Kosher Queers

This week, for Shavuot, we answer a question from Xava De Cordova (from Xai, how are you?) and talk about what it means to be a member of a Jewish community. But that's a big topic, so in particular, we're contrasting our perspectives on Christian beliefs in the context of Jewish communities and what it means to hold an expansive idea of community while also valuing Judaism’s uniqueness. Basically, we argue about what Judaism is, but agree that arguing itself is definitely Jewish. Plus, we read some podcast reviews on air!

Full transcript here.

The reference to seeing the name Huna in a dream being a good omen is in Berakhot 57a. Here's the Jewish summer program, Szarvas, that Jaz went on in high school and argued about what it meant to be Jewish. Here is a summary of Maimonides Thirteen Principles of Faith.

Support us on Patreon! Send us questions or comments at [email protected], follow us on Twitter @kosherqueers, and like us on Facebook at Kosher Queers. Our music is by the band Brivele. This week, our audio was edited by Ezra Faust, and our transcript was written by Khesed Bein. Our logo is by Lior Gross, and we are not endorsed by or affiliated with the Orthodox Union.

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This week, we discuss the ethics of counting, come up with some alternatives for the English word "tribe," and discover that the Torah believes in West Coast, Best Coast. Plus, we decide that two leaders are boyfriends just because.

Full transcript here.

You can buy Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde from your local independent bookstore. The etymology for the word "tribe" can be found here. You can also check out this report on nuclear waste signage. Also, we reference the Shrieking Shack briefly; they're "a Harry Potter re-read podcast for lapsed fans," which include us, as people who grew up with the books and the fandom and also cannot stand JK Rowling for many reasons (not least of which is the transmisogyny). Anyway, here's the episode we referenced. On a more serious note, you can also check out the results from the 2015 US Trans Survey, and the open letter from the National Center for Trans Equality's former staff on why they left.

Support us on Patreon! Send us questions or comments at [email protected], follow us on Twitter @kosherqueers, and like us on Facebook at Kosher Queers. Our music is by the band Brivele. This week, our audio was edited by Lulav Arnow and our transcript written by DiCo and Jaz. Our logo is by Lior Gross, and we are not endorsed by or affiliated with the Orthodox Union.

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This week's episode includes celebrating sabbaticals, bemoaning Biblical slavery, and comparing campy 90s gay movies to Torah law.

Full transcript here.

Content notes: Around minute 43, there's a discussion of all the graphic curses G-d will rain down for disobeying. Like really graphic. 44:08-44:40 in particular should especially be skipped if you're queasy about cannibalism or mass graves.

At 49:20, Jaz talks about Xava talking about shmita years; you can check that out in episode 5 of Xai, How Are You?.

Support us on Patreon! Send us questions or comments at [email protected], follow us on Twitter @kosherqueers, and like us on Facebook at Kosher Queers. Our music is by the band Brivele. This week, our audio was edited by Ezra Faust, and our transcript was written by DiCo. Our logo is by Lior Gross, and we are not endorsed by or affiliated with the Orthodox Union.

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This week, we discuss asymmetrical priests, sex worker daughters, and the symbolic meaning of Lulav's name. Also, we talk about different Jewish denominations' responses to intermarriage and a good Tumblr post.

Full transcript available here.

You can buy Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman and support a queer Jewish author while enjoying a fun read. The article from Sinai Synagogue quoting William Herlands' idea of disabled kohanim being out in the community is here. You can also read "Towards Acceptance, Holiness and Removing Stumbling Blocks" by Lauren Tuchman, writing about stumbling blocks from a literal perspective, as a blind rabbinical student. You can read Avi Cantor Has Six Months To Live by Sacha Lamb, and also read their Tumblr post under the name kuzu. You can listen to Sefirat HOmoer here and follow them on Twitter here. Also, thanks to Mona @ediblesocks for the listener question! You can check out the work of one of the creators of the Trans Day of Torah project, Binya Kóatz, here.

Content note: general note for ableism mentions throughout the episode.

Support us on Patreon! Send us questions or comments at [email protected], follow us on Twitter @kosherqueers, and like us on Facebook at Kosher Queers. Our music is by the band Brivele. This week, our audio was edited by Lulav Arnow and our transcript written by DiCo and Jaz. Our logo is by Lior Gross, and we are not endorsed by or affiliated with the Orthodox Union.

