Torah Commentary

Rabbi Silverstein and Rabbi Buck explore some of their favorite Jewish texts and discuss how to build a Jewish community and world that allows everyone to express their full selves.

A sermon for Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Intention to be read before reading Leviticus 18 on Yom Kippur, regarding the Torah’s enumerations of prohibited sexual relationships

A sermon delivered on Rosh Hashanah eve using twilight as a metaphor for transgender people, remarking on the holiness of intermediate space.

This Torah Commentary reminds us that just as the Torah cannot stay in the ark, so too shouldn't LGBTQ pepole stay in the closet.

A Passover Haggadah insert about the story of one person's coming out journey.

Xava de Cordova on Tisha B'Av and the myriad faces of tragedy: grief, brokenness, laughter, and transformation.

This drash was presented at the Chicago Pride Havdalah in 2021. It discusses liminal spaces - the in-betweenness of Shabbat and the week, the tensions of forming community virtually, and the ongoing work for LGBTQ belonging.

Download these gender-inclusive aliyah cards for your Torah service.

In this Torah Queery, Chaim Moshe HaLevi explores the origins of Chanukah and compares it to other winter religious festivals.

TransTexts explores what traditional Jewish texts have to say about transgender and gender nonconforming experiences and gender in general. This guide explores Genesis 1:27.

TransTexts explores what traditional Jewish texts have to say about transgender and gender nonconforming experiences and gender in general. This guide explores Deuteronomy 22:5.

This Torah Queery reflections on the themes of liberation in the context of a highly ritualized holiday like Passover.

An insert with a new interpretation for Levitcus 18:22

This Torah Queery makes a connection between the ritual cow slaughter with LGBTQ Pride celebrations.

This Torah Queery reflects on the proximity between Tu B'av and Tisha B'Av.

This Torah Queery highlights the ways in which we all want to be seen as our true selves.

This Torah Queery reflects on the story of Joseph's familial rejection and how that compares to the experiences of LGBTQ people with their families of origin.

This Torah Queery highlights the importance of a shared history to a community, but it a Jewish and/or LGBTQ community.

This Torah Queery provocatively holds G-d to account for the sins of heteronormaivitiy and cisnormativity.

A Torah Queery that connects the Exodus from Egypt with LGBTQ liberation.

A Torah Queery exploring the prohbition around "blemished" bodies and the medical pathologization of LGBTQ identity.

A Torah Queery which uses the eternal flame as a metaphor for self improvement.

This Torah Queery explores the moment Abram lies about Sara being his wife and how that experience relates to the LGBTQ community.

This Torah Queery focuses on the importance of celebrating diversity.

Essay by Rabbi Ayelet Cohen, a cis and straight ally dedicated to trans liberation. Though written in 2006 the message rings true today.

This Torah Queery reflects on the ways in which Moses would have been an ally to the LGBTQ community.

This Torah Queery highlights the tension that sometimes happens between power and justice and why pursing justice is the route to peace.

A Torah Queery offered as a personal reflection on the anniversary of the queer writers' Bar Mitzvah.

This Torah Queery draws parallels between a vengeful G-d and LGBTQ individual's unaccepting family of origin.

This Torah Queery reflects on what it means to end a journey.

This Torah Queery reflects on the challenges of vulnerability and welcoming strangers.

This Torah Queery is about the nature of G-d and G-d's love.

This Torah Queery is a commentary on the different laws on vows depending on gender and marital status, focusing on the story of the daughters of Zelophehad.

This Torah Queery examines the idea of being in the closet through the lens of the story of Joseph.

This Torah Queery uses the gifts used to be the Tabernacle as a way to discuss the role of LGBTQ Jews in our community.

This Torah Queery reflects on who is responsible for passing down and holding the memories and histories of our communities.

This Torah Queery focuses on the matriarchs, with a special emphasis on Rebecca.

This Torah Queery makes a connection between Joseph's burial and the importance of memory.

A Torah Queery which examines the prohibition against "cross-dressing."

This Torah Queery examines the concept of public shaming.

This Torah Queery uses Jacob and Esau to explore themes of parenting.

This Torah Queery addresses what it means to be a sacred community.

