Keshet: For LGBTQ+ Equality in Jewish Life
Core Trainings

 

Keshet offers a number of trainings to help support your organization in learning about LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) terms and concepts, ways that LGBTQ+ people may be experiencing belonging and/or marginalization in Jewish communities, and tools for making your organization more LGBTQ+ affirming.

Please contact Keshet’s Director of Education and Training to schedule a training, or for more information about custom training options.

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1. Staff Training: Introduction to LGBTQ+ concepts
2. Staff Training: Intro-Plus
3. Intro to LGBTQ+ Concepts and Best Practices for Executive Staff
4. Staff Training: Summer Camps
5. Staff Training: Day School Educators
6. Staff Training: Early Childhood Education
7. Intro to LGBTQ+ Concepts and Best Practices in Elder Care
8. Board Training
9. Community Training
10. Transgender Equity in the Jewish Workplace
11. LGBTQ+ Jewish History Timeline Workshop
12. Allyship Training
13. Shivyon: Keshet’s Equality Project
14. Policy Workshop
15. Text and Ritual for Jewish Spiritual Leaders (Limited Availability)
16. Gender in Jewish Text (Limited Availability)
17. Introduction to LGBTQ+ Equality and Belonging for Loved Ones & Allies

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Staff Training: Introduction to LGBTQ+ concepts

These trainings are designed for a wide range of staff seeking to create an LGBTQ+ affirming environment for members/students/participants, colleagues, and the community at large. They focus on building shared vocabulary and awareness around LGBTQ+ identities and identifying ways in which they can build a community of equality and belonging for LGBTQ+ people.

Level 1:

At the end of this 90 minute training, participants will be able to:

• Identify and understand the core terms and concepts related to LGBTQ+ identities.
• Make connections between LGBTQ+ equality and Jewish values.
• Begin to use a framework to identify concrete actions they can take to increase equality and belonging for LGBTQ+ people in their communities.

Level 2:

At the end of this 90 minute training, participants will be able to:

• Deepen connections between LGBTQ+ equality and Jewish values.
• Identify some common experiences that impact the experience of belonging for LGBTQ+ people in Jewish communities.
• Identify concrete actions they can take to increase equality and belonging for LGBTQ+ people in their communities.

* A level 2 training assumes all participants have participated in prior LGBTQ+ training and are aware of the basic concepts related to gender identity, sex assigned at birth, and sexual/romantic orientation.

Staff Training: Intro-Plus

This 2 hour training will include all of the above, plus an additional activity focused on your choice of:

1. LGBTQ+ Jewish History
2. “What’s In a Pronoun?” Workshop
3. Jewish Text
4. Putting it Into Practice: Scenarios and Choice-Points

Intro to LGBTQ+ Concepts and Best Practices for Executive Staff (2h – 2.5h)

This training is designed for organizational leadership and executive staff seeking to move their organization’s policies, programming, and culture to foster equality and belonging for LGBTQ+ constituents and staff. This training focuses on core considerations and choice-points, as well as Keshet’s overall approach to change.

At the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Review the core terms and concepts related to LGBTQ+ identities.
• Make connections between LGBTQ+ equality and Jewish values.
• Identify some common experiences that impact the experience of belonging for LGBTQ+ people in Jewish communities.
• Understand Keshet’s Spectrum of Belonging and approach to institutional change.
• Identify a framework for building LGBTQ+ affirming communities.

Staff Training: Summer Camps

This training is designed for a wide range of camps (day and/or overnight) seeking to create an LGBTQ+ affirming environment. It focuses on building shared vocabulary and awareness around LGBTQ+ identities and identifying ways in which staff can build a community of equality and belonging for LGBTQ+ campers and colleagues. This training is best delivered in-person to the full summer camp staff.

At the end of this 90 minute training, participants will be able to:

• Identify and understand the core terms and concepts related to LGBTQ+ identities.
• Make connections between LGBTQ+ equality and Jewish values to incorporate at camp.
• Understand some day-to-day assumptions, interactions, and barriers that may impact the experience of LGBTQ+ campers and staff.
• Identify frameworks and language tools for building towards LGBTQ+ equality and belonging at camp.
• Apply the learning to scenarios surrounding LGBTQ+ belonging that may arise at camp.

Staff Training: Day School Educators

This two-part training is designed for Day School staff and educators to build a comprehensive set of tools for supporting LGBTQ+ students, staff, and families in the day school setting through interpersonal affirmation, curricular and policy best practices, and intentional culture-building.

