Queer Shabbaton DC 2010
The Nehirim Queer Shabbaton DC is an “urban retreat” of community, culture, and spirituality for GLBT Jews, partners, & allies. It is a weekend filled with workshops, lectures and discussion groups on queer and Jewish issues. Intellectually stimulating and spiritually inspiring, the Queer Shabbaton has been held for three years in New York and Amsterdam — now it comes to Washington D.C. for the first time, presented in partnership with GLOE, the Gay & Lesbian Outreach & Engagement program at the Washington DCJCC. Click here to Register Now
Our presenters include HRC Faith & Religion activist Sharon Groves, Israeli literature professor Yaron Peleg, co-founder of the Hebrew Priestess Institute Holly Taya Shere, leading Israeli GLBT activist and law professor Aeyal Gross, and Nehirim executive director, Jay Michaelson, recently named to the “Forward 50″ list of the fifty most influential Jews in the U.S. Workshop topics range from the intersection of GLBT identity and Israel/Palestine politics to writing as a Jewish spiritual practice, gender in the work of Philip Roth to practical advice on legally protecting relationships outside of marriage. We also include a wide menu of spiritual options, from Torah study to yoga, meditation to Shabbat services, to make the weekend a transformative and enjoyable one.
Nehirim’s programs generally attract 100-150 GLBT Jews (straight allies and non-Jewish partners welcome) from across the religious-ideological spectrum, ranging in age from 18-70 (usually, most are in their 20s-40s), and with a wide variety of gender and sexual orientation identities. Transgender nice Jewish boys, avowed atheists, couples and singles, men, women, and the rest of us — there are people like you at Nehirim.
When: 5pm on Friday, February 5 through 1pm on Sunday, February 7
Where: DC JCC,16th & Q Streets, Washington, DC
How much: Sliding scale from $80-140. Financial aid available — no one from DC area turned away for lack of funds.
Click here to Register Now
To offer or request transportation or housing, and to connect with other parents over childcare needs, visit our Ride, Housing, and Parent Board.
Please click a link to learn more:
Tachlis (Logistics): Cost, Transportation, Housing, etc.
Financial Aid
Sample Schedule
Halachic information
Presenters and Educators
Our Partners and Sponsors
Tachlis (Logistics): Cost, Housing, Transportation, etc.
Pricing (includes 5 kosher meals)
Discount Rate: $100
Base Rate: $140
Supporter Rate: $180
Prices include all shabbat meals plus Sunday brunch, as well as all program costs for the shabbaton.
Housing & Location
The Queer Shabbaton will be held at the DC JCC at 1529 16th Street NW (at Q), Washington DC, 20036.
We will not be providing housing or transportation to the retreat. Need a place to stay? Check out our Ride, Housing, and Parent Boards by clicking here.
Coming from NYC? Megabus is having a promotion for a free bus ride — use the code GETAWAY and the Fri, Feb 5 11am bus shows up as FREE (with just a $.50 reservation fee) the return trip costs a bit more — but you get there free!
Although the price of the Shabbaton is already heavily subsidized, we are pleased to have scholarship money available thanks to the generosity of our supporters and partners at GLOE. Financial aid is available through a simple application process which takes five minutes to complete. If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please apply here.
Tentative Queer Shabbaton DC Schedule
Friday, February 5, 2010
4:00 Registration
5:15 Welcome and Candle Lighting
5:30 Opening Program
6:30 Friday Night Shabbat Services w/Jay Michaelson and Rabbi Tobi Manewith
8:00 Shabbat Dinner
9:30 Mishpacha Groups
10:30 Evening Program: Tisch (song, drink, celebration), Women’s Coffee Hour, 12-Step Meeting
11:30 Laila Tov! (Good Night!)
