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We’re looking forward to seeing you at Erev Shabbat Pride Service on 6/11 at 7:30! Check back here for updated resources on LGBTQIA+ Jewish identities throughout the week.

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L - Lesbian
G - Gay,
B - Bisexual
T - Transgender / Trans
Q - Queer
I - Intersex
A - Asexual
+ - Many more gender, sex, and sexual identities.

You may also frequently see this acronym represented as LGBT, LGBTQ, TLGBTQ, and other variations. Additional acronyms often feature 2S, meaning the Native American gender identity of two-spirited, and GNC, meaning gender nonconforming.

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Keshet: For LGBTQ Equality in Jewish Life provides resources on the many ways Jewishness and queerness intersect.

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Keshet - For LGBTQ Equality in Jewish Life

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Keshet works for the full equality of all LGBTQ Jews and our families in Jewish life. We equip Jewish organizations with the skills and knowledge to build LGBTQ-affirming communities.

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You may have seen or heard people introduced with their pronouns, like Abby (they/them) or Judah (she/her). Read more about this practice here.

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WHAT'S A PRONOUN?

Pronouns are words used to talk about a person instead of using that person's name. For example, instead of saying, "Moishe's challah is amazing because Moishe uses Moishe's own special recipe," we could use pronouns instead. If Moishe uses he/him/his pronouns, this sentence could be: "Moishe's challah is amazing because he uses his own special recipe." Many people use the pronoun sets he/him/his or she/her/hers. Other people may use the neutral pronoun set they/them/theirs or other neutral pronoun sets, such as ze/hir/hirs.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY "NEUTRAL"?

The pronouns he/him/his and she/her/hers indicate gender: man/woman or boy/girl. Often, however, we don't know the gender of the person that we are talking about. For example, if you find a wallet on the ground, you might say, "I should find the owner of this wallet. They must be looking for it." In this case, the person we're talking about could be of any gender, so the pronoun they is used. You are probably already familiar with using neutral pronouns. However, they/them/theirs pronouns are not just used to talk about a hypothetical or unknown person. Some people use they/them/theirs in the same way others use she/her/hers or he/him/his. For example, if Ari uses they/them/theirs pronouns, we might say, "Ari hosted an amazing Shabbat dinner last night! They made all their favorite dishes and even made the chocolate babka themself." Many people who are genderqueer, nonbinary, agender, or trans use they/them/theirs pronouns.
Find out more info on neutral pronouns at https://www.mypronouns.org/they-them
HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT PRONOUNS PEOPLE USE?

You're not a mind-reader, so you really can't know what pronouns someone uses unless you ask. A wonderful way to do this is to share your pronouns first, which in turn indicates that you're open to hearing others' pronouns. It's an easy technique to incorporate in meetings or other gatherings where people introduce themselves. You can say, "My name is Rachel, and I use she/her/hers pronouns." It only takes a second and is an important step toward the inclusion of people of all genders in the space. It also combats gender stereotypes generally by breaking down the assumption that someone must look a particular way in order to be read as a certain gender. Also, make sure you check in with the person about who knows these pronouns as we wouldn't want to unintentionally out somebody.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

On the most basic level, using people's correct pronouns is about kavod (respect). In the same way we ask people's names so we can refer to them correctly, using people's pronouns is about honoring them as a person. As Jews, we are tasked with loving our neighbors and strangers, as we were once strangers in Egypt. In a work or learning environment, people can't be productive and fully present if they feel ignored, invisible, and disrespected. Sharing, asking, and using correct pronouns helps maintain shalom bayit (peace in the home) by contributing to an environment where everyone can be comfortable and safe.

WHAT IF I MESS UP AND USE THE WRONG PRONOUN FOR SOMEONE?

For many people, using they/them/theirs pronouns is a new concept, and mistakes happen. When we make a mistake, we can remember our duty of tshuva (repentance). Unlike Yom Kippur, however, your apology doesn't have to be hours-long! In fact, a short apology is better because it doesn't dwell on the mistake. When you apologize for getting a pronoun wrong, try to avoid making the apology about your own discomfort.
Find more advice on correcting mistakes at https://www.mypronouns.org/mistakes
Statements like, "I'm sorry, but this is just so hard for me," make the conversation about you, as opposed to the person who was [probably unintentionally] hurt, misgendered and/or misunderstood. Instead, try: "As he said-sorry, I mean, as they said-latkes are superior to hamentashen, and I agree with them."

