From Shattering Loss to Renewal: How Tisha B'Av Saved the Jewish People
2022-08-07 17:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York)
We tend to think of Tisha B’Av as an exercise in national memory, but it is much more. It marks something eternal about us. There is a fable that Napoleon having heard Jews praying mournfully on the holiday asked what happened to them to cause this outburst of grief. He was told that their Temple and homeland was ripped from them 1800 years prior. He is famed to have remarked, that if they are still possessed by a loss that long ago, they will surely someday return. We will explore the counter intuitive powers of Tisha B’Av and relate them to our own sense of loss and renewal.
Join Rabbi Steve Greenberg for a shiur this Tisha B’Av exploring a Jewish perspective on grief and rebuilding after loss.
Where: Zoom – link sent out after registration
When: August 7, 5PM-6PM ET | 4PM-5PM CT | 2PM-3PM PT

Eshel New York City LGBTQ+ Meetup
2022-07-06 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-06-13 19:30 - 21:00, 2021-12-06 19:30 - 21:00
Calling all adult members of the NYC queer community who are Orthodox, formerly Orthodox, or “Ortho-curious.” If you are interested in connecting with other individuals who are exploring their Orthodox LGBTQ+ identity please join us! Members will have the opportunity to mingle and engage in peer-led discussions in a casual and confidential environment.
WHAT: A confidential gathering for people who identify as LGBTQ+ and are Orthodox, Ortho-curious, or formerly Orthodox.
WHEN: The first Monday of every month | 7:30 – 9:00 PM
WHERE: For notifications and sign-in information, please sign up below. (You only need to register for this group one time.)
Questions? Email new-york@eshelonline.org.
Participants are asked to adhere to strict confidentiality.

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Oy Gay with a side of BLT
2022-06-23 19:00 | Broadway Comedy Club, 318 W 53rd St, New York, NY, NY, 10019, United States
General Admission

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Oy Gay with a side of BLT
June 23, 2022 7PM | 6pm VIP Happy Hour
Come together to laugh and have a good time with our hilarious comedians Adam Sank (Last Comic Standing), Chani Lisbon (Carolines On Broadway), Dana Friedman (AllMedia TV), Eli Lebowicz (Stand-Up NY), Leah Forster (Comedy Cellar) , Liz Glazer (Boston Comedy Festival), Talia Reese (SiriusXM), and Eddie Sarfaty (The Today Show). Join us at the Broadway Comedy Club, located at 318 W 53rd St NY,NY 10019. At this year’s comedy fundraiser, we’re raising money to benefit the Eshel Warmline.
Last year, the Warmline provided resources, counseling, and emotional support through over 500 phone calls and emails correspondences with people struggling as members of the LGBTQ Orthodox Jewish community and Orthodox Parents of LGBTQ youth. Show your support for the Warmline and help support our community! Buy a ticket today for General Admission, a VIP ticket, or a VIP table for eight. Our VIP guests get the same great show as everyone else, but also get to enjoy priority seating, a kosher catered happy hour before the show, and a goodie bag with surprise treats!
Proof of vaccination required. This show is recommended for ages 18+.
Corporate or small business sponsorships for this event are available. Please contact info@eshelonline.org to learn more.

