishable with up to 2 years in jail.
Rabbi Davidson will share with us his extensive knowledge of Hilchot Gerut (the laws of conversion) from the Talmud to the codes to contemporary piske halakha (responsa). He will demonstrate how the process of conversion can legitimately welcome many more sincere prospective converts, including those who are LGBTQ+.

Save the Date!

Preparing for Shavuot: Conversion and Inclusion
2021-05-03 13:00 - 15:00
Conversion and Inclusion: A Welcoming Approach to Conversion
Monday, May 3, 2021
Rabbi David Kalb is the co-founder of Jewish Learning, a program of Ohr Torah Stone. The Jewish Learning Center helps those who wish to pursue a Halachic approach to conversion. It does so in an open minded manner through exposing its students to the power of Jewish texts and the warmth of Jewish Life. They strive to be inclusive to everyone they encounter including members of the LGBTQ community and their partners. Rabbi Kalb will share his extensive experience in the practical field of conversion and how they have welcomed LGBTQ folks into Klal Yisrael.

Save the Date!

Kabbalat Mitzvot B'Gyiur - For Orthodox Rabbis Only
2021-05-04 13:00 - 15:00
Kabbalat Mitzvot in Conversion and its Relevance to LGBTQ+ Inclusion
Tuesday, May 4
This shiur is for rabbinic colleagues exclusively. Rabbi Chuck Davidson will address the problem of kabbalat mitzvot in hilchot giyyur and its implications for converting LGBTQ+ individuals. Rabbi Kalman Pesach (Chuck) Davidson has been active in establishing Orthodox, non-coercive alternatives to Israel’s Chief Rabbinate (CR) for over a decade. Today, he heads the Wedding Department of Hashgacha Pratit in a project called Chuppot, which conducts Orthodox weddings in Israel outside of the CR. A talmid of Rabbi Haim Amsalem in giyur, Chuck is an expert in this field and worked with Rabbi Amsalem to create Ahavat HaGer, an umbrella group of Orthodox rabbis in Israel and abroad who wish to convert independently of centralized rabbinic organizations.

Save the Date!
For Orthodox Rabbis Only

Eshel Drop-In for Parents - Not Meeting Today
2021-05-05 12:00 - 13:00
Drop-in every Wednesday to shmooze, chat, ask questions, and hear topics of interest!
For notifications and sign-in information, please fill out the form below. (You only need to register for this group one time.)

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Eshel Community Discussion
2021-05-05 13:15 - 14:30
Wednesday, May 5, 2021
1:15 pm ET | 12:15 pm CT | 10:15 am PT
Immediately following Ohr Torah Stone event, R. Steve Greenberg will be moderating a Community Discussion on the issues raised during this panel.
You are invited to share your thoughts and responses. Please register in order to receive the Zoom login details.

Register Today!

Eshel Baltimore/DC Parents & LGBTQ+ Joint Meetup
2021-05-05 19:00 - 21:00
Get together with our Baltimore/DC Eshel family. Join us in this intimate, confidential setting to meet others, like yourself, in the extended Eshel network.
WHAT: Shavuot is two weeks away. Join us for a flower arranging demonstration that will give you some amazing tips for creating a beautiful holiday centerpiece. Christine Bloom, a floral designer who owns her own business, will be sharing her expert advice and secrets. She will be aided by a surprise zoom assistant. Read more about Christine’s Floral Arrangements here.
Where: For notifications and sign-in information, please register below, if you haven’t already. (You only need to register for this group one time.)

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Partnering Community Event for Shavuot
2021-05-16 15:00 - 18:00
Join the Center CIty Kehillah of Philadelphia for Shavuot Learing!
On Zoom: Sunday, May 16, 2021 from 3:00-6:00 pmOutdoor Classes In Person: Monday, May 17, 2021
Read more & Register here!
Download the source sheets of Dr. Sunnie Epstein’s class:Shavuot and What It Means to Be Truly Human