Saturday, February 6
9:30-11:15 Traditional Shabbat Morning Services w/DC Minyan
Renewal Shabbat Services w/Holly Taya Shere & Zvi Bellin
Discussion Group at 10:30 w/ Sasha T. Goldberg
12:00 Lunch
1:30-2:30 Afternoon Session 1
•Homoeroticism in Modern Hebrew Literature (Yaron Peleg)
• Creative Jewish RitualCraft (Holly Taya Shere)
•Marriage or Bust? Legal Alternatives and Practical Realities for Sam-Sex Couples (Erica Gloger)
2:45-3:45 Afternoon Session 2
• Yiddishe Mama to The Nanny: Acculturation, Resistance and Stereotypes of the Jewish Woman (Sasha T. Goldberg)
• Yiddish Shamans in the City (Zvi Bellin)
• Yitro and Time Management (Rabbi Toby Manewith)
4:00-5:00 Afternoon Session 3
• Why Gay Rights is a Religious Issue (Jay Michaelson)
• Kabbalistic Insights to the Shema (Rafael Goldstein)
• The Need to Give Back (Alex Greenbaum)
5:15-5:45 Afternoon Spiritual Practice
Snacks will be available for an early Seudah Shlishit (3rd meal)
• Yoga (Zvi Bellin)
• Mincha (Self-facilitated)
6:00 Mishpacha groups
7:15 Dinner
8:30 Maariv, Havdalah & Dancing
9:30 Evening Program: Ghost Tour of Georgetown, Bibliodrama, Movie Night at Alex’s
Sunday, March 9
9:00 Sunday Morning Session
• Yoga (Zvi Bellin)
• Writing as a Spiritual Practice (Eryca Kasse)
10:00 Brunch is served
10:30-11:30 Keynote brunch talk by Sharon Groves of the Human Rights Campaign
11:30-12:30 Community Building & Power Networking session
12:30 Closing program
Retreat Co-Directors
Alex Greenbaum
Born and bred in the modern Orthodox Jewish community in London, Alex Greenbaum is vice chair of Washington DC JCC’s LGBT program, GLOE. In the last couple of years, he has become increasingly involved in Jewish community organizing. In October, he arranged a large queer Simchat Torah in DC to coincide with the National Equality March. He also volunteers with adults with disabilities and with the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. A macroeconomist in his professional life, Alex works with developing-country governments and private sector groups to establish effective economic policy. Alex has a Master’s degree in Economics and Econometrics from the University of Manchester.
Jay Michaelson
Jay Michaelson is the founder and executive director of Nehirim. For the last ten years, Jay has been a leading advocate for the inclusion of sexual minorities in religious communities, and writes and teaches frequently on issues of sexuality and religion. His work on the subject has appeared on NPR, and in Tikkun, the Jerusalem Post, the Duke Law Review, the Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, and anthologies including Mentsh: On Being Jewish and Queer (2004), Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Call for Justice(2007) and Jews and Sex (2008). Jay is a columnist for the Forward newspaper and Reality Sandwich magazine, a featured contributor to the Huffington Post. He is the author of God in Your Body: Kabbalah, Mindfulness, and Embodied Spiritual Practice (Jewish Lights, 2006) and Another Word for Sky: Poems (Lethe Press, 2007). His next book is Everything is God: The Radical Path of Nondual Judaism (Shambhala, 2009).
Teachers and Presenters
Sharon Groves, Keynote Speaker
Sharon Groves is the Deputy Director of the Religion and Faith Program at the Human Rights Campaign and has overseen the creation of numerous new resources, including a weekly preaching resource, a guide to living openly in your place of worship, a curriculum that follows the movie For the Bible Tells Me So and another that helps congregations wrestle with issues of gender identity within their faith communities. She has published a number of articles on such topics and religion and marriage equality, the importance of religious advocacy within the LGBT movement and the struggle for equality within world religions.
Sharon previously served as managing editor for Feminist Studies, an interdisciplinary scholarly journal housed at the University of Maryland, where she also taught courses in English literature, literature and social change, and women’s studies. She is a lay leader at All Souls Church, Unitarian, where she has chaired the Committee on Ministry and worked extensively on issues of racial justice, community voting rights and neighborhood outreach. Sharon received her Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Maryland in 2000 and since then has engaged in extensive course work in theology and sexuality from Wesley Theological Seminary and the Chicago Theological Seminary.
Yaron Peleg
Yaron Peleg is Associate Professor of Hebrew at George Washington University and the director of the GW Hebrew Program. He received his PhD in Hebrew literature from Brandeis University in 2000. Before coming to GW, Dr. Peleg taught Hebrew literature and Israeli cinema courses at Brandeis University and at Princeton University. Peleg’s publications include, Derech Gever: Homoeroticism in Hebrew Literature 1887-200, Orientalism and the Hebrew Imagination, and most recently, Israeli Culture Between the Two Intifadas: A Brief Romance. Professor Peleg is also co-author of the Hebrew textbook, Brandeis Modern Hebrew.
Rabbi Toby Manewith grew up in Chicago and considers herself a city person at heart. She studied at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem and Cincinnati, earning a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters and rabbinic ordination. After ordination, Manewith began a ten year career with Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, working as a campus director at Syracuse and American Universities, and as an educator at the George Washington University and Hillel’s International Center. As part of this work, Manewith led nearly twenty service and study tours overseas, to locations such as Germany, Prague, Ukraine and Israel. For the past number of years, Rabbi Manewith has worked as an independent Jewish educational consultant, writing curricula and teaching for many organizations including: The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington, the Professional Leaders’ Project, Smithsonian Resident Associates, Moving Traditions, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and the DCJCC. Before coming to Bet Mishpachah, Rabbi Manewith was the associate rabbi at Temple Micah, a Reform Jewish congregation located in the District of Columbia.
