Spring, 2011 appearances:
- Guest lecturer at Starr King School for the Ministry March 2011
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San Francisco Social Justice Shavuot 2011
- Kavod v Nichum conference, June 2011, Chicago.
Pittsburgh Hillel Book Talk - Report from the Jewish Chronicle Nov 29, 2011
Sha'ar Zahav Book Talk
On Feb 26 2011 after havdallah, Chav Doherty, Eliron Hamburger and Noach Dzmura read from their essays in the anthology. Our reading was followed by essayists who contributed to our sibling publication, "Keep Your Wives Away from Them" edited by Miryam Kabakov. It was a great evening. Lots of people from all of our communities met together -- synagogue, work, school, and the world of queer activism --to celebrate the publication of these labors of love.
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WestCoast kickoff for Balancing on the Mechitza
West Coast Book release kickoff for Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in Jewish Community edited by Noach Dzmura was held on Dec 2nd along with a Hanukkah party, beginning at 6:30pm at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. Contributing authors Marty Rawlings-Fein, Rabbi Elliot Kukla, Max Strassfeld and others read from their work. The event co-sponsors were the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies of the Pacific School of Religion, and the Richard S Dinner Center for Jewish Studies.
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Reporting on recent Philadelphia events
The East Coast kickoff for the anthology, Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in Jewish Community (North Atlantic Books) was held on June 2, 2010. The evening event was a phenomenal success. The book talk and reception were held at Congregation Rodeph Shalom. About 60 people showed up for the evening's festivities.
My hostess and the instigator of this event was Shelley Kapnek Rosenberg, who graciously hosted me at her home all week. Shelley spoke first, thanking the generous event sponsors, and introduced Rabbi Rebecca Alpert, who stepped up to the microphone to introduce me. I was honored she agreed to do that for me. She made me sound really good!
Then I turned on the PowerPoint presentation and started moving through some of the exquisite material in the book. The audience was attentive and engaged with each essay.
After about 45 minutes, I wrapped up my part of the talk, and introduced our three panelists: Jacob, a rabbinical student, Rafi, a youth leader, and Nathan, a young man just starting the process of transition. Each panelist recounted a single anecdote from their transgender Jewish experience, and then we opened the floor to questions, of which there were many. It was a great crowd, the questions were several layers deep, and the panelists did a phenomenal job.
Then, while everybody milled around and schmoozed, I signed books and sold most of a case. Many people expressed pride, compassionate alliance with transpeople, and their deep gratitude for the book, which they felt was necessary and vital for the Jewish world.
The next day, I presented a workshop at the Transgender Health Conference in Philadelphia, called Transgender Jews: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. About 35 people crowded into the room and learned about gender variance in Jewish texts, myths, and history, and then focused in on the accomplishments of notable transgender Jews in the present day, and briefly surveyed milestones in transgender Jewish history. These included the halachic status of transfolks, transpeople achieving spiritual leadership positions including rabbinic ordination, the creation of new rituals and lifecycle events. After that, I sold the rest of the case of books.
This busy week concluded with a great Shabbat Service at the Convention Center. It was totally awesome.
Event sponsors included the Yes! Coalition, Congregation Rodeph Shalom, Congregation Beth Ahavah, Congregation Mishkan Shalom, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and TransFaith Online.
My hostess and the instigator of this event was Shelley Kapnek Rosenberg, who graciously hosted me at her home all week. Shelley spoke first, thanking the generous event sponsors, and introduced Rabbi Rebecca Alpert, who stepped up to the microphone to introduce me. I was honored she agreed to do that for me. She made me sound really good!
Then I turned on the PowerPoint presentation and started moving through some of the exquisite material in the book. The audience was attentive and engaged with each essay.
After about 45 minutes, I wrapped up my part of the talk, and introduced our three panelists: Jacob, a rabbinical student, Rafi, a youth leader, and Nathan, a young man just starting the process of transition. Each panelist recounted a single anecdote from their transgender Jewish experience, and then we opened the floor to questions, of which there were many. It was a great crowd, the questions were several layers deep, and the panelists did a phenomenal job.
Then, while everybody milled around and schmoozed, I signed books and sold most of a case. Many people expressed pride, compassionate alliance with transpeople, and their deep gratitude for the book, which they felt was necessary and vital for the Jewish world.
The next day, I presented a workshop at the Transgender Health Conference in Philadelphia, called Transgender Jews: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. About 35 people crowded into the room and learned about gender variance in Jewish texts, myths, and history, and then focused in on the accomplishments of notable transgender Jews in the present day, and briefly surveyed milestones in transgender Jewish history. These included the halachic status of transfolks, transpeople achieving spiritual leadership positions including rabbinic ordination, the creation of new rituals and lifecycle events. After that, I sold the rest of the case of books.
This busy week concluded with a great Shabbat Service at the Convention Center. It was totally awesome.
Event sponsors included the Yes! Coalition, Congregation Rodeph Shalom, Congregation Beth Ahavah, Congregation Mishkan Shalom, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and TransFaith Online.
