A Gay Synagogue in New York
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Overview
A Gay Synagogue in New York recounts the communal experiences and personal dilemmas of the congregants of Beth Simchat Torah, the largest gay and lesbian synagogue in the United States.
Synopsis
Explores the dramatic true story of a group of gay and lesbian Jews confronting questions of sexual identity within a traditional religious framework in the creation of the largest gay congregation.
Booknews
Shokeid, a mainstream Israeli anthropologist, relates his experiences and observations studying the Congregation Beth Simchat Torah (CBST), a gay synagogue, during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He outlines the history of CBST and discusses the ritual process at the synagogue, the politics of a lay-led synagogue, and the social component at CBST. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Editorials
From the Publisher
"A clear winner . . . this book is a model of how to do ethnography in a modern context."—Leonard Plotnicov, author of American Culture: Essays on the Familiar and Unfamiliar
"A important book."—Jewish Journal of Sociology
"Shokeid is skillful in conveying the ideological, gender-based, and religious cleavages that make the establishment of a lesbian and gay congregation a complicated endeavor."—Journal of Contemporary Ethnography