#queerkeit

The Hadassah-Brandeis Institute is proud to present “Ich Bin Di Sitra Achra (I Am the Other)” by Shterna Goldbloom. Goldbloom’s wistful photographic self-portraits bridge memories and experiences of the artist’s own Hasidic upbringing, with historical and invented personae. As the artist transforms herself in each composed image through dress, posture and setting, her photographs come together to present a singular but complicated expression of self as a queer Jewish woman. 

Goldbloom reinterprets the Hasidic term “Sitra Achra,” used to describe things considered to be on the "other side" of holiness — like queers and women who don't fit traditional definitions of femininity. In “Ich Bin Di Sitra Achra (I Am the Other),” the artist presents the many faces that can exist between tradition and heresy. Her gesture before the camera makes these conflicting identities visible, giving agency to those who might otherwise be obscured.

Being a trans pan Jew, LGBTIAQ identities and experiences and Jewishness figure into my main creative project. But it can be tricky to find language resources, so i’m falling on the old trick that every librarian depends upon when other avenues of research are not turning up what we need: i’m asking people in the community.

Does anyone know of any LGBTIAQ-related terminology in Hebrew, Ladino, Yiddish, or any other Jewish languages or dialects? In particular, i’d like to get together a list of words people use to identify or talk about themselves. I’m aware of ay’lonit, saris, tumtum, and androgynos, but i don’t know if there’s any contemporary usage of these as self-identifiers; i know some of us use “feygeleh” but it seems like there’s lots of baggage attached to that (she said, aware of the irony in having a bird-based URL).

I have wanted to paint in the Melrose Alleys—a stretch of alleys on either side of Melrose Ave. between Fairfax and La Brea, famous for its street art—since I was twelve years old. Two decades later, I finally had the chance. For the latest addition to my collection of Hebrew murals, I partnered with JQ International to paint a mural dedicated to gay and Jewish pride. Included in the morning liturgy is a blessing originally written to be said by women that reads, "Blessed are you, God ... for making me as intended," in Hebrew, "she'asani kirtzono." This bold statement that God created each of us intentionally in these myriad bodies and forms has distinct echoes of #bornthisway, though a millennium older than hashtags. As a result, this controversial blessing has become a succinct and powerful articulation of gay pride in a Jewish context.

The mural features the blessing in Hebrew—שֶׁעָשַֽׂנִי כִּרְצוֹנוֹ—and the rough translation "I was made as intended" on a vibrant rainbow background. The rainbow flag was designed in California, adding a layer of connection between this piece and its location. It is likely that this mural, at 90 feet long and 8.5 feet tall, is the second largest Jewish mural in Los Angeles, and LA's largest extant queer mural.

hello again friends! i’m excited to share that my artwork “Feygele” & an accompanying poem from my chapbook - together a queer, trans love letter to Jewish demons - is representing the month of Tammuz in the Radical Jewish Calendar for 5781! 

as a contributing artist, i was allowed to choose a date in the calendar to mark in a way that felt important to me, so i chose to commemorate the August 3rd co-founding of this blog (and resulting community!) with the amazing @darkhei-noam in 2016. i can barely believe that this blog is 4+ years old - and our Discord server for LGBTQ+ Jews who study and/or practice Jewish magic & mysticism is 2+ years old and more active than ever with 80+ members (if you want an invite, message us)!

i am so grateful to each & every person who has been active here, and i’m especially thankful for @creekfiend & @kuttithevangu who together were a major guiding light on my way back into Judaism through the more marginal & magic aspects of our history. getting to know them & so many more incredible people through them changed my life. 

which is a long way to say that “Queerkeit Coven” is printed in a calendar now & all of you should feel proud! 

are you Jewish, LGBTQ+, AND interested in the study and/or practice of Jewish magic & mysticism? we want to hear from you!

https://forms.gle/AvyVo3979zXNbaaRA

mod Ezra here - as you know, this community & the intersection of topics that brought us together is near & dear to my heart, so it’s been a goal of mine to try to understand that connection better in order to collect/create more resources specifically for us! this survey, which is mostly open-ended short written response, was created as a tool to help get bigger conversations rolling & collect some data for us to think about. there’s more info at the link about how the information will potentially be used/shared, but in short - it’s up to you if you want to be totally anonymous or if you want to be cited and/or interviewed at more length. 

i’ve got a couple of related projects in the works & possibly some opportunities for where this might go - right now i’m mostly interested in gathering info & keeping it open. please share widely & don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns about the survey! 

something i put together pretty quick for Poetry Jam; February 2020 but i’m fairly proud of it! a condensation of lots of thoughts/feelings i’ve been having about queer/trans Judaism & Jewish myth/magic/mysticism, with a side of trauma processing (nothing queerer or more Jewish, etc.)

When I spoke at Anshe Emet Synagogue for Pride, I challenged them to transform the memory of queer Jewish history into action... One of the new projects that they have taken on is honouring Ben Rosenstein, a transmasculine Jewish immigrant who died of tuberculosis in 1915, and is buried in Chicago in a pauper's grave without a headstone.