Session 1: At the end of this 2-hour session participants will be able to:

• Identify and understand the core terms and concepts related to LGBTQ+ identities.
• Make connections between LGBTQ+ equality and Jewish values.
• Understand what LGBTQ+ youth and adults are experiencing in the educational landscape
• Learn and practice core tools for affirming and supporting LGBTQ+ students, families, and colleagues

Session 2: At the end of this 2-hour session participants will be able to:

• Identify and implement best practices for building LGBTQ+ affirming content in the classroom.
• Understand core elements for developing LGBTQ+ affirming policy in school environments.
• Build tools for developing LGBTQ+ affirming culture in school environments.
• Learn and Practice intervention strategies to address microaggressions and bullying related to LGBTQ+ identities.

Staff Training: Early Childhood Education

These trainings are designed for staff and teachers working in early childhood education, a stage of life where children are building awareness of identity and difference and building the foundations for self-confidence and empathy. These trainings focus on building shared vocabulary and awareness around LGBTQ+ identities and identifying ways in which early childhood educators can build a community of equality and belonging in classroom and school settings.

Level 1:

At the end of this 90 minute training, participants will be able to:

• Identify and understand the core terms and concepts related to LGBTQ+ identities.
• Make connections between LGBTQ+ equality and Jewish values.
• Begin identifying components of gender identity and family structure that are relevant to students and families in the early childhood age.
• Identify some classroom practices and educational content that support self-expression, respect, and dignity.

Level 2:*

At the end of this 90 minute training, participants will be able to:

• Deepen connections between LGBTQ+ equality and Jewish values.
• Identify some common barriers that impact the experience and development of LGBTQ+ children.
• Develop principles and tools for creating LGBTQ+ affirming schools, classrooms, and curriculum.
• Practice developmentally meaningful conversations and learning around LGBTQ+ identity with students.

*A level 2 training assumes all participants have participated in prior LGBTQ training and are aware of the basic concepts related to gender identity, sex assigned at birth, and sexual/romantic orientation. 

Intro to LGBTQ+ Concepts and Best Practices in Elder Care

This training is designed for staff and caregivers seeking to create an LGBTQ+ affirming environment in communities of extended care. It focuses on building shared vocabulary and awareness around LGBTQ+ identities and identifying ways in which staff can build a community of equality and belonging for LGBTQ+ clients, staff, and elder community members.

At the end of this 90-minute training, participants will be able to:

• Identify and understand the core terms and concepts related to LGBTQ+ identities
• Make connections between LGBTQ+ equality and Jewish values.
• Begin to understand the landscape and potential barriers facing LGBTQ+ older adults.
• Begin to identify concrete actions they can take to increase equality and belonging for LGBTQ+ people in older adult communities or care settings.

Board Training (60-90m)

In this training we will work with your board to ground LGBTQ+ equality in Jewish text and values, and to understand the importance – and benefits – of LGBTQ+ equality and belonging in our communities. Your board will learn the basics of LGBTQ+ terminology and Keshet’s core philosophy behind institutional change.

At the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Identify and understand the core terms and concepts related to LGBTQ+ identities.
• Make connections between LGBTQ+ equality and Jewish values.
• Understand the importance of building explicitly LGBTQ+ affirming communities.
• Understand the benefits to an organization of being LGBTQ+ affirming.
• Understand Keshet’s Spectrum of Belonging and approach to institutional change.

Community Training (60-90 min)

This training is designed for community members at large, and will familiarize them with the basics of building LGBTQ+ equality and belonging. This training is best offered in support of new or ongoing work for LGBTQ+ equality and in tandem with staff- or leadership-specific training.

At the end of this training participants will be able to:

• Identify and understand the core terms and concepts related to LGBTQ+ identities.
• Make connections between LGBTQ+ equality and Jewish values.
• Understand the importance of building explicitly LGBTQ+ affirming communities.
• Identify ways that all community members can be part of building LGBTQ+ affirming culture.

Transgender Equity in the Jewish Workplace

This session is designed for organizational leadership, human resources staff, managers, and others responsible for hiring, managing, or building and maintaining workplace cultures. We will identify and prepare to counter some of the common biases and barriers that impact transgender and nonbinary people in the workplace. 

At the end of this 90 minute session, participants will be able to:

• Identify some of the most common ideological and cultural biases that lead to marginalization of transgender and nonbinary people.
• Identify common practices and procedures that can present barriers to transgender and nonbinary people accessing participation, employment, and leadership in many institutions.
• Identify concrete tools to build equitable policies, procedures, and interactions.
• Practice tools for interrupting anti-transgender bias.

Note: This session assumes familiarity with transgender and nonbinary identities and common terms used to describe them. For groups who have not yet built this common language, we highly recommend Intro to LGBTQ+ Concepts as a prerequisite to this session.

LGBTQ+ Jewish History Timeline Workshop (60-75 minutes)

This workshop will use an interactive timeline activity to explore key moments in LGBTQ+ Jewish history in the United States, and to explore the implications of this history for our work on LGBTQ equality and belonging in Jewish life today.

