Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian, Gay, and Jewish [Hardcover]

Christie Balka (Editor), Andy Rose (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1989 | ISBN-10: 0807079081 | ISBN-13: 978-0807079089 | Edition: First Edition

Contributors include Rebecca T. Alpert, Martha A. Ackelsberg, Linda J. Holtzman, Judith Plaskow, and Evelyn Torton Beck.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Twice Blessed, Christie Balka and Andy Rose have assembled a brave, eclectic mix of contributors, including Rebecca Alpert (Like Bread on the Seder Plate) and Evelyn Torton Beck (Nice Jewish Girls: A Lesbian Anthology), who write with authority, wit, and candor as they negotiate the gap between religious observance and sexual independence. The essays address everything from growing up in a yeshiva to finding a new Judaism-based theology of gay sexuality, from the search for Jewish gay role models to Jewish marital commitment ceremonies. This is a necessary book, not only for Jews who live their sexuality in silence, or gays and lesbians who long to reclaim their Jewish upbringing, but for family members, lovers, and friends of those who struggle to unite both worlds and to discover "the blessing of affirming both our Jewish and our lesbian and gay identities, and to living our lives based on the wisdom of two cultures." --Kera Bolonik --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Pressures within the Jewish community keep gay and lesbian Jews invisible, according to Balka, a social activist in Philadelphia, and Rose, a San Francisco social worker. The 24 contributors to this landmark anthology seek ways to combine gay pride with active participation in Judaism. In one essay, a rabbi describes her life as a lesbian mother; several pieces are about growing up Jewish and gay. Others discuss coming out, the founding of gay and lesbian synagogues, heterosexist assumptions in Jewish texts, responses to the challenge of AIDS, a "theology of sexuality" that embraces the erotic, and the ways homosexuality forces a reevaluation of traditional Jewish notions of family life.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 305 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Pr; First Edition edition (June 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807079081
• ISBN-13: 978-0807079089
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,773,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Insight, April 20, 2000

By 

Jason P. Ruel "Gay Lesbian Editor - Bellaonli... (Macomb, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TWICE BLESSED (Paperback)

I loved this book. I received it as a gift from my jewish best-friend. You see I am a convert and I am still learning all about Judaism even 9 years later (my conversion that is). After reading this book I was never so proud to be a GAY JEW. I reccomend this book very highly!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Old but good, August 13, 2005

By 

Debra R. Singer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TWICE BLESSED (Paperback)

Some of the information in this book may be old, but it is still a worthwhile read. It is interesting to see how attitudes towards gay Jews stood 16 years ago, even if some of the facts aren't true anymore (though they might still hold true--I honestly don't know), and to see what gay Jews did to try to make themselves accepted members of the world community and the Jewish community specifically up until 1989. Also, the rather inspiring personal stories told in this book never expire.