Embracing Who We Were Created to Be: Queering is Redeeming

Uncategorized 5 Minutes

In the book of Genesis, G!d said to Abraham: “Lech Lecha” which means go forth to yourself… embrace who I created you to be… Become your destiny.

The rabbis further teach that each human being was created with a special purpose… represented by a letter that represents our essence. Our life is a journey through which we learn to articulate and express out loud that unique letter that is our essence. As we journey through life, we find the other letters that were created to be themselves, and when we come together, we create words… and when words gather together into communities and families and networks, we become sentences and paragraphs.

The kabbalists explain that the entire Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, as written on a scroll, in Hebrew) is a blueprint for the Universe as it is but also as it is meant to become… and if one letter is missing, the entire Torah is invalid… each letter and each person is needed, but only if we are true to ourselves/ourSelves/who we were created to be… If we try to be someone else, or we try to hide who we really are, then that letter that is our essence, becomes lost… and we in turn, become anxious and depressed, because we are disconnected from the Truth that is Light and Love and Life.

And sometimes, where we were born and what we were taught, teaches us to eclipse that voice and that letter… and life’s journey becomes either tragic and torturous, or if we are brave- an unlearning and unraveling… until we discern our essence… that which we were meant to be… and our truth… that which we were meant to express… When this happens, when we learn how to articulate our letter in such a way that it can be heard clearly… and when we find the other letters that can help turn our letter into words… new words, more beautiful and brave and true than any we had ever heard before… then we can create sentences that make even more sense… co-creating stories that are even more beautiful than those we started out with…

For example, perhaps we learn how to rewrite the inherited biblical story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac… or the story of Lot’s incest with his daughters and the destruction of Sodom into a new and different story of healing and redemption… In that moment, when we find the courage to challenge what we were taught is true, to challenge what tradition tells us that G!d wants, and instead learn to articulate what our gut/inner sense of knowing compels us to admit is true… in that moment, we can rewrite the Torah and transform it into a tool for redemption.

This sounds heretical, but the truth is that the Kabbalists taught truths that mainstream religion believed were heretical… and indeed, the rabbis further taught that the messianic era will only happen when we learn to reorder the Torah’s words and letters so that we can come to see that the Torah is really just one long name for G!d, which is to say, the One Whose Name cannot be Spoken (hence why I use the word :G!d”), but can only be expressed through the ways we learn to Be, for indeed, the Name of G!d in Hebrew, in the Torah, is actually the verb “to be”, and the Hebrew letters of Yud, Hey, Vav and Hey.

When we learn to be… when we give ourselves permission to speak our voice and our truth into this universe, and to reorder this world into one where redemption is possible, then we will come to see that in fact, all is G!d…

And indeed, the Kabbalists further teach that G!d’s Torah is not just the letters, and not just the ink that forms the letters, but it is also the parchment upon which those letters were inked… and human beings are not the only ones who were created in the Divine Image… all of Creation is Sacred… Nature… Animals… Plants… We are all One and inextricably connected… Our existence is inextricably intertwined… our shared DNA a blueprint for salvation… the ultimate Torah.

Mainstream religion teaches about the inked words, and teaches that the inked words in the order that we received them are the only truths that should be followed… and these truths have woven themselves into systems of oppression that have led to war and the desecration and destruction of this beautiful planet.

But the truth that is at the heart of Judaism, as I understand it, is that these inked and inherited words that we now think of as the literal biblical text are actually just the starting point… our task in life is to queer these words, reinterpret them… deconstruct what was given to us, and reorder them… to deconstruct who we were told to be, in order to become what we can be… to see beyond the colors of black and white… ink and parchment… to recognize that the text is only part of what was revealed to us… the true Torah that can redeem us all is not only words, but also the parchment upon which we all dwell…

This is what I mean when I say that “queering is redeeming”. Queering is about deconstructing what we are told is “normal” or “right” or “true” or “holy” in order to discern the Light that is present in all things… similarly, I believe that each human being is sacred and holy and created with a purpose… and evil happens when we repress who we were meant to be… when we repress the Light that is G!d… indeed, I would argue that homophobia and transphobia is a profound source of evil in this world… and that most evil and illness and distress in this world comes from repression, transference and projection…

The rabbis teach that the word “abracadabra” is Hebrew for “I will create through my words”… and Judaism teaches that words have the ability to create and destroy… the last few years have become a painful reminder of this truth: together, we are all bearing witness to the ways in which words are used to create and destroy… through propaganda and through legislation… some words and books are being banned, because of the power that they contain… and so it is, that I believe that it is more important than ever to organize what letters and words we know to be true, in order to fight for justice and healing…

