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From time to time (and that's an understatement) we find in this forum a lot of moaning and groaning about fundamentalist homophobia in USA. Rarely do we find information about positive action being taken by gays in the religiosphere. (Yes, a neologism!) In some places there is indeed positive action. Here is an invitation I received in my inbox.
J F R
The Jerusalem Open House, together with the Gay-Straight Rabbinical Student Alliance, invites you to an evening of Queer Torah with Rabbi Steven Greenberg in celebration of the Israel release of Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible.
Rabbi Steven Greeberg, a contributor to Torah Queeries, will be teaching Torah and discussing the book. A question and answer session will follow.
This will be a Hebrew language event. (Questions can be addressed in Hebrew or English.) Tuesday, February 9 7:30 PM at the Jerusalem Open House, Hasoreg 2. Copies of Torah Queeries will be for sale.
Torah Queeries brings together some of the world’s leading rabbis, scholars, and writers to interpret the Torah through a "bent lens". It is an incredibly rich collection that 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 (NYU Press, 2009) is a project of Jewish Mosaic, edited by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser and David Shneer, with a foreword by Judith Plaskow.
Steven Greenberg is an Orthodox rabbi, ordained at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Since 1985 he has served as a senior educator for CLAL, a think tank, leadership training institute, and resource center. Rabbi Greenberg is the author of Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition, which won the 2005 Koret Jewish Book Award. He is currently rabbi-in-residence at Hazon, a leading Jewish environmental organization, and Keshet, a grassroots organization dedicated to LGBT inclusion in the Jewish community. Rabbi Greenberg contributed several chapters to Torah Queeries.
Reviews:
"The diverse group of scholars and rabbis who have contributed to Torah Queeries ask us to bring the whole of our selves — our imaginations, bodies, and senses — to Torah. They collectively demonstrate that every parashah (Torah portion) can speak to us as embodied, conflicted, desiring selves and as cognitive individuals." -Mara Benjamin, Sh'ma
"With Torah Queeries, no longer is the LGBT community an outsider in the Bible. In each parasha, in every holiday, gender bending exists. ...It should appeal to those who wish to read the Torah with an open mind and the willingness to look at the words from 3,000 years ago with new, and often jarring, perspective. ...This is a volume that I would describe as a must for the Jewish bookshelf." -Rabbi Andrew Sacks, Jerusalem Post
A labour 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.
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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Unfortunately J F R, I think that too many Christians have forgotten their Jewish roots. I say that based upon the symbolism of Saint Peter, the 'Rock' upon which Jesus built his church, a Kosher rock if ever there was one.
I sometimes think maybe they ought to start building that church all over again, do it right this time, stop changing the rule book around to suit their nefarious purposes.
But even in Judiasm there are conservatives that take everything in the ancient scriptures literally, that only denies that humans evolve by gaining new knowledge. Anything written thousands of years ago would need review in light of modern discovery and thought.
I say that because the Torah didn't get re-written every few centuries like the Bible. Having a fixed document leads less to intrepretation and more to discussion, and therefore understanding. I hope the Rabbi's program is successful.
If Rabbi Greenberg can bring some sanity to the discussion about the LGBT world then I'm all for it. Thanks for sharing the good news. 
Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. (Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626)
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Dear JFR,
I would be very interested in purchasing a copy of the Torah Queeries if there is an English translation. I have a friendship with numerous gay and straight Christians webmasters who identify with the gay Christian's struggles. These Old Testament studies could have tremendous benefit in reshaping Christian beliefs. (It may not dissuade the belief system of the ultra-right fundamentalists but their progeny may not have closed their minds totally yet.) Perhaps some of these writings are freely available on the internet?
Youth crisis hot-line 866-488-7386, 24 hr (U.S.A.)
There are people who want to help you cope with being you.
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Hi Paul,
The book "Torah Queeries" which interests you is an American publication written in English, so you should have no difficulty in purchasing it. It is the "child" of "Jewish Mosaic" and you might like to visit their site. (Although it is an American gay online association I get their weekly email every week.) The page in Jewish Mosaic which is devoted to promoting "Torah Queeries" (http://www.jewishmosaic.org/page/load_page/174) says that if you order the book through Amazon Jewish Mosaic will get a cut.
I hope this helps.
J F R
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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