Adam Sank
ADAM SANK is one of the most recognized and accomplished openly gay stand-up comics in the country, having been featured on NBC’s Last Comic Standing and The Today Show, FOX’s Laughs, CBS News, Vh1’s I Love the 2000s and Best Week Ever, CNN’s @ThisHour, CNBC’s Street Signs and truTV’s World’s Dumbest Criminals, along with countless appearances as both a guest and fill-in host on Sirius-XM satellite radio. His debut comedy album, “Adam Sank: Live from the Stonewall Inn,” went to No. 1 on both Amazon’s list of Comedy Album Downloads and iTunes’s New Comedy Releases, and it plays in rotation on SiriusXM’s Raw Dog channel. Adam also hosts a weekly podcast– “The Adam Sank Show (ASS)” – every Saturday at 11AM ET at DNRStudios.com and other streaming platforms. For 15 years, Adam performed regularly at comedy clubs, special events and festivals throughout the New York City area and beyond, including appearances at NYC Gay Pride, Gay Days Orlando, Atlantis Events and the Gay Naturists International (GNI) Annual Gathering. He has served as master of ceremonies and auctioneer at multiple fundraisers, helping to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charitable organizations. He has also personally raised over $95K for AIDS Walk NY. In 2019, Adam retired from stand-up after releasing his second comedy album, “Adam Sank’s Last Comedy Album,” which went to No. 1 on Amazon and iTunes and plays regularly on SiriusXM Raw Dog. He occasionally still appears live for select events. In addition to being a comedian and podcaster, Adam is a licensed wedding officiant in the state of New York, specializing in (but not limited to) same-sex, Jewish and/or comedy-themed ceremonies. He currently lives in New York City with his dog, Lady.

Liz Glazer
Liz Glazer is the first place winner of both the Boston Comedy Festival and the Ladies of Laughter competition, and the subject of an entire Wall Street Journal Article about her and her comedy!

Chani Lisbon
Chani Lisbon is a stand up comedian, motivational speaker, and performer. For two years, she produced the consistently sold-out show The Biggest Littlest Comedy Show in Brooklyn, while performing all over New York City. Chani has also made them laugh in Tucson, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Israel. She headlined a sold-out show at StandUp NY and is a frequent speaker/performer at colleges, private events, and rehab facilities. She has co-written two pilots (one about social media addiction, and one about Chanukah), and has performed a moving comedic piece about hair loss and self-acceptance for MicDrop. Born and raised in LA, Chani currently lives in Brooklyn.

Talia Reese
Talia Reese is a stand-up comedian and former bankruptcy lawyer. The New York Post featured Talia as a “Hot Ticket” in a full-page article. Talia has been compared to Joan Rivers and written about in The Wall Street Journal (“The Hottest Ticket in Town This Year Is Your Family’s Covid-Constrained Thanksgiving” and “Keeping Kosher, With a Side of Jokes”). Her comedy has been written about by The Jerusalem Post (“Toning It Down For The Rabbi”). Talia is a regular contributor to “Tell Me Everything” on Sirius XM, “Is it Funny or Offensive,” and “The Quiz Show” on Fox Nation. Cindy Adams’ Page Six column often quotes Talia’s jokes, and she has appeared on The Wendy Williams Show.

Eddie Sarfaty
Comedian and writer Eddie Sarfaty has appeared on The Today Show, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, Logo’s Wisecrack, The Joy Behar Show, and is a subject of the documentaries, Laughing Matters and Heartfelt.

Leah Forster
For over a decade, Leah Forster has been an internationally renowned entertainer in the Jewish community. In recent years she’s expanded her reach to more mainstream comedy clubs, and taken to the internet, exponentially growing her already-substantial fan-base. In addition to theaters all over the world, Leah has appeared locally at Carolines On Broadway, Stand-Up NY, The Comedy Cellar, Broadway Comedy Club, as well as being featured on Breakout.TV. Follow @leahforster on Instagram, and catch her weekly special: Tichel Tuesday.

Dana Friedman
Dana Friedman is, in all likelihood, New York’s first Orthodox Jewish, transgender comic. She is the producer of Queernucopia: An Evening of LGBT and Allied Comedy Goddesses and Heathens , Right Down The Middle (East), (no missionaries, just funny positions), which brings together Muslim, Jewish, Israeli, Arab, and Palestinian standup comics, LOL Nidrei (Unforgivably Naughty Jewish Comedy) which was featured in The Forward, and, for the fourth consecutive year: Orthomocks Jews, A Pre-Purim Standup Romp. Dana was also the producer and a co-writer of FunOrthodox: An Evening of LGBT+ Jewish Entertainment, hosted by Mayim Bialik. She was selected for She-Devil Comedy Festival’s “Best Of The Fest”, and the New York Underground Comedy Festival. She has been a guest on Tell Me Everything with John Fugelsang on SiriusXM, and appeared with or opened for Janeane Garofalo, Lizz Winstead, Yanis Pappas, Christian Finnegan, Julia Scotti, Tim Dillon, as well as other major headliners at clubs and theaters all over North America.

