CHCM-LGBTQ
Safe Place
Cuban Hebrew Congregation is the first Jewish organization to join Safe Place, an initiative of the Miami Beach Police Department to provide the LGBTQ community with easily accessible safety information and safe places throughout the city they can turn to if they are the victims of crime.
CHCM-LGBTQ
Pride Art Exhibition
at Cuban Hebrew Congregation of Miami
Celebrating the 15th anniversary of Miami Beach Pride
Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 7:00 p.m.
1701 Lenox Avenue. Miami Beach
Photographic Exhibition * Cocktail * Performance
Photographer: Avi Ashkenazi
Models: Shanaya Bright & Yukioh
Sponsors:
City of Miami Beach
Women's League of CHCM
Miami Latin Art
More information by follow
CHCM-LGBTQ
The eight genders in The Talmud
Thought no binary gender was a modern concept? Think again. The ancient Jewish understanding of gender was far more nuanced than many assume.
The Talmud a huge and authoritative compendium of Jewish legal traditions contains in fact no less than eight designations including;
· Zachar, male
· Nekevah, female
· Androgynas, having both male and female characteristics.
· Tumtum, lacking sexual characteristics.
· Aylonit hamah, identified female at birth but later naturally developing male characteristics
· Aylonit adam, identified male at birth and later developing female characteristics through human intervention.
· Saris hanah, identified male at birth but later naturally developing female characteristics.
· Saris adam, identified male at birth and later developing female characteristics through human intervention.
Not only did the rabbis recognize six genders that were neither male nor female, they believed that the first human being was both. Versions of this Midrash are found throughout rabbinical literature including the Talmud.
Rabi Yirmeya ben Elazar said: Adam was first created with two faces (one male and the other female) as it is stated “You have formed me behind and before, and laid your hand upon me “(psalm 1395). Later the original human being was separated and became two distinct people, Adam and Eve. When the Holy one created the first human, He created him as an androgynous (having both male and female characteristics), as it is said “male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
For the rabbis, the androgynous wasn’t just a thing of the mystic past. The androgynous was in fact a recognized gender category in their present. Although, not with two heads, only with both kinds of sex organs. The term appears no less than 32 times in the Mishnah and 283 times in the Talmud.
In recent decades, a queer Jew and allies have sought to reinterpret these eight genders of the Talmud as a way of reclaiming a positive space for no binary Jews in the tradition. The starting point is that while it is true that the Talmud understands genders to largely operate on a binary axis, there are many rabbis clearly understood that not everyone fits these categories.
CHCM-LGBTQ
Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: Conservative Judaism
BACKGROUND
One of the four leading branches of Judaism, the Conservative Movement (also known as Masorti Movement outside of the United States and Canada) is intent on integrating contemporary societal values with religious and cultural traditions. As Rabbi Bradley Artson wrote in Conservative Judaism: Covenant and Commitment, “It is precisely this traditional approach—which combines fidelity to inherited tradition and the courage to integrate necessary change—that motivates Conservative Judaism today. Whether asserting the equality of women, reaffirming the centrality of Shabbat (the Sabbath), kashrut (the dietary laws), tzedekah (charity/justice), and prayer, or applying timeless wisdom to contemporary issues, Conservative Judaism insists on observance of tradition and respect for visionary change.”
The denomination constitutes approximately one-fifth of the Jewish population in the United States, and includes Conservative schools, camps, national and local organizations and, of course, synagogues. While the Rabbinical Assembly, and it’s Committee on Jewish Laws and Standards, sets policy for the denomination as a whole, rabbis and their congregations make their own choices regarding LGBTQ+ ordination, same-sex marriages, and their commitment to the creation of welcoming and affirming communities.
LGBTQ+ EQUALITY
ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION & GENDER IDENTITY
LGBTQ+ Conservative Jews will encounter a wide range of experiences at Conservative institutions. Some are welcoming and affirming, ordaining LGBTQ+ rabbis and celebrating same-sex marriages. Others are not. As a denomination, however, Conservative Judaism has taken a firm and public stance for inclusion.
As early as 1990, the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, which sets halakhic (legal) policy for the Conservative Movement, stated their desire to “work for full and equal civil rights for gays and lesbians in our national life.” In 2011 the Committee recommitted themselves to that resolution and added specific goals that include extending “its call for full and equal civil rights to bisexual and transgender persons,” supporting “the extension of civil rights and privileges . . . to same sex couples,” and calling on communities to “develop an action plan to create a safe and welcoming atmosphere for GLBT individuals.”
