Shabbat Shalom ~ Parashat Beha’alotcha 2026

Shalom WJC Family,

Happy LGBTQ+ Pride Month! As we enter the month-long observance dedicated to the celebration of LGBTQ+ pride, commemorating the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture and community, I wanted to share one very cool way to celebrate that I recently came across. Keshet, an organization working for the full equality of LGBTQ+ Jews and their families in Jewish life, has an incredible website. Among their Pride Month celebration resources is a wonderful playlist of queer Jewish artists. There are some great songs that I knew and some really beautiful ones that I did not. You can access the playlist and the Keshet website here, and be sure to check out all the other great content and resources and ways to engage on the website. My remarks this Saturday morning, “Fight Fire with Joy and Celebration” will also highlight something important I think we can all learn from the Pride Movement.

This month also has the holiday of Juneteenth (June 19th), the national holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. This year Juneteenth falls on a Friday night and this gives us the perfect opportunity to share in this celebration as a community. You are invited to a most special Juneteenth: A Taste of the Telling with special guest April Hampton. Many members of WJC got to meet April in her hometown of Montgomery, AL on our Civil Rights trip a few years ago and were captivated by her story. 

Twelve years ago, April attended her first Seder. She left profoundly impacted by how the Jewish people keep their story alive each year at Passover, not simply as history, but as something each generation re-experiences in order to draw meaning and identity from the journey our ancestors undertook. April found time to marshal this inspiration to create “The Telling”, an original experience for African Americans so they too could be empowered by communal remembrance. Although inspired by the Passover Seder, this is in no way an appropriation, but is deeply rooted in African American history, culture, and their unique trajectory from oppression to freedom.

This Juneteenth she will visit WJC and share, “A Taste of the Telling” – an abbreviated version of the ceremony so that we can learn about its creation and many of its stories and symbols. April will also speak about Juneteenth at the Rhythm and Ruach service (there will also be a traditional, non-instrumental service that evening). I am so excited for April’s visit and to share The Telling with WJC – and for you all to meet her. She is a truly special, wise, and gifted person. Register to join us that Friday night here.

I hope you’ve also registered for our dinner and celebration on June 12th honoring our precious volunteers and Rabbi Dalton as she prepares to move at the end of July. It promises to be a beautiful evening of admiration and celebration. And to all of you who have spent your precious hours, resources, and wisdom to help our WJC thrive, let me say thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, because I just can’t say it enough.

See you in shul,

RJA