Nehirim is a Jewish organization, but many of our participants do not identify as religious.  We welcome cultural Jews, questioning Jews, secular Jews, and confused Jews.

Religion and spirituality are central parts of what we do, but we are not coercive in any way, and non-religious folks will find plenty of people like them at every Nehirim retreat.  Religiously speaking, a Nehirim retreat is among the most Jewishly pluralistic places you’ll ever find: we have secular and cultural Jews, we have Orthodox Jews, including some Hasidim; we have conservative, Reform, and non-denominational Jews, we have Reconstructionist Jews, and Renewal Jews; we have Jews by choice, questioning Jews, and atheist Jews. We truly have Jews of all stripes and ethnicities, and a large number of multi-faith families whom we fully welcome and include.

In terms of our own religious practice, our retreats feature traditional davening (prayer) and learning, as well as alternative spiritual practices, such as meditation and yoga. Our workshops range from innovative panels on queer theory to beit midrash (traditional Jewish school) style of learning. We are proud to have many queer Jews who are doing their first “Jewish thing” in decades—and we are careful to translate and transliterate all the Hebrew we use.

What if I’m not Jewish?

First, Nehirim welcomes non-Jewish family members or partners of any retreat participant.  Studies of the LGBT Jewish community shows that we have more multifaith families than the Jewish community in general, and Nehirim is fully welcoming and inclusive of such families (including couples, however defined).

Second, if you are in or exploring a conversion process, you are also very welcome to join us.  Chances are, you will find other future- or potential- Jews by choice at our retreats.  Definitely, you will find those who have made the choice already!

Third, if you identify as Jewish, you are very welcome to join us, even if that identification may not be recognized by all Jews (e.g. if your father but not your mother is Jewish).  Nehirim does not have a halachic standard of Jewishness which participants must meet.  If you identify as Jewish, that is good enough for us.

So what about everyone else?  While Nehirim is a Jewish organization, there is no “test.”  We do use first-person plural language (“we”) to talk about Jewish identity, and we do affirmatively make a default assumption that that identity is shared by most if not all retreat participants.  It is a “Jewish retreat.”  However, non-Jews are welcome to join our community, as long as this understanding of ‘Jewish space’ is maintained.  As you may know, proselytizing to non-Jews is forbidden by Jewish law, and we respect that norm.  However, if you feel yourself called to a Nehirim retreat, rest assured that you are welcome to join us, and that no one from Nehirim will treat you any differently from our other participants.  Inclusion is what we are about!

At our gender-specific retreats (i.e. men’s and women’s), we invite people to self-define their gender.  If you identify as a man or a woman, please come to the right retreat for you.   These retreats are organized by gender, not by sex or anatomy.  If you identify as neither a man nor a woman, you are welcome to come to the retreat, with the understanding that we’ll use the pronoun “we” to refer to the community of men or women (as appropriate) and hold that gender identity in common.

At all our retreats, we include guidelines on creating safe space (assumptions, pronouns, consent, privacy, etc.) in our retreat packets, and have a zero-tolerance policy for transphobia.  That’s not to say that every retreat participant lives up to our ideals; probably at least one person will say something inappropriate at some point, at which point our retreat staff would be happy to engage that person in a supportive conversation about inclusion.

Beyond inclusion, we are interested in celebrating the distinctive perspectives and gifts of genderqueer folk to the Jewish community.  We’re proud to have faculty members like Noach Dzmura, author of Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in the Jewish Community, and transgender pioneer Dr. Joy Ladin.  If you are genderqueer and planning to come to a Nehirim retreat, we want to encourage you to offer a workshop or share your story with our participants.

Queer Shabbaton New York 2011

October 28-30

JCC in Manhattan in New York City.

Click Here to Register

The Nehirim Queer Shabbaton, now in its fifth year, is a weekend of queer Jewish culture, creativity, and politics.   This year, the Queer Shabbaton features high-profile political sessions, an awesome Saturday night party, and lots of nice (and not-so-nice) Jewish boys, girls, and the rest of us. Highlights this year include:

The “Nehiween” Costume Ball, Saturday night featuring SCHMEKEL (100% Transgender, 100% Jewish buffet of punk, klezmer, jazz, rock and polka).  Bring a costume!