Eli Lebowicz

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Brooklyn Pride 2022 Rooftop Gathering
2022-06-11 15:00 - 18:00
Saturday, June 11
3:00 – 6:00 pm
Hosted by Eshel board member Shlomo Ashkinazy, join Eshel members to watch the Brooklyn Pride march! We will meet on Shlomo’s rooftop near 5th Avenue and 10th Street for some fun and a light seudah shlishit. Address provided upon registration. For more information contact info@eshelonline.org

Ensuring Mental Wellbeing for LGBTQ+ People During Challenging Times
2022-06-08 19:00 - 20:00
Mental wellbeing is more challenging for everyone in the era of COVID. Isolation, depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns have become more visible and prevalent in our world today. In this session, we will explore the increased rate and severity of these concerns within the LGBTQ community. What are some of the reasons for this? What can we do to ensure emotional wellbeing for all of us?
Register to receive the Zoom link.

Conversion: A Conversation with Rabbi Jeff Fox
2022-06-01 18:00 - 19:30
Eshel is kicking off a new Lifecycle Series, which will cover a wide range of moments of transition in an LGBTQ Jew’s life.
What: With Shavuot coming soon, join us for an evening of learning about what it means to convert to Orthodox Judaism as an LGBTQ person. The panel will feature Rabbi Jeff Fox to discuss halacha, Moshe, a Jew by choice who will be sharing his experiences, and Miryam Kabakov, Executive Director of Eshel, as moderator.
Where: Zoom (you will be emailed the link after registration)
When: 6PM-7:30PM ET | 5PM-6:30PM CT | 3PM-4:30PM PT

NYC Celebrate Israel Parade
2022-05-22 12:30 - 16:00
March with Eshel, JQY, Keshet, and A Wider Bridge in NYC’s Celebrate Israel Parade!
This year’s theme is Together Again – כולנו ביחד
We’ll meet up between 12:30 and 1:00 pm near Rockefeller Center. Sign up to reserve your t-shirt and get detailed instructions for marching with us.
The JCRC-NY Celebrate Israel Parade is the world’s largest expression of solidarity with the Jewish state. Come join us and cheer on more than 40,000 marchers, dozens of fabulous floats, marching bands, and some exciting Jewish and Israeli musical performers! The parade proceeds up Fifth Avenue from 57th Street to 74th Street, displaying our passion for the State of Israel and our love for the global Jewish community.

Baltimore/DC Eshel Picnic
2022-05-15 12:00 - 20:00 | a covered pavilion at Alpha Ridge Park in Marriotsville, MD
Come join us for a Lag B’Omer picnic! Baltimore/DC Eshel has reserved a covered pavilion at Alpha Ridge Park in Marriotsville, MD on May 15 for our group. We will hold it rain or shine. The space is reserved from noon to 8PM. Everyone (including families, relatives and allies) is welcome.
Directions and other details will be sent out closer to the event.
A dairy bagel lunch will be provided FREE! Please RSVP by May 10 so that we know how much food to purchase.
Email leahmarks18@yahoo.com to RSVP

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2022 Eshel Parent Retreat
2022-05-12 - 2022-05-15

