Changing Lives, Making History: Congregation Beit Simchat Torah

Changing Lives, Making History: Congregation Beit Simchat Torah by Rabbi Ayelet S. Cohen. Hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780979400919.

The story, or rather the stories in Changing Lives, Making History: Congregation Beit Simchat Torah illuminate forty revolutionary and transformative years in the life of New York City, the nation, and the Middle East -- in the gay liberation movement, progressive Jewish religious movements, in the rise of feminism, the explosion of the politicized religious right, and in the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian struggles to achieve lasting peace. These past forty years have witnessed, among other things, the impact of AIDS, breakthroughs in reproductive technologies and the gay baby boom, the emergence of queer and trans movements, and major Supreme Court decisions in support of equal rights. Through it all, CBST has been at the epicenter. Our members and clergy have been the authors, the activists, the leaders, the foot soldiers, the victims, the protagonists, the lawyers, the board members, the executive directors, the staff, the demonstrators, the litigants, the litigators, the lovers, the parents, the children, the grandparents, and the teachers. At the same time and in the midst of these profound changes, CBST has created a spiritual sanctuary where so many individuals have been nourished and transformed on the deepest level of their souls. Gold winner, 2015 Independent Book Publishers Association Benjamin Franklin Awards (LGBT category) ibpa-online.org/ibpa-2015-benjamin-franklin-awards-winners-and-finalists/#lgbt Bronze Medal winner, 2015 Independent Publisher Book Awards (LGBT Non-Fiction) independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1936