Holly Taya Shere
Holly Taya Shere is a folklorist, ritual artist and educator on women’s spirituality and Renewal Judaism. She co-founded and co-directs Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute, an organization and training program devoted to reclaiming and innovating models of embodied Jewish spiritual leadership, creativity and community from an earth-honoring, feminist perspective. Holly serves as Spiritual Leader at Olney Kehila Jewish Congregation, Education Director of Yavneh on the Hill and teaches Judaism and facilitates life-cycle ritual in many Washington, DC area Jewish communities. Holly also sits on the planning committee of the Sacred Circles Interfaith Women’s Spirituality Conference of the National Cathedral and the Women’s Faith and Development Alliance. Holly has also served as an executive officer on the board of directors of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, and remains a primary leader of their next generation programming.
Sasha T. Goldberg
Sasha T. Goldberg is the Assistant Director of Nehirim. Prior to joining Nehirim in 2007, she taught grades K-12 in Religious Schools, led Jewish teen retreats, and worked with a wide variety of Jewish organizations in the Bay Area. Sasha holds a Master’s Degree in Judaism from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, and currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for NUJLS, The National Union of Jewish LGBTQQI Students. In addition to her work at Nehirim, Sasha has a long history of queer advocacy and social justice work, and, accordingly, has organized conferences, film festivals, fundraisers, workshops, and events, as well as having spoken extensively on sexuality, gender, and identity. A self-proclaimed masculinity enthusiast, Sasha particularly enjoys facilitating discussions and workshops about the intersections of masculinity and various elements of cultural, social, sexual, and religious identities.
Zvi Bellin
Zvi Bellin is the Engagement Associate for Nehirim and is responsible for student outreach, internal community relations, and programming at Nehirim retreats. He leads workshops and directs retreats that integrate body-heart-mind-soul in a variety of spiritual and religious contexts. Zvi earned a PhD in Pastoral Counseling and an M.A. in Counseling and Guidance. He is a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance. He has worked as a therapist in a number of mental health settings, and has interned as a Psychiatric Chaplain. Zvi’s most recent interests include exploring the raw experience of meaning in life, and the integration of personal spirituality into a practice of holistic well-being. He is a co-founder of the Silver Spring Moishe House, a Jewish community house sponsored by the Schusterman Foundation.
Eryca Kasse
Eryca Kasse is a 35 year old, Jewish lesbian, spoken word performance poet, writer and student. She is currently working on her Masters in Social Work at Howard University with a concentration in Direct Service and Mental Health. Eryca has been a volunteer with Mothertongue - DC Women’s Spoken Word - facilitating women’s writing workshops. Her social work background includes working with women returning home from prison and jail, LGBT youth, and people struggling with homelessness and mental illness. Her dream job when she graduates would be facilitating therapeutic writing groups with incarcerated women. Eryca lives in Washington, DC with her two cats, Nina and Olive.
Erica F. Gloger is a lawyer in private practice in Bethesda, Maryland with a practice focused on traditional and non-traditional estate planning, tax, nonprofit organizations, and probate. She holds a B.A. in law and society from American University, School of Public Affairs (1999, cum laude) and J.D. from the Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University (2003). Ms. Gloger contributes her time pro bono at several not-for profit organizations, including the Whitman Walker Clinic. She is a member of the DCJCC GLOE steering committee.
Rabbi H. Rafael Goldstein (dynamicsofhope.com) currently serves as the Director of Pastoral Care at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. Ordained by the Academy for Jewish Religion in 1994, Rafael is a Board Certified Chaplain and Integrative Life Coach. He served as the Director of Los Angeles Jewish AIDS Services, and a founder of the Jewish Healing Center of San Diego. Rafael is an author, with four books now in print, and a monthly column in both a Jewish newspaper (Phoenix Jewish News) and an LGBTQ newspaper, The Echo. As an Integrative Life Coach, he works with people living with serious illness, recovering from significant loss, and struggling with LGBTQ issues.
Bet Mishpachah, Washington DC Area Egalitarian Synagogue
After ordination, Manewith began a ten year career with Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, working as a campus director at Syracuse and American Universities, and as an educator at the George Washington University and Hillel’s International Center. As part of this work, Manewith led nearly twenty service and study tours overseas, to locations such as Germany, Prague, Ukraine and Israel.
For the past number of years, Rabbi Manewith has worked as an independent Jewish educational consultant, writing curricula and teaching for many organizations including: The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington, the Professional Leaders’ Project, Smithsonian Resident Associates, Moving Traditions, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and the DCJCC. Before coming to Bet Mishpachah, Rabbi Manewith was the associate rabbi at Temple Micah, a Reform Jewish congregation located in the District of Columbia.
Outside of her professional life, she is active in community organizations, serving on the DC advisory council of Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, and the Executive Committee of Yachad: The Jewish Housing and Community Development Corporation of Greater Washington.
When not busy writing, teaching, or speaking Manewith loves to read, most recently –and much to her surprise-non fiction. She watches too much TV for her own good, and keeps the car stereo tuned to NPR. She knows how to juggle, is handy with a hammer and nails, makes a mean strudel, and is happiest living or working in close proximity to sushi and Tex-Mex cuisine.