{"id":854,"date":"2016-03-17T12:56:20","date_gmt":"2016-03-17T18:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.draherin.com\/?p=854"},"modified":"2016-03-17T12:57:14","modified_gmt":"2016-03-17T18:57:14","slug":"a-tattoo-marks-a-gay-mans-paradoxical-connection-to-orthodox-judaism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2016\/03\/17\/a-tattoo-marks-a-gay-mans-paradoxical-connection-to-orthodox-judaism\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tattoo Marks a Gay Man\u2019s Paradoxical Connection to Orthodox Judaism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tabletmag.com\/jewish-life-and-religion\/135316\/gay-orthodox-tattoo\"><img class=\"size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/littman_tattoo_062013_820px.jpg?w=1140\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I chose what I call my T-spot, the place on my left bicep where I place my tefillin box when I pray every morning. I knew that until my tattoo healed, I would be unable to wear tefillin, which I had done every day since just before my bar mitzvah. Even though I was drifting away from the Orthodox identity I\u2019d grown up with, laying tefillin was one of the only commandments that still made me feel a physical connection with G-d. I had learned that tefillin is placed on one\u2019s bicep because G-d represents strength; when the box is placed on the bicep in a manner that faces your heart, it shows that G-d is truly in your heart.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tabletmag.com\/jewish-life-and-religion\/135316\/gay-orthodox-tattoo\" target=\"_blank\">tabletmag.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I chose what I call my T-spot, the place on my left bicep where I place my tefillin box when I pray every morning. I knew that until my tattoo healed, I would be unable to wear tefillin, which I had done every day since just before my bar mitzvah. Even though I was drifting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/littman_tattoo_062013_820px.jpg?fit=820%2C550&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5MjSO-dM","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":681,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2015\/08\/13\/the-mitzvah-campaign-of-tefillin-the-rebbes-mitzvah-campaign\/","url_meta":{"origin":854,"position":0},"title":"The Mitzvah Campaign of Tefillin - The Rebbe\u2019s Mitzvah Campaign","date":"2015-08-13","format":false,"excerpt":"In 1967, prior to the Six-Day War, the Rebbe launched the now famous Tefillin Campaign, which encourages all Jewish men to perform the mitzvah of tefillin. Discover why this mitzvah was chosen at the time, and why it\u2019s so relevant today. Watch the video here: The Mitzvah Campaign of Tefillin\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Schtuff&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/srUy9073110.jpg?fit=1200%2C627&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":954,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2016\/03\/30\/before-i-said-yes-to-tefillin\/","url_meta":{"origin":854,"position":1},"title":"Before I Said \u201cYes\u201d to Tefillin","date":"2016-03-30","format":false,"excerpt":"In 1975\u201376, my senior year at the University of Washington in Seattle, I lived at the\u00a0Chabad House\u00a0on Campus. Now, don\u2019t get me wrong. I wasn\u2019t observant in the least. My interview went something like this: Rabbi Samuels: \u201cSo\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. tell me about your Jewish background.\u201d Me: \u201cI won the attendance award\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Faith&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/nOBH9432904.jpg?fit=500%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":338,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2015\/03\/15\/color-of-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":854,"position":2},"title":"Color of Life","date":"2015-03-15","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cLife is not light, but the refracted color\u201d Goethe \u00a0 The colors of the world around us are merely the visible parts of the light spectrum that are not absorbed. Thus the leaves of a tree do not absorb green light and therefore appear green to us. Before I lose\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Faith&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/prism1-300x200.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1120,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2017\/03\/30\/why-did-g-d-give-me-depression-chassidic-thought\/","url_meta":{"origin":854,"position":3},"title":"Why Did G-d Give Me Depression? - Chassidic Thought","date":"2017-03-30","format":false,"excerpt":"Depression argues that you\u2019re a worthless, hopeless scum in whom nobody would ever take interest. So agree with it. Tell it back, \u201cYou\u2019re absolutely right. I\u2019m even less than that. I was created with a purpose that I have not lived up to. I\u2019ve messed up again and again. And\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Faith&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/UIUk5212784.jpg?fit=299%2C200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":905,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2016\/03\/22\/the-gilded-cage\/","url_meta":{"origin":854,"position":4},"title":"The Gilded Cage","date":"2016-03-22","format":false,"excerpt":"On the surface, the Book of Esther reads as a fable of sorts, filled with drama, suspense and a happy ending. However, keeping in mind that it was written under the rulership and scrutiny of the Persian King, care had to be taken to tell the story without offending sensibilities.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;History&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/UkOD9417323.jpg?fit=1200%2C627&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":603,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2015\/04\/16\/four-gates\/","url_meta":{"origin":854,"position":5},"title":"Four Gates","date":"2015-04-16","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJudges and officers shall you appoint in all your cities\u2026\u201d (Deuteronomy 16:18) Think of yourself as a city. You have four magical gates: The Gate of Seeing, the Gate of Listening, the Gate of Imagining and the Gate of Speaking. Magical gates, because an Infinite G\u2011d enters your finite\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Faith&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/IMG_2466-0.jpg?fit=500%2C330&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":856,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854\/revisions\/856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}