Kate Bornstein, one of the true pioneers of the queer universe (really), will be giving a talk on Saturday morning.

A Marriage Panel Saturday afternoon, featuring representatives from the Human Rights Campaign, Empire State Pride Agenda, and Congregation Beth Simchat Torah.   What is the relationship of same-sex marriage to other LGBT equality issues?  What’s next in other states?  How was the NY marriage battle won?

An all-star panel on Religion and Gay Rights featuring Nehirim’s founder, Jay Michaelson, in conversation with Ross Murray of GLAAD and Marc Solomon of Freedom to Marry.

Plus Nehirim favorites like Shoshana Jedwab and Jill Hammer and retreat directors Dr. Zvi Bellin and Marlene Rachelle.

By the way, all photos on this page are from last year’s Shabbaton.

Pricing

After October 15: $225

Prices include all meals and program costs for the shabbaton.  Housing is on your own.

Click Here to Register

Housing & Location

The Queer Shabbaton will be held at the JCC in Manhattan, at 334 Amsterdam Ave. (at 76th St.).  Need a ride? Need a place to stay? Want to offer a ride or a place to stay? Check out our Ride & Housing Boards by clicking here.

Financial Assistance

Financial aid for the Queer Shabbaton has been used up. Thank you to all who applied!

This Year’s Schedule

Friday, Oct. 28

430  Registration opens
530 Directors’ Welcome and Candle Lighting
545 Welcoming Shabbat with Jill and Shoshana
730 Shabbat Dinner
900 Small Groups
1000 Friday Evening Workshops
1100 Friday Night Tisch, 12 Step Meeting

Saturday, Oct 29

900 Breakfast and Women’s Table
1015 Kate Bornstein, The Tao of Mitzvah, Sabbath & Bodhisattva
Shacharit at area shuls
1145 Shabbat Lunch
100 Afternoon session 1
 Fact and Fiction: Storytelling for GLBT Jews (Wayne Hoffman)
The Music of Kabbalah (Neil Manel Frau-Cortes)
Relational Community Organizing for LGBTQ Inclusion (Joanna Ware)
215 Afternoon session 2
What Comes After Marriage? (Gabriel Blau, Sharon Groves, Jay Michaelson)
Jewish Dreamwork 101 (Rabbi Jill Hammer)
345 Afternoon session 3
When Men Menstruated: Midrashic Histories of Gender (Raphael Magarik)
TBA (Nathan Schaefer)
500 Small groups
545 Dinner
730 Havdalah on the Roof (Chani Getter & Shoshana Jedwab)
830 Nehiween Costume Party featuring Schmekel

Sunday, Oct 30

830 Coffee
915 Sunday morning session
Freedom & Responsibility (Zvi Bellin)
Ritual workshop (Rafael Magarik)
1030 Sunday brunch session: Religion’s Role in the LGBT Rights Movement (Jay Michaelson, Ross Murray, and Marc Solomon)
1200 Closing program

Program Directors

Dr. Zvi Bellin, Retreat Co-Director is the Engagement Associate for Nehirim and is responsible for pastoral counseling, community relations, and programming at Nehirim retreats. He leads workshops and directs retreats that integrate body-heart-mind-soul in a variety of spiritual and religious contexts. Zvi earned a PhD in Pastoral Counseling and an M.A. in Counseling and Guidance. He is a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance. He has worked as a therapist in a number of mental health settings, and has interned as a Psychiatric Chaplain. In addition to his work with Nehirim, Zvi is the Director of Jewish Education for Moishe House.

Marlene Rachelle is our New York City Progam Director at Nehirim and the Co-Director of Queer Shabbaton New York. Marlene received an MA in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary with a concentration in informal and communal education.  She went back to school after leaving her position as Senior Producer at MTV Networks where she had worked for over ten years. She was an Education Intern at the JCC in Manhattan’s Family Life and Community Programs department where she designed programs for the LGBTQ community. She is the former Communications Manager at Nehirim.  Marlene lives in Manhattan with her wife Laurel and their son Eli.

