Papers by Gregg Drinkwater
Global Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons), 2019
Jewish Social Studies, 2020
The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies, 2016
Judaism is a highly decentralized religion, thus there is no single or unified Jewish perspective... more Judaism is a highly decentralized religion, thus there is no single or unified Jewish perspective on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues. Some Jewish communities ordain openly LGBT rabbis and celebrate sexual and gender diversity, while in other communities, Jewish leaders denounce homosexuality and demand clear boundaries and distinctive roles for women and men. But the majority of the Jewish world lies somewhere in between. In the Jewish tradition, “homosexuality” is not prohibited. Jewish law focuses on specific sexual acts, not a person's sexual orientation, identity, or desires. Sex between men has generally been understood as prohibited by two verses in Leviticus (Lev. 18:22 and 20:13). Sex between women is not prohibited in the Torah. However, it is seen as a violation of Jewish law based on rabbinic interpretations of passages in the Torah that are seen as indirectly referencing female–female sexual intimacy. Keywords: religion; Judaism; Jewish; LGBTQ
Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible (NYU Press), 2009
East European Jewish Affairs, 2020
In 1971, William Korey, a scholar of Russian history, a prolific author, and a senior leader of B... more In 1971, William Korey, a scholar of Russian history, a prolific author, and a senior leader of B’nai B’rith International, published a piece about the Soviet restrictions on Jewish emigration in the first edition of a small publication out of London, Soviet Jewish Affairs, the precursor to East European Jewish Affairs. The early 1970s were a breaking point in the Soviet Union’s attitude to Israel and Jewish emigration after the Soviet Union cut diplomatic ties with Israel in 1967 as a result of the June Six-Day War. In 1970, only 1,000 Soviet Jews left the country for Israel, with only 25,000 emigrating from 1948–1970. And in 1971, Steven Roth of the World Jewish Congress’ Institute of Jewish Affairs launched Soviet Jewish Affairs. In December 1971, New York Times Moscow correspondent Hendrick Smith noted that “the well-organized Jewish emigration movement here [in the Soviet Union]” “the influence of world public opinion” encouraged the Soviet Union to allow Jewish emigration (alt...
Jewish Mosaic: The National Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, 2006
Western Historical Quarterly, 2019
Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible (NYU Press), 2009
Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible (NYU Press), 2009
Journal of Modern Jewish Studies, 2019
Gay and lesbian synagogues, unique to the American religious landscape, first appeared in the ear... more Gay and lesbian synagogues, unique to the American religious landscape, first appeared in the early 1970s. At the height of the gay synagogue movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, over two dozen such congregations met the spiritual needs of gay and lesbian Jews across the United States. As they grew and expanded, these synagogues incubated a new "queer Judaism" centred on innovative rituals, liturgy, and embodied practices grounded in gay and lesbian (and later, also bisexual and transgender) experiences. In this essay, I offer a 10-year case study of the development of queer Judaism at Congregation Sha'ar Zahav (CSZ), San Francisco's gay and lesbian synagogue, founded in 1977. Within the landscape of gay and lesbian synagogues, CSZ stands out for being founded in San Francisco when that city was the capital of American gay culture. Inspired by the Gay Liberation Movement and the flowering of grassroots Jewish community organizing in the late 1960s and 1970s, the founders of CSZ asserted a right to difference, building and promoting links between Judaism, sexuality, gender, and identity. In this context, CSZ helped build a queer, sex-positive Judaism that celebrated and politicized sexual minorities, created new forms of chosen family, and fostered an ethic of egalitarian and lay-led inclusiveness.
American Jewish History, 2020
Uploads
Papers by Gregg Drinkwater