BUT ISN'T "THEY" PLURAL?

One of the most common pushbacks to using "they" as a gender-neutral pronoun for an individual is a question of grammar. Most of us learned that "they" is a plural pronoun for groups of people only. Therefore, it's grammatically incorrect to use "they" for a single person. We can get stuck in this grammar vortex until we realize that using "they" as a singular pronoun has been happening for centuries in the English language!

"THEY" IN LITERATURE

Using the singular "they" or one of its other forms has long been used in literature as a way of referring to a single person. The practice dates as far back as the 16th Century (and maybe even longer) in some of the most revered works of English literature.

"And whoso fyndeth hym out of swich blame,
T h e y wol come up [...]"
Translation: "And whoever finds him out of such blame, they will come up..."

Shakespeare, whose effect on the English language can't be overstated, used the singular "they" in multiple works:

There's not a man I meet but doth salute me
As if I were their well-acquainted friend ( Comedy of Errors, Act IV Scene 3) And every one to rest themselves betake ( Rape of Lucrece)

One of the most renowned English novelists of all time, Jane Austen, employed "they," "them," and "their" throughout her works. An example, found in Mansfield Park:

"I would have every body marry if they can do it properly..."

The beloved American poet Emily Dickinson shows many uses of the singular "they" in this excerpt from a letter in 1181:

"Almost anyone under the circumstances would have doubted if [the letter] were theirs, or indeed if they were themselves."

All this to say, there's a history that we can look to in order to understand the use of "they" singular and see it isn't anything new. The English language has been grappling with the confines of gender from the beginning.

LANGUAGE IS EVOLVING!

It also must be said that language is constantly evolving, and English is a particularly malleable one (did you know that "you" was originally a plural pronoun?). "They" as a singular pronoun has caught on so widely that even elite dictionaries and style guides have recognized its usage and importance as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun.
https://blog.ap.org/products-and-services/making-a-case-for-a-singular-they
Along with dictionaries, grammar and style experts have also made their case for a singular "they." It was the American Dialect Society's 2015 Word of the Year:

The most reputable and widely used style guides have also legitimized the singular "they," including the Washington Post Style Guide, Associated Press Stylebook, and the Chicago Manual of Style.

The Chicago Manual of Style, one of the most widely used, says, "A writer (or speaker) may also use they to refer to a specific, known person who does not identify with a gender-specific pronoun such as he or she... CMOS 17 will advise that 'a person's stated preference for a specific pronoun should be respected.'" This usage is still not widespread either in speech or in writing, but Chicago accepts it even in formal writing.

It's a real challenge to reframe our understanding of one of the building blocks of communicating. Thankfully, there are plenty of sources explaining how grammar is already making the singular "they" work.

CAN'T PEOPLE COME UP WITH NEW PRONOUNS INSTEAD?
*Note: hir and zir and their variants are pronounced with a long e, like the word "here."
Yes, and in fact people have! Many sets of alternative gender-neutral singular pronouns have been developed. For some people, these new pronouns are empowering and authentically express how they relate to their gender. New pronouns can also help avoid the confusion that some people have around using "they" for a single person.

Here's a chart of third-person pronouns with many options for referring to an individual. This isn't an exhaustive list; there are more out there that people have developed. You may be wondering why there are so many options. Awareness about pronouns is still relatively new. People are figuring out what works best for them. It's a huge challenge to make language usage inclusive, but people are working really hard to do so.

The newness of some of these words may be a lot to take in and can feel overwhelming. What it really comes down to is listening to the person you're talking with. They will tell you the best way to respect them, as we all deserve. It may be hard, and you'll probably make mistakes. That's okay. That's how we learn.

