(Jewish Group) I'm an Orthodox rabbi, and I officiate at LGBTQ weddings
(THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP! RESPECT!!)A queer friend of mine from a haredi Orthodox background had posed a query publicly on social media. She had attended a conference on LGBTQ inclusion. There she learned that some Catholic priests made a practice of going into gay bars in full clerical garb. They would sit in the bar, and when queer Catholics approached them, the priests would affirm God’s love and their belonging in the church.
My friend asked her community of observant Jews, acknowledging that rabbis don’t have any identifying clerical garb: When might Orthodox rabbis do the same?
As an Orthodox rabbi myself, I was intrigued. I discovered a rainbow kippah online and decided to purchase it.
It managed to garner attention the first day I wore it. A woman took a picture of me and motioned a thumbs-up. A homeless man on the subway who was begging for money approached, pointing to my kippah, and said, “Now I like that” and bumped my fist. A man in high heels came up to me before getting off at his stop and said, “Thanks for the yarmulke.” That same day, when I made my way to the headquarters of Chabad Lubavitch for a meeting, a Hasid asked me where he could find a kippah like mine. I surmised: The kippah works.
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now you need to see the movie The Perfection if you haven't yet - that is some kind of twisted too!
Are you associated with the "Proud Moms" group? At our recent (2nd annual) pride event in our small Oklahoma town, they were there along with the newly formed "Proud Dads". Both groups provide services to step in the role of 'parent' at LGBT weddings and events. The "Moms" got a big kick out of the t-shirt I was wearing...a rainbow Star of David. Wearing it allowed me to meet the only other Jew in town (only a slight exaggeration), but she wasn't even really from here and lived in Tulsa. HAHA! Of course, when the "do-gooder-let's-save-homo-souls" preachers showed up and wanted to discuss "the Good Word", I simply pointed at my shirt, and said "Spoken for!" The women at the Planned Parenthood table (where I was standing) got a big laugh out of it.
