CELEBRATE JEWISH QUEER JOY TODAY, PICTURE A QUEER JEWISH TOMORROW.
Queer youth from Orthodox homes rarely have the chance to celebrate queer Jewish simcha. And, one of the hardest parts of being a queer teen from an Orthodox home is not being able to envision a future for oneself.
“Share your simcha” is a new JQY initiative to bring as many community celebrations and smachot to our youth as possible. While it might not be practical for everyone to invite all JQYers to their actual occasions (for example, to the actual wedding, bris, etc.) we can certainly continue the celebrations and invite our youth to celebrate with the community. It is our goal to bring light, happiness, and hope to our participants and community in a new way.
How it works:
1. Fill out the form below with details of your upcoming simcha
2. JQY will reach out to you to discuss the details of what you would like your seudat simcha (celebratory meal) to look like
3. Together, we will create a seudat simcha for you!
4. JQY will invite JQYers to join in your Jewish queer milestone
5. JQYers will be able to experience communal joy today and picture a possible Jewish queer future.
Join us on Thursday, June 27th at the Nachas Gala on our New York City rooftop to benefit the growing efforts of JQY! Featuring music, cocktails, kosher cuisine, & more.
Email events@jqy.org if you are interested in joining the host committee!
Dr. Sara Glass • Mordy Walfish • Ari Shane Weitz & Avidan Brown • Aaron Kogut • Shimmy Feintuch & Rabba Yaffa Epstein • Isaac & Andrew Mitchell-Namdar • Hannah Simpson • Duvi Stahler • Leah & Tom Korach • Renanit Levy & Steven Mazie • Clara Laitman & Remy Schwartz • Jeffrey Benkoe • Rachael Fried & Henna Warman • Nathaniel Goldman •
Our Mission
JQY (Jewish Queer Youth) supports and empowers LGBTQ Jewish youth with a special focus on teens and young adults from Orthodox, Chassidic, and Sephardi/Mizrahi communities. JQY fights to ensure the emotional and physical health and safety of this population. Our goal is for all these individuals to know: You are a valued member of the Jewish community and you are not alone.
Attend our annual benefit gala and help fund programs for Jewish LGBTQ+ Youth
JQY is a mental health organization that empowers Jewish queer teens and young adults to live healthy, joyful lives. We save and improve lives by connecting youth to one another, to providers and relevant resources, and to opportunities to see themselves and their futures.
JQY provides equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, citizenship or immigration status, creed, genetic predisposition or carrier status, national origin, disability condition, marital status, status as a disabled or Vietnam-era veteran, or any other protected characteristic as established by law. In addition, the organization affirmatively seeks to advance the principles of equal employment opportunity as it applies to all policies and procedures relating to recruitment and hiring, compensation, benefits, termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment.
When home is not the safest space to be yourself, JQY is there.
As the world responds to COVID-19 with important safety measures that include staying at home and sheltering in place, it is important to think about the young people who rely on resources outside of their homes to be themselves. LGBTQ teens from Orthodox, Chasidic, and Sephardi/Mizrahi homes are more likely to face homophobia and transphobia in their households. The majority of JQY participants are not yet “out” to their parents. They often rely on their “chosen family” at school, on campus, or at JQY events for the opportunity to be their full authentic selves. The Coronavirus pandemic has temporarily taken away these spaces, and so for these young people, the quarantine at home can present serious challenges, risks, and dangers. JQY crisis and support resources are needed more than ever.
JQY VIRTUAL DROP-IN CENTER
JQY is meeting these challenges by making our Drop-in Center completely virtual and accessible even for teens who can not speak out-loud or access video connections at home. Now our Drop-in Center can be accessed by those outside the New York area and is available to teens around the world. Our recent Virtual Drop-in nights have had participants from all over the US, as well as teens from as far as England, Israel, and Brazil! Our youth are now able to tap into a global community of friends, allies, and support.
The JQY Drop-in Center staff (above)
JQY CRISIS LINE & ONLINE SUPPORT
Our crisis line, run by specially trained mental health professionals can respond both by voice and text message. Our confidential social media support groups have become an oasis of support where teens can safely connect with friends from around the world. We have been creating and sharing affirmative queer Jewish content that can be accessed at any time, on and offline.
Contact our crisis line at (551)JQY-HOPE (551-579-4673).
CLOSE-UP CONVERSATION SERIES
We have recently launched our “Closeup Conversations” series – a special small group initiative where we focus on specific challenges that LGBTQ Jewish youth may face in the Orthodox world. Our message to teens is clear: YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
JQY relies on the support of our friends, allies, and alumni. The national shut down has made many small nonprofits particularly vulnerable, and JQY is no exception. We have had to cancel all in-person fundraising events and have experienced a significant dip in personal donations. We know that our teens rely upon our programs and therefore stopping any of our crisis resources is simply not an option. We need your help now to ensure that these lifelines remain open and able to meet the needs during these uncertain times.
A donation to JQY is an invaluable gift to those who need it most, but a donation today would mean that no virus, sickness, or emergency can ever stop unconditional love. Please click here to support our efforts during this time. We thank you for your generosity.
Molly Meisels is currently completing their undergraduate degree in art history at Yeshiva University. Molly grew up in a chasidish family in Borough Park, Brooklyn, and has dedicated her life to giving back to the Jewish and queer communities. Molly is bisexual and genderqueer, and enjoys learning new facets of their queer identity every day. After finishing her undergraduate degree, Molly plans to pursue a graduate degree in art history. They hope to study queer gazes in nineteenth-century art history and educate the world about queer Jewish issues. Molly founded the Yeshiva University Pride Alliance and is excited to help Shtultz grow as the president of the program. When Molly is not thinking about queer issues, she can be found reading science fiction and discovering new parks in Berkeley, CA with her fiance.