*This workshop assumes some basic familiarity with LGBTQ+ identities and will not provide an introduction to gender identity and sexual orientation. Participants may familiarize themselves with these terms and concepts through Keshet’s LGBTQ+ Terminology sheet, available in our online Resource Library.

 Allyship Training (2h)

This is an advanced level training focused on equipping participants to be active allies / accomplices to the LGBTQ+ community in the work for greater equality and dignity. It assumes prior work on the basics of LGBTQ identities and concepts, and is available to organziations who have met the following prerequisites:

• Has had formal prior LGBTQ+ Level 1 and Level 2 trainings from Keshet or equivalent.
• Equivalent training includes:
  • Understanding of the differences and connections between sex assigned at birth, gender identity, and sexual orientation
  • Understanding of pronouns, including comfort asking/sharing pronouns, the rationale behind it, and comfort using a variety of pronoun sets.
  • Understanding of heteronormativity and cisnormativity; the ways that norms around gender, sexuality, and power impact the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ people, as well as cisgender people whose gender expressions do not conform to cultural norms.

At the end of this 2-hour training, participants will be able to:

• Build a common definition of allyship
• Approach allyship with a growth mindset
• Approach allyship from a framework of authentic relationship with and accountability to LGBTQ+ people most impacted by bias and oppression.
• Recognize some ways in which biases around gender and sexual orientation impact LGBTQ+ individuals in communal or organizational settings (microbehaviors, barriers to access, etc).
• Begin to effectively intervene when witnessing microbehaviors, barriers to access, or homophobia/transphobia.

Shivyon: Keshet’s Equality Project

Keshet’s signature cohort-based program equips communities and organizations to make sustained change and build LGBTQ+ affirming community. 7-10 organizations participate together in the year-long program, which includes a full-day launch training*, ongoing coaching, and a capstone gathering.

 At the end of our full-day launch, participants will be able to:

• Identify and understand the core terms and concepts related to LGBTQ+ identities.
• Make connections between LGBTQ+ equality and Jewish values, text, and history.
• Identify some common experiences that may impact the experience of belonging for LGBTQ+ people in Jewish communities.
• Understand Keshet’s Spectrum of Belonging and approach to institutional change.
• Identify organizational best practices for building LGBTQ+ affirming communities.
• Understand LGBTQ+ equality as it relates to the broader context of work for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Develop a customized action plan for their institution.

Through their year of participation, participants will

• Be guided through an organizational self-assessment of LGBTQ+ affirming policies, programming, and culture.
• Receive five coaching calls with a Keshet coach, with individualized support, resources, and problem-solving related to their action plan.
• Become empowered to create sustained change for LGBTQ+ equality.
• Develop independence and confidence to identify ongoing goals.

Organizations who complete the full year, including the summit, coaching calls, and capstone gathering will receive a certificate of completion.

*This training can also be offered online, with two three-hour launch sessions which will include pre-work and homework in between sessions.

Policy Workshop

This interactive session is designed for a core team of organizational leaders and changemakers to work hand-in-hand with a Keshet trainer to identify priority areas for policy development, explore values and priorities for policy change, and discuss concrete language options for select policy areas. This session is always customized to address the specific needs of the organization. To book this session, please be prepared to share background information about your organization and your needs and identify no more than three policy areas to focus our discussion around.

Text and Ritual for Jewish Spiritual Leaders (Limited Availability)

At the end of this 2-hour interactive workshop, clergy and spiritual leaders will be able to:

• Identify ways that Jewish ritual interacts with gender and sexual orientation, and identify several approaches to using ritual in LGBTQ+ affirming ways.
• Identify areas in which LGBTQ+ specific rituals may be needed, and learn about approaches to developing meaningful rituals.
• Learn multiple approaches to creating gender-inclusive liturgy to respectfully address and celebrate gender nonbinary people.

This workshop requires prior participation in an Intro to LGBTQ+ Terms and Concepts training or equivalent.

Gender in Jewish Text (60-90 min)  (Limited Availability)

This text study will explore selections from the Torah and Rabbinic literature that push us to think differently about the presence and power of gender diversity in Jewish communities and history.

Introduction to LGBTQ+ Equality and Belonging for Loved Ones & Allies

By the end of this training, you will be able to:

• Understand the importance of LGBTQ+ belonging and affirmation.
• Identify and understand the core terms and concepts related to LGBTQ+ identities.
• Make connections between LGBTQ+ equality and Jewish values.
• Identify frameworks and language for affirming and supporting LGBTQ+ loved ones.

Custom trainings available by request.

Please contact Keshet’s Director of Education and Training for more information.

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