‘Apples – out, mushrooms – in'; toward a theology of queer advocacy in the American Jewish community

ABSTRACT

In Jewish tradition, two holiday plates, the Passover Seder plate and the Rosh Hashanah Seder plate, hold profound significance due to their inclusion of simanim (symbolic foods) which carry deep social, cultural, and spiritual meanings. The blessings construct and express the Jewish tradition as a means of fulfilling the collective wishes and hopes of the Jewish community for survival, continuity and protection. This article delves into an initiative aimed at introducing new symbols onto these ceremonial plates, including various fruits and vegetables, as symbols of inclusion for LGBTQ + individuals within the Jewish tradition. The queer blessings reflect LGBTQ + phobic responses and struggles for public recognition. This innovative effort, widely disseminated through social networks, was conceived and championed by ‘Keshet’, a prominent Jewish organisation dedicated to advancing LGBTQ + inclusion in Jewish life and communities. Thus, I argue that the organisation enacts a theology of queer Jewish advocacy, facilitating the adaptation of religious discourse, rituals and customs to align with contemporary queer lifestyles.

KEYWORDS:

• Jewish tradition
• LGBTQ+
• community
• Jewish holidays
• practical theology
• advocacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transpeople, Queer and + means all other terms, such as intersex, non-binary and pansexual.

2 I used this inclusive term to indicate all non-heteronormative gender/sexual configurations, performances and identifications.

3 See: https://www.keshetonline.org/about-us/.

4 For more on his biography, see Perry, T. D. (1972). The Lord is my shepherd and He knows I’m gay: The autobiography of the Rev. Troy D. Perry. Nash Pub.

5 See: https://www.bcc-la.org/welcome/history/.

6 This embodied ritual is called simanim ('signs') in Hebrew and ye’i rasones in Ladino (after yehi ratzon, “may it be the Divine will”).

7 Tractates Horayot 12a and Keritot 6a.

8 See: https://www.keshetonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/simanim-w-footer-v3.pdf.

9 See: https://www.keshetonline.org/myseder/.

10 See: https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/gov-desantis-signs-slate-of-extreme-anti-lgbtq-bills-enacting-a-record-shattering-number-of-discriminatory-measures-into-law.

11 For example, Carter (2021) exposes the influence of racism and colonialism on US food policy, demonstrating its disproportionate impact on Black communities and people of color in poverty worldwide.

12 For instance, Mastrocinque (2002, 165) argues that the gem is immediately related to Jewish traditions concerning Judah, the son of Jacob.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elazar Ben-Lulu

Elazar Ben-Lulu, is an Israeli socio-cultural anthropologist specializing in the Anthropology of Religion, Gender and Sexuality, Israeli/American Reform Jewry, Queer Jewish liturgy/theology, and LGBTQ Studies. He currently serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Ariel University in Israel.