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• Our Focus: Our primary focus is on supporting parents and other family members of those who identify as LGBTQ+. As an organization started by parents, Kesher Families is best suited to help individuals by serving as a voice and a resource to their families.

 

• Ancillary Support: If the need arises within the context of the work we are doing with a family, we will meet with their LGBTQ+ loved one. This usually relates to navigating complex family dynamics and establishing boundaries and mutual respect, which can sometimes best be achieved by having a session with the loved one or a joint session with the loved one and the family member (s). In addition, if a family member conveys that their loved one is facing a particular challenge and is seeking rabbinic support from one of our staff, then we will meet with them privately.

 

• Guidance, Not Directives: We do not prescribe specific actions; rather, we provide an empathetic sounding board and share ideas to help families make their own informed decisions.

 

• Halachic Questions: We encourage family members who have meaningful relationships with their rabbi/rebbetzin to seek their guidance. If they need assistance finding a rabbi to consult, we try to direct them to individuals with experience in this space. We do not answer specific halachic questions (shailos). We assist our families in framing questions to their halachic authorities or provide a general sense of the halachic approach on an issue.

 

• Hashkafic (Theological) Guidance: We do our best to address the searing hashkafic (theological) questions with which so many of our family members grapple, according to the guidance we have gleaned from our Gedolim and teachers.

 

• Education, Not Advocacy: We do not advocate for changes in halacha or communal policy. Instead, we focus on educating and sensitizing the community to the lived experience of families and LGBTQ+ individuals.

 

As we mentor parents and family members of LGBTQ+ individuals, we are continuously in touch with leading halachic authorities of our generation for hadracha (guidance). Because of the extraordinary complexity and sensitivity of these issues, we are not always at liberty to share our sources and details of guidance.