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Struggling with the Shabbos Bride
Lekhah Dodi ('Come my friend') is the hymn sung on Friday night to welcome Shabbat. The prayer begins, "Come my friend, to meet the bride; let us welcome the presence of the Sabbath." Samantha Kuperberg explores the disconnect she feels towards the prayer and the assumption held within the words of the hymn.
I turned toward the door and bowed and felt nothing.
I focused on the Shabbos bride. I focused on how beautiful she is, and how joyous I should be to greet her. I focused on her flowing hair, her warm smile, her pure white dress. It was then it occurred to me, and I wasn't sure why it hadn't occurred to me sooner.
She was not for me.
This Shabbos bride was not for me. She was for her husband: "ateret baʿalah" (crown of her husband). I was supposed to rejoice thinking of that lucky man greeting her: "kimsos chatan al kalah" (as the groom rejoices in his bride). In that moment, Lekhah Dodi was no longer a celebration of the Shabbos day. It became a heavy imposition of the male gaze. I found myself struggling. I imagined myself a mystic in Safed. My beautiful bride running down a hill to meet me. I still felt nothing. Then imagined she wasn't for me. She was a friend. A friend who was walking down the aisle. I imagined I was the bride.
And then I felt anger.
In my moment of supposed connection and utter joy, I was reminded to conform myself to a universe where male desire reigns large. I was twisting my brain in order to respond and react to the male gaze. I was not to see the Shabbos bride through my own eyes, but through a husband's eyes. I had to imagine my happiness and pleasure in that shadow. She was not for me.
Lekhah Dodi has always been one of my favorite prayers. In the temple where I grew up, our rabbi would grab his guitar and lead us children in a line throughout the sanctuary. We would sing and dance and be uplifted. For me, that was true joy, and I was giddy to welcome in Shabbat. I miss that natural, effortless feeling.
We need new ways of viewing this Shabbos person.
We need to acknowledge that the overarching masculinity of Judaism may contribute to disconnect.
And as we do that, I will continue to struggle with her.
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Parashat Devarim: Standing on the Other Side
Jews read sections of the Torah each week, and these sections, known as parshiyot, inspire endless examination year after year. Each week we bring you regular essays examining these portions from a queer perspective, drawn from the Torah Queeries online collection, which was inspired by the book Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. This week, we're sharing a post from 2008 where Debora A. Larry Kearne examines Parashat Devarim. This reflection is particularly poignant when you consider just how far we have come since 2008. At the time of this d'var Torah was written only two states had ruled in favor of marriage equality.
In this week's parasha, Devarim, Moses speaks to "all Israel on the other side of the Jordan" (JPS, Deuteronomy 1:1). Having completed its 38 years of desert wandering, kol Yisrael (all Israel) now stands, poised between the wilderness and the Promised Land, their past and their future. In 2008, as members of the Jewish and queer communities, we may feel that we too stand on the other side of the Jordan. After all, some Jewish congregations declare their openness to queer Jews, same-sex unions are now legal in Massachusetts and California, and "don't ask, don't tell," though imperfect, does allow the LGBTQ community to serve in the United States military. If we are the new generation who is standing on the other side, then what purpose does Moses' lengthy prologue, have, why the historical review of the covenant between God and God's people?
Because stepping into the unknown—even if it is the Promised Land—takes faith, and in this parasha, Moses reminds us that losing faith separates kol Yisrael from the Eternal One.
First of all, it can be difficult to depart from a momentous mountaintop experience. Indeed, God had to order the people to leave Mount Horeb: "You have stayed long enough at this mountain. . . . Go, take possession of the land that the Eternal swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" (JPS, Deuteronomy 1: 6-8). Queer Jews, as part of the larger queer community, may marry or declare civil unions—but only in two states. Furthermore, within days of the California Supreme Court decision, groups who oppose the right of gays to marry collected enough signatures to place California Proposition 8, an amendment to the state constitution that defines marriage as between a man and a woman, on the November ballot. Taking possession in this instance means we must leave the victory in California and prepare to defend against those who wish to take away the right of queers to marry.
Moses recalls how the people behaved when they reached the edge of the Promised Land the first time: "Yet you refused to go up, and flouted the command of the Eternal your God. You sulked in your tents and said, 'It is out of hatred for us that the Eternal brought us out of the land of Egypt. . . What kind of place are we going to?'" (JPS Deuteronomy 1:26-28). It is easy to dismiss the fear that the people felt at that time. It is easy to dismiss the fear felt today when, during a 23 July 2008 hearing held by the House Armed Services Committee, Military Personnel Subcommittee, Elaine Donnelly, President of the Center for Military Readiness, declares in all seriousness, "Inappropriate passive/aggressive actions common in the homosexual community, short of physical touching and assault, will be permitted in all military communities, to include Army and Marine infantry battalions, Special Operations Forces. Navy SEALS, and cramped submarines that patrol the seas for months at a time." What kind of place are we going to?
Moses' rebuke, "You have no faith in the Eternal your God,"(JPS, Deuteronomy 1:32) and God's anger, "'Not one of the men, this evil generation, shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers"(JPS Deuteronomy 1:35), sting today as they did then. Strong words to deliver a strong message: Losing faith in God and ourselves separates us from God and the covenantal relationship of our people, Jewish and queer.
Like the people standing before Moses, we stand on the other side of the Jordan, on the threshold of change. Acknowledge the fear of leaving the past and the known. Grab hold of faith, in God's power and in our ability to walk proudly into the Promised Land.
"These are the words" (JPS, Deuteronomy 1:1).
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Vows and Thou
Jews read sections of the Torah each week, and these sections, known as parshiyot, inspire endless examination year after year. Each week we will bring you regular essays examining these portions from a queer perspective, drawn from the Torah Queeries online collection, which was inspired by the book Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. This week, Jo Ellen Green Kaiser examines Parashat Matot and Parashat Masei, taking a careful look at vows and the role of women in a patriarchal society.
At the close of Bamidbar/Numbers, the fourth book of Torah and the last book of the Jewish journey to the Promised Land, Moses engages in a long colloquy with the leaders of the tribes (matot) on the nature of oaths and vows. Parashat Matot begins with Moses instructing the leaders of the people on when vows can and cannot be broken. Parashat Masei ("Marches/Travels") closes with tribal leaders asking Moses to adjust the vow made by Moses to the daughters of Zelophehad that they would inherit their father's portion.
Strikingly, both of these discussions center particularly on women and vows. In Matot, we learn that a man has no choice: if he makes a vow or oath, he must "carry out all that has crossed his lips." Whether a woman must carry out her vow—or even whether she is permitted to carry out such a vow—depends very much on her social status. If she is divorced or widowed, i.e., outside the sphere of a man's influence, then her vows cannot be broken; she has the same status as a man in this regard. However, the world of Torah is patriarchal: if a woman is married or if she is an unmarried woman living in her father's house, then she is considered subservient to the male head of the household, and he has the right to dismiss her vow.
Before we shudder about the inequality of women's roles in the Torah, we should take a second look. What is perhaps most surprising about this discussion of vows is how limited a man's power is to circumscribe women's obligations. The man only has 24 hours after learning that his wife or daughter has taken a vow to cancel it. If he does not act in that time, the vow is in full force. In fact, if the man forces the woman to annul her vow after that time, it is he, not she, who will suffer the divine consequence.
Moses faces precisely this kind of challenge at the end of parashat Masei. The leaders of the tribe of Manasseh come to Moses with a problem. Moses has just divvied-up the land of Israel, giving set acreage to each tribe. The problem for Manasseh is that back in Numbers 27, Moses vowed to give the daughters of Zelophehad, members of Manasseh, their father's inheritance, as there were no male heirs. Yet, in tribal Israeli culture, if Zelopohehad's daughters married, their heirs would be considered members of their husband's tribe, and thus some tribe other than Manasseh would inherit their land.
Moses cannot break his vow, because it was not a simple legal agreement made with these daughters but a vow made in the name of God—God said, "The pleas of Zelophehad's daughters is just; you should give them a hereditary holding among their father's kinsmen; transfer their father's share to them." Moses had to let that vow stand, yet he had to do something; tribal leaders would revolt if they thought that women could inherit land that would then pass out of the tribe's control. Moses's solution was that the daughters of Zelophehad had to marry within their own tribe, so that their heirs would be members of the tribe Manasseh.
The case of Zelophehad's daughters illuminates the constraints around women's vows in parashat Matot. Even though women in the biblical world have far fewer rights than men, parashat Matot insists that women have full rights before God—they have the same ability as men to forge a private relationship with God through vows. Martin Buber, the great Jewish philosopher, calls this relationship the I-Thou relationship. God sees us for who we are; when we stand before God, we are naked, stripped of the social world that usually surrounds and binds us. We speak to God "face-to-face."
In the world, however, we rarely are able to maintain an I-Thou relationship with God or even with each other, seeing each other as the person we really are. The social world intrudes, with its material requirements. Such is the situation for women in the biblical world. Their entire society was patriarchal, based on the rule of the householder over his house, the rule of the tribe over the householders, and eventually, the rule of the king over the tribes. These relationships are not I-Thou relationships, but I-It relationships; individuals are not known for who they are in themselves, but as objects, objects that dictate their role in the tribe.
