CBST to Publish Ancestral Allyship by Rabbi Mike Moskowitz, Exploring Lessons on Allyship as Spiritual Practice in Weekly Torah Portion

General public can buy the book beginning October 7th for October 22nd book release event at CBST with Rabbi Angela Buchdahl 

Sep. 24, 2024—New York, NY—Ancestral Allyship, Rabbi Mike Moskowitz’s fifth book, is rooted in the knowledge that how we treat each other defines our religious identity. Allyship is often seen as a response by someone of privilege to the oppression or affliction of another. This is only necessary when the unity of our humanity has already broken down. In the Jewish tradition, we are obligated to proactively prevent this breakdown. When we attach ourselves to God’s expectations of ethical living, cleaving to an ideal way of being, we strive to create a world free from all forms of dehumanization. This book helps us to move closer toward it.  

Hear Rabbi Moskowitz speak with Central Synagogue’s Rabbi Angela Buchdahl at CBST’s book release celebration, taking place on Tuesday, October 22, at 6:45pm.

Celebrate the release of Rabbi Mike Moskowitz’s Ancestral Allyship, hear excerpts from the book, and join Rabbis Moskowitz and Buchdahl as they explore the main themes of the book and take questions from the audience. Registration includes a copy of the book at cbst.org/allyshipbook.

Praise for Ancestral Allyship

“Ancestral Allyship” presents richly textured teachings from each Torah portion on how God expects us to show up for each other. Taken together, this beautiful book inspires us to be in deeper relationship with each other and God. Rabbi Moskowitz understands Allyship as a fundamental spiritual practice because this is the Torah of his own life’s work. 
Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, Senior Rabbi, Central Synagogue

Every Torah scholar, in every generation, is bound by two obligations: to perpetuate this wise tradition that they have inherited; and to find ways to make the tradition come alive to guide us through the new challenges that we face. Rabbi Mike Moskowitz’ life’s work – to breathe a Torah of compassion into the world for the purposes of expanding our hearts’ capacity for love in the form of allyship – is a holy mission that fulfills both obligations. This book is a dizzying display of erudition and playful interpretation that seeks to elevate the human spirit and infuse us all with an orientation towards lovingkindness. In whatever bodies we inhabit, our generation needs this Torah.
Yehuda Kurtzer, President, The Shalom Hartman Institute

About Rabbi Mike Moskowitz

Rabbi Mike Moskowitz is the Scholar-in-Residence at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the world’s largest LGBT synagogue. He is a deeply traditional and radically progressive advocate for trans rights and a vocal ally for LGBTQ inclusivity. Rabbi Moskowitz received three Ultra-Orthodox ordinations while learning in the Mir in Jerusalem and BMG in Lakewood, NJ. He is a Wexner Field Fellow, Senior Rabbinic Fellow at the Hartman Institute, and the author of Textual Activism, Graceful Masculinity, and Seasonal Resistance. Rabbi Moskowitz’s writings can be found at www.rabbimikemoskowitz.com

At CBST, Rabbi Moskowitz studies, writes, and teaches on trans issues and Jewish sources, creating a body of work that is used as a resource all over the world. He represents CBST, speaking and teaching on these topics in other communities, including congregations, colleges, day schools, Jewish community centers, interfaith events, and academic conferences.

About Rabbi Angela Buchdahl

Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl serves as the Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City and is the first woman to lead Central’s Reform congregation in its 185-year history. Rabbi Buchdahl first joined Central Synagogue as Senior Cantor in 2006. In 2014, she was chosen by the congregation to be Senior Rabbi. Rabbi Buchdahl was invested as a cantor in 1999 and ordained as a rabbi in 2001 by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in religious studies from Yale University in 1994.

Born in Korea to a Jewish American father and a Korean Buddhist mother, Rabbi Buchdahl is the first Asian American to be ordained as a cantor or rabbi in North America. Prior to her service at Central Synagogue, Rabbi Buchdahl served as Associate Rabbi/Cantor at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, New York.

Rabbi Buchdahl has been featured in dozens of news outlets including the Today Show, NPR, and PBS and was listed as one of Newsweek’s “America’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis.” She serves on the boards of the Avodah Jewish Service Corps, AJC, the New York Board of Rabbis, UJA-Federation of New York, Yale University Council and the Israel Center at Seoul National University.