Noah Strauss

A Queer Reflection on Passover

By Noah Strauss April 18, 2018

“Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Phillistines, although it was nearer; for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt.” (Exodus 13:17) In this verse, it seems like God did not trust…

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Trump’s SNAP Proposal Isn’t True Tzedakah

By Noah Strauss February 23, 2018

This week, the Trump administration proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including a plan that half of recipients benefits come in the form of a harvest box  in the place of food stamps. The box would contain foods preselected for their economic benefit to U.S. farmers and nutritional value. Sounds good, right?…

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What Hanukkah Teaches Us About Scarcity

By Noah Strauss December 14, 2017

In Houston, Texas, Laverne Cox looked out on an auditorium of eager listeners at the 2014 National Conference on LGBTQ Equality. In her keynote speech, she made a statement that stood out to me. “The scarcity model is a myth,” she said. Cox was talking specifically about trans women of color working together instead of…

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Reflecting on Sukkot as a Model For Pluralism

By Noah Strauss October 23, 2017

This year, I realized something new about the holiday of Sukkot. Sukkot challenges us to envision and construct a new kind of Jewish community, one that lies outside of our everyday institutions. We are commanded to dwell in a new reality, where we welcome in all those on the margins of our community, as well…

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Celebrating National Coming Out Day on Sukkot

By Noah Strauss October 10, 2017

This Yom Kippur, I sat in Kol Tzedek synagogue, where the majority of the congregation and the rabbi identify as queer or trans, thinking about how the last day of Sukkot falls on National Coming Out Day this year. Something felt natural about this intersection of celebrations and communities. During Sukkot, we come out of…

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The Jewishness of Memorializing Transgender Lives

By Noah Strauss June 21, 2017

Dear Jewish community, Three years ago on Nov. 15, Leslie Feinberg passed away after a long battle with chronic Lyme disease. Ze was an anti-racist white, working-class, secular Jewish, transgender, lesbian, revolutionary communist. I couldn’t help but think of Leslie on Nov. 20, the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to memorialize those who…

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OSU Hillel Ousted Its Queer Group Over Israel Politics, and It’s Not Ok

By Noah Strauss March 30, 2017

LGBTQ Jews have long been on the front lines, fighting for social justice. We are found on every page of the LGBTQ movement, from Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to be elected to office in California, to Avram Finkelstein, who co-founded the AIDS advocacy group ACT UP. We are found on every page…

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5 Steps for Creating LGBTQ-Friendly Hillels

By Noah Strauss March 28, 2017

I saw women and men sitting across from each other at tables and sat on the ground in between to make my presence visible. It was awkward for all of us. Apparently the irony of a heteronormative speed dating event taking place next door to a gay bar was lost on my Hillel. But the…

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My Hillel Neglects Queer Jews

By Noah Strauss February 21, 2017

I came out to myself, and my wider community, during my sophomore year of college. Hillel was the first organization I was involved in on campus, and before I ever entered queer spaces, I came out at my Hillel. The reactions made me reflect on Hillel’s relationship with queer Jews and gave me with a…

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