About the Book
A modernized, queer reading of the Torah
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.
Table of Contents:
Foreword Judith Plaskow Introduction: Interpreting the Bible through a Bent Lens David ShneerPart I Bereshit, The Book of GenesisPart II Shemot, The Book of ExodusPart III Vayikra, The Book of LeviticusPart IV Bemidbar, The Book of NumbersPart V Devarim, The Book of DeuteronomyPart VI Holiday Portions The New Rabbis: A Postscript Benay LappeContributors Index
About the Author :
Gregg Drinkwater (Editor)
Gregg Drinkwater is Director for Special Projects at Keshet, an organization working for the full inclusion of LGBT Jews in Jewish life.
Joshua Lesser (Editor)
Joshua Lesser is the rabbi of Bet Haverim in Atlanta, Georgia, and the founder of the Rainbow Center: A Jewish Response to LGBT people and their families.
David Shneer (Editor)
David Shneer is Director of the Program in Jewish Studies and Associate Professor of History at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Judith Plaskow (Foreword by)
Judith Plaskow is Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at Manhattan College.
Review :
The point of all these essays is to make us question ourselves and our assumptions and in this purpose, they succeed...these authors offer insights into the Torah text that can speak to everyone, regardless of their gender identity. The Reporter While "queering of the Torah" may not find favor with every reader, 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, often jarring, perspectives. The Jerusalem Post Torah Queeries attempts to be a broader study of the Five Books of Moses, with discussion of every Torah portion, rather than just those that might be particularly difficult or inspiring to LGBT Jews. Jewish Exponent While the CJM invites artists to interpret the week's Torah portions, Torah Queeries invites LGBT individuals and allies to do so. Both should be celebrated and embraced for their creativity, innovation, and depth. Jewish News Weekly of Northern California "The Rabbinic oft-name for Torah (Learning) is (Reading) which carries the root (call), thus seeding the scriptural charge, (interpret me). Sixty briskly written, argumentative, apologetic, slightly political commentaries successfully do so in the spirit of religious freedom and equalitarian (sic)tolerance." CHOICE This book, an indispensable resource for all teachers and learners of Torah, in the best way possible makes queers of us all. Jewish Currents
