This class applies a queer lens to the Jewish idea of l'dor vador, "from generation to generation," the sense of communal responsibility to sustain our culture among those who come after us. LGBTQ+ people, and especially LGBTQ+ Jews, owe so much to the historical activists and advocates on whose shoulders we stand. At the same time, today's queer adults also hold a brilliant power to connect with younger queer people, who learn from us all as role models. This class explores the Jewish significance of cultural memory, the queer necessity for intergenerational connection, and the power that we all hold to become elders in our community, no matter what our age.

This class is presented with the support of Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Boston. People of all ages and identities are encouraged to attend.

Eli Lurie Sobel is the Greater Boston Education & Training Manager at Keshet, a national nonprofit working for LGBTQ+ equality in Jewish life. Eli graduated from Tufts University with BAs in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies as well as Media Studies, focusing on how LGBTQ+ people represent themselves and self-determine through creative media. Prior to joining Keshet, Eli worked as the Program Administrator at Brandeis University’s Gender and Sexuality Center, where they developed and led the Center’s first peer mentor program. In 2023, he brought his passion for working with college students and facilitating dialogues back to Tufts University, where he taught a seminar, “Judaism and Queerness,” at the university’s Experimental College. Eli brings their love of words and storytelling to their work as an educator.