This is the Forward’s coverage of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, queer and questioning Jews.
LGBTQ+
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News In Chicago, an LGBTQ Talmud study center gets a pandemic boost
Before becoming a rabbi, Benay Lappe wanted to be a Buddhist monk. While Jews have often been drawn to Eastern traditions, few dedicate nearly a decade to becoming a devout Buddhist in Japan. Lappe is hardcore. But before making her final commitment, she consulted with a rabbi in Tokyo who gave her a copy of…
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Community In Jewish tradition, sodomy doesn’t mean what you think
I constantly stress to my students in Hillel that the dominant Western or Christian-centric exegesis of biblical stories is often very much the opposite of Jewish interpretation. This is true with the creation story and the subsequent eating from the tree, which Jewish thinkers read as a story of human empowerment as we gained the…
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News Roberta Kaplan: Who is the Jewish lawyer leading post-White House lawsuits against Trump?
With Georgia’s current ballot count and the ongoing ballot count in Pennsylvania and other states making it increasingly likely that President Donald Trump will not win a second term, one consequence for him, personally, is that he would lose the broad legal immunity he has had while in the White House. Whenever he leaves office,…
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News LGBTQ leaders respond to SCOTUS attack on marriage equality
A statement penned by two Supreme Court justices has set off alarms among LGBTQ+ rights activists. The statement, signed by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, attacked and criticized Obergefell v Hodges, the 2015 landmark Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex marriage. “Due to Obergefell,” Justice Thomas wrote, “those with sincerely held religious beliefs concerning marriage…
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Community As a gay Jew, I may face discrimination – but I still have white privilege
For as long as I can remember, being Jewish has been my primary identity. Once I came out in my early 40s, I embraced being gay as my second primary identity. I am proud to be both. Yet, why am I reluctant about being white? Growing up I never thought about this. You could count…
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Fast Forward Becoming a rebbetzin: What it’s like to come out as transgender when you’re married to a rabbi
(JTA) — Samantha Zerin headed home from a Yiddish class she had taught as part of her synagogue’s adult education program on the evening of Dec. 19 and knew her life was about to change. That evening, the 775 families at Temple Emanu-El would be getting a message that she knew would surprise some of…
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Community Here is why I embrace Pride with pride
Just a few weeks into the pandemic, soon after we began sheltering in place here in California, the actor, writer, and director, John Krasinski, began broadcasting an internet series on Saturday evenings called “Some Good News.” A Jewish conversation for Pride Month. Jodi Rudoren, editor-in-chief of The Forward, will be joined by a panel of…
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Community The only unnatural way to be is alone
Lo tov heyot ha-adam levado, it is not good for the earthling to be alone (Gen. 2:18). As the product of a traditional Jewish education, I have always heard this verse cited as an aphoristic observation about human nature and the need for companionship. No one wants to be alone their whole life. Life is…
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News Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s selection as JTS commencement speaker roils graduating class
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Yiddish שפּילן מיט פֿײַל־און־בויגן און אַנדערע ל״ג־בעומר־מנהגיםPlaying with bows and arrows and other Lag BaOmer shtetl customs
געוויסע עקספּערטן האַלטן, אַז מע דאַרף באַטראַכטן ל״ג־בעומר ווי אַ פֿרילינגדיקן מײַ־פֿעסטיוואַל
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News ‘Don’t give up on us now’: Israel peace summit convenes thousands to aim for elusive progress
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Fast Forward A GOP lawmaker tried to put a Holocaust denier on New Hampshire’s Holocaust education board