Related Blog Posts on LGBTQ+ Jewish Life, Mother's Day, and Secular Holidays

Read about one transgender camper's journey of self discovery at Eisner Camp 12 years ago and how her camp community encouraged her to be her full, authentic self.

"Winterfaith" seems a much more apt description for me than "interfaith." We're not observing two religions; I was raised Jewish, and my partner was not. The winter holidays are when our "interfaith" background proves to be the most challenging.

When I was a child growing up in the 1980s, the story I learned about Thanksgiving followed the classic script: it highlighted amity between the Pilgrims and their Indigenous neighbors. Due to this connection, the hunger of the European settlers was met with squash and turkey.

During Pride Month, I participated in a leaders' trip to Israel through A Wider Bridge, an organization dedicated to connecting LGBTQ+ people in North America and Israel.

For many LGBTQ+ Jews in the United States, LGBTQ+ synagogues and organizations offer that sustenance.

I have always considered myself to be a Jewish Canadian, rather than a Canadian Jew. I couldn't tell you why I have always chosen to primarily identify by my religion first and then my citizenship; there is no defining moment in my life that explains that one way or the other. Being Jewish has always been my primary identity.

Every June we celebrate the LGBTQ+ community with a sense of pride that's not just acceptable, but essential.

I took the Commandments seriously. However, one of the Commandments deeply resonated above all others: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor," meaning "You shall not lie" (Exodus 20:13). This affected me most because I was lying to others and myself about a core aspect of my identity: my bisexuality.

It wasn't because of 9/11. It wasn't because I had a tradition of military service in my family. And while the pay and benefits are nice, it wasn't for those reasons, either. That wasn't why I joined the U.S. Air Force Reserves in 2003 and later switched to the Air National Guard. I joined for the same reason I became a rabbi: I have a desire to serve others and be part of something larger than myself.

I'm grateful for Carter's trust in me. What started as a teacher-student relationship (I was his theatre teacher at CAA) slowly morphed into a mentor-mentee relationship with post-camp questions about Judaism, acting, and being a young trans person in this world.