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    Temple Beth El

    5.0 (1 review)

    Temple Beth El Photos

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    20 years ago

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    Kehillah - Photos from past online events

    Kehillah

    3.0(2 reviews)
    54.8 mi

    Rabbi Patrick is awesome! He is always there when you need him and will help you out if you can't…read moreafford to go to an event. He is also a very good listener. Give Kehillah a try, you've got nothing to lose and a community to gain!

    I am a 70 year old gay man. I have been looking for an accepting community to desperately fill my…read morespiritual void and for me to have an .. connection with a caring group. Thus, I found Kehillah to be exactly what I was craving for-- a diverse group of kind and caring people where you feel like part of a family. In fact I befriended three men close to my age and we go out for lunch every other Friday. We call ourselves the Hebros. We have a wonderful time sharing stories, jokes and our analysis of world politics. However, I had an extremely disruptive experience with the Rabbi. For Pride Month, when prejudice and bigotry are put aside, a celebration was planned where by Kehillah would join with congregation Or AtI'd for a Shabbat service follow by a meal sponsored by the JCC. When I could not get a ticket to the dinner, I contacted the Rabbi and he told me that only young people were invited excluding the mature generation--the generation that as children were bullied and called fags, queers, etc,, were excluded from social event, were repeatedly told we were an abomination, physically attacked, denied civil rights, tortured someone such as Matthew Perry, or murdered like Harvey Milk. We were an incremental victims of HIV and AIDS. As a group we were prohibited from meeting together and were attacked by the police as occurred in the Stonewall Riot. Individuals would deny us services. We were told that we were mentally ill. Employer would not hire us. It was never ending. If you are Jewish then this story should resonate with you. As a gay man I have always been on the lookout for discrimination. Yes, I am on guarc. When I communicated with the rabbi that the refusal to allow senior citizens to attend an event was blatant agism and discrimination. another very public stab in the face of men who want to be treated with integrity. It was cruel. He became irate with me telling me I am always looking for ways to be excluded. He then told for my "spiritual" healing I was to be separated from the community for at least 60 days. He refused to meet with me and handle the situation in a mature, adult manner and exercised power to deliberately cause me more emotional pain and grief. Then he went to the dinner, took selfies with the young gay men and women and posted the photos on the Kehillah website as if to show from his actions that Kehillah endorses blatant prejudice. The rabbi's actions were those of inexperience, immaturity and a blatant lack of moral judgment. I sent him a book, The Velvet Rage, written by a mature gay psychologists detailing the suffering that mature gay men have suffered the time they were children. The rabbi did not acknowledge the receipt of the book nor did he thank me. In my opinion Rabbi Patrick is an insecure and inexperienced rabbi who is in no position to be providing spiritual care or leadership. His actions are deliberate and cruel, totally inconsistent with the moral compass one would expect from a religious leader. I believe that he does have a core of kindness and concern. However, I seriously believe that he would greatly benefit from having mentors to provide him with moral guidance and the development of the leadership skills that he is lacking. I'm not sure when my shunning is over, but I will not allow the immature and insensitive prejudicial behavior of one person to keep me from my spiritual family. I hope he looks for solace and guidance to become a more effective leader. I wish him the best. Isaac K, "ike" Wood MD

    Photos
    Kehillah - Hannukkah at Tottering Teacup

    Hannukkah at Tottering Teacup

    Kehillah - Bar Mitzvah

    Bar Mitzvah

    Kehillah - Jewish, non-Jewish and interfaith weddings.

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    Jewish, non-Jewish and interfaith weddings.

    Temple Beth El - synagogues - Updated August 2026

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