PRONOUN FILL-IN THE BLANK ACTIVITY

Pick the correct word from the Word Choices to complete the following sentences.
Feeling uneasy about putting into use 'They/They/Their(s)' pronouns? No problem; we understand and have your back! Below is a Fill in the Blank activity for you to practice using these words in different scenarios. The answers follow. The first set is using the 'They' series in ways we do every day even though we may not be thinking about it.

Word Choices: They, Them, Their, Theirs, Themself (and grammatical variations such as 'they've' and 'they're')

1. Someone leftphone in the conference room! We should return it back to. background is of cute puppies!

2. "What time does your friend's flight get in?" "Oh land at 1:40pm and I'm going to pick up at the airport. I hope don't have too much luggage. I can't carry it forand I don't know if there's room in my car!"

3. "Dr. Rosen, you have one patient left in the waiting room" "Can you please tell me about?" "Sure.have a stomach ache,have an ear ache andcomplaining of a sore ankle;rolled it whilewere carrying the Torah during services!" "Okay, can you please letknow that I'll be withshortly.should take some pain relievers in the meantime and make surefoot is elevated. The pain relievers should helpfeel better soon." "Thank you, Dr. Rosen. I'll letknow."

4. Joey is excited to attendfirst ever Shabbaton!been thinking about what it will feel like to be in a safe space wherecan be both Jewish AND hoping to walk away from the weekend with lots of new friends.are also excited to be away from home for a whole weekend!parents are very proud offor puttingout there to meet other teens. It's not always easy to be vulnerable butparents recognize the importance of the this journey and exploration!

5. When Bloom was youngerloved going to summer camp!loved the nature, the arts and the freedom that was available to!made a lot of friends, a lot of s'mores and a lot of After camp ended each summer,made sure to keep in touch with all of friends.quickly realized that camp was an awesome space to be and to make lifelong friends. Asgrew older,decided to dedicate life to creating these safe spaces for all! Nowdirect a Jewish overnight camp and love it!pourheart, soul and all ofenergy into creating a magical, safe and fun space for campers to be themselves!

6. Every day Dubbs is excited to work for love the workget to do and the different communitiesget to work with.love the impactmake and coworkers, too! Not only is Keshet doing important work for other organizations, it also gave Dubbs a chance to exploreidentity in a safe way! So far duringtime at Keshet, explored different pronouns, different ways to identify and have become more confident and connected to work because finally feel 100% and confident in who are. Thank you, Keshet, for givingthis incredible opportunity to be in the most authentic way possible!

1. Someone left their phone in the conference room! We should return it back to them. Their background is of cute puppies!

2. "What time does your friend's flight get in?" "Oh they land at 1:40pm and I'm going to pick them up at the airport. I hope they don't have too much luggage. I can't carry it for them and I don't know if there's room in my car!"

3. "Dr. Rosen, you have one patient left in the waiting room" "Can you please tell me about them?" "Sure. They have a stomach ache, they have an ear ache and they're complaining of a sore ankle; They rolled it while they were carrying the Torah during services!" "Okay, can you please let them know that I'll be with them shortly. They should take some pain relievers in the meantime and make sure their foot is elevated. The pain relievers should help them feel better soon." "Thank you, Dr. Rosen. I'll let them know."

4. Joey is excited to attend their first ever Shabbaton! They've been thinking about what it will feel like to be in a safe space where they can be both Jewish AND They're hoping to walk away from the weekend with lots of new friends. They are also excited to be away from home for a whole weekend! Their parents are very proud of them for putting themself out there to meet other teens. It's not always easy to be vulnerable but their parents recognize the importance of the this journey and exploration!

5. When Bloom was younger they loved going to summer camp! They loved the nature, the arts and the freedom that was available to them! They made a lot of friends, a lot of s'mores and a lot of crafts. After camp ended each summer, they made sure to keep in touch with all of their They quickly realized that camp was an awesome space to be themself and to make lifelong friends. As they grew older, they decided to dedicate their life to creating these safe spaces for all! Now they direct a Jewish overnight camp and they love it! They pour their heart, soul and all of their energy into creating a magical, safe and fun space for campers to be themselves!