As such, I am learning to work through my own learned fears of speaking up and speaking out, and entering deeper into the cyber world, with my newly created tools, that I pray will shine Light where others are trying to preserve darkness… and I have created a new twitter account and instagram, with my understanding of truth articulated as: “queering is redeeming”, which I try to explain more fully in the sermon I recently gave at Queer Spirit Church, and which can be viewed here: https://wordpress.com/post/rabbinadia.com/861

If you want to help me fight hatred with love and hope, and want to add your own letters and words and truths, so that together, we can create a world where that which is devalued becomes recognized as sacred, and where the word “queer” which used to be considered an insult, becomes a word and a theology that can liberate us all from the ways in which religion is used as a weapon, then, please follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/QueerRedemption or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/queerredemption/

Published by rabbi n siritsky

Originally from Montreal, Canada, I studied in Jerusalem at several Orthodox yeshivas, prior to beginning my studies as a Reform rabbi at Hebrew Union College. I am a second generation Holocaust survivor, and early on, wanted to do whatever I could to build a world where hatred and prejudice would never again have the upper hand. For me, studying Judaism from traditional perspectives was crucial because “it was important to understand what we are reforming”. I believe in making educated choices from the rich set of resources provided by Jewish tradition, in order to ensure that every ritual and prayer is meaningful. I was a founding board member of the Society of Classical Reform Judaism (now Roots of Reform), due to my unwavering commitment to advocacy for interfaith families and the creation of inclusive Jewish communities that are unconditionally welcoming of all spiritual seekers, regardless of their religious background, relationship status, identity or Hebrew speaking ability. In addition to nearly two decades working in synagogues, teaching, counseling and participating in life cycle events, I am also a social worker, psychotherapist, mediator and trained as an interfaith chaplain. I worked with the American Red Cross after 9/11, providing counseling and support at the family assistance center, Ground Zero and the morgue. My doctoral research was focused on burnout and compassion fatigue, as part of my years of work in hospice and palliative care. My life experiences have taught me hope and how to cultivate resilience and wisdom. This blog reflects my attempts to distill rabbinic wisdom into insights that can speak to all people. I have dedicated my life to healing and spiritual alchemy. I first began the writings that formed the basis of this blog as part of my role as Vice President of Mission for KentuckyOne Health, an interfaith hospital system that brought together Catholic, secular and Jewish hospital systems, in order to bring wellness, healing and hope to all, including the underserved. I began my weekly reflections on the Torah portion, in order to share some of Jewish Hospital's heritage and values with staff that may not have known much about Judaism. These reflections were then shared by staff with others who asked to be placed on my blind copy list, as well as by the system mission leader of Catholic Health Initiatives to his own reader list, along with his own reflections. I have been profoundly humbled by the reactions to these writings, and as more people have asked to have access to them, I eventually worked to overcome my discomfort with the internet in order to publish them online. I realized that Jews and non-Jews were drawn to my inclusive interpretations of the biblical text, and my reflections on how to apply these in our every day. I believe that, much like the Sufi teaching that describes all the religions of the world like different prayer beads, with the same string of truth that runs through each of them, so too can these ancient spiritual and mystical teachings can come to life, when we reflect on the echoes of other world traditions and by contemporary psychological theory. As my professional journey has continued to evolve, and I have found myself transitioning from pulpit rabbi to community rabbi, to who I am becoming as I seek to move beyond all labels, I have found that this site remains an important way for people to get to know me, and understand my theology. I am fundamentally committed to the sacred act of translation- seeking to discern the Divine through text and life, and to translate those words of Torah and wisdom into reflections that can speak to people of all faith traditions... and in so doing, hopefully encouraging others to do the same. We are all created in the Image of G!d, and as such, each of us has our own unique understanding of the Sacred. In the same way as the rabbis teach that if even one letter from the scroll of the Torah is missing, the entire Torah has lost its sacredness (is no longer kosher), so too is this world diminished so long as people silence themselves. For too long, organized religion has been used as a weapon, to keep people silent and to teach shame... my quest as a rabbi, and indeed, as a human being, is to work to translate religious teachings into redemptive and healing truths, to seek to liberate s/Spirit and to work toward "tikkun olam" (the healing of the universe). My current rabbinate is dedicated to teaching and mentoring other rabbis, and working with interfaith families, as well as those traditionally marginalized from mainstream Judaism. In the same way as the holiness of the Jewish prayer shawl (tallit) can be found in its fringes (tzitzit) so too do I believe that the most important contribution I can make to the Jewish people is "Keruv" (helping people find their way home), and to the broader world is "shleimut" (helping people to find wholeness). I also serve G!d as a social worker, doing what I can to work for justice for all people. It is my prayer that the insights in this blog will bring healing and insight to others, and encourage others to find their voice and path. Thank you for your time reading my work.

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