Orthodox+* People of Trans Experience Support Group
2022-04-28 21:00 - 22:30, 2022-03-23 21:00 - 22:30, 2022-01-27 21:00 - 22:30
Welcome to Eshel’s Newest Meetup!
What: This virtual support group will be a space for people who identify as transgender, non-binary, and gender questioning. All shades of Orthodox including Chareidi, Modern Orthodox, Ex-Orthodox, are welcome to come and share in a safe and confidential virtual group.
When: Meetings will be held on the third Thursday of every month at 9 pm EST – 6 pm PST.
Where: For notifications and sign-in information, please register below. (You only need to register for this group one time.)
This group is confidential: all attendees are required to adhere to the privacy of its members.
About the Group Coordinator
This Eshel Meetup is led by Joshua Avishur, a transgender Orthodox Jew who enjoys connecting with people and embracing the beauty in all individuals. Joshua is a Masters-in-Social-Work student with experience in mentoring LGBTQ+ folk and developing and leading therapy groups for children and individual counseling with at-risk youth. Joshua is also a transgender panel moderator and panelist.

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Eshel Israel LGBTQ+ and Parents Meetup
2022-04-26 12:30 - 14:00
Join Eshel’s local chapter in Israel for LGBTQ+ people and parents of LGBTQ+ children. This group will provide support and build community in an intimate, confidential setting in English. Our first few meetings will be over Zoom, but we hope to add in-person meetings soon. This group is for those who have made aliyah, are thinking about making aliyah, spend part of the year in Israel, are in yeshiva or seminary, or have kids in Israel for the year.
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: Tuesday, April 26, 7:30 pm (Israel), 12:30 pm (Eastern Time)
WHERE: Online. Register below for login details.

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Eshel’s mission is to create a future for Orthodox lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals, and their families. Through its innovative and culturally sensitive programming, Eshel works with each individual, family, and community in creating a place for their LGBTQ members. Eshel envisions a world where Orthodox LGBTQ individuals can live out their lives in the Orthodox communities of their choice.

Soon by Q Happy Hour April 2022
2022-04-11 19:00 - 21:00
Come unwind and hang out with other young LGBTQ+ Jews at the next Soon By Q bar trivia! We’ll gather over drinks and participate in some friendly competition with NYC Trivia League.
Soon by Q is Eshel’s initiative to foster LGBTQ+ Jewish community and connection in New York City. Whether you’re looking for new friends, romance, outdoor adventure buddies, or guests at your Shabbat table, Soon By Q is for you.
Questions? Email monica@eshelonline.org

Out of the Sea: an LGBTQ Chaburah Group for Pesach
2022-03-31 20:00 - 21:30
**ALL NEW** LGBTQ+ Chaburah Group
If you’ve been missing the warm embrace of our National Retreat Chaburah groups – or want to get a taste of what its like – join us for an all new Eshel Chaburah group. Open to our LGBTQ+ community anywhere in the world, we will meet over Zoom to share our experiences and grow together. Our first topic will be connected to Pesach – what was it like to leave Egypt and construct a new life and identity? How can we draw on that wisdom as we go through changes in our own life and the world around us?
Join us Thursday March 31st at 8:00 pm ET – 7:00 CT – 5:00 PT.
Register below for the Zoom link.

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Eshel Parents Chaburah Group
2022-03-30 20:00 - 21:30
*Note the date change for this month – this month’s chaburah group will discuss topics related to Pesach*

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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Eshel Brooklyn Women's LBTQ+ Meetup
2022-03-22 20:30 - 21:45
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 8:30 pm – 9:45 pm
Where: For notifications and sign-in information, register below. (You only need to register for this group one time.)

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Purim Shiur: Purim as National Jewish Coming Out Day
2022-03-10 19:30 - 20:30
The Purim story contains many characters who struggle with the tension between what they keep hidden and what they reveal. Even God in the Megillah hides at times. This shiur will explore the ways that each character “comes out” and how that process ultimately leads to salvation for the Jews. Is Purim, then, the right time for a National Jewish Coming Out Day?

Purim Shiur: Internal Strength Overcomes External Pressure
2022-03-08 12:00 - 13:00
How do the participants in the Purim narrative show internal strength in the face of external pressures that could have been their undoing? We will learn the salient lessons of the Purim story as we consider this: When the Messiah comes why will we continue to celebrate Purim?

