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Putting God in Drag: A Lunch and Learn with Cantor Niemi

Thursday, June 26, 2025 • 30 Sivan 5785

12:00 PM - 1:00 PMRoom 110 & Zoom

Join Cantor Niemi for a bring-your-own lunch and learn, as we explore an intersection of Jewish sacred text and queer theology,* a meeting of the likes of an early Hasidic sage and the Queen of Drag.

In this text study, we’ll explore some of the spiritual dynamics of clothing, how we can use the ways we present ourselves externally to reveal something true and essential about our inner nature, and, on an even deeper level, what it might mean to “enclothe” God.

The growing acceptance of LGBTQ people in synagogue life over the last generation, and the subsequent surge of LGBTQ Jewish scholarship and creativity entering the public sphere, has provided rich new opportunities to add to our understanding of Torah and its relevance in our lives. One of these has been when LGBTQ people read themselves and their experiences back into a text that had previously marginalized or even excluded them entirely. Others have involved bringing what we might call a “queer theology” to the text, what author David Shneer calls a “bent lens.” While these approaches can be especially meaningful to those who are LGBTQ, we know that they can also deepen the experience of all who find meaning in the study of Torah.

* “Queer theology” is a field of study that reinterprets religious texts and traditions through the lens of queer theory, affirming LGBTQ+ identities, and challenging heteronormative assumptions within faith contexts.

Please register below. For those planning to join online, you will receive a Zoom link by email upon registering.

Find our accessibility measures and visitor guide on our in-person information page.

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May 12, 2025 14 Iyar 5785