Because the society was patriarchal, women had no agency at all in the social structure. Thus, allowing them to have an I-Thou relationship was dangerous, as an I-Thou relationship is predicated on the complete agency of the two who face each other. So, Torah allows the man who has most agency over a woman in the society, that is, who has the strongest I-It relationship to her, to prevent her I-Thou relationship with God. That the discussion of vows is really a discussion of the implementation of patriarchy is made clear by the fact that Moses only gives instructions about vows to the heads of the tribes (rashei ha matot). The instructions here are not about the value of women's vows; the instructions are about how these leaders can preserve patriarchy.
We like to think we have moved far from the tribal society of Moses' time, yet I see many comparisons. Reading this parasha brought to my mind the fight over same-sex marriage. In Judaism, the wedding ceremony itself does not entail a vow to God, yet marriage itself is understood as a sacred covenant, made by two people in the sight of God. Marriage is the ultimate I-Thou relationship between two people, a commitment to know each other as we really are, to see each other "face-to-face." As we agree to meet the other as ourself, we bring ourselves closer to God as well. This is precisely the difference between marriage and a "domestic partnership." A domestic partnership is a legal arrangement, in which we cede each other certain rights. A marriage is a sacred covenant, in which we agree to treat the other as a "Thou."
Just as leaders of the matot were concerned that women's vows would overturn their patriarchal society, so leaders of our civil society are concerned that gay and lesbian vows will overturn our hetero-normative society. They understand—we understand—that there is real power in the I-Thou relationship, a power that tends to overturn social mores and social structures. Seeing another as oneself is in some ways both the most sacred and most transgressive act, an act that defies social boundaries and cultural customs.
What I find most inspiring about Matot Masei is that Torah tells us that God welcomes this powerfully transgressive relationship. God welcomes the women of ancient Israel to make vows as well as men. God welcomes us to forge I-Thou relationships with God and with each other. It is not God who stands in the way of our deepest relationships. It is society that is not ready for God.
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The Soul of Each and Every Individual
Jews read sections of the Torah each week, and these sections, known as parshiyot, inspire endless examination year after year. Each week we will bring you regular essays examining these portions from a queer perspective, drawn from the Torah Queeries online collection, which was inspired by the book Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. This week, Melissa B. Simon examines Parashat Pinchas and the question of who counts.This D'var Torah is dedicated to the Memory of Wendy Kanter, a true Woman of Valor.
In the summer of 2007, I worked in a large New York City hospital as a chaplain.
Each day we were given, from the central computing office, a long census listing each patient. They were reduced to a name, age, religion, sex and health insurance provider. In black and white on the pages of the list, the people disappear. Gone are their stories, their families and their histories.
To the computer, each patient becomes a number, but it is the chaplain's job to turn the patient back into a person. We sit at their bedsides, listen as they cry and offer words of strength. "Baby Girl" becomes Maddie, a vivacious infant with deep and wise eyes. Number 24601 is Grace, enmeshed in pain, but thankful to participate in a deep theological discussion.
In Parashat Pinchas, the Israelites in the desert conduct a census of the people. A great plague has decimated the Israelites and thirty-nine years after a census was completed in Parashat Bamidbar, it is time to recalculate the people. All of the adults over age twenty who went forth from Egypt have died, except for Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun. A new generation, one that did not know slavery, will enter the promised land.
The Torah text calculates that there are 601,730 Israelites. More specifically, G-D tells Moses and Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, in Numbers 26:2 to "Take a census of the whole Israelite community from the age of twenty years up, by their ancestral houses, all Israelites able to bear arms." Thus the census only counts those who are male, over twenty and able to fight.
There are two reasons for conducting the census this way: one is that the Israelites will soon wage war on the people in the land, specifically the Midianites, and they want to see how prepared they are to fight. Also, once the Israelites conquer the land, they will each be assigned different portions. G-D explains to Moses that the land will be given out by lot. "Among these shall the land be apportioned as shares, according to the listed names: with larger groups increase the share, with smaller groups reduce the share. Each is to be assigned its share according to its enrollment" (Numbers 26:52-54).
What did this allotment look like? Rashi said that the land was divided into twelve sections according to size, reflecting the different populations of the tribes. When the lots were drawn, the sizes—miraculously—corresponded correctly so that each tribe ended up with a portion that met their needs. Nachmanides argued that the land was dived equally in size and then handed out. It was the tribes themselves that then divided up family portions according to size.
To both of these commentators, provisions were made to make sure there was a level of equity within the apportioning of the land.
Five brave women recognize an oversight and bring it to the attention of the leadership. When the land is doled out, a portion is given to each man for his family. However, Zelophachad, a descendant of Manasseh, a son of Joseph died in the wilderness and left no sons. He was not part of Korach's rebellion and his daughters want to make sure that they receive his share in his name. They implore Moses, Eleazar, the priest, the chieftains, and the whole assembly, "Let not our father's name be lost to his clan just because he had no son! Give us a holding among our father's kinsmen!" (27:4).
Moses brings the issue before G-D, the ultimate judge and G-D responds saying "The plea of Zelophehad's daughters is just: you should give them a hereditary holding among their father's kinsmen; transfer their father's share to them" (27:7). The Talmud teaches us in Bava Batra 119b that the daughters of Zelophehad were wise women for they spoke at an opportune moment. The Torah lists the names of the women, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, marking them as significant. Often in history, and elsewhere in the Torah, women's voices are silenced and their names erased. In the book of Genesis, for example, Lot's wife is not given a name and is merely called "ishto" "his wife." In Parashat Pinchas, not only are Zelophehad's brave daughters named, but they are given a voice and empowered to speak their minds.
They create legal change, which will then affect future generations of women. Their self-advocacy is backed by G-D; one cannot think of a higher complement.
The changing of the law of inheritance to include daughters is the last legality that Moses oversees. After viewing the land of Israel from the top of Mount Abarim, Moses hands over the leadership to Joshua. In Numbers 27:16 Moses says "Let G-D, Source of the breath of all flesh, appoint someone over the community who shall go out before them and come in before them, and who shall take them out and bring them in, so that the Eternal's community may not be like sheep that have no shepherd." Rashi explains that Moses added "Master of the Universe! You know the soul of each and every individual, You know that no two are alike. Appoint for them a leader who can relate to each and every one of them in accordance with his [their] individual spirit."
While Parashat Pinchas began with a census that broke down the people into groups and abstract numbers, Rashi's understanding of the change of leadership suggests that ultimately each Israelite was seen as an individual. Different ideas were respected both by the leadership and by G-D. And on the precipice of entering the land, the Israelites were given a leader who would be both a guide and a source of support.
Too often Queer people are viewed as one monolithic group, without regard for the beauty of our diversity. May we be blessed with leaders who understand our variety and see us as individuals. May we grow closer to a loving G-D who accepts each of us as we are. May we have the courage to speak out for what we believe in and find listening ears. And may we each live to view the Promised Land of equality and freedom.
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Parashat Bamidbar: So Many Ways Not to be Counted
Jews read sections of the Torah each week, and these sections, known as parshiyot, inspire endless examination year after year. Each week we will bring you regular essays examining these portions from a queer perspective, drawn from the Torah Queeries online collection, which was inspired by the book Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. This week, Abi Weissman examines Parashat Bamidbar and asks who is counted while reflecting on her own interfaith relationship.
In Parashat Bamidbar, the different tribes take a census of their members. They counted the men who are over the age of 20. This portion also describes where Tribes should position themselves in relation to the Tabernacle. The idea of the first census resonates with me. I wonder what it feels like to be counted and to be left out.
Who is counted? And who is not? In the Parshah, all 603,550 men over the age of 20 who can fight are counted. In The Five Books of Miriam: A Women's Commentary on the Torah, Ellen Frankel reminds her readers that the women and children are left out of this counting; the Levites are counted, but in a separate census. The "mixed multitude" that went with the Israelites out of Egypt are also not counted (Frankel 1996, p. 107). All told, Frankel counts about two million Israelites who left Egypt at the Exodus (1996, p. 107). Only a small portion of the total population counted in this census. This categorizing and organizing and numbering reminded me that I sometimes feel not counted because I am an integral part of a multifaith couple.
In the past and in the present in some synagogues, queer members are not fully accepted into their Jewish communities. We were or are invisible or linked with the what-not-to-do's of the previous book, Leviticus. Currently, the Reform movement is comfortable naming the queer in our midst and granting us the rights once limited to heterosexuals. Queer Jews can be married to each other at most Reform and other shuls. We can be Rabbis. We can have liturgy that speaks to us. (For example, the new Siddur Sha'ar Zahav is an entirely LGBT-normative book). But as a Queer Jew in a multifaith relationship, I often do not feel the same respect or membership that other Queer Jews have been granted.
I fell in love with Melissa shortly after I met her, almost three years ago. I was drawn to her and yet, I felt that loving a non-Jew meant that I was, in a way, betraying my parents and the ways of my people. After all, as a child, I grew up knowing that I would "marry a nice Jewish boy," and after I came out as a lesbian that I would surely "marry a nice Jewish girl." Instead, I am troubled that I am engaged to marry a nice Shiksa, who is not only not Jewish but is a minister in a Christian faith and a Christian scholar.
