Join the Tirtzah Community at our Sukkot Gathering in NYC

Are you a religiously observant Jewish woman
who is lesbian, bisexual, queer or questioning?

Please join us at:

TIRTZAH’S SUKKOT GATHERING

Sponsored by Tirtzah: A Community for Frum Queer Women

*When and Where?

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2008 at 4:00 PM in Manhattan – Join our e-mail listserve for location details

*Who Is Welcome?

All lesbian, bisexual or queer identified Jewish women who are Orthodox or traditionally observant… or who are on the path towards becoming more halachically observant. Feel free to bring your children.

*What Is This Event?

This chol ha’moed gathering is a chance for members of the Tirtzah community to talk, eat, enjoy each others’ company, and maybe even learn a little Torah, in a supportive and positive environment.

*What is Tirtzah?

We are a community of frum queer women who gather to celebrate and study our yiddishkeit. We are committed to the value of shleimut (wholeness) and to supporting one another in observing a meaningful,
integrated, honest and joyful Jewish life. We have a wide variety of religious backgrounds and identities, but we are all halachically-engaged observant Jews in addition to being lesbian, bisexual or queer identified. We come together to have social events, learn Torah, discuss topics relevant to our lives, and celebrate holidays. We have an active e-mail discussion group and a blog, and we hold in-person events in the New York metropolitan area. Find out more about us at http://tirtzah.wordpress.com

*Want to Attend?

This is a private event for members of our e-mail discussion group. If you are a frum L/B/Q woman who’d like to join us at this gathering, please join our e-mail list at http://tirtzah.wordpress.com/our-e-mail-list/ for more information. Please e-mail tirtzahcommunity@gmail.com if you need assistance or have questions.

We encourage you to RSVP to tirtzahcommunity@gmail.com.

We ask for a $5 donation to cover the costs of (kosher) snacks which we’ll be providing, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

The Rebbetzin

I go to the shtiebel because it reminds me a bit of the places I grew up around, little storefront shuls where the men wear black hats and shtreimels and the women sit around a small table together and talk in a mixture of Yiddish, heavily accented English and Hebrew. 

The Rebbetzin always says hello and asks how I’m doing, what I’m up to. One day she asked, inexplicably:

“How tall are you?”

“Why?” I asked- and then the other questions burst forward. Will I cover my hair? (Yes, if I married a man, I would). Am I more modern or more yeshivish? ( Both- but I’m not looking right now) Someone who works or someone who learns?

I didn’t know how to explain that I hope to build a Jewish home with a woman.

I don’t come to the Shtiebel as often as I used to.  Most of the time, I daven in more modern shuls, where there is more English, more Hebrew, and less Yiddish,  women sit in rows, and I can be open about my identity. When I do go to the Shtiebel, the Rebbetzin is always friendly to me, and asks me where  I have been.  But the thing that I haven’t said,  the reasons I had for not saying it, construct a wall between us. I can’t talk to her about my life. 

As long as I have not said something, I can imagine that it is possible that she would understand, that there is still a place for me at that table with the women who talk among themselves in Yiddish and Hebrew and heavily accented English.

I hope there is. 

Posted by queeryeshivameidel.