Marry Me However Film Screening and Panel with JOFA
2022-02-16 13:00 - 14:00
Join JOFA and Eshel on February 16th at 1pm EST to hear from panelists on the documentary “Marry Me However.”

The film tells the stories of LGBT men and women who, for religious reasons, decided to marry against their own sexual orientation, to comply with Torah laws and be accepted into their families and religious communities. We hear painful accounts of confusion, deception, anger, and guilt. The characters experience a journey of self-acceptance and social activism, as they try to affect a change in their religious environments. The film also follows the women who married and divorced homosexual partners, as well as rabbis and psychologists who seek a solution to an unsolvable conflict.

This is a FREE EVENT but registration is REQUIRED to receive the zoom link and film screening link.

The link to view the film will be shared with you a few days before the panel event for you to screen on your own.
The link to the Zoom Webinar will be shared 24 hours before the event.
Please contact sarah@jofa.org with questions.

Soon by Q Happy Hour and Trivia
2022-02-14 19:30 - 21:30
Come unwind and hang out with other young LGBTQ+ Jews at the next Soon By Q bar trivia! We’ll gather over drinks and participate in some friendly competition with NYC Trivia League’s virtual trivia. Click here to register; the Zoom link will be sent upon registration.
Soon By Q is Eshel’s new initiative to build Jewish LGBTQ+ community in New York City*.
Whether you’re looking for new friends, romance, outdoor adventure buddies, or guests at your Shabbat table, Soon By Q is for you.
*As this event is virtual, you are welcome to attend from other locations.
Questions? Contact Monica at monica@eshelonline.org.

Soon By Q Happy Hour & Trivia
2022-01-24 19:30 - 21:30

Marry Me However - Baltimore - Virtual Event Only
2022-01-23 19:00 - 21:30
Baltimore Community Screening of“Marry Me, However”
Sunday, January 23, 2022Baltimore, Maryland
The film screening and panel discussion of “Marry Me, However” has been changed to an “online-only” event.
Please register to receive the login information.
The suggested donation is $10. You will be able to make your donation after registration.

Eshel National Retreat 2022
2022-01-14 15:45 - 2022-01-16 16:30
Countdown to the 2022 National LGBTQ Retreat!

Day(s)

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Hour(s)

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Minute(s)

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Second(s)

Friday
3:30 pm – 4:15 pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Batya Levine will lead us is in a musical Kabbalat Shabbat before shabbat begins.
Saturday
Melaveh Malka, Game, and Movie Night
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Games led by Eshel Toronto
8:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Queer Jewish Film Making with Jeremy Borison and Raye Schiller
Two filmmakers will discuss Jewish queer filmmaking and then share their own projects, a film and a TV series, currently in production.
10:30 pm – 11:30 pm
After Party
Sunday
9:00 am – 10:00 am
Option 1: Rabbi Abby Stein
Back by popular demand, Rabbi Abby Stein will teach “Finding Your Place in the Text.”
Option 2: Study Preparation for the Shiur with Rabbi Yitz Greenberg
Rabbi Steve Greenberg will begin with a short limmud of a few key biblical and rabbinic texts to prepare us all for Rav Yitz’s Shiur.
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Orthodox Philosopher, Rabbi Yitz Greenberg takes on LGBTQ Inclusion
Rabbi Yitz Greenberg will share his expansive portrayal of covenantal sexuality.
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Option 1: Bein Hashmashot: Non-Binary Jews Share Their Stories
Joshua Avishur will moderate a conversation with Laynie Soloman and Ben Baader
Option 2: Queer Artist Roundtable
A conversation with Rachie Lewis (writer), Arielle Tonkin (visual artist), Anthony Russell (musical artist), and Joy Ladin (poet) on the sources of their creative energies.
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Chaburah Session
A highlight at every Eshel National Retreat, these small group breakouts give us the opportunity to go deeper, to share highlights of our lives, meet new people, and give each other support and comfort in what we call “Chaburah Groups.”
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
UFARATZTA!
Eshel is in the north, south, east, and west. We will hear presentations of queer traditional Jewish life…somewhere else. Miryam Kabakov will moderate a conversation with Simcha Pollard in Laramie, Jeremy Rodoler in Philly, and Reuven Grant in Ashville.
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
A Journey Toward Leadership
A recently ordained rabbi shares his journey out of the closet.
4:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Closing Circle

Register Here!