I grew up with the idea that I will marry and that my partner and I will both be members of our synagogue. Instead, I am in love with a woman who cannot be a member of my synagogue as she is "actively practicing another religion." She can attend services, and she does occasionally, but she can never be a true member. Whereas I can attend "for members only" events, she will never be invited. Melissa is listed as my partner in the membership directory. Melissa and I sit up late at night talking about religion and worship and the ins and outs of how religion plays a part in our lives. It is Melissa with whom I talk about my desire to have Jewish children and it is Melissa who daily encourages me to fully embrace my Jewish identity. Yet Melissa remains an outsider; and despite my active participation in synagogue life, I too have sometimes become an outsider in my own community.
I struggle with being counted. Being counted as a Jew can be reminiscent of the Holocaust where being recognized and numbered as Jewish was a prerequisite to being rounded up and slaughtered. To me, however, being counted has a different connotation. It is about being made visible – recognized. Melissa is a Christian and I am a Jew. Neither one of us wishes to convert, for we have each found a religion that speaks to us, in which we struggle to find our place, and with which we feel connected.
I long to stay connected to Judaism and to Congregation Sha'ar Zahav (San Francisco). When interfaith events happen, I often become excited and then, upon reading further into their text, realize that these events involve Jewish ritual and only Jewish ritual. I long for more multi-faith events where both Melissa and I can mingle our rituals and be around people who recognize the ways we are a stronger couple when both of our traditions are practiced and honored.
I am not perfect. After three years, I am still learning about how to be in a multi-faith relationship. While Melissa and I speak often about the future, I wish that there were a guide on how to be Jewish and connected to my community as a Queer Jew in a multi-faith relationship.
I wish that there were a place that I could go to talk about the situations I've encountered both at my shul and away from it. I would love to talk with others about how to respond to insensitive people who, when they learn that I'm dating a minister, ask when I am converting to Christianity or when she will convert to Judaism. I've also been berated for dating outside the Tribe. Fellow congregants invite me, in front of Melissa, to a "members only" event but they don't invite her and they don't explain why. At times like these, I feel pulled away from Judaism and from wanting to partake in congregational life. I feel a rush of sadness. I wonder what it will be like to have children with my beloved. I want them to feel like our family is welcomed into a Jewish congregation (and in addition, as a part of a Lutheran church).
And then, I've had some wonderful moments when I have felt dedicated to being a strong participant at my synagogue. I've felt known here and loved and supported by my community when I've had long meaningful conversations or experienced our religious rituals. I've felt challenged and encouraged and most of all, at times, I've felt seen and counted.
I am curious if you saw me at shul, how you would approach me? Would you welcome me to the bimah? Would you have my partner and I light the Shabbat candles like you do with other engaged couples? Would you welcome my future children? How would you treat my partner? And finally, I wonder (in a similar was as to how the tribes moved to where they stood in relation to the tabernacle) where I stand in relation to my Jewish faith and my community?
May there be a time when all those who identify as Jewish and ALL the ones who love them, feel welcomed and honored in Jewish communities near and far. Cain Yeherazon. May this be so.
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Among LGBT Jews & Their Allies, Leviticus is a Dirty Word
Many LGBT Jews and allies find Leviticus to be challenging. Here is one rabbi's reading of the passage. More can be found here.
Among LGBT Jews and their allies, Leviticus is a dirty word. And not just because of its two famous homophobic verses. There are many challenging issues with Leviticus. For instance, while we support gender equality, Leviticus establishes an all-male system of ritual leadership. While we affirm the equal worth of people with physical disabilities, Leviticus excludes them from the priesthood. And of course, while we celebrate the blessing and beauty in loving same-sex relationships, Leviticus prescribes the death penalty for gay men who have intercourse.
So how do we work with a sacred text that is at odds with some of our deepest values–values that other parts of Torah affirm (like every person being created in God's image)? For me, it starts with an approach to sacred texts that views them as human-created documents. Consistent with my Reconstructionist philosophy, I view the Torah as a record of our Israelite ancestors' best efforts to describe their experiences of God and Truth.
The Torah contains tremendous spiritual wisdom as well as the spiritual errors of the people who created it. Seen this way, the Torah takes its place in Jewish religious life as the beginning of an ongoing process of spiritual discussion and discernment–but it does not have the final word on the subjects it addresses. When credible reinterpretations of harmful biblical laws are not possible, we dissent from those verses without abandoning our faith or our intimate relationship to Torah.
This is how I approach the anti-gay verses in Leviticus. I'm not persuaded by the attempts some have made to reinterpret Lev 18:22 and 20:13 to mean something other than what they appear to mean. Rather, I acknowledge my disappointment and anger at the suffering these texts have wrought, and I believe that our ancestors were mistaken on this issue. Similarly, I respond to other passages in the Torah that advocate things that modern liberal Jews openly condemn (such as the passages in Numbers 31 in which God and Moses commanded the genocide of all Midianite men, women, and children).
Yes, this makes me a religious Jew who "picks and chooses." I believe that we have a moral responsibility to thoughtfully pick and choose, because as human beings we are all morally responsible for any harms we commit in the name of our religions. To quote a teacher of mine, "There is no 'I was just following orders' defense that excuses harms people inflict in the name of their religious beliefs." Part of a thoughtful, liberal religious approach to Judaism is the process of studying our sacred texts, discussing them, and very thoughtfully picking and choosing our present day beliefs and practices in community with each other.
So, why am I writing about Leviticus for Keshet? Well, because, alongside the passages in the book that we are right to reject, Leviticus also contains spiritual riches that can help us in these times. For starters, Leviticus is the source of "love your neighbor (19:12)." Futhermore, Leviticus offers a model of economies and ecosystems operating in a way that ensures health for the land and fairness and compassion for the weakest members of society–quite a contrast to our self-inflicted plagues of greed and ecological degradation. Leviticus also understands that animals and human beings share a common life force, and that the act of taking an animal's life for meat deserves awe and ritual–compare that with our inhumane and unhealthy factory farm system. And perhaps most remarkably of all: Leviticus calls on each of us to be holy because God is holy. How the ancient Israelite priesthood understood what creates holiness is different than how we understand it. But Leviticus reminds us of the importance of embracing the charge to try to figure out what it means to be holy in the here and now.
Studying Leviticus from a progressive religious Jewish perspective is frustrating and rewarding, alienating and inspiring. But it's quite worth the workout!
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Parashat Shemini: The Way of Strange Fire
Jews read sections of the Torah each week, and these sections, known as parshiyot, inspire endless examination year after year. Each week we will bring you regular essays examining these portions from a queer perspective, drawn from the Torah Queeries online collection, which was inspired by the book Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible.
I love the Torah. I love it's weird, dreamtime way of teaching. I love that one verse reveals something ugly and painful and the next verse is sweetness and light. I love this because it's a true reflection of life as I know it – there are parts of life that are just plain horrible and others that are pure, stunning beauty, and sometimes they go hand in hand. The Torah gives this over without flinching, with no sense of contradiction, and with no apologies. The sweet and the bitter are marbled in the Torah, just as they are in real life. This week's portion offers three such marbled verses: VaYikra 10:1-3. Here is the scene: After months of preparation, the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary the Israelites used after the Exodus from Egypt, has been built and we are about to conduct our first rite. Moses' brother, Aaron, performs a couple of sacrifices, blesses the congregation, the sacrifices are consumed and then:
Aarons's sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan, they put fire in them and placed incense upon it; and they brought before HaShem an alien fire that had not been commanded of them. A fire came forth from before HaShem and consumed them, and they died before HaShem. Moses said to Aaron: Of this did HaShem speak, saying: "I will be sanctified through those who are nearest Me, thus I will be honored before the entire people;" and Aaron was silent.
Typically there are two reactions to this piece of text: 1) "They got what they deserved and so will you if you defy God," or 2) "If this is the God you want me to worship, I'm outta here."
Both of these positions seem dull and simplistic to me. The Torah is neither dull nor simplistic. Torah is complicated and challenging and invites us to think and feel deeply. It is trying to prod us into being partners with God, to bring about a time of repair and wholeness in our fractured world, by any means necessary. With that in mind I've tried to tease out some wisdom and guidance from this harsh and cryptic scene.
Reading this piece I think of the murders of Harvey Milk, Matthew Shepard, Brandon Teena and Gwen Araujo. Year after year we have witnessed our queer children being consumed by fire. As a Jew, I'm familiar with this horror. And I'm also familiar with all the wrestling and grappling we have had to do to move past our tragedies. When we find ourselves witnessing incomprehensible destruction we have to ask, "What must we do to transform this banal act of violence into an affirmation of life?" Answering that question is the key to transcending human judgment so that we can enter into a full and deep relationship with God through each other.
As the text teaches us: "I will be sanctified through those who are nearest Me, thus I will be honored before the entire people."
My friends, getting near God is rarely easy, safe or painless. When moments of random violence strike, some of us seek reasons to lay blame and some of us, like Aaron, are stunned and silent. It is in that silence that deep strength, wisdom and courage are born; courage to look at death head on and still stay on the path; wisdom to know that God works through both blessing and curse; and strength to choose blessing.