מאַלי מייזעלס איז איצט פאַרענדיקן זייער ונדערגראַדואַטע דיפּלאָם אין קונסט היסטורי בּיי ישיבה אוניווערסיטעט.מאַלי איז אויפֿגעוואַקסן אין אַ חסידישער משפּחה אין בארא פארק, ברוקלין, און האָט געווידמעט איר לעבן צוריקצוגעבן צו די יידוש און קביר קהלות. מאַלי איז בייסעקשואַל און דזשענדערקביר, און האט הנאה צו לערנען נייַ טיילען פון זייער קביר אידענטיטעט יעדער טאָג. נאָך ענדיקן איר ונדערגראַדואַטע דיפּלאָם מאַלי פּלאַנז צו נאָכגיין אַ גראַדואַטע דיפּלאָם אין קונסט היסטורי. זיי האָפן צו לערנען וועגן קביר בליקן אין קונסט היסטורי און לערנען די וועלט וועגן קביר יידיש בליקן.מאַלי האָט געגרינדעט די ישיבה אוניווערסיטעט פּרייד אַלליאַנסע און איז צופרידן צו העלפן שטאלץ וואַקסן.ווען מאַלי טראַכט נישט וועגן קביר ישוז, איר קענען זי טרעפן לייענען און אַנטדעקן נייַ פּאַרקס אין בערקלי, קאליפארניע מיט איר שותּף
Mo Goldberger, Co-President Pronouns: They/Them
Mo Goldberger is a junior computer science major at the University of Maryland, College Park. Mo grew up in a yeshivish household in Los Angeles and loves bringing that yeshivishe “umph” to other Jewish communities, specifically through music. Mo composes music for tefillos that they feel properly captures the essence of each tefillah so that the melody becomes a medium for kavanah. Mo is an aspiring musician, rabbi, and prayer leader and hopes to someday be able to create community through Jewish music. They are incredibly excited to be able to help the frum community become a better place for queer youth as the vice president of Shtultz. It is important to Mo that people feel like they belong and know they do not need to give up on their religiosity in order to be comfortable in their own skin. When Mo is not playing or writing music, they can be found doing anything outdoorsy, watching football and updating their fantasy football roster, and learning.
מאָ גאָלדבערגער שטודיעס קאָמפּיוטער וויסנשאַפֿט אין דער אוניווערסיטעט פון מאַרילאַנד, קאָלעדזש פּאַרק. מאָ איז אויפֿגעוואַקסן אין אַ ישיבֿיש היים אין לאס אנדזשעלעס און האָט ליב צו ברענגען א ישיבֿיש “אומף” צו אנדערע יידישע קהילות, ספעציעל דורך מוזיק. מאָ קאַמפּאָוזיז מוזיק פֿאַר תפילות וואס זיי פילן רעכט קאַפּטשערז די עסאַנס פון יעדער תפילה אַזוי אַז די ניגון ווערט אַ מיטל פֿאַר קוונה.מאָ איז אַן אַספּיירינג קלעזמער, רבי, און תפילה פירער און זיי האָפֿן צו איין טאָג קענען צו שאַפֿן א קהילה דורך ייִדיש מוזיק. זיי זענען ינקרעדאַבלי יקסייטאַד צו קענען העלפֿן די פרום קהל ווערן אַ בעסער פּלאץ פֿאַר קביר מענטשן. עס איז וויכטיק צו מאָ אַז מענטשן פילן ווי זיי געהערן און וויסן אַז זיי דאַרפֿן נישט אויפגעבן זייער פרימקייט צו זיין באַקוועם אין זייער הויט. ווען מאָ ארבעט נישט אויף זייער מוזיק, זיי קענען זיין געפֿונען טוען עפּעס ין דרויסן, וואָטשטן פוטבאָל, דערהייַנטיקן זייער פאַנטאַזיע פוטבאָל רשימה, און לערנען
Devorah Simon, Treasurer Pronouns: She/Her
Devorah is currently an undergraduate at Stanford University majoring in electrical engineering. She grew up in a yeshivish family in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, and attended Bais Yaakov schools. As the treasurer for Shtultz, Devorah hopes to ensure that frum queer youth know that they do not have to compromise on any part of themselves at all – not their yiddishkeit, not their queerness, and not their aspirations. When she’s not in school or doing research, she can be found studying languages, singing niggunim, or baking for her next tisch.
דבורה שטודיעס ילעקטריקאַל ינזשעניעריע בּיי סטאַנפֿאָרד אוניווערסיטעט. זי איז אויפגעוואקסן אין א ישיביש שטיבּ אין קיו גאַרדענס היללס, קווינס, און האָט געלערנט אין באיס יעקב שולן. ווי דער שטאלץ טרעזשורער, דבורה האָפט צו פארזיכערן אז פרים, קביר יוגנטלעכע זאָלן וויסן אז זיי דארפן בכלל נישט קאמפראמיטירן אויף קיין טייל פון זיך – נישט זייער יידישקייט, נישט זייער קבירנעס, און נישט זייערע שטרעבונגען. ווען זי איז נישט אין שולע אָדער טוען פאָרשונג, זי שטודיעס שפּראַכן, זינגט ניגונים, און בייקס פֿאַר איר נעקסט טיש.
