www.OrthoGays.com
Welcome to the mishpocha! Orthodox Gay Jews
are thriving in New York City and around the world. A variety of resources serve
our vibrant and growing community.
Is it possible to be gay and frum (a religious observant Jew)? What does
the Torah say about homosexuality? What can I do about sex as a frum gay Jew?
Complete responses to these and other Frequently
Asked Questions about being Gay and Frum are now available. You can also
read brief Comments by Orthodox
Rabbis and others on the subject.
Check out the Gay and
Lesbian Yeshiva and Day School Alumni Association which meets monthly
to discuss matters of common interest. This group serves our community and
provides
a friendly, safe place for individuals to integrate their Jewish and gay identities
and to meet others like us. For recorded information, please call anytime
(212)
780-4656. Upcoming meetings for 2005, which are generally held on the 4th Thursday of
each month (barring holiday conflicts) at the Gay & Lesbian
Community Center, are at 8:30 PM on January 23; February
24; March 24 (Purim Event), April 28. The
Center is located at 208 West 13th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues) in
New York
City
(Manhattan).
To
join the confidential e-mail list for information about special events and
upcoming
meetings, send an e-mail to GLYDSA@hotmail.com.
The film Trembling
Before G-d
is now available on DVD. The
film is a documentary about orthodox gay and lesbian Jews. The Trembling
Before G-d website
has more information.
The book Wrestling With God & Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition by Rabbi Steven Greenberg (Univ. of Wisconsin Press: 2004) is now available in bookstores and online.
The book Judaism and Homosexuality: An Authentic Orthodox View by Rabbi Chaim Rapoport (Mitchell Vallentine & Company) is now available in bookstores and online.
Click here for the article "Gay and Orthodox" by Naomi Grossman from the April 2001 issue of Moment Magazine and read comments by others and respond.
POST YOUR IDEAS, THOUGHTS, FEELINGS AND COMMENTS ON BEING GAY AND JEWISH.
Orthodykes, a support group for Orthodox and formerly Orthodox lesbian, bisexual and transgender women has formed in New York City and meets monthly. For recorded information about this group, or to speak with someone, please call at anytime (212) 539-8804 or send an e-mail to: info@orthodykes.org
In California, Orthodox and Traditional
gay and lesbian Jews meet the third Sunday of the month in Los Angeles for
socializing, education and support. For more details contact Steve, (562)
426-7756 or ar815@lafn.org
A great page for GAY YOUTH has been set up. Check it out at
JQYouth.
There are several resources in Jerusalem. Check out the
Jerusalem Open House and
The Gay and Lesbian Student Union
of the Hebrew University - Ha'asiron Ha'acher, which also has a great
web page. Another web page for religious Jews in Jerusalem is
OrthodoxGays. Have a
look!
An article entitled
Gayness
and God: Wrestlings of an Orthodox Rabbi by Rabbi Yaakov Lavado, which
originally appeared in Tikkun Magazine, grapples with issues that frum gay
Jews face. Conservative Rabbi Harold Schulweis has written two thoughtful
articles: Morality,
Legality and Homosexuality and
A Second Look at
Homosexuality. These articles are highly recommended. Another
essay
by an Oxford Rabbi also may be of interest. Have a look.
An Internet
Directory of Gay Jewish sites is filled with helpful resources. This
is part of a great web site called
Twice Blessed: Everything
Gay and Jewish. Not to be missed!
An on-line discussion
list called frumgays has been established through Shamash. This list is available
by subscription and is a safe space. For more information, contact
Shamash through its web site. A discussion
of Jewish views towards homosexuality occurred on another Shamash list several
years ago and can be obtained from
Mail-Jewish.
If you are sexually active, learn about and
practice SAFER SEX
every time. Safer Sex means knowing how HIV is transmitted and
taking precautions to reduce your risk of getting HIV and other sexually
transmitted diseases. HIV is transmitted in body fluids such as semen, vaginal
fluid and blood. If you have anal sex, always use a latex rubber condom with
water-based lubricant.
If you think you may have been exposed to HIV but have not been tested, now
may be the time to do it. There are medications available which make the
possibility of a longer, healthier life a reality. If you are apprehensive
about getting tested, or have any questions that you need answered about
HIV or AIDS, call the Tzvi Aryeh AIDS Foundation, which provides support
and programs for all Jews, gay and straight, from secular to Orthodox and
Chassidic. The Foundation provides information, makes referrals and is available
to answer questions in English, Hebrew, Yiddish and Russian. It also offers
a kosher food program for homebound people with AIDS, a friendly visitor
and buddy network, and understanding Rabbis from all denominations for
counseling. For more information call 212-866-6306 anytime or to speak with
someone call Monday from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM or Tuesday and Thursday from
9:00 AM to 1:00 PM (all calls are kept in the strictest confidence) or e-mail
TzviAryeh@aol.com or write to P.O. Box 150, Cathedral Station, New York,
NY 10025.
For additional information about our community, please contact via e-mail
GayJews@aol.com.
"And G-d saw all that He had made, and found it very good." (Bereshit
1:31).
"It is not good for man to be alone." (Bereshit 2:18).
"Master of the world, I am Yours and my dreams are Yours. I have dreamed
a dream and I don't know what it means. May it be Your will that all my dreams
regarding myself and regarding all of Israel be good ones, those that I have
dreamed about myself, those that I have dreamed about others, and those that
others have dreamed about me." (Birkat Kohanim).
"In the path that a person wants to follow,
Heaven leads him in that very path."
(Makot 10b).
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