Death is inevitable, and sometimes it comes unexpectedly and roughly. In our grief we stand at a silent juncture. We can blame, we can run, or we can sort out the opportunities for more violence from the opportunities for more closeness. In that sorting we choose to frame our loss as a sacrifice which cuts through bigotry, oppression and ignorance. Both the Jewish and queer communities have performed social alchemy by transforming unspeakable acts of hatred and violence into art, legislation, ritual, education and beauty. We have squeezed wisdom out of ignorance, and sanctity out of depravity. We have written plays, and created foundations; we have sewn and sung and studied. We have not been diminished through death. Rather, we have blossomed. We have grieved and suffered to be sure, but as it is written, we have "turned our mourning into dancing" (Psalm 30).
Jews and queers have always been accused of being different, alien and inferior. Thankfully, we have generally resisted those judgments. Instead we have persevered in our unique way of being. We have mirrored exactly what this week's raw piece of text teaches. We have offered strange fire. We have suffered death. We have witnessed these traumas as a community and we have found sanctity, closeness and honor. We are blessed to have a Torah that teaches us to not shy away from life's bitter moments, but to take them with both hands and offer them up as sacrifices. May our capacity to learn, heal and grow always outweigh our tendency towards judgment and blame. And may the memory of our loved ones be for a blessing for us, and for all the world.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Vayikra, And God Called Out: An Invitation to Gender Justice
This past Saturday, Keshet Staff Member Joanna Ware joined Temple Hillel B'nai Torah to deliver a d'var Torah on gender justice and gender variance in Jewish text, as well as the effects of transphobia today. We have shared the text of Joanna's d'var Torah here.
Shabbat Shalom! Thank you to Rabbi Penzner for the invitation to bring some Torah to all of you today. Rabbi Penzner asked me to speak in honor of the other holiday we're marking today, International Women's Day, and how it reminds us to work toward gender equality and justice. First though, I want to start with the text we just read.
This week's Torah portion, Vayikra, is the first in the book of Leviticus, and it lays out for us a set of laws of ritual, sacrificial preparation. Sacrifices were the ancient Israelite's way of honoring and nurturing their sacred relationship with the divine. We nurture relationships every day, with our loved ones and with what we understand to be holy and sacred, and while we no longer do so with ritual sacrifices, today prayer, study, mitzvot, acts of loving kindness, and tikkun olam serve as our stand-in for temple sacrifice; our means of nurturing our relationship with God, with Sacredness. What Vayikra reminds us, however, is that this relationship isn't accidental or happenstance, and that God models for us an expectation of intentionally stepping in to relationship. The opening text of this Parsha, the opening text of the entire book of Leviticus, reads:
וַיִּקְרָא, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה; וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֵלָיו, מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד
Vayikra al-Moshe, v'yedaber Adonai elav, meyohal mo'ed
And God called out to Moses, and Adonai spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting
We have a curious repetition here in the narrative, first God calls out to Moses, and then God speaks to him. Why both? Rashi teaches that God's initial calling out to Moses is indicative of a loving relationship, of an invitation into an intentional, purposeful relationship; this text is read in juxtaposition to how God speaks to the prophet Balaam, where we are told that God "happens upon" Balaam; it is accidental rather than intentional. And then? We are taught that God's relationship with Moses is loving, whereas God's relationship with Balaam is "impure." So we have one piece of a model for building loving relationships: act with intention, thoughtfulness, and care. Continue reading
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Parashat Vayikra Live and Let Leviticus: A Call to Gay Men
Jews read sections of the Torah each week, and these sections, known as parshiyot, inspire endless examination year after year. Each week we will bring you regular essays examining these portions from a queer perspective, drawn from the Torah Queeries online collection, which was inspired by the book Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. This week, Rabbi Joshua Lesser tackles Parashat Vayikra and asks the gay men in his Jewish community to stand up.
I remember my first pair of rollerblades. More specifically, I remember the bloody mess I was the first time I gave them a try. I couldn't figure out the brakes and there was a hill and a busy street—you can figure out where this is going. Never was I so grateful to hit a telephone pole. The second time I bladed I fared better, that is until a piece of rusty wire got caught in the wheels bringing them to a sharp halt. The rules of physics being what they are, I fell on my face. Slapstick being as reliable as physics, my fall brought me injury in the form of much laughter. The next time I was invited to go rollerblading, I stopped and stared at the skates. Were these skates nothing more than simple instruments of cruel pain? Could I give it another go? Or should I simply be done with them all together?
This week we begin the book of Leviticus with Parashat Vayikra, and although Leviticus begins innocently enough, with a listing of the various sacrifices performed in the Mishkan, as LGBT people, we all know where this book is heading. Much like my rollerblades just the title Leviticus inspires dread and fear in gay men that has caused us to disengage with the entire book, and for some, Judaism altogether. And so it is ironic that Leviticus begins with the word vayikra—"And God called." Ramban cites a midrash that connects Leviticus with the end of the book of Exodus where we find a complete description of the Mishkan's construction and that it was worthy of the Shechinah (God's Presence). So magnificent and awesome was God's glory within the Mishkan that Moses was terrified to enter. Thus, the call from God in this portion was an invitation to Moses and the Israelites to come inside—signaling to them that the Mishkan was built for their mutual relationship.
Similarly, Ramban also notes that the word for sacrifice is connected to the Hebrew word that means, "to draw close." In this light the sacrificial system is one of the primary ways that the Mishkan was to be used to enhance the biblical human-Divine relationship, Ramban sees this sacrificial system as a ritualistic way to build a meaningful relationship with the Divine. In other words, when we discard Leviticus wholesale because of its foreign rituals or its later prohibitions, we risk missing the emphasis of how ritual can bring us closer to Judaism, community and God (or godliness).
For gay men in particular, this is a real danger in today's Jewish world. In the rabbinic commentaries, much to do is made about the way the first word of this portion is written—the last letter of "vayikra" is an aleph, which in the Torah is written smaller than the other letters. While the rabbis speculate how this is connected to Moses' humility, I wonder if the aleph might stand for the first call that God speaks to humanity, which begins with the aleph in question. In Genesis, God calls to his first human creations, "Ayeca?"/"Where are you?"
Indeed, I often find that I have the same question for gay Jewish men in Jewish communal life: Where are you? Having served in different LGBT communities, I have found that, while gay Jewish men aren't exactly nonexistent, they participate in smaller numbers than lesbians, and additionally, it seems gay Jewish men wait until they are older to make affiliations within Jewish communal life. In one rabbinical school class, we were taught that, as rabbis, we could expect to attract members of our demographic most significantly. In other words, a married woman rabbi could expect to have substantial participation from other married women. However, at my particular synagogue, this has not occurred—instead, we have attracted large numbers of people from all demographics but my own (gay Jewish men in their 30s). While this may be too anecdotal to draw strong conclusions, I couple this particular piece of anecdotal evidence with the fact that I consistently meet gay Jewish men in social settings who seek me out to share their experiences of having been made to feel unwelcome in their synagogues, their families. Many express disdain for Judaism and God altogether mentioning the prohibitions in Leviticus. Intertwined in these discussions is often a sense of lingering shame.
Upon reading the list of sacrifices in Vayikra while considering Ramban's theory that they served to draw people, within the context of their community, closer to a sense of the Divine, I conclude that somehow these sacrifices served to remove the barriers that kept people distant from a sense of the Divine. As a result of this reading, I have wrestled with the question of determining how the self-imposed barriers could be removed that prevents gay men from feeling more connected with their Jewish community and to God. In what ways could we engage ritually to enhance our Jewish spiritual lives? While I think this question is relevant for all people, I think for gay men the answers are different.
While it is critical that the larger Jewish community work to remake itself so that it is more accessible to gay Jewish men, it is our responsibility as gay Jews to undertake our own self examination. We have the ability to identify those things that have blocked our connection to God and to ritual. Unless the answer is utter rejection, we must do our inner work. Leviticus and its sacrificial systems are buttressed by a calling to take personal responsibility and cultivate vulnerability. Giving an offering, in particular the act of sacrificing the life of a sentient being, brings us face to face with the fragility of life moment to moment. Rabbi Kerry Olitsky points out that the sacrificial system demanded an entirely embodied process. One had to engage all of one's senses to participate. Taken together this is incredibly vulnerable.
Moreover, even more intensely vulnerable is that the heart of the issue demands gay Jewish men to embrace their sexuality and acknowledge that not only are we holy as human beings, but our bodies are holy and our sexual connections can be holy. To wrestle with this is to also acknowledge when our sexual acts are not holy. As gay men can we make ourselves vulnerable enough to invite a sense God's presence in our sexuality? To do so, is a sacrifice not in the sense of giving something up, but rather creating room for godliness to dwell.
