pride — Rabbi Adam Lavitt — Sermons & Writing

Though LGTBQ Pride month is celebrated these days with a popular parade supported by corporate sponsors, it wasn’t always this way: the reason we celebrate in June is to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, a spontaneous act of resistance, at a time same-sex relationships were punished as crimes. This uprising became known as the major turning point in the Gay Liberation Movement. Judaism and other religions, too, were countercultural in their founding: they arose as spontaneous acts of resistance to challenge an oppressive status quo, and offer a prophetic vision of a just and liberated future.

Adam LavittJune 25, 2021pride, LGBTQ, liberation, current events, identity, history, homophobia

Pride Shabbat

This week, Torah instructs us to hold a commemoration, each year, of our people’s liberation, called Pesach. It is to take place bein ha’arbayim: at twilight. Why? To recall the uncertainty and chaos before we were free, that only afterwards marked the tipping point in getting free, and an inspiration for future liberation movements of other oppressed peoples. That night, Moses instructed our people to be ready. After so many attempts to get free, no one thought this night would be different than any other night. Even so, we prepared ourselves at twilight: in that space between day and night, between freedom and captivity, between what was and what could be.

Adam LavittJune 12, 2020pride, LGBTQ, Blacklivesmatter

This Little Flame of Mine

The week began with me feeling self-conscious gesturing with my hands and glittery purple nails. I recently read Rebecca Sirbu’s piece about how rarely we heed life’s painful reminders that this is it. To honor the memory of a friend she had lost, she wore a purple hair extension for a week. When I read Rebecca’s reflection, I recalled how much I wanted to paint my nails. I wrote Rebecca my thanks for her piece. I shared what I wanted to do, and my hesitation about doing it. I was afraid it would be too distracting to the students I teach, or my hospice patients and their families.

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