Elul begins this year on the heels of the most tumultuous political year I have ever experienced in almost 60 years of life. Our sitting president puts out an average of 6.4 lies a day. ICE and our immigration policies are not merely cruel, they are torturing children and are impeding our economy from functioning to boot. Hate incidents have skyrocketed. In Portland alone, hate incidents increased by 200% from 2016 to 2017, hundreds and hundreds of incidents of verbal violence taking place on public transportation alone. A regressive tax plan...
Dear UnShul Members and Supporters: We are delighted to announce our High Holy Day Services! We will meet at the home of Rabbah D’vorah and can accommodate 60 souls. Given the interest we have already heard we want to urge you to register early to make sure you secure your spot. (Details below.) Join Portland’s UnShul, a lyrical, mystical, queer drenched, passionately activist, spiritually intimate Jewish community, as we immerse ourselves in tshuvah work which includes and transcends personal atonement. Through traditional and renewed...
Shabbat MarCheshvan 8, 5778 (Torah Portion “GO to yourself!”) “Me too” whispered Sarai, hugging her knees to her chest, sitting in a fetal position. “Me too” said Sarai, standing up to speak. Because my weak and fearful husband thought he needed to whore me out to Pharaoh to save his own life, because my faithless husband did not believe the blessings of Yud He Vav He—because Avram did not believe that we would together birth a great nation that would transmit blessings to the world. “ME TOO” declared Sarai, drawing herself up to her full...
From welcome to embrace: honoring transgender and bisexual Jews Rabbi Debra Kolodny Torah’s declaration that we were created b’tzelem Elohim- in the image of G-d is a foundational text for human rights work. All of us, in our glorious diversity, were created intentionally in the image of the Holy Blessed One. Therefore, all must be accorded basic rights, respect and access to resources. In and of itself this passage teaches that we must be kind, fair and honorable to everyone, whatever our skin color, national origin, religion,...
