TWICE BLESSED (Paperback)

by Christie Balka (Editor), Andy Rose (Editor)

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

From Publishers Weekly
These essays, exploring the often unacknowledged homosexual element in the Jewish community, include a rabbi's description of her experience as a lesbian mother and notes on the founding of gay and lesbian synagogues. According to PW , "The 24 contributors to this landmark anthology seek ways to combine gay pride with active participation in Judaism."
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (April 2, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080707909X
• ISBN-13: 978-0807079096
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,247,863 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 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)

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!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making Room, January 18, 2007

By	Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Balka, Christie and Rose, Andy, "Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian or Gay and Jewish". Beacon Books, 1989.

Making Room


Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

Before you say, "Here he goes again on his Jewish stchick", read this review. I am going to say; once again, that you can substitute any minority group for the word "Jewish" and this book maintains its relevance as a way to understanding yourself.
Andy Rose and Christie Balka have assembled an amazing anthology of writings about and by lesbian and gay members of the Jewish religion. Here are personal testimonies, oral histories and essays that include accounts of coming out and growing up, interpretations of the Bible, a mother's reaction and eventual understanding and acceptance of her son's homosexuality, a lesbian rabbi's personal feelings about having to be in the closet, a description of a commitment ceremony, an essay about parenting and so much more. It is a virtual encyclopedia of living as a double minority.
"Twice Blessed" challenges and informs and is a wonderful resource for every person and each community which works toward liberation and renewal. As much as I read, there is always a copy of this book near me as it is, for me, the answer to so many questions. The introduction by the editors alone is worth its weight in gold. Whenever I feel at odds with my religion and with God, I reread it and it always has something new to say to me.
The entries in the book are sound arguments for identification with and claiming acceptance by a religion that has always held one of its major tenets to be non-conformity. (We don't eat pork and seafood, do we?)
Judaism is one of the world's first organized religions and it is always in need of fresh thoughts and ideas. We, the gay and lesbian populating of the world, can provide just that. We have been raised by the very nature of Biblical law to value social justice and the equality of all men. We spearheaded the civil rights movement because we know what racial hatred can do; we have integrated into the larger society and at the same time maintained a separate identity. We, like gays and lesbians, are everywhere and like gays and lesbians we are invisible until asked to expose ourselves. Our religion is very different and many know little about us but more important than all else is that we exist. To exist as a Jew and a gay person is a double bind that does not have to be. We are all family and we want to be included. So what if we observe the Sabbath differently and we circumcise our males, so what if we pray in a strange language. This is our heritage and just as Catholics burn incense and sprinkle holy water, we observe our rituals. Like most we believe in a supreme being and we worship and adore him. Maybe we have trouble reconciling faith and sexuality; it is not much different than eating mashed potatoes with roast beef. It all mixes together it form a whole and we want to be part of the whole.\
I cannot recommend this book enough. It has been my Bible since it came out and I never tired of it. Just as it answers questions, it poses others. It increases awareness of who we are and how we became who we are. Finally, it is one of those rare books that makes you think and to me that it is the true purpose of literature.

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)

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.