Featured Presenter

Kate Bornstein is a fierce advocate for youth and “gender outlaws.” She is a Jewish transgender author, playwright, performance artist and gender theorist. Born Albert Bornstein, Kate was raised in a Conservative Jewish community in New Jersey. She is best known for her groundbreaking books Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us, My Gender Workbook and Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws.Her many plays and performance pieces explore queer identity and the rigid binary system of gender and sexuality that reinforce homophobia and transphobia.

LGBT Activism Panelists

Kate McDonough is the Lead Organizer for the Empire State Pride Agenda. Based in New York City, Kate helps coordinate statewide campaigns to win equality and justice for LGBT New Yorkers and our families. Recently, Kate ran the Pride Agenda’s organizational wide marriage campaign. In addition, Kate oversees the Pride Agenda’s Pride in the Pulpit program, which empowers religious leaders throughout the state to voice support for LGBT equality as well as providing necessary tools for faith based organizations to become more accepting and open to the LGBT community.

 Jay Michaelson’s new book,  God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality, has been called “a salvo in the case for equality” by Publisher’s Weekly and has earned rave reviews from Michael Musto, Lambda Literary Review, Edge, and a wide variety of other publications. The founding director of Nehirim, Jay is currently Associate Editor of Religion Dispatches magazine and Contributing Editor to the Forward.  He was recently included on the “Forward 50″ list of the fifty most influential Jewish leaders in America.

Ross Murray is the Director of Religion, Faith and Values at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).  The Religion, Faith & Values team works with denominational groups and faith leaders to help elevate their voices in the mainstream media, and works with both mainstream and faith based media outlets to ensure that the stories of inclusive faith leaders and communities appear in the media.  Prior to GLAAD, Ross was Deputy Director of Lutherans Concerned North America.
Marc Solomon is one of the nation’s most important leaders in advancing the freedom of gay and lesbian couples to marry.  Solomon presently serves as national campaign director for Freedom to Marry.  Marc guides the strategy to win more states, grow public support, and end the federal government’s denial of recognition to same-sex couples.   Solomon co-led New Yorkers United for Marriage, the coalition that partnered with Governor Andrew Cuomo to pass the marriage equality law in New York.  As executive director of MassEquality, Solomon led the campaign to defeat two constitutional amendments in Massachusetts, the first freedom to marry state in the nation. Solomon has consulted with state-wide equality organizations in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, and with organizations in Ireland and Singapore.  He also served as marriage director of Equality California.   An attendee of observant day school through middle school in Kansas City, Solomon was the recipient of Keshet’s first Chacham Lev award.

Gabriel Blau is the Director of Development and Communications of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, activist, teacher and author. A member of the advisory board of The LGBT Religious Archives Network and Nehirim and a long time activist and teacher in the LGBT Jewish community, Gabriel has spoken and taught around the country and in Israel, including at Machon Schechter in Jerusalem, Yale University, Columbia Univsersity and the Rothko Chapel in Houston. The founder of the God & Sexuality Conference and founding member of JQYouth, Gabriel has served on numerous committees and groups to organize for the needs of LGBTQ Jews.  Gabriel studied theology at Bard College and the Conservative Yeshiva.

Pete Webb is a member of the Board of Governors of the Human Rights Campaign.  He is a longtime community activist working for LGBT civil rights and equality issues, and has been involved with HRC for nearly twenty years.

Faculty

Rabbi Jill Hammer, Ph.D. is the Chair of the Board of Directors of Nehirim.  She is Director of Spiritual Education at the Academy of Jewish Religion, as well as the director and co-founder of Tel Shemesh, a website celebrating and creating Jewish earth-based traditions, and the co-founder of Kohenet, a program in earth-based and embodied Jewish spiritual leadership for women.  She is the author of The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for All Seasons (2006) and Sisters at Sinai: New Tales of Biblical Women (2001). Rabbi Hammer teaches in Manhattan and around the country on ancient and contemporary midrash, bibliodrama, ritual-making, the Divine Feminine, and the cycles of Jewish time. She received a doctorate in social psychology from the University of Connecticut in 1996 and was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2001.

