Torah queeries : weekly commentaries on the Hebrew Bible / edited by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, and David Shneer ; foreword by Judith Plaskow.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Drinkwater, Gregg.

Lesser, Joshua.

Shneer, David, 1972-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible. Pentateuch--Commentaries.

Bible.

Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Homosexuality.

Jewish gay people.

Jewish lesbians.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (350 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the Jewish tradition, reading of the Torah follows a calendar cycle, with a specific portion assigned each week. These weekly portions, read aloud in synagogues around the world, have been subject to interpretation and commentary for centuries. Following on this ancient tradition, Torah Queeries brings together some of the world’s leading rabbis, scholars, and writers to interpret the Torah through a "bent lens". With commentaries on the fifty-four weekly Torah portions and six major Jewish holidays, the concise yet substantive writings collected here open up stimulating new insights and highlight previously neglected perspectives.This incredibly rich collection unites the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and straight-allied writers, including some of the most central figures in contemporary American Judaism. All bring to the table unique methods of reading and interpreting that allow the Torah to speak to modern concerns of sexuality, identity, gender, and LGBT life. Torah Queeries offers cultural critique, social commentary, and a vision of community transformation, all done through biblical interpretation. Written to engage readers, draw them in, and, at times, provoke them, Torah Queeries examines topics as divergent as the Levitical sexual prohibitions, the experience of the Exodus, the rape of Dinah, the life of Joseph, and the ritual practices of the ancient Israelites. Most powerfully, the commentaries here chart a future of inclusion and social justice deeply rooted in the Jewish textual tradition.A labor of intellectual rigor, social justice, and personal passions, Torah Queeries is an exciting and important contribution to the project of democratizing Jewish communities, and an essential guide to understanding the intersection of queerness and Jewishness.

Contents:

Torah Queeries

Frontmatter

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Part I. Bereshit

one. Male and Female God Created Them

two. From Delight to Destruction: The Double-Faced Power of Sex

three. Going to and Becoming Ourselves Transformation and Covenants in Parashat

four. Looking Back to Look Forward Parashat Vayera (Genesis 18:1–22:24)

five. When Gender Varies: A Curious Case of Kere and Ketiv

six. Esau’s Gender Crossing

seven. And Jacob Came Out

eight. Biblical Sex

nine. Joseph’s Fabulous Technicolor Dreamcoat

ten. Yusuf Come Home

eleven. Forgiveness as a Queer Response

twelve. Uncovering Joseph’s Bones

Part II. Shemot

thirteen. Making Noise for Social Change

fourteen. Uncircumcized Lips

fifteen. The Ritual of Storytelling

sixteen. Into Life: The Humanism of the Exodus

seventeen. The Necessity of Windows

eighteen. Laws and Judgments as a “Bridge to a Better World”

nineteen. Building an Inclusive Social Space

twenty. When the Fabulous Is Holy

twenty–one. Mounting Sinai

twenty-two. Listening to Heart-Wisdom

twenty-three. A Knack for Design

Part III. Vayikra

twenty-four. Bodily Perfection in the Sanctuary

twenty-five. HaNer Tamid, dos Pintele Yid v’ha Zohar Muzar: The Eternal Flame, the Jewish Spark, and the Flaming Queer

twenty-six. Nadav and Avihu and Dietary Laws: A Case of Action and Reaction

twenty-seven. Nagu’a: Touched by the Divine

twenty-eight. It’s the Purity, Stupid: Reading Leviticus in Context

twenty-nine. How Flexible Can Jewish Law Be?

thirty. Sex in the Talmud: How to Understand Leviticus 18 and 20

thirty-one. Fear Factor: Lesbian Sex and Gay Men

thirty-two. Neither Oppress nor Allow Others to Oppress You

thirty-three. “Less Is More” and the Gift of Rain: The Value of Devaluation in Behukotai and Cixous’s Desire-That-Gives

Part IV. Bemidbar

thirty-four. How to Construct a Community

thirty-five. From Impurity to Blessing

thirty-six. Setting the Stage for Pluralistic Judaism

thirty-seven. Ruach Acheret—Ruach Hakodesh/ Different Spirit—Sacred Spirit

thirty-eight. Torah and Its Discontents

thirty-nine. The Healing Serpent: Recovering Long Lost Jewish Fragments

forty. Between Beast and Angel: The Queer, Fabulous Self

forty-one. Pinchas, Zimri and the Channels of Divine Will

forty-two. Going Ahead

forty-three. Hearing Ancient, Courageous Voices for Justice and Change

Part V. Devarim

forty-four. From Whom Do We Learn History? Why Queer Community Needs Texts More Than Other Communities

forty-five. Rethinking the Wicked “Son”

forty-six. Bind These Words

forty-eight. Setting Ourselves Judges

forty-nine. To Wear Is Human, to Live—Divine

fifty. In a New Country

fifty-one. Embodied Jews

fifty-two. “Be Strong and Resolute”

fifty-three. Dor l’Dor

fifty-four. This Is the Blessing: The “First Openly Gay Rabbi” Reminisces

Part VI. Holiday Portions

fifty-five. The Parade of Families

fifty-six. What Is Atonement?

fifty-seven. Strength through Diversity

fifty-eight. Ad de’lo Yada: Until We Don’t Know the Difference

fifty-nine. Liberation and Transgender Jews

sixty. Trance and Trans at Har Sinai

The New Rabbis:

Contributors

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-8147-8524-7

1-4416-3154-2

OCLC:

779828340