6. Every day Dubbs is excited to work for Keshet. They love the work they get to do and the different communities they get to work with. They love the impact they make and their coworkers, too! Not only is Keshet doing important work for other organizations, it also gave Dubbs a chance to explore their identity in a safe way! So far during their time at Keshet, they explored different pronouns, different ways to identify and have become more confident and connected to their work because they finally feel 100% themself and confident in who they Thank you, Keshet, for giving them this incredible opportunity to be themself in the most authentic way possible!

SPEED CHEVRUTA ACTIVITY

Goals: (1) to practice and normalize sharing and asking pronouns and (2) to build empathy based on personal experiences of isolation/discrimination

Setup: Two rows of chairs facing each other (with or without table between)

Framing: "For many of us, sharing our pronouns and asking others' pronouns is a new convention. This activity will help us practice, as well as helping us reflect on our own experiences."

Directions: Ask participants to find a partner they don't know (or don't know well) and sit across from them. The beginning of each round will start with both partners introducing themselves with name, pronouns, and role/institution. (Remind folks that they should do this at the beginning of each round, even if they know the person across from them, since we're practicing using pronouns.) After the introductions, read aloud one of the following prompts (if possible, project prompt on presentation screen). Both partners should answer the question. After 2 minutes, yell "rotate" and have everyone move one chair to their right and repeat the process.

Talk about a time you have felt like an outsider?

When is a time you couldn't be your full self in a space/situation?

Have you ever had to keep part of yourself a secret for fear of rejection/violence?

Have you ever felt like there were structural barriers in place to keep you from succeeding?

Have you ever felt unsafe in public because of an identity?

Have you ever been barred from a space/activity/opportunity because of an identity?

Debrief: Remind folks to just share from their experiences and not their partners', since sometimes we are comfortable sharing a story with one person but not the entire room.

How did it feel to share your pronouns when you introduced yourself?

What question(s) really stuck out to you and why?

Was it difficult to think of answers to some of these questions? Which ones?

Did anything come up that you hadn't thought about before?

Closing: "Most people can relate to the feeling of being different or other at some point in their lives, but some people feel this otherness more than others. For transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people, this is something they face every day."

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What's in a Pronoun?: Resources and Activities on Third-Person, Gender- Neutral Pronouns - Keshet

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What's in a Pronoun?: Resources and Activities on Third-Person, Gender- Neutral Pronouns Assembled by Dubbs Weinblatt, Essie Shachar-Hill, and Jacob Klein WHAT'S A PRONOUN? Pronouns are words used to talk about a person instead of using that person's name. For example, instead of saying, "Moishe's challah is amazing because Moishe uses Moishe's own special recipe,"...

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How can I be an ally to transgender and nonbinary people?

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How can I be an ally to transgender and nonbinary people?

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This is a great resource for youth and adults alike on best allyship practices.

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Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Young People | The Trevor Project

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An introductory educational resource that covers topics and best practices on how to support transgender and nonbinary young people.

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In a press conference at True T Studios in Bloomfield this morning and surrounded by LGBTQ+ community members, medical professionals, and state Representative Sara Innamorato, state Representative Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, officially unveiled his "Protection of Patient Trust Act" Thursday. The ...

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QBurgh - LGBTQ Pittsburgh News & Community

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In a press conference at True T Studios in Bloomfield this morning and surrounded by LGBTQ+ community members, medical professionals, and state Representative Sara Innamorato, state Representative Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, officially unveiled his "Protection of Patient Trust Act" Thursday. The ...

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Kol Echad: A Guide for Jewish Institutions Interested in Becoming More Inclusive of LGBTQ Families - Keshet

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Suzanne Feinspan's handbook is meant to serve as a resource for Jewish institutions that are interested in becoming more welcoming and inclusive of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer Jews and their families. The guide provides a variety of ideas and strategies that can be implemented to make institutions more LGBTQ-friendly, as well as ideas of how to engage Jewish communities in the process of inclusion.

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The Jewish Queer Renaissance in Pittsburgh

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The Jewish Queer Renaissance in Pittsburgh

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PublicSource | News for a better Pittsburgh

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Centuries ago, Tu B'Av was a Jewish holiday for matchmaking. Today, if celebrated at all, the vibe tends to be more Valentine's Day-esque: it might involve singing, dancing, cards or flowers.

