Wed, Sep 15, 2010 at 7:30pm until 9pm

Congregation Beth Shalom (6800 35TH AVE NE Seattle WA)

Join us for an Evening with Miryam Kabakov, editor of the anthology, Keep Your Wives Away from Them: Orthodox Women, Unorthodox Desires.

Reconciling queerness with religion is an enormous challenge—especially when the religion is Orthodox Judaism. In the groundbreaking new anthology, Keep Your Wives Away From Them: Orthodox Women, Unorthodox Desires, Miryam Kabakov brings together the first-person accounts of fourteen lesbian, bisexual and transgender women as they shed new light on the experiences of individuals and communities who live at the intersection of conflicting sexual and religious identities. These women, from a range of backgrounds, discuss how they have reconciled their commitment to Orthodox Judaism and how their religion coexists with life out of the closet. Elaine Chapnik, one of the contributors, will discuss rabbinic texts on lesbianism.

Miryam Kabakov holds a master’s degree in social work from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work of Yeshiva University. She has worked in direct service in New York City with previously homeless, mentally ill, and chemically addicted seniors, and with young adults who have devoted a year of their lives working with people in poverty. She founded and facilitated the New York Orthodykes, facilitated a support group for ex-Orthodox and Hassidic young adults, and is the former director of GLBT programming at the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan. She is currently the director of the Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival. Kabakov lives with her partner and two children in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Event is Free...RSVP to Carol Benedick at CarolBenedick [at] BethShalomSeattle [dot] org