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This week, we discuss the ethics of estimating wrongdoing, offer like half a dozen interpretations of a single line of text, and meet some flirty rabbis in the Talmud who were looking for a unicorn. Also, the Torah said disability justice and "NO WIZARDS!!!"

The transcript is here, but owing to some external life circumstances Jaz, some of it is still in draft form; it will be updated shortly.

You can buy Transangelic Exodus by Ezra Furman here. The story about Bar Kappara at a wedding is in Nedarim 51a. Here's the original article by Pervocracy about the concept of a Missing Stair.

Support us on Patreon! Send us questions or comments at [email protected], follow us on Twitter @kosherqueers, and like us on Facebook at Kosher Queers. Our music is by the band Brivele. This week, our audio was edited by Ezra Faust, and our transcript was written by Jaz and DiCo. Our logo is by Lior Gross, and we are not endorsed by or affiliated with the Orthodox Union.

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This week, we talk Biblical sexism, cleaning up rashes via blood ritual, and Torah's complete squeamishness about the word "penis." Also featured are 90s boy bands and Talmudic voyeurism, so you know there's a lot of excellent stuff going on.

Full transcript available here.

Content notes: This episode is rated explicit, unlike our usual content, because in the second half of the episode, beginning at around 30 minutes it, there is a long discussion of sex and bodily fluids such as semen and menstrual blood. Also, there's swearing in this episode, and it contains a somewhat gory discussion of animal blood in the context of sacrifices.

The book Jaz recommends at the beginning is True Sex: The Lives of Trans Men at the Turn of the Twentieth Century by Emily Skidmore. The Ramban's sexist commentary on women and conception can be found here. You can listen to "MMMBop" by 90s boy band Hanson here (it's a remarkably long song). The bit of Talmud where we get the story about a student spying on their rabbi and justifying it by saying, "It is Torah and I must learn" is in Berachot 62a.

If you'd like to know more about how some communities are handling questions of niddah during the pandemic, the Orthodox Union has written about it here and here, there are articles on Mikvah.org here, and there's a more general news article with an overview from late March. (Note: we don't necessarily endorse any perspectives expressed here.)

Support us on Patreon! Send us questions or comments at [email protected], follow us on Twitter @kosherqueers, and like us on Facebook at Kosher Queers. Our music is by the band Brivele. This week, our audio was edited by Lulav Arnow and our transcript written by DiCo and Jaz. Our logo is by Lior Gross, and we are not endorsed by or affiliated with the Orthodox Union.

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In this week's episode, some poor unfortunate priest boys meet a sad end, we learn about Lulav's history of moirallegiance, and Lulav accuses Jaz of being cowboy-phobic. Also, lots of kashrut is invented.

Full transcript available here.

Content notes: There is a loud bleeping from 7:38-7:44, where personal identifying information has been removed. Also, this episode includes non-graphic discussion of people burning to death, mostly from 14:00 to 21:17 but with sporadic other references to it.

The bonus content Lulav mentions about a conversation with Khesed will be released on our Patreon this Monday!

The citation about Nadab and Abihu being drunk when entering the Mishkan and rendering a decision in the presence of their teacher can both be found in the Rashi here. At 26:30, Jaz refers to a bit of Talmud regarding a miracle, which can be found in Shabbat 32a and Taanit 20b. Also, the Talmud story that starts at 34:56 can be found in Bava Metzia 59b.

At 41:38, Lulav butchers the plural of the word "octopus." You can hear the word she was trying to say here, and a breakdown of why no one ever needs to say it anyway here. Also, Lulav follows it up with a joke about a wug, which is a reference to the wug test from linguistics. The wug is sort of the unofficial mascot of linguistics, because it's so cute. Jaz recommends The Trans Space Octopus Congregation by Bogi Takács, which is available for purchase from the publisher. Around 49:30, Jaz cites Sanhedrin 17a, found here.

You can also learn more about the Ohlone people here and support Indian Canyon, an indigenous-held piece of land that serves as a safe haven and a place to conduct ceremonies. You can also support or buy a gift certificate to Cafe Ohlone, an indigenous-owned food establishment in the Bay Area currently closed because of COVID-19.

