Out of the Closet, Into the Fire
This March, history was quietly made in a Saturday morning Orthodox minyan (prayer quorum) at Brandeis University. Avi, a 22-year-old then-college junior from the Boston area, was called up to the Torah for an aliyah. While nothing was said outright, and he had been chosen for no particular reason, the unintentional message was clear: complete acceptance.
Two days before his aliyah, Avi (some names, including this one, have been altered for confidentiality) tacitly confirmed his sexuality in front of a weekly Jewish learning group for the Brandeis Orthodox Organization (BOO) known as Mishmar. For Avi, coming out was “a whole process,” that began with informing “a few close friends” during his sophomore year. Avi then told his family, who, despite being shocked, were “wonderful about it.”
Avi told friends who knew he was gay to let the...