My Homo Holidays

MY HOMO HOLIDAYS

For the past decade, I've been going to the CBST Yom Kippur services at the Javitz Center. CBST started as a gay synagogue and gradually expanded to include every misfit imaginable. Besides the LGTBQERSTUVWXYZ community, there are Black-White het couples. Arab-Jew het couples. Atheists with tradition... and those who hate the Pay-to-Pray requirements of most synagogues. 3000+ people... all welcome... pay only if you want.

I love CBST for Rabbi Kleinbaum, the little female rabbi who wears pink sneakers (favorite quote: I cannot believe in a God that requires you to believe in God.) ... and gets in trouble because she has such radical ideas as feeling sorry for the Palestinian children who were killed in the Israeli genocide war of the early 21^st century. 

One of the CBST social actions is to... EVERY Friday... come to the NYU mosque in near Washington Square... and stand with the Muslim worshipers.

CBST Members supporting the mosque

They are not perfect, however. Being Jewish and gayish, there are a lot of rich members. That means that some of their “special events” are not exactly to my tastes.

I wonder how much she's getting paid...

The 25-hour fast (No food. No Water/) starts at Sundown on Friday and continues to Sundown on Saturday, where I join Elena at Jody's for the BREAK FAST.

Then it's on to Brooklyn, where my pal, Martin S has invited me to see his homocore band LIMP WRIST at the Brooklyn Bazaar. From fast to feast, I'd say:

Great show, and the audience is younger, but a similar mix of genders and preferences, to those who were at CBST.

To top off the 2 days of Jew and Punk homotude is the subway ride back to Manhattan. The poster on the wall?

One of those fake BANK OF AMERICA RAINBOW PRIDE posters? Nope.

Just this unintentional tribute to homotude:

If you're interested in more of my writing. You can see my regular blog at: mykelsblog.blogspot.com

Jew? No bail!

I found this among my papers from the American Council for Judaism. I agree with these guys about half the time, but they always find interesting stuff. Though this is from 2009, I still find it amazing. Someone was denied bail because he was a Jew!! Excuses be damned, just amazing.

Intermarriage Problem? Prohibit it!

Ever since I was studying for my Bar Mitzvah, I remember sermons against Intermarriage. "It'll be the end of the Jews." "It's a sin." and more. The Israelis have found the answer: PROHIBIT IT!


Not that they aren't making strides. They've already entered the 18th century by allowing Civil Marriages... but only if both sides are atheist. Then it's not intermarriage, is it?

Jewish Surreality

Who needs fiction? Who needs to make stuff up? Reality always gets there first, and weirder!

A Jewish Transexual Magazine?

Here it is, right from Italy. I was thrilled to get it: 

TRANI EBRAICA

What else could it mean?

Unfortunately, it's not so exotic, though it is inspiring. "Trani" turns out to be a town in Italy. This is the magazine of the Jewish community there, all 18 of 'em.