Or, at Moishe House Pittsburgh, reading queer Jewish love poems.

Moishe House is part of an international organization with communal houses in many cities. It subsidizes Jewish millennials' rent, and they in turn plan events for Jewish young adults.

It isn't officially a queer community, resident Kayla Reiman, 29, said. Anyone can live there, and Moishe House events cater to all audiences. Still, in recent years, most residents identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community - and that's special.

"When I'm exploring ritual with other queer people, there's just this sense of comfort," Reiman explained. "I don't need everyone to be queer. I just need to know this part of me is fully accepted."

Queer Jewish spaces are not new in Pittsburgh. The city's first LGBTQ+ Jewish congregation, Bet Tikvah, was founded in 1988 and is still active today.

Yet the needs of the LGBTQ+ Jewish community don't look the same today as they did in past generations, Bet Tikvah member Deb Polk said. Each generation builds upon the progress others have made, challenging norms within established communities and creating new spaces based on their concerns and interests. Today's young queer Jews are on the leading edge of a more inclusive future.

Beyond acceptance

It was Ami Weintraub's senior year at Pitt. Weintraub, who uses he and they pronouns, was working at Hebrew schools and the Jewish Community Center daycare and also coming into their trans identity.

People in those Jewish spaces weren't to make them uncomfortable. People were pretty trans-affirming, on the whole. But they felt out of place.

"I was different. And it's hard to be different," they said.

Their sense in queer spaces was similar. "I'm Jewish," Weintraub, 25, said. "It impacts the foods I eat, the culture that I have, the holidays I celebrate, the languages I speak." In queer communities, they often felt like they needed to leave that part of themself behind.

"It's like, where's my space? Where do I belong? How can I be whole?" they said.

Weintraub knew other young queer Jews could relate. They could point to blatant acts of transphobia, homophobia or antisemitism they had seen or experienced.

Yet many wouldn't call the Jewish community homophobic or transphobic on the whole, nor the queer community antisemitic. What many felt on a day-to-day basis was a subtler form of exclusion: the power of people's assumptions. People pictured Jewishness or queerness looking a certain way - white, cis and straight in the first case; white, secular and/or vaguely culturally Christian in the second - and queer Jews, especially queer Jews of color, didn't fit the mold. Queer concerns didn't map onto the unspoken "norm."

Some young queer Jews, like Shoshanna Barnett, have sought to challenge that norm within institutional spaces. Barnett, 35, is a member of Congregation Beth Shalom, an LGBTQ-affirming Conservative synagogue in Pittsburgh. As a bisexual woman married to a straight man, she can pass for straight - and sometimes in her past, it felt easier not to correct people when they assumed that. Now, she's speaking up.

Visibility is important, she said - and not just at isolated Pride events. When she was a kid growing up in a Jewish community, she was taught to think of sexuality like a flowchart: "OK, you like boys? So you're straight." She draws imaginary lines in the air to illustrate. "You like girls, then you're gay." At Beth Shalom, she's working to normalize other options.

As for Weintraub, they created a queer Jewish community.

With the help of grants from the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, they founded Shulayim L'Shalom in 2018, a queer Jewish youth group, and, more recently, Ratzon: Center for Healing and Resistance, a physical gathering space for queer Jewish young people and community activists.

Shulayim L'Shalom means "from margins to peace" or, in another translation, "from margins to wholeness." Ratzon is Hebrew for "yearning and possibility." The names speak to the spaces' purpose: to help people heal in community and resist unjust structures.

"Once we bring in the people from the margins, then we can all be complete and whole," they said.

Queering Judaism

Havdalah is a ritual of transition. It marks the close of Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath or day of rest, and the start of a new week.

Earlier this year, Congregation Dor Hadash in Pittsburgh hosted an event reflecting on Havdalah as a moment of both grief and celebration. One speaker talked about loss. Another talked about celebration. A third - Sai Koros, a member and the congregational manager at Dor Hadash - talked about transitioning between the two.

