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“I’m beyond proud to be part of a
community that not only welcomes but
encourages LGBT youth to be who they
are ... ”
— NOAH EISENBERG
the rabbi asked members to spread
the word personally and on their
Facebook pages, and to share a link
to the sermon.
A few days after the sermon, the
inclusion com-
mittee sponsored
a well-attended
panel discussion
on “LGBTQ+ and
Judaism.” Speakers
included Sam
Dubin of NextGEN
Pride; Roz Keith
Rabbi Arnie
Sleutelberg
of Stand with
Trans; and Rabbi
Arnie Sleutelberg, rabbi emeritus
of Temple Shir Tikvah, and his hus-
band, Robert Crowe.
Sleutelberg said those in the
LGBTQ+ world appreciate Shaarey
Zedek’s efforts.
Many congregations over the
years have claimed to be welcoming
but were unwilling to permit what
he described as the “litmus test of
welcome,” same-sex weddings on
the bimah, he said. That Starr and
Rabbi Yonatan Dahlen will do such
weddings means “they are truly a
congregation of welcome,” he said.
Nicole Eisenberg’s son Noah,
19, said Shaarey
Zedek’s action is
“absolutely phe-
nomenal.”
“I’m beyond
proud to be part
of a community
that not only wel-
comes but encour-
Noah Eisenberg
ages LGBT youth
to be who they are
and does not condemn them for
things beyond their control,” said
Eisenberg, who will be a sopho-
more musical theater student at
University of Michigan in the fall.
“Growing up as a gay person,
I never really knew how Shaarey
Zedek felt about homosexuality and
what stance it would take if I were
to ever marry a man. Starting the
dialogue can only do good things,
and I am overjoyed that it’s begun.”
Shaarey Zedek Sisterhood
Co-President Karen Couf-Cohen of
Franklin said Starr’s sermon sim-
ply puts into words the values that
Shaarey Zedek has
long supported.
“We are respon-
sive to the world
around us and
continue to grow as
a community,” she
Karen Couf-Cohen
said.
Fishman says
outreach to the LGBTQ+ communi-
ty is just the beginning and that the
congregation’s inclusion committee
will look at ways to welcome other
Jews who may feel marginalized,
such as those who are intermarried,
single or divorced. The commit-
tee’s next project will be ensuring
that the synagogue building is fully
wheelchair-accessible. “Members
might see us cruising the halls in
wheelchairs,” she said.
Other Conservative rabbis agree
with a policy of inclusion.
“At Congregation
Beth Shalom, we
have been welcom-
ing to the LGBTQ
community for
years,” said Rabbi
Robert Gamer. “We
have families that
are intermarried
Rabbi Robert
that have celebrat-
Gamer
ed b’nai mitzvah
here; we just partnered with SPARC
(a single parent group) for Shavuot,
and we have a special reader’s table
so we can do Torah readings off the
bimah to welcome and accommo-
date people that cannot walk stairs.”
Congregation
B’nai Moshe’s rabbi,
Shalom Kantor,
said he will con-
tinue to engage in
“radical hospitality.”
“As members of
the Jewish commu-
nity we are expect-
Rabbi Shalom
ed to recognize and
Kantor
respect the spark
of the Divine inside every human
being,” he said. “We must do every-
thing we can, within our communal
halachic boundaries to ensure that
there is a place in our community
for anybody actively seeking to con-
nect with God, holiness and the
Jewish community.” •
jn
June 21 • 2018
19