This Torah Queery focuses on the rite of purification after having come into contact with a corpse, the ritual of the Red Heifer.

A Torah Queery that reflects on the importance of the heroic women in this parshat.

A Torah Queery that comments on the language and blessings in this parshat.

A Torah Queery about the power and holines of judgment.

A Torah Queery that looks at the different interpretations regarding the prohbition of gay sex.

A Torah Queery reminding the reader that G-d is the G-d of all beings.

A Torah Queery arguing that the Wilderness can be a creative space to create community.

A Torah Queery connecting the building of the Tabernacle with the creation of LGBTQ Safe Spaces.

A Torah Queery about the changing translation of the V'Ahavta prayer.

A Torah Queery reminding the reader that commandments around procreation may alienate LGBTQ people.

A Torah Queery discussing the tension LGBTQ people may experience around honoring their parents.

A Torah Queery relecting on the concept of fearing G-d and the need for human teachers.

A Torah Queery arguing for the Queer community to come together into one large community to fight shared injustices.

A Torah Queery that connects the transformations that take place in this parshat to the experiences of LGBTQ people.

A Torah Queery that argues that the Holiness Code described in this Torah portion established a lineage that was queer for its time

This Torah Queery makes a connection between the prohibition against trying to create a likeness of G-d and relying too much on a fixed idea of our identity.

This Torah Queery draws parallels between the story of the Golden Calf and LGBTQ observant Jews tension between non-Queer norms and their identities.

This Torah Queery makes a connection between the story of Hagar and Ishamel and LGBTQ experience.

This Torah Queery highlights the importance of using costumes on Purim to reveal our true selves.

This Torah Queery imagines what Moses' wife Tzipporah must have been feeling during a tragic moment in the wanderings of the Hebrews in the Desert.

A Torah Queery connecting the crossing of the Jordan with LGBTQ people's experiences.

A Torah Queery connecting the Parsha with Transgender Day of Remembrance.

A Torah Queery reflecting on the spirtual resonance of Sukkot.

This Torah Queery look at the start of Abraham and Sarah's journey.

A Torah Queery reflecting on the the difficulties faced by prophets, the challenges that God brings to them.

This Torah Queery reminds us that on Pesach, we are obligated to think of ourselves as having personally come out of Egypt.

This Torah Queery uses the Census to highlight the tension between being viewed as one group and as one indvidual.

A Torah Queery reflecting on the talking female donkey described in the parshat.

A Torah Queery comparing the exclusion of women in the census to the exclusion of LGBTQ people.

This Torah Queery focuses on how traumatic the crossing of the Red Sea would have been and how we all can cross through our own traumas.

This Torah Queery focuses on the real sin of Sodom: being inhospitable to guests.

A Torah Queery about Jonah's attachment to judgment.

A Torah Queery that explores the story of Miriam and Aaron challenging Moses' leadership after he marries outside of their Tribe.

This Torah Queery compares two stories, one from Parashat Vayera about Sodom, and one from the book of Judges, both about men seeking sex with men, and are offered women to rape instead.

This Torah Queery explores the concept of ritually unclean animals in this Torah portion and the use of the word "abomination"

The author, a gay Orthodox rabbi, wrestles with the verses from Leviticus prohibiting gay sex.

A reflection on the story of Ruth and Naomi.

This Torah Queery looks at the moment Moses is sent down the Nile and connects it to others sent away from their families of origin.

This Torah Queery serves as a commentary on the building the Holy Tabernacle.

This Torah Queer compares isolation due to impurity to the experiences of queer people.

This Torah Queery asks what doe sit mean to build a community of liberation.

This Torah Queery looks at the link between Passover and Yom Kippur.

This Torah Queer reflects on anti-LGBTQ violence.

This Torah Queery asks what it would it be like for LGBTQ people to claim our identity as God’s treasure, and to live our lives as a reflection of that status?

This Torah Queery connects the courage to come out with the divine spark with in us.

This Torah Queery calls upon us to continuously grow and change to become more our true selves.

This Torah Queery makes a connection between the Exodus with oppression that still occurs all around the world today.

This Torah Queery explores the meaning of tzedek/justice.

This Torah Queery looks at Joseph's moral character to get a better sense of who he is.

