Jul 2, 2026 | Eshel in the News
[caption id="attachment_166196" align="aligncenter" width="2121"] motimeiri/iStock via Getty Images Plus[/caption] RNS) — “The kid is a feigele!” I can still hear my relative saying the derogatory phrase, used to refer to a gay man or boy, aiming his ugly remark at a young man at a bar mitzvah celebration. In Yiddish, “feigele” literally means a [more]
Jul 2, 2026 | Eshel in the News
By An Eshel Parent | June 25, 2026 It’s really scary to have your child come out to you as queer when you live in an Orthodox Jewish community. There are questions about what it means to be gay or transgender or any of the other LGBTQ terms, but what I’m addressing specifically is the [more]
Jun 29, 2026 | Eshel in the News
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 working, along with my colleagues at Eshel, to increase the acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals in the Orthodox Jewish world. This is our organization’s mission: to [more]
Jun 22, 2026 | Eshel Out Loud
As observant Jews, we know what it means to navigate challenges and make difficult choices. Across generations, we have drawn on resilience, faith, and commitment to our families, communities, and values. We understand the language of compromise. At Eshel, however, we believe that the most essential parts of ourselves should not be subject to compromise. [more]
May 18, 2026 | Eshel Out Loud
This past week’s Parsha, Badmidar, isn’t really my jam; I tend to gravitate more naturally toward the narrative-based chapters contained in Bereishit and Shemot over the intricately detailed portion of Bamidbar that we just heard; I prefer my Torah spoon-fed to me through colorful stories of fratricide, floods, and famine. So, at first glance, I [more]
