Sabrina
My name is Sabrina, and I am a bisexual Modern Orthodox Jew. Over the past several years, I was a part of a local Jewish Orthodox youth group and was able to gain access to mentors and a passion for Judaism I never realized I could have.
Eventually, I came out to the mentors I had developed close relationships, and they surprised me through their kindness. However, after having deeper conversations with them about Judaism and queerness, I realized that I was surrounded by straight people who weren’t educated about the LGBTQ+ community.
At the end of the day, they were not accepting. They were mostly tolerant, and that hurt a lot; tolerance is the bare minimum of human decency where people show you respect, but may not appreciate all of you. Acceptance is the understanding that Queer people exist and respecting all of their identities, including the willingness to learn.
Pronouns: she/her
Photo of Sabrina by Tiny House Photo
What some mentors had indicated to me was I could not be both queer and religious because they were both contradictions to each other. As a result, I started questioning parts of Judaism, wondering whether it was only for cisgender heterosexual people. I became very frustrated in my isolation as the only queer religious Jew I knew.
However, in natural Jewish fashion, I aimed to question those thoughts as I searched for answers and people like me. As I embarked on my journey, I found many Jewish organizations, the podcast series Queer Yid, and online spaces full of Jewish Queer religious people.
I felt empowered finding these resources and learning - and I still have so much to learn about my Jewish, Queer community, which is even more exciting.
Though I still struggle now, I hope to be able to learn and help people like me.
Photo of Sabrina by Tiny House Photos