This Torah Queery reminds us that as Jews we wrestle with many parts of our lives, identities, and traditions.

This Torah Queery focuses on the meaning of lineage and family.

This Torah Queery looks at the events of the portion and how they move toward greater inclusion.

This Torah Queery wrestles with examples from the Torah where the belief all are made in the Divine Image is contradicted.

This Torah Queery reflects on who is included in the Convenant with God.

This Torah Queery explores the question of whom LGBTQ Jews might add to the list of sacred guests.

This Torah Queery draws an analogy between the celebration Pesach Sheni (second Passover) and the allowance of LGBTQ marriage

This Torah Queery reminds us of the importance of questioning, an act central to Judaism.

A Torah Queery connecting the Hebrew's drive for liberation with LGBTQ people.

This Torah Queery focuses on the census and how it calls upon us to stand up and be counted.

This Torah Queery explores concepts of purity and how that relates to interpretations regarding sexuality.

This Torah Queery reflects on what it means to end a journey.

This Torah Queery exposes the multiple purposes of animal sacrifice.

This Torah Queery asks why a census must be taken.

This Torah Queery explores the story of the “strange fire” brought by Nadav and Avihu in this Torah portion.

This Torah Queery explores what it means to be commanded to fulfill mitzvot in changing times.

This Torah Queery is a reflection on the Torah Queeries collection and what a famous Jewish scholar would think.

This Torah Queery draws parallels between the complex work of building the Tabernacle with the beauty Queer people can find in places we are accepted.

This Torah Queery draws parallels between the story of Cain and Abel and the experiences of LGBTQ people and their families of origin.

A Torah Queery that offers a reinterpretation of the Creation story which includes multple gender identities and sexual orientations.

This Torah Queery reflects on the importance of the Sabbatical year given to the Earth every seven years and what that can teach us all.

This Torah Queery discusses the importance of role models in both Jewish and LGBTQ communities.

A Torah Queery that invites us to think about where we draw the line between "good" and "bad" practices.

This Torah Queery reflects on Moses' final blessing and curse to the Hebrews before his death.

This Torah Queery points out the different family structures in Jewish tradition and connects them to LGBTQ family structures.

This Torah Queery challenges the traditional blessing over children.

A Torah Queery that asks how we can purify our live and homes.

A Torah Queery drawing parallels between ritual garments and items worn by some transgender people.

This Torah Queery reminds us of the many times we are commanded to love the Stranger.

A Torah Queery that highlights gender diversity in Jewish sacred text.

A Torah Queery about the power of speech, and how LGBTQ people face hate speech.

This Torah Queery uses Pharoh as a metaphor for the type of behavior we should avoid in our relationships.

A Torah Queery that draws parallels between Jacob's transformation in the Wilderness with coming out.

A Torah Queery that our human urge to connect with God and its relationship to struggling with verses of Torah that do not speak to us as LGBTQ Jews

A Torah Queery about finding "Queer" narratives even amidst a seemingly anti-Queer passages

A Torah Queery which challenges gay men and lesbians to become more active in their Jewish communities.

This Torah Queery examines the complicated way in which Torah treats sexual intimacy.

This Torah Queery uses the parshat to affirm same gender and Queer love and relationships

This Torah Queery draws a parallel between Potiphar's relationship with his wife and being closeted in a heterosexual relationship.

A sermon by Rabbi Denise Eger exploring the Leviticus texts uses to prohibit gay sex, focusing on a teshuvah (responsa) written by several Conservative rabbis.

This Torah Queery wrestles with ones personal relationship to Judaism, Biblical Text, and a secular upbringing.

This Torah Queery is an exploration of the evidence of Joseph’s “queerness” step by step.

A Torah Queery that draws a connection between the treatment of Hagar and that of LGBTQ people.

A Torah Queery that explores the reasons Joseph is shunned by his family and connects it to the LGBTQ experience.

This Torah Queery explores the rationale for prohibitions against certain sexual acts.

This Torah Queery reminds us that we are not to oppress the Stranger.

This Torah Queery interprets the Covenant between God and the Hebrews through a Queer Lens.

This Torah Queery lifts up the stories of forgotten matriachs of the Torah.

This Torah Queery explores ideas of parenting.

