LGBTQ+ Jewish Life

Wholly Jewish: Denis: Coming Out and Showing Up

Shira Kline

Hosted by Jewish performance and ritual artist Shira Kline (she/her), a.k.a. ShirLaLa, this season features interviews with LGBTQ+ Jews from the Union for Reform Judaism's JewV'Nation Fellowship. Follow along as they share their experiences in Jewish spaces, how their queerness and their Judaism intersect, and visions of a more inclusive

Racial Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

Outside of a white synagogue building with a Star of David stained glass window

Spirituality

Finding My Way Home: How and Why I Returned to My Judaism

Dr. Gary M. Levin

October 6, 2020

Not knowing if I would be shunned or accepted, I decided to give my religion another chance. I was not prepared for the warm and welcoming atmosphere I found at temple, where being gay was as acceptable as having brown hair.

Wholly Jewish: Grace: Breaking Down the Gates of Queer Judaism

Shira Kline

Being queer and Jewish means something different to everyone, and those differences deserve to be celebrated. This week, Grace Collins (they/them) talks about being a Jewish storyteller and teacher; their connection, as a Jew-by-choice, to Rabbi Akiva’s teachings, repairing the world in an oppressive political climate; and the dangers of “gatekeeping” in queer and Jewish spaces.

LGBTQ+ Jewish Life

Wholly Jewish: Laura: Creating Peace Out of Wholeness

Shira Kline

This week’s guest, Cantor Laura Stein, shares her perspectives on how we can best care for those around us, the (lack of) tension between being Jewish and being a lesbian, and how her spiritual leadership inspires her social work at Mount Sinai Hospital's Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery.

Racial Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

Wholly Jewish: Max Antman: The Queerness and Politics of Torah

Shira Kline

Max Antman

How can we embrace Judaism from not only a queer perspective, but also a “political” one? Max Antman (he/him), a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, discusses how being a gay man influences his reading of Torah, how his Reform synagogue empowered his gay identity, and the sacred relationship between activism and studying Jewish text.