Batya Levine (they/she) uses song as a tool for cultivating healing and resilience in their work as a communal song leader, musician, shaliach tzibur (Jewish prayer leader), and cultural organizer. They believe in the liberatory power of song to untie what is bound within us and sustain us as we build a more just and beautiful world. Batya is a founding core team member of Let My People Sing! and is a Cultural Organizer with Linke Fligl. She offers song, ritual, and workshops in a variety of communities, and composes original music made of Ashkenazi yearning, queer heart-medicine, and emunah (faith/trust). Batya recently released her first album, Karov. Learn more at www.batyalevine.com

Jeremy Borison is a director and writer. He has participated in various programs that explore art and religious identities, as an Asylum Arts Fellow, a writer for JerusalemU, and a participant of Start South. His most recent film, ‘Boxes,’ premiered at the Cleveland International Film Festival and won multiple awards. He is currently in production on the feature film ‘Unspoken,’ exploring the intersections between Modern Orthodoxy, queer identity, and the Holocaust. Jeremy also co-leads the Orthodox LGBTQ programming at JQ International.

Raye Schiller (they/she) is a writer, performer, and engineer. Their screenplay Out Again was awarded semi-finalist in the WeScreenplay 2022 Diverse Voices competition and made the CoverFly Red List. Their day job is Lead Engineer at TargetSmart, a political data company. Occasionally you can find them performing standup at their local open mic. They hold a B.A. in Digital Media from Hunter College and M.Eng. in Computer Science from Cornell.

Abby Chava Stein is an American transgender author, activist, blogger, speaker, and rabbi. She is the first openly transgender woman raised in a Hasidic community and is a direct descendant of the Baal Shem Tov. In 2015, she founded the first nationwide support group for trans people of Orthodox Jewish backgrounds. In 2020 she published a beautifully written memoir of her journey, Becoming Eve.

Rabbi Steven Greenberg is the Founding Director of Eshel, an educator, writer and speaker who has led the call for LGBTQ inclusion in the Orthodox world. He is the author of 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.

Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg will share the evolution of his thoughts on human sexuality and gender. He is a leading Jewish thinker and has written extensively on Jewish religious thought, pluralism, and the ethics of Jewish power. He was the rabbi of Riverdale Jewish Center in the 1960’s, a professor and chairman of the Department of Jewish Studies of City College of the City University of New York in the 1970s, and the founder of CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. In the words of historian Steven Katz, ‘No Jewish thinker has had a greater impact on the American Jewish Community in the last two decades than Irving (Yitz) Greenberg.”

Laynie Soloman is the Associate Rosh Yeshiva at SVARA: A traditionally Radical Yeshiva. They are a passionate teacher of Jewish text and thought, who believes deeply in the power of Talmud study as a healing and liberatory spiritual practice, and they have been teaching for almost a decade in a wide range of communal spaces.

