Testing, testing 123

After the movie, I dined with my friends at a Georgian restaurant—the Russian kind! No fried chicken and greens here! The waitress overheard us speaking about gay synagogues and she said, “You guys are bored making up such crazy things!” I pointed to my friend and said he is a gay rabbi (he was not) and that it is not made up. She, a secular Israeli, looked shocked and horrified. “There is only ONE Judaism, the rest is bullshit!” I smiled and said there has never been ONE Judaism. I was playful with her and not so serious; it kept things light. When she came with the check, she said there is only one Torah but before she could finish I said but she has 70 faces in Hebrew. “Why can’t one of those faces be of a handsome gay man?” pointing to my friend. She began to rebut and I said turn it, turn it and turn it again- everything is in it! This was from the ethics of the ancestors she nodded. I guess, but it still doesn’t seem right.

Afterwards, a friend Roni, joined us. A very handsome Israeli man who was very bright and articulate about the civil rights that gay folks have in Israel---far more than in the US.
We went to a bar called Joshua and met up with more friends of Roni’s. Including a 20 year man named Adam, also gay and in the military. I sat next to him and his gun strapped on his shoulder. It was amusing and sad thinking about having a casual dinner with your friends and your rifle on your person. Of course, this is nothing out of the ordinary for many Israelis.

From there I went to Shushan, where I met many of the drag queens of Jerusalem. Adam announced that I was a rabbi and that fascinated the drag queens—especially the one who had performed Tina Turner: Iman or his drag name was Queen of Sheba. Iman was Muslim of African and Palestinian descent. Identifying as gay, he was also married with 3 kids. I met Gil and several others I cannot remember.

Inside, I met with Dror, a man with whom I spoke for 3 hours. Managing a restaurant, he was also in school to become a ceramicist and a ceramics teacher. I began to ask him about his political views. He said, “I am not very political.” But then he began to tear up a little as he shared his brother was just called for reserve duty and was going into be part of the ground troops in Lebanon. He explained that in Israel many secular women ask what would be worse to have a gay son or a religious son? He explained that his mother was going straight to heaven because she had both. (His sister works in a sex toy store?!)

Dror, was 30 had a boyfriend (which wouldn’t have come up if I didn’t ask). His family lived in Northern Israel near Abulafia where he was born, which had been bombed. His parents were moving in between homes in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. After talking about all different topics Dror returned to the larger conflict and said in this bar I have many Palestinian friends at my restaurant I have workers who are Arabs and they are wonderful people. If I am political, I have to hate them, but how can I they are good people. Everything is too complex here, people don’t understand.

He looked at me with earnest open eyes widened, his lips trembling a bit and said, “Joshua, being born here in this country is a test. Everyone of us is being tested, Arab and Jew. It is a test. An impossible test.”