Asking gay Jewish men to be vulnerable in order to read and engage with Leviticus, which is arguably the core of ritual Judaism and holiness, when it is the source of direct pain and alienation may be unreasonable. Certainly, there is some danger in this, and the possibility of re-wounding may even be likely. However, there is also much to be gained by making peace with this book that contains the infamous 18:22 and 20:13 verses because it also contains much more—Leviticus also includes some of Judaism's most compassionate and beautiful teachings that can serve to awaken the desire to infuse our life with the awareness of the glory of God's presence. As this portion reminds us, God's perpetually call to us, despite fear and harm. The question that remains is, can we, as gay men make ourselves vulnerable enough to hear it? And if we do that, can we sacrifice the baggage that keeps us distant so that we may answer from the authentic place within us that longs for God in our lives.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Parashat Pekudei: Building God's Beautiful Bayit; or, Queer Eye for the Desert Mishkan
Jews read sections of the Torah each week, and these sections, known as parshiyot, inspire endless examination year after year. Each week we will bring you regular essays examining these portions from a queer perspective, drawn from the Torah Queeries online collection, which was inspired by the book Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. This week, Marisa James examines Parashat Vayakhel and Parashat Pekudei and how we can all appreciate the beauty of a complex world.
When I first read this week's parashah, with their detailed lists of the sockets, pegs and posts that go into building the Mishkan, I could only imagine that the children of Israel had somehow ended up at the Sinai IKEA. I pictured Moses, in a burst of confidence after getting everyone across the sea, picking up the "A_rk oöf Tabêrnäkkle" kit and making everyone sit down to decipher wordless instructions on how to build the thing.
But really, there's something lovely about the time and care that goes into all of these descriptions. Last week's portion Vayakhel and and this week's portion Pekudei continue our languorous journey through the design and creation of the tabernacle. During their 430 years in Egypt, laboring as slaves, building stark, massive pyramids for a succession of pharaohs, the children of Israel have been deprived of beauty. As we've seen, they have lacked imagination until now; they bitterly complain to Moses at every turn, until he produces yet another miracle, which they promptly forget again when they are hungry, or frightened, or want something tangible to worship.
But in the building of the Mishkan, the children of Israel become artists. Yes, there are specific instructions for how to build it, but each member of the community, we are told, gives what they can: their goods, their effort, and their talent. And we are privileged to read about the results in loving, careful, artistic detail. Beauty is a necessity, both for Moses and the Israelites then, and for us now.
Moses says, "If a person feels like giving an offering to God, bring any of the following: gold, silver, copper, sky-blue, purple, and crimson yarns, fine linen, and goats' hair, reddened ram's skins, blue processed hides, acacia wood, oil for the lamp, fragrances for the anointing oil and perfume incense, as well as sardonyxes and other precious stones for the ephod and the breastplate." (Exodus 35:5-9)
If they feel like giving an offering to God, says Moses. This is not like last week's building of the golden calf, when Aaron, in his frustration with the Israelites, says, "Take the rings off the ears of your wives and children, [. . .] Bring them to me." (Exodus 32:2) The creative impulse cannot be demanded. In the creation of the Mishkan there can be no room for those who might give reluctantly, or unwillingly, or all exactly the same. Every individual piece of silver and copper and wood and cloth must be given freely and with love in order to create the place where God can reside.
And the Mishkan is not being created from gold alone; Moses lists so many options for what each person could contribute that we're left in amazement about where all the materials come from. Each of the Israelites apparently has unexpected and diverse resources that we haven't seen until now. They bring items of every color and texture, metals and stones and fibers, along with talents which until now have remained hidden.
Why is it so important that we read several chapters of this description? A few p'sukim (verses), two or three verses, could have told us that God asked Moses to make a beautiful dwelling-place, the Mishkan, of gold and silver, with the priests in robes embroidered with "pomegranates of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, twisted." (39:24) A few p'sukim could have told us that the Israelites gave freely of their possessions and skills, and that the Mishkan was completed to God's specifications.
After centuries of famine and slavery, backbreaking work followed by a perilous escape, the Israelites need time to dwell on beauty, and so do we. It's easy to fall into the victimization of Israel in mitzrayim (Egypt/ the narrow place) and the alternating tedium and terror of wandering in the desert and have no hope for the future. Taking time to see the world around us in every inch of its detail is one way to restore our souls.
Similarly, in our own lives, it can be difficult to avoid feeling constantly victimized and oppressed, especially as members of the Jewish community, the queer community, and other minority communities. Our multiple marginalized identities frequently overlap to make us prime targets for the "hate-mongers" in our world. And in our work towards social justice and equal treatment, it can be hard to raise our heads from the struggle and appreciate the sheer beauty of the communities we have created. Just as the Isarelites found beauty in the creation of the Mishkan, it's also necessary for us to move beyond our painful interactions with the world and take delight in the places where we are accepted and loved for all of our different aspects.
How do we do this in our daily lives? I live in New York City, where I'm constantly so inundated by my surroundings that it's easy to block it all out. But sometimes, I need to stop and listen to a street performer with a beautiful voice. Watch my friends' sleeping newborn children and imagine their dreams. Delight in the amazing diversity of the communities that have welcomed me, and in the beautiful visions we share of the world we're trying to create. It isn't enough to simply notice the beauty of the world—it's necessary that we each bring our diverse talents and gifts to continue the work of making our world into a Mishkan where God can reside.
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A character, who is normally conventional and law-abiding, temporarily lets loose and rebels.
Alice is your standard good girl, by all accounts. She's always cheerful, gets straight A's, and loves her parents. But one day, for varying reasons, she decides to skip class, start smoking, and probably (gasp!) start start leaning on things. Often female, but by no means always. This may be brought up in one episode, resolved, and never mentioned again, or eventually become an essential part of the character. To qualify for this trope, though, the character must be shown to start out good, and there must be an episode (or equivalent) that shows how and when she or he went "bad." As mentioned above, the reasons for this change vary a lot. Maybe the author wants to make An Aesop about how authority should be obeyed. Maybe it's a result of Break the Cutie. Or maybe they just needed some Character Development, and this is how the author went about it. There's definitely a spectrum as to how far the author will go with this change. It may simply result Alice becoming less uptight and having more fun. In works aimed for kids, she might start talking like a Badbutt and wearing vaguely punk-y clothes. In Darker and Edgier works, Alice might start having indiscriminate sex and taking drugs (which may or may not end in a Drugs Are Bad aesop.) In universe, this will often begin with a friend who's a Bad Influence. The character wants to be cool like the friend and so will pick up their habits. Or, the character woke up one morning and thought "Screw the rules, I don't care." If done for comedy, this may result in an unintentional example of Rule-Abiding Rebel.
replies: 27

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November 28, 2014
DEL NORTE, Colo. (AP) - Authorities say a colossal wildfire near a popular summer retreat in southern Colorado continues to be driven by winds and fueled by dead trees in a drought-stricken area.
The conditions have prevented fire crews from making containment lines around the blaze, which grew overnight to 108 square miles, up from 100 on Saturday.
No structures have been lost in the fire, and no injuries have been reported.
Officials say the fire burning near South Fork is the largest the region has seen. They say it is doubtful fire crews could establish any containment lines until there's a break in the weather, possibly Tuesday.
Officials remain optimistic they can protect the town, however.
The blaze's rapid advance Friday prompted the evacuation of hundreds of visitors and the town's 400 permanent residents.
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User Profile: icarenough
Member Since: July 20, 2011
[3] November 11, 2014 at 10:31am
We have a problem America…when high school students participate in an experiment to determine which color of gummy bears launches furthest, either red or green, and that data is calculated, accordingly, we have a problem. It's called the dumming down of America. Such a waste!
In reply to the story Just Watch These College Students Try to Answer Some Basic American History Questions
October 11, 2014 at 9:15pm
she doesn't own a brain!
In reply to Rosech's comment on the story Watch Michelle Obama Make Key Mistake While Campaigning for an Iowa Senate Candidate
[4] June 21, 2014 at 5:07pm
Since there's lots of room in the WH, I think obozo should lead by example, and house a few hundred kids there. What with 132 rooms, that would take care of a few yungins. Next every dumbass dummycrat should take at least 5 kids home, feed, clothe and shelter and educate them properly. Let's start with Nancy…she's got a big ass home. Harry shouldn't have any problems either, and down the line we go.
What I'd like to know is: what kind of parents are these that send their kids away from home?? If you can't take care of them, don't have them. That just boggles my mind. If our government can afford to set them up in resorts, maybe we should just fly them back to where they came from on transport planes.
In reply to the story The Feds Wanted to Turn This Hotel into a Refugee Camp...But They Made a Major Error
Responses (1) +
[1] June 21, 2014 at 8:54pm
bearcat50 responded:
April 16, 2014 at 3:42pm
And how often does the "commander" actually show himself at the church? Probably on Christmas and Easter…..just to show the public what an honorable person he really is. So I guess each trip to church cost him $750 smackers!! Wow! So actually, who paid for it???
In reply to the story See How Much Money Obama Gave to His Local Church in 2013
April 12, 2014 at 10:50am
I still contend that I wish Obama's mother had believed in abortions…..we wouldn't be stuck with this piece of S**T
In reply to the story Obama: In 2014 It's 'An Embarrassment' That We Have This Problem
February 3, 2014 at 10:50am
obozo is a poor excuse for a human being, a pathological liar, who has all the networks in his back pocket except for Fox News, and he's crying foul! Surprised he didn't blame Bush.
