Judaism in the 1980s
This page is intended to give you an idea about what Judaism experienced in the 1980s. It is not necessarily intended to be a deep dive on the Jewish faith.
- Progressive Judaism
- In 1980, under the name Keshet Ga’avah (Rainbow of Pride), the World Congress of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Jews was officially founded, to represent the interests of LGBT Jews and support their organizations.
- Created the New Jewish Agenda
- Its five national task forces included Middle East Peace, Worldwide Nuclear Disarmament, Economic and Social Justice, Peace in Central America, and Jewish Feminist Task force, which also incorporated an AIDS Working Group.
- Feminism
- Inspired by women of color to use feminism
- Women of color were using feminism to push back against the white feminists control of the movement
- Used as a basis to fight against anti-semitism into their feminist work
- “Dyke Shabbos” occurred in the Bay Area, which allowed lesbian Jewish people to come together to celebrate shabbos, focusing on feminist liturgy
- In 1985, the conservative side ordained their first female rabbi, Amy Eilberg
- Women also became leaders in various synagogues
- Many adult Jewish women read Torah for the first time as adult b’not mitzvah in the 1980s, having been denied the opportunity earlier \
- Radical Judaism ordained a female rabbi, Sally Priesand, in 1975
- In the Bay Area, local Jewish communities organized Kaiser Brunches, which were boxed meals brought to patients and caretakers in hospitals and homecare
- Reform Judaism accepted queerness, noting that it veered from the teachings of the Torah on many occasions
- Rabbi Robert Kirschner of Congregation Emanu-El gave this sermon after visiting AIDs patients in the hospital
- Also focused on translations that included gender-neutral language
- Jewish people were integrating traditional values with Americanism, focusing on values such as freedom and pluralism
- Due to the increase of Jewish people marrying non-Jewish people, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association made the decision to consider children of mixed marriages (where the father was Jewish) as Jewish IF they were raised in the religious tradition
- Before this, being Jewish passed only from mother to child
- To increase participation in religious tradition, Judaism began to pivot and focus on each individual’s experience in worship
- Also increased participation in Jewish learning programs
- After the ending of the Cold War and the dismantling of the USSR, many Russian Jewish people immigrate to the United States
Throughout the play, multiple characters reference Jewish prayers. While there is some debate on exactly which prayers are referenced, all possibilities reflect on a loved one who has passed on. Angels possibly references the Kaddish and the El Malei Rachamim, which both offer blessings to the dead.
Kushner used the process of transliteration to write out the Hebrew prayers. This means that Kushner wrote the prayers based on how the words sound. While this may help with pronunciation, it makes translation that much harder.
