Our congregation and our KidSchool welcome everyone.
Singles, couples, with children, without children. Gays, Lesbians, Bis, Transgenders, Straights. Adoptive families. Blended families. Two-mom, two-dad families. One-mom, one-dad families. One mom and one dad families. Two-household families.
All are welcome here.
CITY CONGREGATION APPLAUDS NEW YORK STATE'S SAME SEX MARRIAGE LAW
We Support Gay/Lesbian Marriage
Consistent with our philosophy of inclusivity, we affirm and honor the love between all couples. Our ceremonies honor the identity of both partners and give recognition to our many cultures, ethnicities, beliefs, religions, and sexual orientations. We welcome same-sex couples and our rabbi is pleased to officiate at their weddings, commitment ceremonies or partnerships.
On Tolerance
The theme for our 2006 Yom Kippur Service was Tolerance. Rabbi Schweitzer framed the question. Two of our members offered their thoughts. Cynthia Chalker described her experience as a black woman and a lesbian. Howard Segan, a straight white man, shared his reflections, including reference to his lesbian sister-in-law and her partner.
Negotiating Intersections: Being Jewish and Gay Lesbian
At our May 2008 Shabbat, guest speakers Anndee Hochman and Richard Blum explored these dual identities, examined how they interact, and discussed how they define themselves in their various communities. It was a wonderful program! Anndee Hochman is a journalist, essayist, short-story writer, poet, and teacher who lives in Philadelphia. Richard Blum is a long-time staff attorney in the Civil Practice of the Legal Aid Society where he has specialized in welfare and employment rights. He was a founding board member of Queers for Economic Justice.
Selected Reading List
Rebecca T Alpert, Like Bread on the Seder Plate, (Columbia University Press. November 1998)
Christie Balka and Andy Rose, Twice Blessed, On Being Lesbian or Gay and Jewish, (Beacon Press, Boston, USA. 1989)
Evelyn Torton Beck, Nice Jewish Girls: A Lesbian Anthology, (Beacon Press, Boston, USA. 1989)
Gad Beck, An Underground Life, Memoirs of a Gay Jew in Nazi Berlin, (The University of Wisconsin Press, Wisconsin USA & London, England. 1999)
Angela Brown, Mentsh, On Being Jewish and Queer, (Alyson Books, Los Angeles, California, USA. August 2004)
Amir Sumakai Fink and Jacob Press, Independence Park, The Lives of Gay Men in Israel, (Stanford University Press, Stanford, California USA. 1999) (in the series
Daniel Boyarin, Daniel Itzkovitz, Ann Pellegrini ,Queer Theory and the Jewish Question, (Between Men – Between Women), (Columbia University Press. November 2003)
Jyl Lynn Felman, Hot Chicken Wings, (Aunt Lute Book Co, SF, USA. 1992)
Rabbi Steven Greenberg , Wrestling with God and Men, Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition, (University of Wisconsin Press, USA. 15th February 2004)
Judith Katz, Running Fiercely Towards a High Thin Sound (Firebrand Books, Ithica,1992).
Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz and Irena Klepfisz, The Tribe of Dina: A Jewish Women's Anthology, (Beacon Press, Boston, USA. 1989)
Tracy Moore, Lesbiot: Israeli Lesbians talk about Sexuality, Feminism, Judaism and their Lives, (Cassell Academic, London, UK. March 1999)
Lesléa Newman, In Every Laugh a Tear (1992)
Lawrence Schimel, Found Tribe: Jewish Coming Out Stories, (Sherman Asher Publishing, USA. July/August 2002)
David Shneer and Caryn Aviv, Queer Jews, (Routledge. September 2002)
Lee Walzer, Between Sodom and Eden, A Gay Journey Through Today's Changing Israel, (Columbia University Press, NY, USA. 2000)