Koros, 24, sensed the intimacy of the topic. Havdalah is one of their favorite traditions. "It's like this really intensive sensory experience," they said. "You're supposed to smell besamim these herbs and spices, and light a candle and put your hands in front of you to watch the light come through." They pause to demonstrate, arms outstretched and fingers spread. "It's a very human and embodied ritual."

Koros' experience of transness - "this forever-transitional space" beyond masculinity and femininity - shaped and enriched their understanding of Havdalah. They could bring insights to the ritual, rooted in their bodily experience, that others wouldn't necessarily see.

For Weintraub of Ratzon, that's the exciting promise of queer Judaism within the larger Jewish community.

Queer Jews are "not just here to be helped," they said. They're bringing something to Judaism. They're "kind of creating a cultural renaissance." Rather than inventing something new, queer Jews are uncovering aspects of Judaism that were present but marginalized all along.

That queer Jewish renaissance can include fresh takes on old traditions.

Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife, co-founder and leader of the independent Jewish community Kesher Pittsburgh, recalls a wedding ceremony she attended. Although the officiant knew the couple well, the ceremony was formulaic and impersonal. "He officiated as if he had only met them that morning," said Fife, who uses she and they pronouns. When she became a Kohenet, a Hebrew priestess, she committed to doing things differently - to letting people "show up" in ceremonies or shape the character of rituals.

As a queer Jewish woman of color, inclusivity - "making space for people" - is a key part of that practice. It's why she uses nonbinary language to call people to the Torah and hosts gatherings that honor Indigenous lands and waters. People should get to be fully themselves "without having to advocate," she said.

Today's queer Jewish renaissance also involves fresh takes on old texts.

One of Olivia Devorah Tucker's most formative Jewish experiences was attending the international organziation SVARA's Queer Talmud Camp. Tucker, 28, worked with a study partner to interpret the Talmud, the ancient book of Jewish law, in its original Hebrew.

It was empowering, said Tucker. Something that had been historically closed off to queer people - this act of ascribing meaning - was now being made available to them. Tucker has since started working at SVARA's camp to help others have that experience.

"SVARA talks about a particular definition of queer, where your existence destabilizes the norms or the meta-narratives of society," Tucker said. To practice queer Judaism is to do this destabilizing work.

For Tucker, that inherently ties their queer and Jewish identity to political concerns - and further marginalizes them in religious communities that, for instance, rely upon police for security or are unwilling to discuss atrocities against Palestinians.

"And so we build our own spaces, right?"

The future is fluid

Rachel Kudrick was 21 years old when she came out. The year was 1989. At the time, she was a student at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and she began speaking on campus about being a lesbian.

"It was really ugly," she said. "I got death threats. I got rape threats. I was beaten up multiple times, and the police laughed at me when I tried to press charges."

Kudrick was a fundamentalist Christian at the time, and that further complicated matters.

"It was the late '80s. You know, it was very much still people saying AIDS is God's punishment for gays."

Kudrick didn't foresee converting to Judaism. For several years, she identified as an atheist. But she also had lingering questions about the divine and her identity, and, in Judaism, she found places to ask them.

"Within Judaism, it's like, if you're not questioning, what the hell's going on, you know? Like, we argue with God, that's what we do."

She started attending Temple Sinai in Pittsburgh and has found a supportive community there ever since.

"I feel incredibly welcomed," she said. "And not like, 'Well, we're welcoming you ' and not like, 'Well, we don't see that...'" Instead she feels valued for who she is.

Danielle, too, has felt affirmed and included in synagogue life, following a traumatic upbringing. Danielle, whose name has been changed for privacy reasons, grew up in a South American country where "boys were strongly preferred" to girls. Although she knew from age 3 that she was female, she was sent to an all-boys Catholic school, where she was bullied. Her mother screamed and spanked her when she spoke of being female. Her grandmother refused to hug her. She was sexually assaulted.

"It was like half my life that I didn't have any relationships," she said.

In 1999, when she was 22, Danielle performed an at-home surgery to rid her body of testosterone. She almost died. Her family then accepted her female identity and agreed to pay for her other transitional surgeries.

