Chadeish Yameinu
Jewish Renewal of Santa Cruz

Chadeish Yameinu Jewish Renewal and Temple Beth El  invite you to celebrate

 

SHABBAT OF LOVE AND PRIDE

Friday, June 18, 7:00 pm

 

Our special guest speaker will be Noam Sienna:

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“SPINNING A RAINBOW THREAD:  REFLECTIONS ON WRITING QUEER JEWISH HISTORY”

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What is the place of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer Jews in history? Historian Noam Sienna has worked to uncover documents that until now have been scattered across the globe, and largely unrecognized. Pulling together these varied sources, written in over fifteen languages — which include poetry, literature, law, midrash, and memoir – Sienna created the very first anthology of queer Jewish history, released in 2019. Drawing on this publication, Sienna spins a complex story about Jewish sexuality and gender across time and space.

 

Noam Sienna is a scholar of Jewish culture and history, focusing on the medieval and early modern periods, and with a particular interest in Jewish communities in the Islamic world. His first book, A Rainbow Thread: An Anthology of Queer Jewish Texts from the First Century to 1969 (Philadelphia: Print-O-Craft, 2019), was awarded the 2020 Reference Award from the Association of Jewish Libraries, and the 2020 Anthology Award from the Lambda Literary Foundation.

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