For so many, CJP’s programs are a haven propelled by community: for families, parents, the elderly, interfaith couples and so many more.
Boston’s Jewish LGBTQIA+ community is central to this outreach: Now in its second year, CJP Pride offers belonging, connection and camaraderie.
The initiative began in April 2023, when CJP led a subsidized, community-wide trip to Israel, aptly named “Spark.” Roughly 300 people joined the immersive, intergenerational travel experience.
“Our youngest participant was in their 20s and our oldest was in their late 80s,” says CJP Pride lead professional Chelsea Todtfeld, who is also CJP’s program officer for young adult philanthropy.
In Israel, the group connected with other Boston Jewish lay leaders at a welcome breakfast, where the conversation turned to queer Jewish life in Boston, especially among younger adults.
“During the breakfast, it was clear that there was a gap in social programming for LGBTQIA+-identifying members of the Jewish community in their 20s and 30s. This was a catalyst for CJP: Hearing directly from folks in the queer Jewish community, and with the guidance and support of these queer Jewish lay leaders, we began taking steps to bring these offerings to life,” Todtfeld says.
Today, the program is a permanent part of CJP programming, with a kickoff connection-building event in November 2024, where the group reflected on post-election emotions. More events are planned for March and June.
Swampscott’s Kasey LeBlanc attended the Spark trip and eagerly joined CJP Pride as a pilot member. LeBlanc is a trans author who writes young adult stories; his first book, “Flyboy,” chronicles a closeted trans boy at a Catholic high school who dreams of joining a circus and finally being seen for who he truly is. A few years ago, LeBlanc converted to Judaism at Temple Israel of Boston. Temple Israel offers a young adult Shabbat each month through its social-justice-oriented Riverway Project, and also has robust LGBTQIA programming.
LeBlanc says the trip to Israel, and the ongoing community it fostered, was transformative.
“I had never been to Israel before and ended up being on a bus with Rabbi Andrew Oberstein from Temple Israel, who is wonderful. Many people on our bus were queer, and we talked about how much we’d love to see a space for queer Jewish life in Boston. Through that, once we all came back, CJP reached out to pilot a new committee,” LeBlanc recalls.
Today, the group is an integral part of LeBlanc’s life, fundamental to his sense of belonging, particularly since October 2023.
“Since Oct. 7, it’s been really hard to be Jewish in general—and, unfortunately, there’s been antisemitism from the broader queer community,” he reflects. “For a long time, it hasn’t been particularly difficult to be queer in the Boston area. There are so many young queer people; there are so many avenues for community. But many of us have felt very cut off from those communities since October. To be able to come together with other Jewish queer people in itself has been very important. We need it so much right now.”
“There’s a hunger to explicitly connect to people in their 20s and 30s who straddle that intersection between queerness and Judaism in Greater Boston more intentionally,” adds Rabbi Oberstein from Temple Israel, who’s now also part of CJP Pride in addition to his temple duties: Through Temple Israel, Oberstein has also started TI Circles, micro-communities devoted to specialized interests within the congregation.
“There’s more need for people to come together and be Jewish and queer in the same spaces. We’re not a monolith. We don’t all share the same political beliefs, religious practices. Just because we are queer Jews doesn’t mean we think alike or act alike or need the same things from each other—but our own space is so necessary, because there is power in being in queer space, where we can be together and talk about the things that affect our lives uniquely,” Oberstein says.
“There’s more need for people to come together and be Jewish and queer in the same spaces.”
In March, CJP Pride will collaborate with Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters to create “self-expression care kits” for youth in their LGBTQIA+ mentorship program, packaging items like journals, art supplies and pronoun stickers. In June, the group will throw a Pride celebration.
“Providing a space where individuals can authentically express their intersectional identities and be their true selves is essential, especially in today’s climate. The impact these events have is profound, and I’m honored to help create them,” Todtfeld says. “And I personally think that a plethora of components of Pride are inherently Jewish: the celebration of identities; prevailing against odds and opponents; the hope and the joy.”