Wayne Hoffman is author of two novels with GLBT and Jewish themes, Sweet Like Sugar and Hard, and editor of the anthologyWhat We Brought Back: Jewish Life After Birthright. His short fiction and personal essays have appeared in such anthologies asBest Gay Stories 2010, I Like It Like That, Mama’s Boy, and Generation Q. A longtime journalist, he has served as editor of theNew York Blade and The Forward, and has written for such publications as the Washington Post, Village Voice, The Nation, andThe Advocate. He is deputy editor of Nextbook Press, which publishes the Jewish Encounters book series. He lives in New York City and the Catskills.

Shoshana Jedwab is an award-winning Jewish educator and “primal percussionist.” She drums for Kirtan Rabbi, Congregation Romemu, Chana Rothman, Storahtelling, earth-based celebrations, healing circles, retreats, shamans, and synagogues. Shoshana has taught Jewish Studies to adults, adolescents and teens for more than twenty years and serves as the Middle School Jewish Studies Coordinator at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in New York City..  She has trained in bibliodrama and psychodrama and is on the faculty of Kohenet, Nehirim, and Storahtelling where she co-creates ritual experience and embodied prayer, and serves as sacred drummer. Her first cd Kirtan Rabbi Live is available in the Isabella Freedman bookstore. More info: shoshanajedwab.com.

Neil Manel Frau-Cortes works as a music teacher and a cantor in central Pennsylvania. After studying at the Professional Conservatory of Palma and Taller de Musics of Barcelona, Neil earned an MA in Hebrew Linguistics (U. Barcelona), MA in Jewish Music (Gratz College), and Cantorial investiture (RRC). A published translator and music scholar, he is expected to defend his doctoral dissertation in early 2012. Neil is passionate about Sephardic music, Jewish mysticism, jam sessions, and languages. More information at www.manelfrau.info

As Keshet’s Lead Organizer and Training Coordinator, Joanna Ware employs grassroots community organizing strategies to build powerful communities of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and allied people working for justice, equality, and the full inclusion of LGBT people in the Jewish world. In Massachusetts, Joanna directs Keshet’s organizing in the Jewish community on behalf of gender justice and trans equality, and represents Keshet on the Interfaith Coalition for Trans Equality. Joanna’s academic background is in gender studies, middle east studies, and politics, and she joined Keshet in 2009 with experience in Jewish youth work and informal education, anti-violence and anti-sexism education and prevention, policy advocacy, and community organizing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You’re Invited to the 3^rd Annual Erev Rosh HaShana Dinner for LGBTQI Folks, Friends, Family and Allies

Co-sponsored by

Kolot Chayeinu Synagogue

&

Nehirim:  GLBT Jewish Culture and Spirituality

September 28th at Baluchi’s Indian Restaurant

310 5th Avenue in Brooklyn

Open at 5:00pm

Let’s celebrate friendships and community.

Let’s strengthen and grow the Kolot & Nehirim communities.

We hope you can attend, invite friends, family and allies who might be interested in being a part of Kolot Chayeinu & Nehirim or to just enjoy a festival meal together before services.

                         

 You Must RSVP:  emma@nehirim.org or 718-930-5191

You may pay ONLINE or at the DOOR.  Click here to pay NYCharities.org

Baluchi’s Indian Food at 310 5^th Avenue, Brooklyn

September 28, 2010 Doors Open at 5:00pm, Dinner at 5:30pm

Kolot Chayeinu Rosh HaShana Services in walking distance at Mission for Today, 8:00pm

Kolot Chayeinu/Voices of Our Lives welcomes one and all to its open High Holy Day services in Park Slope. You don’t need tickets and attendance is free, although donations are encouraged. For the first time in our 18-year history, we will have two evening services to accommodate as many people as possible. There will be more room at the earlier services. For more information see our brochure by clicking  on the Holydays picture on our homepage:   http://www.kolotchayeinu.org/

Please let us know which evening service you will attend at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Holydays5772

Kolot Chayeinu is a progressive Jewish congregation in Brooklyn, where doubt can be an act of faith and all hands are needed to build our community. As individuals of varying sexual orientations, gender identities, races, family arrangements, and Jewish identities and backgrounds, we share a commitment to the search for meaningful expressions of our Judaism in today’s uncertain world.

