The Shabbat Walk That Changed My Life
On a rainy night in late April 2022, nine years into living in Chicago, I took the bus to a Shabbat dinner in nearby Andersonville that would change my life.
Topic: LGBTQIA+
15 results
Living with Hope and Pride
“Hope will never be silent.” The gay Jewish American who spoke these words, Harvey Milk, is the kind of mensch I aspire to be in my journey as a queer Jew. By living my queer and Jewish identities proud and out loud, I honor not only Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay man […]
Reflections from a Hillel Intern on Pride Month
This year, Pride Month coincides with the reading of Sefer BaMidbar, the Book of Numbers. At the outset of the book, we learn that God spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert, a topic addressed by the rabbis in BaMidbar Rabbah, an 11th century book of midrash, or rabbinic allegory. Why did God choose to […]
At FSU Hillel, Every Experience is Welcome
Every Springboard Fellow brings something unique and special to the fellowship that makes the impact of their work meaningful to their students. For Urban Seiberg (they/them), a First Year Springboard Fellow at Florida State University (FSU) Hillel, their unique contribution is being a supporter of queer Jewish students on campus and being a safe resource […]
Jewish Agency Israel Fellow Spotlight: Yonatan Eyov
But I love Israel, and sharing that love has always been so important to me, so when my friend came back to me a few months later and told me that Stanford University was looking for an Israel Fellow at the last minute, I decided to apply. A month and a half later, I was settling into California life.
I embrace my Jewish, queer, and Mexican identities whenever I walk into a space.
I am Jewish, queer, and Mexican. So often, trying to hold all three of these identities at once is challenging. But I didn’t have to try when I went on Birthright Israel with Santa Barbara Hillel. I was able to embrace and celebrate every part of myself.
Bisexual Representation Matters: Jacob’s Story
There are definitely moments within the LGBTQ community where I don’t feel accepted as Jewish, and within the Jewish community where I don’t feel accepted as queer. But what I think is really special about Hillel’s Nice Jewish Queers (NJQ), is that at the same time I’m really able to be accepted as both.
Grappling with the Complexities of Black, Queer and Jewish
“My first Hillel dinner at school was when I was a prospective student. My host’s name was Dana, and she, along with the people I met that weekend, are the reason I’m here. From the moment I stepped into the admissions building to check-in, I felt welcomed and loved, and it continued throughout the rest […]
I have always felt welcomed and accepted — no matter what.
I am a disabled, queer Jew with invisible disabilities such as ADHD—and I have faced a lot of challenges and successes with my identity. I struggled a lot with self-acceptance and finding a balance between my Judaism and two other identities that aren't often discussed in the Jewish community.
I was scared my Jewish community wouldn’t accept me when I came out as trans.
“When I first came out as trans, I was really scared that I wouldn’t be accepted by my Jewish community.”