January 9, 2014 at 12:01pm
The amount of coverage this "scandal" tied to Gov. Christie's bridge closing is ridiculous. All the major networks are covering this presently with hard hitting questions from the media…..know why?? It's a repub. that has a scandal on his hands. Wish the media were as adamant about covering obozo's MANY scandals!
In reply to the story 'Embarrassed and Humiliated': Christie Responds to Bridge Scandal by Announcing Firing
January 5, 2014 at 5:42pm
kids are pretty well formed by age 5. A little corporal punishment doesn't hurt any kid. You don't have to beat the crap out of them, just show them who's the boss. Too many parents want to be their kid's buddy, rather than the parent in authority. And of course the teachers don't really help either. When I was in grade school, we had a male teacher who dressed in a suit and tie every day. We respected him. Now the teachers don't demand respect. They want to identify with the kids,
Anyone can spread their legs, and produce a human product….it's what you do with that product that's important. All babies are born smiling…..it's the adults who screw them up!
In reply to the story 11-Year-Old Accused of Stabbing Her Own Mother Nine Times
December 24, 2013 at 3:25pm
It's probably a n***er hard at work.
In reply to the story Man Shows up to Wis. Walmart With an Awesome Sign Hanging From His Neck
December 22, 2013 at 8:54am
I'm truly disappointed obooozzoo didn't take his vacation with rodman and spend it in N. Korea. I'm sure it would've been much cheaper for us sucker tax payers. He could've gotten some advice from the"kid" on how to set up concentration camps….Whoops..sorry, I forgot…Fema already as them all set up for us. Bunch of pukes!
In reply to the story Here's How Obama Spent Day One of His Hawaiian Vacation
December 18, 2013 at 10:01am
Just saw this on line…If obama wants to compare himself to Nelson Mandela, can we at least throw him in jail for 27 years first?? LMAO. My Christmas wish is for that to happen. Merry Christmas everyone.
December 6, 2013 at 9:05am
Sad state of affairs, but I no longer believe anything the gov. tells us.
From the top down, they're all LIARS !!!!
In reply to the story Unemployment Numbers Are Out – And It Looks Like the Rate Has Dropped Again
December 3, 2013 at 6:27pm
was it one of o's sons????
In reply to the story Mentally Challenged 'Gentle Giant' Reportedly Shot Dead Over a Pair of Headphones
Responses (1) +
December 3, 2013 at 6:43pm
The-Monk responded:
November 25, 2013 at 10:25am
Driver, age 89 makes a left hand turn right in front of motorcycle, killing rider, and seriously injuring his wife. Two years later, same man walking on road gets killed by a motorist. Karma??? Sad for both families! Rest in peace.
In reply to the story Woman Walking for the First Time After Motorcycle Accident Killed by a Car
November 24, 2013 at 11:03am
Well, now there's another one I have to support on my tax dollar, be it in welfare on the street or in prison. Take your pick folks….you'll be paying for such scum all our lives. Well, at least she can't do anyone any harm anymore, such as multiply!
November 22, 2013 at 3:37pm
What'll happen the monster will be put on trial, found guilty, receive the death sentence, and placed on death row for 25 years…..in the meantime our tax dollars will be spent keeping the bast**d alive, and all the appeals for "mistrials" conjured up by defense lawyers which will cost us thousands.
Fry the little S.O.B. now! He's an animal that deserves to die.
In reply to the story It's Hard to Believe a 14-Year-Old Is Capable of Such a Grotesque and Evil Act
November 22, 2013 at 10:05am
Thanks to liberalism !
November 22, 2013 at 10:02am
Well now I definitely believe in abortions. All black inner-city women should be forced into sterilization after having had one child, just like the Chinese…one baby only, any more….you're in the gulag!!!
In reply to the story It's Hard to Believe a 14-Year-Old Is Capable of Such a Grotesque and Evil Act
November 20, 2013 at 10:52am
How low can they go??
In reply to the story After Stirring the Pot, Oprah and Bill Clinton Receive Medal of Freedom at the White House
Responses (1) +
November 20, 2013 at 10:55am
biohazard23 responded:
November 18, 2013 at 8:50am
If only we could get rid of obozo as easily as the DC insurance commissioner was given his walking papers.
Wishful thinking…???
In reply to the story D.C. Insurance Commissioner Ousted After Criticizing Obamacare Policy Change
Responses (1) +
November 18, 2013 at 8:59am
Angry-Elf responded:
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original animal t-shirt design by WWW.WILD-SHIRT.COM
This great custom product in lemon from our department Women and T-Shirt category can be printed just for you in the size and style you like. The design praying mantis bug insect was created by wild-shirt and uploaded to Spreadshirt for you to have printed on a T-Shirt. Next to a host of other great customized designs, you can find this praying mantis bug insect design in Spreadshirt's Insects category. If you are interested in topics like Insect or Mantis, then you'll love praying mantis bug insect designs by wild-shirt. Spreadshirt also offers a huge selection of custom t-shirts, hoodies and accessories for the category Insects as well as top Praying clothing. wild-shirt's designs have already impressed many of our customers, so we are sure that we've got right stuff for you! Spreadshirt is your destination for great designs of all kinds – whether it's Insect, Mantis or Praying. We are sure that you will find something nice in our shop, there are many amazing custom Insects t-shirts, hoodies, or accessories for you to find! Tags: Design ID: 11465038
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still to fill


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A 3-way telephone call where all 3 people in the conversation are using the Vonage VOIP telephone service ( www.vonage.com ).
Last night, I was part of a fun Vonage-a-trois with Chris and Sarah.
by Justin February 15, 2005
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NYC – Nerdist Writers Panel
October 3, 2014 by Colin Solan
Filed under Comic Books, Movies, New York, Other, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Signing and Appearance Profiles, Television
Danny Strong (The Butler; Hunger Games: Mockingjay), Ales Kot (Secret Avengers; Iron Patriot; Zero), and *JUST ADDED* Scott Snyder (Batman, American Vampire) appear at the Housing Works Bookstore on Thursday October 9th from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM for this special east coast edition of the Nerdist Writers Panel, benefiting Housing Works mission to fight homelessness and AIDS. For updates on additional panelists, go to www.facebook.com/NerdistWritersPanel
Housing Works Bookstore Cafe
126 Crosby St, New York, New York 10012
(212) 334-3324
NYC – Nerdist Comics Panel
October 2, 2014 by Colin Solan
Filed under Animation, Comic Books, New York, Other, Signing and Appearance Profiles, Television
Mega-star writer Brian Michael Bendis (Guardians of the Galaxy; All-New X-Men; Powers; Scarlet; Ultimate Spider-Man and lots more!) joins hosts Ben Blacker (Thunderbolts; Thrilling Adventure Hour) and Heath Corson (Batman: Assault on Arkham) at Rock Bar on Friday, October 10, 2014 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM for a special New York Super Week edition of Nerdist Comics Panel in which will be discussed the process and business of writing comic books, his work in other media, the creation of Miles Morales the Ultimate Spider-Man, and his new book, Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of Writing Comics which discusses many of the interests of this very podcast!
Just announced! Artists Alex Maleev (Daredevil), Mike Oeming (Powers), and David Mack (Kabuki) will be live-sketching and the sketches will be auctioned off for the charity at the event.
For more info click the link! Hear past episodes! Proceeds from this and all nerdist Comics Panels benefit 826, the national nonprofit program to encourage creative writing in students. This one in particular benefits local 826 NYC. www.nyc.org
Get tickets ($10) at the link!
Rock Bar
185 Christopher Street, New York, NY 10014
(212) 675-1864
NYC – Batman: Zero Year Panel
October 1, 2014 by Colin Solan
Filed under Comic Books, Horror, New York, New York Comic Con, Other, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Signing and Appearance Profiles, Top Stories, Video Games
Comic book artist and Co-Publisher of DC Entertainment Jim Lee (Superman: Unchained, All-Star Batman & Robin) joins writer Scott Snyder (American Vampire, The Wake) at the Apple SoHo store on Wednesday October 8, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. to speak about the last volume in Batman's original story.
Press Release:
Commemorate Batman's return to Gotham on Wednesday, October 8th at 7pm, when critically-acclaimed writer Scott Snyder and DC Entertainment Co-Publisher and artist Jim Lee visit the Apple Store, SoHo to celebrate the Dark Knight's 75th anniversary, as well as the publication of the new graphic novel collection BATMAN VOL. 5: ZERO YEAR – DARK CITY. Beginning at 7pm, the Meet the Authors event will include a must-see discussion on the lasting cultural influence of The Dark Knight moderated by Grantland writer David Shoemaker.
Taking place the evening before New York Comic-Con 2014, the event will not only mark the release of Snyder's BATMAN #35, but also the highly anticipated BATMAN VOL. 5: ZERO YEAR – DARK CITY. This graphic novel, the newest collection from the #1 New York Times best-selling creative team of Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, finishes the epic ZERO YEAR storyline, a bold new take on the Dark Knight's origin.