COST:

29.00 per person buffet plus soft drink, tax/tip included

14.50 for Children

For children Baluchi’s can even provide non-Indian alternative such as chicken. 

You need to let us know.

Please let us know about any Food Needs:

Dietary?

Vegetarian?

Allergies?

Let us know your dietary needs.

We will need to know as soon as possible.

www.baluchis.net

 

Sliding Scale:  Adults, $29, $36, $54
Kids, 12 and under- $14.50, $22, $40

We realize that these continue to be tough economic times.
We are asking LGBTQI folks, family and friends who can to provide a fund for those who cannot afford the dinner.  If you can pay $36, $54 (for adults) or $22 (for kids)If you want to come and cannot afford the meal please contact us (strictly confidential) emma@nehirim.org  or 718-930-5191

Any extra funds will go toward future LGBTQI events at Kolot.

Come Celebrate the New Year!

You Must RSVP! You may pay ONLINE or at the DOOR.  

Click here to pay NYCharities.org

Please let us know how many are in your party adults, children.
If you can help pay for someone’s meal please let us know that also.

emma@nehirim.org  or 718-930-5191

 

Menu

APPETIZERS

Bhel Puri

Chat Papri

Pakoras

Chicken Tikka

 

ENTREES

Chicken Tikka Masala

Lamb RoganJosh

Saag Panir

Channa Masala

 

SIDES

RiceNaan/Mini

Poori

Salad

Raita

 

DESSERTS

Choice of

Rice Pudding

or Gulab Jamun

or Carrot Pudding

pick one please

 

www.baluchis.net  for menu descriptions

 

Drinks

Pepsi/Diet Pepsi/Pink Lemonade/Iced Tea (sweetened and unsweetened)/Ginger Ale/Sprite/Seltzer

Cash Bar

Tree of Life

Monday, August 15 (Tu B’Av)

92YTribeca (200 Hudson St.)

6:30 pm doors open, 7 pm performance

$10 admission
Tickets available via 92YTribeca website:http://www.92y.org/Tribeca/tickets/production.aspx?pid=76530

Join the award-winning Amy Klein and other storytellers for an evening of celebration and hope!

Following the recent victory for marriage equality in New York, you’re invited to celebrate and support freedom of marriage for all on the Jewish holiday of love, Tu B’Av.

We’ve come a long way on marriage equality in both the US and Israel, but there’s still much to be done! In the US, only 7 states recognize same-sex marriage and there is no  federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

And on this same day, Tu B’Av, hundreds of supporters of marriage equality will gather in Tel Aviv for a public    wedding serving as a protest against the country’s lack of civil marriage that leaves 300,000 Israelis unable to marry.

Co-sponsored by the 92YTribeca, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the Foundation for Jewish Culture, Keshet, Kol Zimra, Nehirim, the Reform Jewish Voice of New York State, and more.

LGBT Scholoarships available for the Hazon Food Conference West!
August 18-21, 2011 • UC Davis, California

Scholarships will be awarded on a rolling basis, first come-first served as long as we have funds available or until July 15th.  We will contact you within one week of receiving your application to notify you if we’re able to award you a scholarship.  Please do not register for the conference until you’ve heard from us.

To enable Hazon to accommodate the most people and to create a greater sense of community among scholarship recipients, they will be placed in shared rooms of 2 people (recipients who are attending with their families/ partners will be placed in a shared room with their family/partner).

Nehirim West Gathering is a shabbaton (think “weekend get-away”) composed of heartfelt connection, soulful community and spiritual conversation, culture, food, fun for LGBT Jews, partners, and allies. We’re meeting at the Asilomar Conference Center on the shoreline of the Monterey peninsula, beautiful, dramatic, and very relaxing.

The Gathering is currently SOLD OUT and registration is closed. If you  have any questions please contact the Nehirim Office at (212) 908-2515 or Retreat Director, Rabbi David Dunn Bauer at david@nehirim.org. Thanks!