The experience made Danielle more religious. She felt the divine must have a purpose for her, providing these resources or support in her life.

She converted to Judaism. When Danielle moved to the Pittsburgh area in 2007, she felt welcomed into a local Conservative synagogue. The congregation members have taught her "the most amazing thing," she said. "Unconditional love."

As to her place in Pittsburgh's queer Jewish community, Danielle feels more hesitant. Trans women tend to politicize their identities in ways that don't align with her values, she said. "I am kind of an old-fashioned person. I am conservative. I believe in a traditional family."

One challenge for synagogues is to allow multiple narratives to be true. Today's young queer Jews may have different experiences or expectations than previous generations, Kudrick said. She sees millennials and Gen Zers pushing Judaism to grow in new directions - to become inclusive in ways she wouldn't have thought of.

For one thing, they now have the internet. "I always say it's pretty hard to find queer people in the wild," Koros said, grinning. "Even more so, if you want to find queer Jewish people."

With the help online spaces, young queer Jews can form local networks and then link them to national or international communities. As Fife suggests, this is especially important for queer Jews of color who may live in places where they feel isolated or tokenized. She is the lead facilitator for an online "LGBTQ+ Jewish Youth of Color" group, hosted by the organization Keshet.

They also foresee new possibilities, moving forward, to establish queer Jewish lineages.

Many queer Jews of previous generations have died, said Julie Mallis, City Director of Repair the World Pittsburgh. The AIDS crisis, police brutality, carceral violence, mental health challenges, a lack of access to housing and employment - all have been barriers to passing down queer Jewish traditions. Mallis hopes the present might catalyze a new era: a moment of richer, intergenerational community building.

Youth group leaders like Weintraub of Ratzon and Fife of Kesher Pittsburgh already see the next generations advancing new visions or expectations.

Fife described talking with her Sunday School students about the nonbinary nature of the world. "They got it so quickly, so easily," she said. "I didn't have to explain anything twice. I barely had to explain it."

For Tucker of SVARA, the key now is to let queer Judaism keep evolving.

"People are gonna be living authentically younger and younger," Tucker said. Today's queer Jewish leaders should be ready to adapt to the next generation's innovations - "whatever kind of hyper-gay they come up with."

Such change is good, they said, and natural.

"Why would you ever expect us to be the same kind of Jews that we were 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 100 or 200 years ago? Like, we're still Jews. It ought to look different."
Chris Hedlin is PublicSource's faith and religion reporter. She can be reached at This story was fact-checked by Chris Hippensteel. chris@publicsource.org or on Twitter @ChristineHedlin.

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Pittsburgh Judaism is undergoing a renaissance. Queer Jews are leading it.

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Centuries ago, Tu B'Av was a Jewish holiday for matchmaking. Today, if celebrated at all, the vibe tends to be more Valentine's Day-esque: it might involve singing, dancing, cards or flowers. Or, at Moishe House Pittsburgh, reading queer Jewish love poems. Moishe House is part of an international organization with communal houses in many cities.

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Even though Hebrew is traditionally a gendered language, there are ways to include nonbinary and genderqueer people in Hebrew language too!

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We are building a bigger tent for nonbinary Jews through a third-gender grammar systematics for Hebrew, guided by our Torah and Talmud that teach us to rejoice that which cannot be neatly categorized.

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SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva | Fall in Love with your Tradition.

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Learn with SVARA

There are many opportunities throughout the year to get some Talmud served up the old fashioned way-hardcore, queer, and radically inclusive-with SVARA! Below you'll find information about daily/weekly drop-in learning, as well as our lineup of upcoming multi-week classes. Check out what's comin' up at your favorite queer yeshiva, and we can't wait to welcome [...]

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There are many opportunities throughout the year to get some Talmud served up the old fashioned way-hardcore, queer, and radically inclusive-with SVARA! Below you'll find information about daily/weekly drop-in learning, as well as our lineup of upcoming multi-week classes. Check out what's comin' up at your favorite queer yeshiva, and we can't wait to welcome [...]