In 2016, the Rabbinical Assembly passed a historic resolution on affirming the rights of transgender and non-conforming people affirming "its commitment to the full welcome, acceptance, and inclusion of people of all gender identities in Jewish life and general society." Experiences may vary significantly, however, between synagogues.
ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY
The Conservative Movement recognizes and celebrates same-sex marriages. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of marriage equality in 2013, the Rabbinical Assembly released a statement, saying, “Judaism views marriage as a sacred responsibility, not only between the partners, but also between the couple and the larger community. Our Movement recognizes and celebrates marriages, whether between partners of the same sex or the opposite sex. We therefore celebrate today’s decisions on gay marriage by the Supreme Court.”
In 2012, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards approved two model wedding ceremonies that rabbis can adapt to suit the needs of specific congregants. However, LGBTQ+ couples, like straight couples, cannot be married by a Conservative rabbi if the marriage is between a Jew and a non-Jew. Individual synagogues remain autonomous and are not required to adopt the policies set by the Rabbinical Assembly.
ON NON-DISCRIMINATION
Along with many other religious organizations the Rabbincal Assembly, representing Conservative Judaism in the United States, endorsed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), adding their name to a statement that reads, in part, “As a nation, we cannot tolerate arbitrary discrimination against millions of Americans just because of who they are. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people should be able to earn a living, provide for their families and contribute to society without fear that who they are or who they love could cost them a job.”
ON ORDINATION
Ordination has been available to openly LGBTQ+ rabbis since 2006, though it’s only recently that those rabbis have completed their seminary education and been ordained. Ordination has been available to women in the Conservative Movement since 1985.
RESOURCES
Coming Home to Judaism and to Self [Guide]
Keshet, a national organization working for the full equality and inclusion of LGBTQ+ Jews in Jewish life.
CONTACT INFO
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
820 Second Avenue 10th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Website: www.uscj.org
CHCM-LGBTQ
LGBTQ at Cuban Hebrew Congregation
On this last weekend of Pride Month, it is fair to comment on the efforts of the Cuban Hebrew Congregation to advocate for integration and equality, especially towards the LGBTQ community.
For several years, the Board of Directors together with the Rabbi have redoubled their efforts to collaborate and carry a message of equality and integration, in collaboration with various organizations in our community, as well as with Jewish organizations in Israel and the USA that fight for rights. of the LGBTQ community.
We are the first Jewish institution in the city of Miami Beach to be part of the Miami Beach Police Department's SAFE PLACE program, which provides a safe place for residents and visitors of the LGBTQ community.
Our Shabbat religious services have always been open to members of the LGBTQ community, Jews and non-Jews who have wanted to experience a connection to Judaism and its culture. We have also dedicated Kabalat Shabbat (Saturday Reception) nights to members of the LGBTQ community.
Our facility has had the honor of hosting numerous events held by organizations that defend the rights of the LGBTQ community, such as SAVE's Halloween Ball Fundraiser, for two consecutive years. The Aqua Girl organization has also made use of our beautiful facility.
It is our desire and obligation as Jews, to continue working, in conjunction with other organizations, to promote and defend the rights of equality and integrity for all members of our community, and we hope to continue hosting our own events and other LGBTQ organizations, especially, in September, in which our city will host its Gay Pride Week.
CHCM-LGBTQ
International Gay Pride Month
Gay Pride or LGBT Pride is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people as a social group. Pride as opposed to shame and social stigma, is the predominant outlook that bolsters most LGBT rights movements. This year, Miami Beach Gay Pride week will be celebrated September
Origin Gilbert Baker, an open gay activist served in the US army for two years in 1970. After an honorable discharge he taught himself to sew. In 1974 he met Harvey Milk a influential gay leader who challenged Baker to come up with a symbol of pride for the gay community. The pride flag was born. It went public in 1978 at the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco.
Before the pride, the Pink Triangle was used to represent as a symbol of the LGBT movement. But a dark chapter in history during the World War II it was used to identify and stigmatize the homosexuals by the Nazis, in the same way Nazis used the Star of David against the Jews.
It has been suggested that Baker may have been inspired by Judy Garland’s singing “Over the Rainbow” and the Stonewall riots that happened a few days after her death. Another suggestion the rainbow flag originated at college campuses I the 1960s, demonstrating world peace with Flags of the Human Race borrowing it from the Hippie movement of that time. Baker assigned specific meaning to each of the colors.
Hot Pink Sex
Red Life
Orange Healing
Yellow Sunlight
Green Nature
Turquoise Magic / Art
Indigo Serenity
Violet Spirit
CHCM-LGBTQ