Benjamin M. Baader is Associate Professor of European history, Jewish history, and gender studies at the University of Manitoba, Canada. He transitioned about 20 years ago, yet thinks of his gender as shimmering with indeterminacy. Ben was involved in some of the early Eshel retreats and is excited to become more involved again.
Author of the acclaimed Queer Mystery Novel, The Rabbi Who Played with Fire, Rachel Sharona Lewis plays with themes from Kemelman’s 1960’s mystery series, updating it with her central character, Rabbi Vivian, a lesbian rabbi. Her art is playful and engrossing, while rooted unpreachingly in social justice sentiments. Rachie has worked in Boston’s JCRC to engage synagogues in campaigns focused on gun violence prevention, affordable housing, and increasing investment in renewable energy. More recently, she has been working to engage our community to support and accompany our immigrant neighbors.
Arielle Tonkin (they/she) is an artist, educator, and a recent graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (MFA 2017) based in Berkeley, CA. Arielle’s artwork, rooted in painting and social practice, centers intra-faith and interfaith healing through exhibitions, performances, and workshops. As a mixed Ashkenazi/Sephardi and Arab Jewish teen growing up in the Hudson Valley, NY, Arielle co-founded a Muslim-Jewish dialogue project and learned that arts and cultural programming supported relationships grounded in dignity.
Anthony Russell is a vocalist, composer, and arranger specializing in Yiddish song. His work in traditional Ashkenazi Jewish musical forms led to an exploration of his own roots through the research, arrangement, and performance of a hundred years of African American roots music, resulting in the album Convergence (2018). In 2017, Anthony teamed up with accordionist and pianist Dmitri Gaskin to win the Concorso Internacional de Canciones en Idish (Der Idisher Idol) in Mexico City, eventually forming a duo, Tsvey Brider (“Two Brothers”), for the composition and performance of new songs in the Yiddish language.

Joy Ladin is an English professor and a poet. She became the first openly transgender employee of Yeshiva University, an Orthodox Jewish institution. Joy has published numerous poetry collections. Ladin is also the author of a memoir, Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey Between Genders (University of Wisconsin Press, 2012). Ladin is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, a Hadassah Brandeis Research Fellowship, two Forward Fives awards, an American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship, and a Fulbright Scholarship. Ladin teaches at the Stern College of Yeshiva University, where she holds the David and Ruth Gottesman Chair in English.

We can’t wait to see you again!

Thanks to Our Community Partners

Eshel LGBTQ+ Phone-in Support Group
2021-11-24 21:00 - 22:00
What: Join this anonymous phone-in support group for LGBTQ+ individuals who are unable to attend one of our in-person sessions.
When: Fourth Wednesday of every month | 9:00 PM EST
Where: For notifications and sign-in information, please register below. (You only need to register for this group one time.)
Questions? Email info@eshelonline.org

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Soon By Q Happy Hour & Bar Trivia
2021-11-15 18:30 - 20:30
Come hang out with and meet other LGBTQ+ Jews over drinks and trivia at our first Soon By Q happy hour! Your first drink is on us.
Monday, November 15, 20216:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Near Union Square in Manhattan, New York.The event will be outdoors.
Sign up for the exact location!
Questions? Contact Monica at monica@eshelonline.org

Registration is now closed! Please sign up for future Happy Hours with Soon By Q!

Eshel Baltimore/DC Parents & LGBTQ+ Joint Meetup
2021-11-03 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.
Join us in celebrating the upcoming Rosh Chodesh Kislev with some learning and games. Afterward, we will follow our regular meeting format.
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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Thanks to Our Baltimore/DC Sponsor

DuSiah: Dialogue Between Traditional Queer Jews & Our Rabbis
2021-10-24 19:00 - 21:00
Eshel Across North America Weekend (October 22-24, 2021)
As we read every year in Parashat Vayera, Avraham and Sarah plant an Eshel tree near their tent to signal the welcome of strangers. It is during this weekend that we, the Eshel community, celebrate our commitment to inclusion and dialogue and explore the mitzvah of hachnassat orchim.
DuSiah is a program designed to bring Orthodox rabbis and queer Jews into conversation. The next DuSiah event will be on Zoom, on Sunday, October 24, 2021, at 7:00 pm.
It is entitled: “The Wisdoms of Welcome: Sharing funny, inspiring, awful and awesome stories of being guests or hosts.”
The goal of DuSiah is to pursue mutual understanding rather than agreement or immediate solutions. It is about pursuing mutual understanding as we share the challenge of building an Orthodox community that includes all its children. This is our shared constructive purpose.
After a short introduction, we will move everyone to small “break out rooms” of roughly two Rabbis and two Eshel community members for discussion.
Space is limited, please apply.
