April 28th, 2010
Dear Allison,
My life used to be on a trajectory very similar to the one yours took. I was raised as a Conservative Jew and, as a teenager, was enchanted by the spiritual and intellectual depth of Orthodox Judaism. My would-be journey was abruptly cut short, though, when I realized that I was gay, and that if I lived in an Orthodox community I would be forced to live as half a person -- alone without the love or intimacy of long-term commitment that is as essential to the soul as food and water are to the body. I chose love and intimacy in the secular world over spiritual death in the Orthodox world.
I am obviously not alone. Countless gay Jews have abandoned Orthodox Judaism because of its attitude towards homosexuality. And who can blame them? Would you remain Orthodox if the Torah prescribed you loneliness and celibacy? Would you remain in your community if it blessed and celebrated commitments between gay Jews while forbidding your love for your husband? When will the Orthodox world offer a sincerely empathetic response to the suffering of its gay members (not one that denies their existence or condemns them to misery)?
For me and every other gay person I know, these questions are inextricable from our (frequently negative) opinions of Orthodox Judaism.
Respectfully yours,
K.L.
Continue reading How Can You Be an Orthodox Jew Considering Its Position on Homosexuality?
Posted in Myths, Q&A, Relationships | Comments (24) »
March 23rd, 2009
Dear Jew in the City-
Thanks a million for your video, "Jewish Women...Dirrty?" which explains a lot. However, after watching it, I still have a question, which maybe you can answer for me. A friend of mine (an observant Orthodox Jew) told me, that during the time of the month that she and her husband don't touch, they literally don't touch at all or even pass each other any item directly (when she needs to pass an item to her husband she needs to put it in front of him on a desk or something. He can only take the item when she's not touching it any more).
Continue reading I Wanna Hold My Wife's Haaaand, I Wanna Hold Her Hand
Posted in Q&A, Relationships | Comments (2) »
February 26th, 2009
Do Orthodox Jews consider women dirty during their monthly cycle? Watch this video to find out.
Posted in Relationships, Videos, Women | Comments (4) »
February 11th, 2008
My husband is one of the most incredible sleepers I have ever known. He really is. And sleeping well is a wonderful thing, unless of course you're the wife of an incredible sleeper and your husband keeps falling asleep and staying asleep on couches, chairs, and various other non-bed accouterments, as opposed to going to bed in the bedroom (as is the custom of most human beings). When we first got married, my husband explained to me that he loved taking a nap right before bedtime. But the idea of a pre-nap (as I call it) drove me crazy because as I tried explaining to him, if you're tired enough to take a nap at bedtime, you're tired enough to go to bed.
Continue reading Pre-Napper and The Mule
Posted in Articles, Favorites, Relationships | Comments (2) »
