We would strongly recommend everyone read this article, about a gay orthodox Jewish teenager telling the world he is gay.
Some noteworthy quotes:
Feen said that growing up in an “almost haredi community,” followed by a modern Orthodox one, he didn’t encounter the word “gay” until he was in seventh grade and noticed it came with bad connotations.
He eventually came to terms with his sexuality and came out to his parents, who were happy and accepting, at a Shabbat dinner. But attending a yeshiva high school in Memphis, Tenn., he said he “felt tortured and oppressed,” and struggled with the fact that his religion didn’t seem accepting of homosexuality. In his senior year, he said, he gained full confidence and embraced the fact he was a gay Orthodox Jew, which led to his graduation party announcement.“People who come out don’t need to leave communities,” Feen said.
It is a hard struggle for all haredi Jews to come out — or really, anyone with very traditional families.
We hope that, as stories like Feen’s get more and more in the open, that the world becomes more accepting.
Luckily — we are seeing gay Jews being more accepted by the Jewish world day by day. We are proud to be living in this era.