Support us on Patreon! Send us questions or comments at [email protected], follow us on Twitter @kosherqueers, and like us on Facebook at Kosher Queers. Our music is by the band Brivele. This week, our audio was edited by Ezra Faust, and our transcript by Jaz. Our logo is by Lior Gross, and we are not endorsed by or affiliated with the Orthodox Union.

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It's Pesach! Okay, yes, technically this episode comes out on the middle days of Pesach, during Chol HaMoed, not on the day itself, but we were just filled with so much Pesach energy that we have an extra-long special episode for you, all about the holiday. Instead of going through a parsha, we go through a haggadah, and then hear about cool different ways folks celebrate the holiday.

Full transcript available here.

The Keshet haggadah by Rabbi Nikki DeBlosi can be found here. At 36:50, Jaz cites this JFREJ haggadah, and a piece written by the awesome Koach Baruch Frazier called "Lo Dayenu" can be found on page 5. At 1:07:30, Jaz referenced writing on more accessible seders by Ruti Regan. Some of them are here under the seder tag. Here's one on being overstimulated and one on eating things when you need to.

Also, thank you to everyone who sent in responses to our Passover survey! Shout out to Izzy, DiCo, Rachel, Bec, Tova, Nora, Jessica, Sharon, Ariel, and an anonymous listener!

Support us on Patreon! Send us questions or comments at [email protected], follow us on Twitter @kosherqueers, and like us on Facebook at Kosher Queers. Our music is by the band Brivele. This week, our audio was edited by Lulav Arnow and our transcript written by DiCo and Jaz. Our logo is by Lior Gross, and we are not endorsed by or affiliated with the Orthodox Union.

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While you're waiting for our Pesach special episode, coming to you this Sunday or Monday, today you can experience a crossover! Jaz went and hung out with Xava on her podcast, Xai, How Are You? They talked Talmud, hair dye, old genders, and also what to do if you don't like prayer.

Full transcript available here.

You can listen to Xai, How Are You? on Soundcloud, follow Xai, How Are You on Twitter, and support Xava on Patreon, which I encourage you to do! You can also support the Let My People Go campaign here and access the Gender Reveal Trans Survival Fund here. You can also read along the bit of Talmud we were discussing, Berachot 28a, here.

Content note: this episode is rated explicit, unlike our usual episodes, mostly for sexual innuendo and swearing.

The audio editing was done by Michael, of the Xai, How Are You? team and the transcript by Jaz. You can also support Kosher Queers on Patreon if you like what we do here.  

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This week, the Torah invents quarantine of people, we are both in favor of cleansing things with fire, and Lulav learns one way in which using Christian sources can lead you astray. Plus, I'm pretty sure we already told you we're doing the haftorah for year two, but if not, we're doing the haftorah for year two!

Our full transcript is available here.

Lulav is real into referencing the Front Bottoms this episode, and you can listen to their song Pale Beneath the Tan here. Also, you can listen to Turn the World Around as sung by Dan Nichols here, which Jaz remembers fondly around 16:30. Also, here is an example of liturgy where the "gives life to the dead" vs. "gives life to all," distinction discussed in minute 19 can be found, and further reading on the Reform movement's process is available here. Here's Rashi's comment on thanksgiving mentioned at 24:37. The tweet that Lulav references at 31:25 appears to be from an account that's now locked, but here's an article about the Iranian linguistic phenomenon.

Note: this episode was recorded pre-pandemic, and so includes references to things like seeing friends in person and making plans to go to a spa, and to be clear, none of those are currently happening or happened in the last few weeks and Jaz definitely didn't go to any spa.

Support us on Patreon! Send us questions or comments at [email protected], follow us on Twitter @kosherqueers, and like us on Facebook at Kosher Queers. Our music is by the band Brivele. This week, our audio was edited by Ezra Faust, and our transcript by Khesed Bein. (Lulav said in the episode that it was going to be done by Jaz and DiCo, but that turned out to be incorrect; our bad.) Our logo is by Lior Gross, and we are not endorsed by or affiliated with the Orthodox Union.

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