The Gathering is co-sponsored by Congregation Netivot Shalom, Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, LGBT Alliance, Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund, Progressive Jewish Alliance, Jewish Fund for Justice, Keshet and other friends.

Click here to register 

WHEN?  Friday to Sunday, November 11-13, 2011.

WHO?   We will create a relaxed and intimate community of 35-40 LGBTQ Jews, partners and allies, age 18 and up.  There’s always a smattering of nice Jewish boys and good Jewish girls…in addition to all the rest of us. Nehirim gathers secular and religious Jews, our partners of other faiths, and our straight allies. Nehirim is nondenominational, non-coercive, and inclusive of all generations, gender identities, and political persuasions. Whoever you are, there are people like you at Nehirim and people who aren’t like you but whom you really want to meet!

WHAT? We provide programming to take care of your body (daily yoga and movement time and lots of good food), your mind (best conversation to be had west of the San Gregorio Fault), and spirit (Shabbat services filled with music and meditation).  One of the conversations we’ll be having this November considers two of the most important positive changes in queer Jewish life: the increased recognition and inclusion of transfolk and same-sex marriage rights. How do these sought-after, hard-won blessings change the shape and trajectory of the queer Jewish community? How do we see ourselves as a community now and for the future?

We’ll talk a little about that, talk a little about Israel. We’ll swap brisket recipes and dating stories We’ll relax from a hard week of work (or searching for work…it’s 2011, people!), and rest up before the challenges of Thanksgiving and Chanukah descend upon us.

Leaders and teachers include Dr. Zvi Bellin, Lisa Finkelstein, Reb Irwin Keller, Sasha T. Goldberg, Liora O’Donnell Goldensher, Sam Goldman, and Susie Kisber!

PARTICPATE: The Gathering is community-led, and teaching opportunities are available. What would you like to teach or share? Our presenters come from a broad range of religious and secular backgrounds. Rabbis, drag queens, university professors, queer activists — some of the most innovative and interesting queer Jewish folks from Northern (and even Southern!!!) California.

HOW MUCH?     Note:  Early Bird Specials End October 17, 2011

1. Early Bird Special Single Room : $425
2. Single Room: $475
3. Early Bird Special Double Room (per-person) : $325
4. Double Room (per-person): $375
5. Early Bird Special Triple Room (per-person) : $200
6. Triple Standard Room (fee is per-person) : $250
7. Scholarship Rate (requires code): $100 

Financial Aid:   We have financial aid available on a rolling basis for those who need it.  The Deadline for Financial Aid Applications is October 14, 2011. Click Here for Financial Aid Application.

CLICK HERE to register.

David Dunn Bauer

Rabbi David Dunn Bauer is the founder and coordinator of “The Jewish Queer Sexual Ethics Project” at the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at Pacific School of Religion. With over 20 years of professional theatre experience, 9 years in the congregational rabbinate, and 20 years of yoga practice, and years of academic study on sexuality and spirituality, David is a unique pastoral counselor, ritual leader, community leader, scholar, artist, and writer who works comfortably with people of all faiths and ages.

He earned his BA in Theatre Studies and English Literature at Yale University, studied Talmud at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and received his rabbinical ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. In 2011 he became the first Jew to earn the Certificate in Sexuality and Religion from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. He interned at Congregation CBST in NYC, and served as a student rabbi at both congregations and nursing homes for three years of his rabbinical studies. From 2003 to 2010 he served as the rabbi and spiritual leader of the Jewish Community of Amherst, in Amherst Massachusetts.

With Michael Cohen he created Celebrating the Body Judaic – a Body Electric retreat for Gay and Bisexual Jewish men – and he has taught about eros and spirituality for Jewish, queer, and retirement communities around the United States, and at dozens of retreats and workshops. His essay “Man-Boy and Daddy-God: The SM Dynamic in Ezekiel’s Call and Commissioning” is being published this year in Queer Religion, Vol. 2, edited by Donald Boisvert and Jay Emerson Johnson. Based in San Francisco, he serves as the Bay Area Director of Programming for Nehirim in addition to maintaining his private practice in Queer Spiritual Counseling (www.queerspiritualcounseling.com).

