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Read CAJE’s latest news and learn what's happening in the world of Jewish Education.

Pride, Zionism, and the Art of Code Switching

Pride, Zionism, and the Art of Code Switching

A number of years ago, after one of my first major Jewish speeches, a close friend walked up to me with a grin and said, "Good code switching." I laughed, thanked her, and immediately asked what she meant. She laughed even harder. At the time, I wasn't entirely sure I knew what the term meant. She explained that I had spent years moving between different worlds: Jewish, professional, civic, and LGBTQ+, and had become adept at adjusting my language, references, and presentation depending on the audience. Without realizing it, I had become fluent in multiple cultural dialects. In other words, I had learned how to code switch. For many LGBTQ+ people of my generation, it wasn't simply a social skill. It was often a survival skill.
Korach Would Have Loved Social Media

Korach Would Have Loved Social Media

Few figures in the Torah are as perplexing as Korach. Unlike Pharaoh, Balak or Amalek, Korach was not an external enemy seeking to destroy the Jewish people. He was one of their own. A Levite of distinguished lineage, he belonged to one of the most prominent families in Israel. He lived in the generation that witnessed the Exodus from Egypt, stood at Mount Sinai and experienced Divine revelation firsthand. Yet despite all this, Korach launched one of the most destructive rebellions in Jewish history. On the surface, his challenge seemed noble enough: “For all the congregation are holy, and the Lord is among them. Why do you exalt yourselves over the assembly of the Lord?" (Numbers 16:3). At first glance, Korach sounds almost democratic. He speaks in the language of equality and inclusion. Why should Moses and Aaron hold positions of authority? Why shouldn’t leadership be shared more broadly?

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