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Wednesday 30 July 2014

Being Orthodox and gay - who cares?


Author Eli Glasman
By Eli Glasman

I was brought up in an Orthodox Jewish family in the suburb of Caulfield, Melbourne. I was religious throughout my childhood and early teens. However, at seventeen I found that the religious life wasn’t for me.


The sect of Judaism I was part of was Lubavitch, who are quite integrated into main stream society, so the change wasn’t too much of a culture shock for me. There were little things – such as not wearing a yamulka for the first time in public, and eating non-kosher. I remember the first few times I didn’t wear a yamulka, I was acutely aware of the air on my naked hair and it made me feel uneasy. And it was a while until I could eat non-kosher without feeling slightly guilty. 

However, everyone around me, including religious friends and family, were accepting and respectful. Even if they may not have agreed with my choices, they were still inclusive and loving.



Eli's debut novel
I really don’t hold any resentment about my upbringing. And I certainly didn’t when I started writing my novel, The Boy’s Own Manual to Being a Jew. I guess, since it’s about a homosexual boy in the orthodox Jewish community, when I spoke to many people about it there was the automatic assumption that I would be bitter and the book would be an attack on the community.
 

Yet, I was very careful as I wrote my book. I ensured that I took a measured approach, that I researched and had discussions with people to get a fair perspective on the issue. The intention was that the main character, Yossi, would learn to find a place for himself, as a homosexual, within his faith. So, to show Yossi’s love of Judaism and his community were crucial to showing why he would want to remain religious.
As I was writing, I realised (possibly being a little arrogant), that the book was likely to get published. And, to be honest, I did become slightly afraid about how it would be received.


I guess I was scared I would be ‘attacked’. As soon as I stepped into the public eye, I would be told off regularly and people would bad mouth me on the internet. I knew none of my friends or family would, but there’s something scary about putting yourself out there to complete strangers.

What I’ve learnt though, in my very minor and probably short lived stint in the public eye, is that as long as I’m careful about what I say, I edit what I write based on the input of others and I’m always open to discussion, most reasonable people will not ‘attack’ me. How a person reacts to something they don’t agree has more to do with their personality type than anything. Some are able to acknowledge the differences in others and are genuinely loving and kind, so that no matter what I might think, even if they don’t agree, they will still be lovely people. And those who do attack me are - to put it bluntly - just jerks.

Judaism HomosexualityEveryone in the community, even those I’ve those I’ve never met, have been truly lovely. I’ve had some early readers say that they felt I was too kind on the religious community in my book. There were a wide variety of reactions from the characters when Yossi finally comes out of the closet and they advised me that they felt that some of religious characters whom I’d depicted responding well to Yossi coming out, wouldn’t have responded as well in real life. But, I’d written warm characters who responded to Yossi with love, because that has been my experience of the community.

Perhaps I had romanticized my upbringing. But, as I wrote it, I felt as I was simply being honest.
 

To hear more about Eli’s story don’t miss his sessions at the upcoming Sydney Jewish Writers Festival on Sunday 25 August at Shalom College, UNSW.
Coming out in the 21st century – Who cares? with Prof. Dennis Altman, moderated by Miri Jassy from 2-3pm.

To learn how Eli managed to get his first novel published:
Getting published is really hard, but … with Joanne Felder and Lisa Goldberg, moderated by Kate Steinweg from 4:30pm-5:30pm.
Full program details and ticket information are available at www.sjwf.org.au or call 9381 4160.

Join us on Facebook and Twitter @SJWFestival #SJWF2014

Wednesday 23 July 2014

HOPE

by Michal Kagan

Last week July 15th 2014 was a day of disappointment and grief, and a day of hope and wonder.  

It was the 17th day of Tammuz.  The longed-for cease-fire that would put an end to this stupidity died before birth leaving behind it explosions and death while, at the same time, traditional Jews fasted and mourned the siege of Jerusalem that eventually led to its fall.  

It was also the 17th day of Ramadan.  In the yeshivah of Maale Gilboa, that overlooks the magnificent Beit She’an section of the Great Rift Valley, Sheikh Ghassan Manasra, his father, his son and his disciples together with rabbis and students prayed together, sang together, learned together, laughed together, cried together, and we broke our fasts together.  

What a magnificent sight to see the rift closing, the walls coming down, the siege ending.  What a fulfillment of God’s Prayer to hear the sounds of the adhan - the Moslem call to prayer - echoing off the walls of the Beit Midrash (house of study).  What a profound experience to daven the standing, silent prayer of Maariv, the evening service, while Moslems are prostrating on the carpets, regularly used by the cohanim, reciting the Maghrib prayer.  And then a sweet date and a glass of water to calm our hunger before the meal.

