Keshet Rabbis is an organization of Conservative/Masorti rabbis, cofounded in 2003 by Menachem Creditor,[1][2][3] which holds that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Jews should be embraced as full, open members of all Conservative congregations and institutions. Based on its understanding of Jewish sources and Jewish values, it asserts that LGBT Jews may fully participate in community life and achieve positions of professional and lay leadership.

The organization was established in order to connect gay-friendly Conservative rabbis with one another, to serve as a collective voice of gay-friendly Conservative rabbis, and to offer a point of contact for Conservative/Masorti Jews who are themselves LGBT or who care about LGBT issues.

Keshet Rabbis provides LGBT Jews and those who love and support them with the means to contact a Conservative rabbi for positive and sympathetic advice and information. The mandate of the organization's rabbis is to provide judgment-free support and advice to those who approach them in the following areas: a listening and sympathetic ear, personal counseling in absolute privacy, halakhic queries, ceremonies of interest to the LGBT community, congregations that are already gay-friendly, referrals to helpful resources within the greater Jewish community and all similar matters.

In addition to rabbis,[4] cantors are joining to give support in a similar manner.[5] Further there is now a move towards Keshet congregations.[6]

Status

Keshet Rabbis is not an official arm of the Rabbinical Assembly and is not endorsed by it; rather, it is a free association of rabbis who are members of the Rabbinical Assembly and who subscribe to Keshet-Rabbis' rationale and objectives. The organization's website was effectively launched on June 27, 2005, and soon after its creation over 100 rabbis had joined it.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nussbaum Cohen, Debra (1 December 2006). "Coming Out For Gays At JTS?". The Jewish Week. Retrieved 19 February 2012. The real story for synagogues will probably emerge in five years or so, when the first openly gay rabbinical students who may soon be admitted to Conservative rabbinical schools are ordained and looking for jobs, said Rabbi Menachem Creditor, a founder of Keshet Rabbis, an advocacy group of some 250 Conservative rabbis. Until then, the question remains: Will Conservative synagogues be comfortable hiring them?
  2. ↑ Rubin, Debra (8 July 2005). "Conservative rabbis reach out to gay Jews - Jewish News of Greater Phoenix". Jewish News of Greater Phoenix Online. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2012. About 100 rabbis from the United States, Europe and Israel signed on in June with a new group called Keshet-Rabbis.
  3. ↑ Pine, Dan (10 August 2007). "New rabbi hopes to 'build and dream' in Berkeley". JWeekly.com. j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California. Retrieved 19 February 2012. In 2003, Creditor co-founded Keshet Rabbis, a campaign to push Conservative Judaism to change policies regarding gay and lesbian Jews. This was long before the movement opened its seminary last year to gays and lesbians.
  4. ↑ "Keshet Rabbis". Keshet Rabbis. Archived from the original on August 22, 2012. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  5. ↑ Keshet Cantors Archived June 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "Keshet Congregations". Keshet Congregations. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
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