Nehirim Creating Change in Jewish World
8.20.14 : Nehirim

NEHIRIM CREATING CHANGE IN JEWISH WORLD

Nehirim spent the day educating youth at the BBYO Kallah Festival.

NEW YORK, NY – Nehirim joined 13 presenting organizations or individuals at BBYO’s International Kallah Jewish Cultural Festival in Lake Como, PA. Chani Getter, Director of Women’s and Family Programming, led the Nehirim charge, speaking to youth about LGBTQ inclusive climates and promoting diversity in religious settings.

“When we talk about boys and whom people like, perhaps we can use gender neutral language,” said a participant at the Nehirim workshop. The outline of the day was aimed at delivering measurable outcomes, such as language change and sexual orientation and gender identity education.

Getter discussed using affirming language among other topics including discussing the meaning and significance of the L, G, B, T, Q acronym and its origin. Both a youth participant and counselor at the BBYO camp came out and revealed their LGBTQ identities during the program.

Nehirim’s approach included using visual language to illustrate examples of acceptance found throughout the Torah and Jewish history. “The workshop was held during the week of Devrim, so I used the whiteboard and wrote dalet vet Raish. The campers loved that a thing and a word are spelled the same,” said Getter. “I tied it in with Abraham Joshual Heschel who said ‘words create worlds’.”

Nehirim is in the midst of launching its second year as a leader in LGBTQ Jewish college programming. “Education is at the heart of Nehirim’s work – from our campus outreach to our youth efforts, our organization is committed to building a knowledgeable and welcoming generation of Jewish leaders,” said Nehirim’s Executive Director Rabbi Debra Kolodny.

The Nehirim Student Leadership Conference is set for October 12 at Brown University Hillel.