Apple Store
103 Prince Street, New York City, NY 10012
(212) 226-3126
NYC – Fat-Man on Manhattan
October 1, 2014 by Colin Solan
Filed under Animation, Comic Books, Movies, New York, New York Comic Con, Other, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Signing and Appearance Profiles, Television
Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes appears at the Hammerstein Ballroom on Saturday October 11th from 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM!
Press Release:
A writer, comedian, podcaster, and film director, Kevin Smith has written and directed numerous films, including Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Red State, and Tusk; Creator of AMC's Comic Book Men; authored Silent Bob Speaks, Shootin' the Sh*t with Kevin Smith, My Boring-Ass Life and most recently Tough Sh*t: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good. He can be heard daily at Smodcast.com, a vast network of podcasts. An Evening with Kevin Smith is a chance to get up close and personal with the man who brought the world these films.
Jason Mewes will be on-hand to join the festivities
Note: Prior to September 15, 2014, this show was originally called An Evening with Kevin Smith. All tickets purchased for An Evening with Kevin Smith are valid for this event and will be accepted since it's the same event, just with a different name.
Manhattan Center Hammerstein Ballroom
311 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001
NYC – Nerdist Comics Panel
September 24, 2014 by Colin Solan
Filed under Animation, Comic Books, New York, New York Comic Con, Other, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Signing and Appearance Profiles, Television, Video Games
Super-star writers Charles Soule (Death of Wolverine; She-Hulk; Letter 44; Superman & Wonder Woman; more!) and Gerry Duggan (Deadpool; Nova; Hulk) join hosts Ben Blacker (Thunderbolts; Thrilling Adventure Hour) and Heath Corson (Batman: Assault on Arkham) for a special NYCC edition of Nerdist Comics Panel in which will be discussed the process and business of writing comic books, writing for Marvel and DC, and ways to kill Wolverine.
For more info click the link! Hear past episodes! Proceeds from this and all nerdist Comics Panels benefit 826, the national nonprofit program to encourage creative writing in students. This one in particular benefits local 826 NYC. www.nyc.org
Get tickets ($10) at the link!
Rock Bar
185 Christopher Street, New York, NY 10014
(212) 675-1864
Comic Art House Takes NYCC 2014 By Storm
September 22, 2014 by Colin Solan
Filed under Comic Books, Comic Strips, Convention News, Horror, New York, New York Comic Con, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Webcomics
Press Release:
Comic Art House takes New York Comic Con by storm! All artists will have original art for sale and prints! Most artists will be accepting commissions on site! You can find our very talented artists all in one place!
Agnes Garbowska C15
Autumn Frederickson P15
Ben Templesmith M1
Billy Fowler I15
Buzz E9
Cat Staggs I8
Chrissie Zullo I18
Christian DiBari J14
Christopher Uminga I17
Daniel Govar A3
Jim Calafiore V1
Jay P Fosgitt D12
Jeff Dekal A2
Jessica Cox (h-eri) V16
Joe Eisma W15
Edwin Huang W16
Katie Cook C10
Keron Grant BB11
Leo Leibelman S3
Mark Dos Santos B17
Mark Texeira F4
Matthew J Fletcher I16
Mike Lilly E18
Nen P10
Norman Lee O9
Pat Davidson B7A
Sara Richard A4
Scott Wegener I12
Stephane Roux E10
Secure your order!
In addition to these artists, Mike Henderson, Steve Scott, and Brent Peeples will be appearing at their publisher's booths throughout the weekend!
Several artists, but not all, are accepting pre-orders for commissions, some for pick-up and some to be completed at the show. Commission slots are limited, so please contact me at email@example.com or text me at 603-657-0480.
We look forward to seeing you at NYCC and thank you for your patronage!
UK – 13 Coins #1 Signing
September 15, 2014 by Colin Solan
Filed under Comic Books, England, Signing and Appearance Profiles, Video Games
Artist Simon Bisley and writer Martin Brennan launch 13 Coins #1 – with a Forbidden Planet variant cover – at the London Megastore at 6:00 pm on Wednesday
8th October 19th November.
13 Coins is the story of John Pozner, a tormented ex-con on a quest for vengeance, when he discovers that he is descended from angels, and is the living key to Earth's future, or Heaven's fall.
Simon Bisley is hugely popular for his work on Lobo, Judge Dredd vs Batman and Hellblazer as well as ABC Warriors and Slaine for 2000AD.
Martin Brennan has written computer game scripts for Square Enix and IO Interactive and was the co-creator on Hitman: Absolution. 13 Coins is his first work in comics.
Forbidden Planet London Megastore
179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR
TX – Neal Adams Signing
September 10, 2014 by Colin Solan
Filed under Comic Books, Comic Strips, Signing and Appearance Profiles, Texas
Meet Comics Legend Neal Adams appears at Dragon's Lair on Wednesday, September 24th from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM!
First autograph is FREE! (Additional autographs are $10 each) Portfolios, Art Prints, Books and Sketches will be available for purchase!
Who is Neal Adams? Neal Adams is a towering figure in the world of comic book creation and art. Neal has had legendary 'runs' on Batman, X-Men, Green Lantern-Green Arrow and Deadman. Adams rescued Batman from the campy nostalgia of the television show, and re-fitted him in his present incarnation as an "Avenger of the Night." When people say 'modern Batman,' they mean Neal Adams' Batman! His run on Batman led directly to the new, more realistic incarnation in the film Batman Begins, which featured the character he created, Ras Al Ghul. Neal just did an 8 page story in Batman Black & White #1. Don't miss out on picking one up at the store and having Neal sign it!
He is also taking on commissions, so now is the time to get a piece of art drawn up by Neal Adams! Email Jason at email@example.com. Jason will work out characters and prices with you. Maybe get a Batman Black & White Variant blank with a Batman head sketch drawn on it? You can also call Jason at # (212) 869-4170.
Dragon's Lair Austin
2438 West Anderson Lane, Suite B-1, Austin, TX 78757
(512) 454-2399
Hero Initiative at Baltimore Comic Con 2014
September 3, 2014 by Colin Solan
Filed under Comic Books, Convention News, Maryland
Press Release:
The Hero Initiative, the charity dedicated to helping veteran comic creators in medical or financial need, is hitting the Baltimore Comic Con in a massive way. Hero will be at booth #1601 September 5-7, 2014 with exclusive creators, signings, and more!
Hero will be the only place to find legendary writer Dennis O'Neil (Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow) and longtime fabled Marvel artist and editor Al Milgrom (Avengers, Spectacular Spider-Man). Look for them all weekend long at booth #1601.
Hero's exclusive Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #44 will also be on sale at Baltimore, and ALL three artists who created the cover will be on hand for a special signing! Penciler Herb Trimpe, inker Tom Palmer, and colorist Laura Martin will be at the Hero booth Saturday from 10:15 a.m.-11:00 a.m. It's your PERFECT chance to get this great limited edition signed by three comic greats!
Fans who like to get their books signed and authenticated by CGC for Signature Series will definitely want to check out Hero's exclusive signing with 11 top creators. Hero is the exclusive CGC Signature Series facilitator at the con for Cliff Chiang, Alan Davis, Dan Jurgens, Ron Marz, Bob McLeod, Al Milgrom, Mark Morales, Denny O'Neil, Tom Palmer, Brian Pulido, and Herb Trimpe! Bring your books to the CGC booth, #707, no later than 5 p.m. Friday, September 5. Cost is $38 plus return shipping, and you don't have to wait in lines!
And Marvel Comics SVP-Executive Editor Tom Brevoort is dropping the knowledge for Hero! Tom's Marvel Boot Camp panel at the con will be a special, ticketed-only seminar in which Tom gives the same training lecture he gives the Marvel editorial staff. Find out the real Marvel method of storytelling and important tricks of the trade! Tickets are available ONLY at the Hero booth, and the seminar lasts a whopping two hours, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday, September 7.
Finally, make sure your evening is covered with a trip to the Harvey Awards! Hero Initiative is awarding its Lifetime Achievement Award and Dick Giordano Humanitarian Award as part of the festivities. Be on hand to see who's earned the hardware!
About The Hero Initiative
The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic-book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterday's creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.
Since its inception, The Hero Initiative has granted more than $700,000 to the comic-book veterans who have paved the way. For more information, visit www.heroinitiative.org or call 626-676-6354.
SF – Shoplifter Signing
September 3, 2014 by Colin Solan
Filed under California, Comic Books, Signing and Appearance Profiles
Michael Cho appears in conversation with Chip Kidd at the JCCSF on Tuesday September 30th at 8:00 pM!
Press Release:
Illustrator and cartoonist Michael Cho, whose work has graced covers for Marvel and DC Comics, tackles the search for self-fulfillment in the big city in his brilliant debut graphic novel Shoplifter. His style evokes in equal measure the pop art of Roy Lichtenstein and aesthetics of Silver- and Bronze-Age superhero comics. Cho's previously published work includes Back Alleys and Urban Landscapes, a collection of sketches depicting Toronto's cityscape. He created the illustrations for Rabindranath Maharaj's The Amazing Absorbing Boy and is well known for his offbeat illustrations of superheroes. One of his stories was included in The Best American Comics 2010.
