Introduction to Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie
Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie is a social activist and New York community leader who was born in Israel. He has been celebrated as a "Spiritual Leader" by The Times of Israel and "one of the most interesting thinkers in the Jewish world" by The Jewish Week. Lau-Lavie was in Berlin to take part in film screenings at the Doxumentale film festival, which runs until June 22nd.
Finding His Own Voice as a Spiritual Leader
Lau-Lavie left Israel for New York in the late 1990s after a newspaper profile sparked a counter-reaction. He found his chosen family in the gay subculture in New York, particularly in an activist group known as the Radical Faeries, which merged radical queerness and spirituality. Despite finding freedom in this community, Lau-Lavie also sought to honor his family’s religious heritage, which includes an Orthodox rabbinical line that dates back to the 11th century.
From Drag Queen to Conservative Rabbi
Lau-Lavie’s journey to find his path in life is the subject of the documentary "Sabbath Queen," which was created over 21 years by director Sandi Dubowski. The film shows how Lau-Lavie developed different formats as a spiritual leader, including Labor/Shul, an experimental community for holy Jewish meetings that are open to everyone, and the Ritual Theater Company, Storahtelling. In 2016, Lau-Lavie was ordained as a rabbi by the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), a conservative Judaism institution.
Testing Borders with Inter-Religious Weddings
As a rabbi, Lau-Lavie has continued to push the boundaries of traditional Judaism and explore paths for religious renewal. He officially broke with the rabbinical assembly, the International Association of Conservative Rabbis, by performing the wedding of two Buddhist gay monks, only one of whom was also Jewish. While conservative Judaism has approved same-sex marriage ceremonies since 2012, the movement continues to prohibit its rabbis from carrying out interreligious weddings.
Promoting Plurality and Pluralism
Lau-Lavie advocates for a faith that includes "plurality and pluralism," which he calls "a healthy ecosystem of different species to be Jewish." His publications and academic research also contribute to the conversation, including a project called "Under the Bible Belt," which explores the Hebrew Bible through a queer perspective. Lau-Lavie aims to highlight the "lines and the stories and the strands of justice and love and morality and humanity as well as dignity and fluidity that have always been there from the Bible."
A Call to End Horror
The film "Sabbath Queen" ends with the Hamas attacks on October 7th on Israel. In the first months of the war, Lau-Lavie criticized the reaction of the Israeli government, stating that "our trauma and our need for security do not justify Israel to starve and kill tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. This horror has to stop." Lau-Lavie strives to be "in the messy middle, not in the polarities" on the political level, but feels that there is no room for debate when people show no empathy for Gazan children.
Peace Activism and Empathy
Lau-Lavie, a board member of various human rights groups and networks of Israeli and Palestinian peace lawyers, regularly returns to Israel. He will shortly hold screenings of "Sabbath Queen" in various community centers, communities, and Israeli-Palestinian peace groups. The discussions there are not only helpful for others but also help to earth him in an "increasingly painful situation." Lau-Lavie finds consolation in the idea that he is part of a certain Jewish descent that has always prioritized morality and love for each other and universal values, and he believes that he is not a minority.
