I wanted to recommend a book I recently read. It was a portal into another time and place, imagining how Jews a hundred years ago dealt with homosexuality.
I try to spend time on Shabbos reading. Most of the time its catching up on reading for school, rarely I have time to read for leisure. This past week I got the opportunity and chanced upon Mourning and Celebration by K David Brody. It was a terrific read and I recommend it to anyone interested in Orthodox LGT representation. As I mentioned in previous posts (which I will finish at some point) having representation by LGT people living Orthodox lives is crucial to advancing the conversation on Orthodox LGT issues. David’s book gives a glimpse into another world, rooted in shtetl religious life, that portrays gay Jews with dignity and dedication to religious life.
From David’s website:
Synopsis
Have you ever wondered how life would have been, had you been born one hundred years earlier? Mourning and Celebration is how author K. David Brody answers that question.
Yankl lives in a 19th-century Polish shtetl. And he’s gay.
Within the framework of conversations with his alter ego who lives in a 19th-century Polish shtetl, the narrator learns how a gay, Orthodox Jew like himself managed to emerge from the social pressures of his community.
Yankl is a brilliant scholar, a talented violinist, an only son and gay. Although blessed with social skills, he feels isolated as a young teenager. Subsequently, we follow his development through intense relationships with his family, rabbis and lovers. This is a story of a personal search for validation and human rights, in a context where that concept was not yet understood.
You can find David’s book on his website: https://mourningandcelebration.com
DatiHomo 