A Message of Support

By Shuli Karkowsky, Moving Traditions CEO | When people ask me how I’m doing, especially since October 7, I have answered something along the lines of, “Personally, wonderful; Globally, concerned....

By Shuli Karkowsky, Moving Traditions CEO

When people ask me how I’m doing, especially since October 7, I have answered something along the lines of, “Personally, wonderful; Globally, concerned.” It felt like an appropriate response to acknowledge the incredible privileges in my life while recognizing the pain and hardship so many are suffering.

I still remember first encountering, in college, the feminist mantra, “the personal is political” — that what happens in people’s homes also matters in the political realm. Since Trump signed executive orders earlier this week, I have been thinking about how, conversely, “the political is personal.” Sometimes it is easy to see the global hardship far away, only to find that it is encroaching and sitting right at your door.

The current administration, on its first day of office, decided that one of its signals of what their agenda should be was to deny the existence and identity of trans and non-binary people. These are people we know do exist – people we love, people we work with, people we are. This beautiful piece from Ollie Small, a nonbinary teen, is a profound reminder of how this order will affect the sense of wellbeing for the Jewish teens in our lives. It is a harsh reminder that we can’t separate the personal from the political, the personal from the global.

For millenia, our tradition has recognized more than two genders. Bodies come in all shapes and sizes, gender comes in infinite variations. Jewish texts have seized on this with relish, exploring those concepts with the fierce curiosity of our tradition. While that discussion might not always align with how we talk about those concepts today, they all find themselves steeped in an understanding that all people are created in the image of G-d, b’tzelem elohim.

And so, I am writing today to share in your personal pain. To let you know that you, and the people you care about, still matter and still have an identity. We are here for you and we care about you.

For us at Moving Traditions, even those who identify as cisgender, this is personal.

We are so proud of and grateful for our Tzelem group leaders who create safe and brave spaces for LGBTQ and non-binary teens. And we are also open to new ideas to increase our support of parents and grandparents of LGBTQ+ and nonbinary teens as well as the teens themselves.

If you want to talk or have suggestions, feel free to reach out to my colleague Rabbi Tamara Cohen, who spearheaded the creation of Tzelem groups eight years ago. We are here for you at Moving Traditions, and we are honored to keep supporting the teens and parents who need us today.