Jun 29, 2026 | Eshel Out Loud
When you ask a potential wedding vendor, “Do you know what a tisch is?” the question underneath is usually much bigger than vocabulary. What you are likely really asking is: Will I have to explain my wedding from scratch? Will you be thrown off by the flow of the day? Can I trust you to [more]
Jun 26, 2025 | Eshel Out Loud
I was married three times, to the same person. Our first wedding was almost everything I could have hoped for - spiritual, communal, religious, and deeply meaningful. The only problem was that legally, it was meaningless. In 2004, Mara and I got married in front of 240 of our closest friends and family. It marked [more]
Jun 19, 2023 | Eshel Out Loud
[et_pb_section fb_built="1" _builder_version="4.17.4" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.17.4" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.17.4" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_image src="https://www.eshelonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Holy-Closet-Wedding.png" title_text="Holy Closet Wedding" _builder_version="4.17.4" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.17.4" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"]When I got married (almost two years ago!), my best friend was our officiant. This past Shabbat, we kicked off celebrations for her wedding - the second this month of one of my close [more]
Oct 29, 2020 | Eshel Out Loud
Leana Tapnack, seen here with mikvah attendant Talia Lakritz at the West Side Mikvah in New York, decided to observe the laws of niddah together with her wife, Sandy. (Courtesy of Tapnack) Some queer Jews are finding meaning in the laws of family purity, traditionally observed by married Orthodox couples Like many observant Jewish women, [more]