Workshop Leaders

As the LGBT director, Lisa Finkelstein works to build and sustain a more inclusive and welcoming Jewish community with the San Francisco based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund. Through her community experiences teaching, organizing and building several nonprofit organizations, Lisa has focused her career on the values of social justice. To develop a deeper understanding of the social and economic issues facing her local community, she is participating in the 2012 class of Leadership San Francisco, a Chamber of Commerce program. She is also a proud member of Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, serves on the board of the National Union for LGBT Jewish University Students (NUJLS) and holds a Masters in Nonprofit Management from Regis University.

 

Dr. Zvi Bellin is the Engagement Associate for Nehirim and is responsible for pastoral counseling, community relations, and programming at Nehirim retreats. He leads workshops and directs retreats that integrate body-heart-mind-soul in a variety of spiritual and religious contexts. Zvi earned a PhD in Pastoral Counseling and an M.A. in Counseling and Guidance. He is a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance. He has worked as a therapist in a number of mental health settings, and has interned as a Psychiatric Chaplain. In addition to his work with Nehirim, Zvi is the Director of Jewish Education for Moishe House.

 

 

Some have said Irwin Keller leads a double life, but he sees it as one extra large one.  Irwin is best known as “Winnie” of the Kinsey Sicks, America’s Favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet. He co-founded the award-winning group almost 18 years ago, and continues to be a singer, comedian, writer, composer and musical arranger for what is probably the longest-running queer performance troupe in history. The Kinsey Sicks have released 7 albums and are the subjects of 2 feature films. In December they will tour their seasonal Jewish-angst musical, “Oy Vey in a Manger,” and in February they will premiere their election year show, “Electile Dysfunction: Kinsey Sicks for President,” at Washington DC’s Theater J.

When in flats, Irwin serves as Spiritual Leader and Shaliach Tzibur of Congregation Ner Shalom of Cotati, CA, a small but plucky Reconstructionist community in Sonoma County. Many of his drashot – about Torah, Israel, God, Bad Jews, disillusionment, hope and life on the fringe — can be read on his blog, Itzik’s Well (http://itzikswell.blogspot.com).

Long ago Irwin studied Hebrew, Aramaic, Yiddish and a range of Jewish and Near Eastern studies at University of Chicago and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has worked as a Jewish educator, teen programmer and cantorial soloist. He is also an official “Maven,” trained by the good people at Storahtelling. Irwin also has a secret past as a lawyer. He authored Chicago’s Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Ordinance, passed into law in 1989, and served as Executive Director of the AIDS Legal Referral Panel of the San Francisco Bay Area. Irwin lives in Penngrove with his partner, another couple, and the two kids they raise together.

 

Susie Kisber has been creating and participating in the vibrant Bay Area Jewish Queer community for over 20 years. She was a founding member and leader of the East Bay Chavurah, Queer Minyan, & Pardes Rimonim: a Jewish feminist, earth-centered, multicultural ritual community. She has also been involved in progressive Queer Jewish community nationally and internationally as an activist, author, and collector of liturgy. She is also a psychologist at UC Davis Counseling & Psychological Services.

 

 

Sasha Goldberg is an experienced Jewish scholar, educator, and community organizer. She holds a Master’s Degree in Judaism from the Graduate Theological Union, and has taught nationally on the intersections of various cultural, social, sexual, and religious identities. Prior to joining Keshet in 2011, Sasha had a long tenure as the Associate Director of Nehirim; her work history also includes teaching in K-12 religious schools, leading Jewish teen retreats, and working with a wide variety of Jewish organizations in the Bay Area. When not doing all things Jewish, Sasha enjoys Butch community, mid-century design, and her very good dog, Phinneas.

 

Liora O’Donnell Goldensher is the Bay Area organizer with the Progressive Jewish Alliance and Jewish Funds for Justice.  A recent transplant from Boston, Liora comes most recently from the world of union organizing and is thrilled to be pursuing building and mobilizing the power of justice-oriented Jewish community for change.  When not organizing, Liora likes very much to bake complex yeasted things (preferably stuffed), read novels about people with emotionally complex lives and ride long distances on an old bicycle.