He is joined in conversation by Chip Kidd, four-time Eisner Award-winning designer and author of Batman: Animated, Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schultz, and Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross. As an editor of graphic novels for Pantheon Books, he has worked with some of the very best talents in the medium, including Chris Ware, Dan Clowes, Art Spiegelman, Charles Burns, and David Mazzucchelli. Kidd is also the recipient of the National Design Award for Communications, the Design industry's highest honor.
Tickets available at the link…
Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
3200 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94118


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So you've heard of white, wheat, corn…and maybe a few other flours. You might not care much about flour but when attempting to bake, the flour you choose can make or break you.
This is where gluten content is key. Gluten is a sticky, stretchy protein that helps create structure and substance in baked goods. So, for bread a high gluten content is desirable, for pastries (which should be delicate), a low gluten content is desirable.


text:
Muamer Asani, Supply Commercial Manager (Anheuser-Busch InBev)
Muamer Asani, Supply Commercial Manager (Anheuser-Busch InBev)
Peter Fleisch, Internal Logistics Manager
(Menshen GmbH & Co. KG)
Ralf Ahrens, Technical Director
(Hawesta Feinkost Hans Westphal GmbH & Co. KG)
Bernd Schiel, Senior Project Manager Office Depot
CODENTIFY®- ready and approved
Always the best operating side – The established series 500 is now available as left handed version!
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It is considered the leading trade fair for the industry: Interpack in Düsseldorf. As an innovative...
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Our pallet labellers are tried and tested sturdy, modular units designed for continuous operation. They cater for labels up to size DIN A4 that are attached to one, two or three sides of the pallet, depending on the model and configuration.
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Logopak Systeme
GmbH & Co.KG
Dorfstraße 40-42
D-24628 Hartenholm
Tel: +49 4195 - 99750
Fax: +49 4195 - 1265


text:
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Amendment One
Sign at church used as polling place questionedSubmitted by WWAY on Thu, 05/10/2012 - 10:11am.READ MORE:
Full story...»
As President voices his stance on gay marriage, both sides react to NC's Amendment One passingSubmitted by Marissa Jasek on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 10:23pm.READ MORE:
President Obama's stance on gay marriage comes at a controversial time in our country and our state. His announcement comes a day after North Carolina voters approved Amendment One. After months of debate and protests, reaction has been immediate. Tens of thousands have already signed a petition and one Wilmington church is standing its ground. Full story...»
NC approves amendment on gay marriageSubmitted by WWAY on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 8:14pm.READ MORE:
North Carolina voters have approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman, making it the 30th state to adopt such a ban. Full story...»
VOTE 2012: Pro-amendment church signs raise questions at polling placesSubmitted by Katie Harden on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 3:15pm.READ MORE:
Full story...»
VOTE 2012: Amendment vote drawing many to polls on Election DaySubmitted by Katie Harden on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 3:08pm.READ MORE:
Full story...»
Youngest NC voters can't cast ballot on amendmentSubmitted by Chris Phillips on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 11:56am.READ MORE:
Full story...»
Lawyer: Amendment One not written well, expect legal challengesSubmitted by Katie Harden on Mon, 05/07/2012 - 4:52pm.READ MORE:
A new poll says a Constitutional amendment blocking gay marriage in North Carolina could easily become law tomorrow. The amendment defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but some folks say there is more at stake than just who gets to wear a ring on their left hand. Full story...»
Campaigns work on last full day before NC primarySubmitted by Allyson Lorick on Mon, 05/07/2012 - 7:42am.READ MORE:
Full story...»
NC lawyers' group holds marriage question debateSubmitted by Chris Phillips on Thu, 05/03/2012 - 8:45pm.READ MORE:
Full story...»
Evangelist Billy Graham backs marriage amendmentSubmitted by Chris Phillips on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 9:22pm.READ MORE:
Full story...»


text:
Category: Water & Wastewater ×
Subcategory: Sludge Management ×
Industry: Mining ×
Location: Europe ×
Location: Portugal ×
F.F.P. Systems Inc.
based in Mississauga, ONTARIO (CANADA)
FFP systems incorporated designs and manufactures dewatering equipment internationally, Committed to quaility, we provide reliable products, service and support to our Customers and their dewatering requirements. Our products include filter presses, precoat systems, membrane squeeze filters, steam application filters,hydrometallurgy applications, SAGD applications, ...
Albin Pump SAS
based in Mölndal, SWEDEN
The company`s history originates from Albin Verken and is since 1928 an independent company. Albin Pump develops and manufactures sealless pumps that facilitate our customers processes through innovative solutions. The knowledge of development and production of pumps for the industry is built on many years of experience. We take pride in delivering efficient and ...
Harsco Metals & Minerals
based in Leatherhead, UNITED KINGDOM
Harsco provides resource recovery solutions for industry, recovering the metals or minerals from waste materials and by-products. With operations at more than 160 locations in over 30 countries, our operations follow the footprint of the metals industry.
Trimax Century Sdn Bhd
based in Puchong, MALAYSIA
Trimax Century Sdn Bhd was established in 2004 which driven to fulfill the need for the fluids technologies in today's vast industries. We are success lies in commitment in consistently to deliver our quality products & services.Currently Trimax Century Sdn Bhd is a sole distributor for NEUTRONE MIXERS, NEUTRONE PUMPS, NEUTRONE CONVEYOR SYSTEMS, STAINLESS STEEL WORKS, ...
based in Arganda del Rey, SPAIN
SALHER was founded in 1980 as a company producing sewage treatment units made of fibreglass-reinforced polyester. For years Salher has been carrying out an innovative strategy connected with its products and work methods achieving at the same time the position of the leader among Spanish companies dealing with sewage treatment units.
Verderflex Peristaltic Pumps - part of the Verder Group
based in Castleford, UNITED KINGDOM
Verderflex Peristaltic tube and hose pumps from Verder have gained worldwide prominence particularly in dosing applications involving abrasive, highly corrosive, viscous, high density and shear sensitive products within industries such as water and waste water, food & beverage, chemical, biofuel, print & packaging and ceramics. Verderflex peristaltic pumps have a ...
based in Sundbyberg, SWEDEN
Grindex is a world leader in electrical submersible pump technology for demanding applications such as construction, mining and heavy industry. The pumps are known for their high reliability, durability and dependability. Thanks to the built-in motor protection and the air valve, the pumps can run unsupervised for longer periods, and even run dry for a length of time. ...
AMCON Inc.
based in Yokohama, JAPAN
AMCON Inc., team of professionals of dewatering, provides rich variety dewatering equipment from low priced micro compact dewatering equipment to high-capacity king-size dewatering equipment to meet your request.
Markland Specialty Engineering Ltd.
based in Georgetown, ONTARIO (CANADA)
Markland Specialty Engineering has been designing and manufacturing process monitoring and control instrumentation that is valued by operators, managers and consultants, in diverse sectors, around the globe: Municipal water & wastewater treatment to measure primary, secondary, return-activated, and backwash sludge; Industrial processing and water & wastewater ...
Kemira Water Solutions, Inc.
based in Bartow, FLORIDA (USA)
Kemira is committed to being a leading water chemistry company. Our strengths are high-level application know-how, a comprehensive range of water and wastewater treatment chemicals, and reliable customer deliveries. As a leading global provider of inorganic coagulants and organic flocculants, we offer an extensive portfolio of products that also includes biocides, ...


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All Schools
(2) All Schools
(2) High Schools
(2) High Schools
(2) Elementary Schools
(1) Elementary Schools
(2) All Schools
(2) High Schools
(2) High Schools
(2) Elementary Schools
(1) Elementary Schools
There are 2 private schools located in Massachusetts that offer Paddle Tennis as an interscholastic sport.
Paddle Tennis Private Schools
- School Location Students Grades
WalthamGann Academy
333 Forest Street
Waltham, MA, 02452
(781)642-6800(Jewish)329 students | Gr. 9-12
North BrookfieldValley View School
Po Box 338
North Brookfield, MA, 01535
(508)867-650550 students | Gr. 6-12
All-boys | Alternative School
State Statistics
|About This State (MA)
|(MA) State Statistics
|Nationwide Statistics
|Population (Approximate)
|6,513,124 people
|304,788,332 people
|Age 25+ w/College Degree
|Median Household Income
Recent Articles
Updated October 26, 2014
What do you do when you are dissatisfied with your local public schools? Homeschool your children? Send them to private school? Let's look at your options.
Your religion matters to you. You want your child to attend a school which will combine academics and religious education. Here is an overview of what is available together with some links to denominational web sites.
Add things up and you'll quickly find the answer- math is crucial both in academics and the real world. By following these strategies and following personal training programs, students can uncover their weaknesses and conquer math.


text:
Remember Me
The Republican lawsuit targets reinsurance that helps insurance companies provide universal coverage without accounting for pre-existing conditions.
President Obama urged congressional Republicans to return to the bargaining table over the year-end "fiscal cliff," saying the two sides are far too close to the big budget deal they've been seeking for the past two years to give up now...
Insiders know more, are better prepared and generally more successful. Today's top advisors subscribe to our premium newsletter to ensure that they don't miss out the most important industry changes that are happening in real time. Starting at $8.95/Mo.