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]
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]
Jun 15, 2026 | Eshel Out Loud
In the process of preparing my d’var Torah last month (read here), I felt like I was grasping at straws to make meaning out of the hypertechnical nature of that portion’s limited plot. Thankfully, there is plenty of dramatic material in this week’s portion. The Israelites are still in the desert after their exodus from [more]
May 5, 2026 | Eshel in the News
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 are still living it, loving your families and your traditions while also working, every day, to make change from within. That tension—the push and pull [more]