This Torah Queery draws parallels between the family structures found within the Torah with other, more modern Queer family structures.

This Torah Queery examines the "first full fledged liturgy" in the Torah.

A Torah Queery reflecting on personal struggle between Jewish law and personal values.

This Torah Queery discusses the importance of self knowledge and courage to Queer people while on their spiritual journey.

A Torah Queery drawing parallels between the Israelities wandering the desert and LGBTQ people.

A Torah Queery commenting on the nature of the scapegoat.

This Torah Queery complicates our understanding of binaries and the line between two "opposite" ideas.

A Torah Queery exploring the notion of terumah, translated as gift, portion, offering, or donation.

This Torah Queery reflects on practices around sacrifices and how this led to an unequal social community.

A Torah Queery exploring the characteristics of love.

This Torah Queery makes a connection between the act of circumcision and coming out.

This Torah Queery recounts the story of when the scouts Moses sent into the Promised Land, returned, and what LGBTQ people can learn from their reaction.

This Torah Queery examines the moment when Abraham "heeded the call" of God and how we all can do the same.

This Torah Queery reflects on the ways we wrestle with bodies, what is expected of them, and how we handle the lack of perfection.

A Torah Queery reflecting on use of a red cow’s ashes to ritually purify a person, and the preparation of Miriam’s body for burial.

This Torah Queery examines the Song of Songs as a path for being aware of God's presence in the universe, which is our ultimate purpose behind all of our Jewish traditions.

This Torah Queery connects the priestly blessing with LGBTQ liberation.

This Torah Queery decontructs Leviticus 18:22 word for word.

This Torah Queery invites us to reflect on the complexity of our gender and the power of naming.

This Torah Queery highlights the conneciton between the High Holidays and the experiences of Queer people.

This Torah Queery discuss the importance of "Queering" the 613 Commandments.

This Torah Queery makes a connection between Aaron as Moses' advoate and the role of cisgender allies in supporting transgender and non-binary people.

This Torah Queery asks what Queer people can learn from some of the priestly rituals described in the Torah.

This Torah Queery makes a connection between the "coming out" of Egypts with coming out as LGBTQ.

This Torah Queery discuss the Queer subtext of the marriage between Isaac and Rebecca.

In this reflection on Torah, the author draws connections between Abraham's search for a wife for his son with dating struggles in the modern world.

This Torah Queery draws parallels between Moses and LGBTQ people, arguing for self-acceptance.

This Torah Queery that highlights our responsibility to seek and pursue justice.

This Torah Queery explores the adult relationship of Jacob and Esau and the parralells some LGBTQ people have their their family of origin.

A Torah Queery that connects the Israelites struggle for freedom with LGBTQ people's coming out experience.

A reflection on the stories of Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac and the ways in which transgender Jews can find strength and a reflection of their experience.

This Torah Queery focuses on the Jubilee year and how we recognize miracles in our lives.

This Torah Queery is about vows and how they can uphold oppressive systems.

This Torah Queery reflects on this story of liberation and faith has been claimed by countless communities as part of their journey out of their own “narrow place.”

This Torah Queery challenges the outdated belief that babies are born either only male and female who will grow up to identify as cisgender.

This Torah Queery reflects on Simchat Torah and why we don't read the book of Joshua.

A Torah Queery explores Noah's life after the flood and how grief impacts our decisions.

In this d’var Torah, Professor Joy Ladin tells the story of Parashat Yitro as a love story between God and the people of Israel.

A Torah Queery that points out that its often the victors who write history and laws.

A Jewish drag queen write about what Purim means to them.

A personal account that describes the authors struggle to reconcile his Jewish and Queer identities.

This Torah Queery highlights a practice of reciting Hallel on Pride.

A Torah Queery which connects the story of Joseph's ostracism with the experiences of LGBTQ people.

A Torah Queery reflecting on the tension between powerful rulers and abuses of power.

This Torah Queery makes a connection between Jacob's wrestling with the angel to the ways the author wrestles in their own life.

This Torah Queery draws connections between the author's experiences as a transgender woman with the life of Jacob.

A Queer perspective on Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13.

Queer neo-Kabbalistics teach us that through the contemplation of the gender/erotic possibilities of the sefirot during the Omer