Sitting there with my sheikh, with my son and daughter-in-law, with my rabbis and their students, and their students’ students, the words that came through me, that form God’s Prayer, began to unwind:

It has started – it can be stopped.
Listen to the Word of the Lord:
Muslim and Jewish Men in prayer (photos merged so they appear to be back to back)
it can be stopped!

The great war machines of my children,
the offspring of my servant Abraham,
the man of loving-kindness,
you prepare for battle – again.

Widows will be made from the loss of husbands,
orphans will be made by the loss of parents,
cripples will be made by the loss of limbs,
graves will be made by the loss of life.

I say to you: No!

A new gate has opened,
and it is not a gate of war.

Do not turn your backs on this gate,
for it stands open for you.
It is a new Gate:
a Gate of Cooperation,
a Gate of Sharing,
a Gate of Giving,
a Gate of Resting,
a Gate of Peace,
a Gate of Plenty,
a Gate of Purpose,
a Gate of Repair,
a Gate of Healing,
a Gate of Hope.

Michael Kagan transmitter of God’s Prayer (Albion-Andalus, 2014)


Hear Michael Kagan at the Sydney Jewish Writers Festival.
Full program details and ticket information are available at www.sjwf.org.au or call 9381 4160. Join us on Facebook and Twitter @SJWFestival #SJWF2014

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Books are just the beginning ...

We are very excited to re-launch the Sydney Jewish Writers Festival blog. We have been busy preparing a great program for 2014 and now it’s live!

Books are just the beginning at this year’s SJWF which takes place from 21-24 August and features film, theatre, television, ideas and much more. As many of our fans already know, the Festival is a chance to get up close and personal with talent from overseas and around Australia, engage with big ideas and issues, and add to your personal bookshelf.
This year’s Festival combines writers from multiple genres and types with a film producer, television critic, analysts and actors. They will be speaking about Israel, homosexuality, architecture, Holocaust memorialisation, Jewish cooking, spirituality, publishing tips and much more over three days of varied programming.

Comedian & author John Safran
The SJWF kicks off on Thursday 21 August with John Safran’s one-man live show, ‘Murder in Mississippi’, at 8.00pm at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre. Safran tells the true story of how he met a white supremacist, befriended his black killer and wrote a book. His show will include excerpts from his bestselling book of the same name and share tales of his unique escapades in the Deep South. We are very excited to be co-presenting the show with Network.

The festival continues on Saturday 23 August with a fascinating and provocative evening which will delve into different aspects of Israel.  ‘Secrets and Lies’ features Dr Yoaz Hendel, an expert on Israel-Iran relations, and Rafael Epstein, the author of Prisoner X about Australian Ben Zygier who died in an Israeli prison. This will be followed by one-woman show, ‘Four Faces of Israel’, by Israeli performer Helen Gottstein. Both entertaining and confronting, the four characters share their views on the nature of the state, Middle East history, modern Jewish identity and the complex challenges Israel faces.  (Warning: remember it’s just a show!) Some of the material is quite confronting but sit tight because the show is very thought-provoking and funny.

The program on Sunday 24 August is packed with a range of stimulating sessions including The New Yorker television critic Emily Nussbaum, Oscar-winning film producer Emile Sherman, best-selling author Alan Gold and prominent journalist David Leser.

The Monday Morning Cooking Club
Aspiring writers should be sure not to miss, ‘Getting published is really hard, but…’ This session will take a realistic look at the hurdles to becoming a published author and will include debut Melbourne author Eli Glasman, veteran writer Joanne Fedler who has just completed her eighth book, and Lisa Goldberg from the Monday Morning Cooking Club.

The Monday Morning Cooking Club will also be wrapping up the SJWF with a session not to be missed from 7.00–8.00pm on Sunday called ‘Taste the stories (literally)’. They will talk about the inspirational stories and recipes behind their second cookbook, The Feast Goes On, while the audience samples some of their favourite creations.

It’s going to be a fantastic Festival and we can’t wait! Until then, stay tuned to this blog because we’ll be featuring posts by some of our featured authors, which will be sure to intrigue and entice you to attend their sessions on the day!


Full program details and ticket information are available at www.sjwf.org.au or call 9381 4160. Join us on Facebook and Twitter @SJWFestival #SJWF2014