 

 

Sam Goldman is the California Program Director at the Conservation Lands Foundation where he works to protect the lands and waters of rural California.  Sam has worked on Conservation and political campaigns since 2004. Sam is member of Chochmat HaLev in Berkeley and an active member of the volunteer leadership team of Wilderness Torah.  Wilderness Torah is a Bay Area based organization working to reconnect Judaism to the earth, spirit, community and ourselves.  Sam is a member of the current Wexner Heritage Program.  Sam is an avid backcountry skier, rock climber, and hiker.

 

 

Talya Husbands-Hankin is a nice Jewish girl with a passion for
justice. Born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, she has been a part of
Jewish Renewal communities since childhood. A visual and community
artist, Talya brings over 15 years of experience in community
organizing, leadership development, training & facilitation, and
grassroots social change. Her work has focused on immigrant justice,
queer and transgender rights, interfaith organizing, and young
peoples’ leadership development. Talya is an alum of the Jewish
Organizing Initiative fellowship program in Boston and has worked with
a variety of Jewish groups, including Jews for Racial & Economic
Justice and AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps in New York. After many
years in Brooklyn and Oregon, Talya is thrilled to be making her new
home in the Bay Area, where she recently served as the Director of
Community Building at Chochmat HaLev in Berkeley. Currently, she
serves on the Progressive Jewish Alliance and Jewish Funds for Justice
Bay Area Regional Council and teaches Hebrew school at Kehilla
Community Synagogue. Talya is also a consultant with The Welcoming
Synagogues Project, a national pilot program through the Reform
Movement that is developing a curriculum to support LGBTQ inclusion in
congregations.

Join a unique journey through Israel for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Jews, partners, and allies.

Our journey together will offer a rich mix of experiences:

Connection
Build bridges with Israel’s vibrant and diverse LGBTQ communities, organizations, leaders, artists,and change makers. Meet with members and leaders of Palestinian LGBTQ organizations to hear their stories and experiences. Connect with each other, make new friends and reconnect with old ones.

Spirituality
Create spiritual community through prayer and contemporary spiritual practices nourished by the wealth of past traditions in the land where they originated. Meet Israel’s most innovative spiritual leaders and connect with the vibrant heart of, progressive Israeli spirituality. On Shabbat we will offer prayer services for varying types of observance, and options such as meditation and walks.

Inclusion
Together we will form a vibrant community of Jews and partners of all religious streams and none, of diverse political perspectives, and of all sexual and gender identities.

Exploration
There will be wilderness experiences and urban adventures. We will spend one Shabbat in the desert and another in Tel Aviv, and will visit many other places. Most importantly, we’ll have a great time!

Registration is now open for the LGBTQ Journey to Israel, November 10-20, 2011.

Please register by August 15, 2011 to secure your spot on what promises to be a great trip! Sponsored by A Wider Bridge, Keshet and Nehirim.visit: http://tinyurl.com/LGBTQIsraelTrip

Price: $2500 (airfare not included). Scholarships and subsidies may be available, so sign up early.
The trip cost may decrease with more people attending, so bring a friend!

Monday, May 23 · 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church

900 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC

The evening will include blessings and teachings from all of these teachers, and will be a joyous celebration of LGBT religious lives!

Join Nehirim and the Jewish Community of Amherst for an evening of prayer, song, and conversation in honor of Rabbi David Dunn Bauer, former rabbi of JCA and longtime Nehirim faculty member.

The evening begins with Kabbalat Shabbat: Welcoming the Sabbath with music, prayer, and movement, followed by a catered supper and a lecture by Nehirim founder and Queer Jewish activist Jay Michaelson:
I’m Just Not That Kind of God: How Queer Jewish Theology, like Feminist Theology, Will Change Judaism for the Better…and for Everyone.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP to the JCA office by Thursday, May 18th.
(info@j-c-a.org or 413-256-0160)
No one will be turned away, but it would be helpful to know what numbers to expect.