A wonderful video popped up on my social media feed this week. In honor of Pride Month, an Iranian American father shared a message about how to be a loving ally to one’s children, family members, and friends. What struck me most was not simply what he said, but the relationship he has with his adult child.
Many people know him simply as “Baba,” the father featured in the videos of Cyrus Veyssi. Cyrus is a performer, comedian, filmmaker, and social media creator whose popular comedic series, “Bonding with My Straight Dad,” offers a glimpse into a relationship rooted in love, humor, respect, and mutual acceptance. Cyrus is nonbinary and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. Together, father and child demonstrate something that should be obvious, yet too often is not: when people feel fully seen, accepted, and loved for who they are, families flourish.
Their videos remind us that allyship is not complicated. It begins by showing up, listening, learning, and loving people exactly as they are.
June is Pride Month around the world, from Israel to Africa, Asia to North America. It is a time to celebrate the achievements, resilience, and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community. It is also a time to recommit ourselves to the work that remains. Millions of LGBTQ+ people around the world continue to face discrimination, harassment, violence, and exclusion simply because of who they are.
Through social media, education, advocacy, schools, religious institutions, and grassroots movements, countless individuals are working proactively to create communities where every person is treated with dignity, respect, and equality. This work feels especially important in 2026, as hard-fought legal protections and civil rights for LGBTQ+ individuals continue to face challenges in areas ranging from healthcare access and privacy protections to marriage equality, educational inclusion, and protections for transgender youth. Just yesterday, the news reported more disturbing proposed legal privacy medical information violations for transgender youth.
In 2020, just as the pandemic was beginning to reshape the world, the rabbinic arm of the Reform Movement, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), published a groundbreaking new volume: Mishkan Ga’avah: Where Pride Dwells, A Celebration of LGBTQ Jewish Life and Ritual. The book was released in conjunction with the fiftieth anniversary of the first Pride marches in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York, which commemorated the first anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.
Why did the CCAR and the Reform Movement feel it was so important to publish this book at that moment?
The answer is both simple and deeply Jewish.
For decades, the Reform Movement has worked to advance LGBTQ+ inclusion, dignity, and equality. We have spoken out on behalf of those whose voices were marginalized, advocated for civil rights, and sought to build communities where all people can bring their full selves into Jewish life. Yet even as we celebrate remarkable progress, we recognize that the work is not complete.
Mishkan Ga’avah both celebrates the achievements of the LGBTQ+ community and situates them within a Reform Jewish framework. Filled with liturgy, poetry, prayers, and personal reflections, it offers language for celebration, healing, affirmation, and spiritual connection. As the CCAR describes it:
“It is both a spiritual resource and a celebratory affirmation of Jewish diversity. It gives voice to the private and public sectors of queer Jewish experience, while reflecting the longtime advocacy of the Reform Movement for full LGBTQ inclusion.”
Our Torah teaches us that we are called to pursue justice, to protect the vulnerable, to speak truth to power, and to recognize the inherent dignity of every human being. Sometimes speaking truth to power means challenging assumptions, questioning systems that exclude, and refusing to accept a world in which some people are treated as “other” or “less than.”
There is an important difference between diversity and inclusion on one hand, and liberation and justice on the other. Diversity and inclusion invite people into the circle. Liberation and justice affirm that every person already belongs there. They recognize and honor the fullness of each person’s humanity.
This is what the Torah means when it teaches that every human being is created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God:
“So God created humankind in God’s image, in the image of God were they created; male and female God created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
To affirm that every person is created in the image of God is to affirm that every person’s life possesses inherent worth, dignity, and holiness. This conviction is reflected in the Jewish value of k’vod habriyot, the dignity and honor of all human beings. Our tradition teaches that preserving human dignity is of such importance that it can, in certain circumstances, supersede other rabbinic obligations. Every person deserves to be treated with respect, compassion, and honor simply because they are a human being created by God.
Yet we know that we do not yet live in a world that fully embraces the humanity of those who are LGBTQ+. Here in the United States and around the globe, many continue to face efforts that limit protections, restrict access to healthcare, undermine legal equality, and threaten the safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals and families.
That is why Pride Month matters.
Pride Month creates a dedicated opportunity for all of us to learn, celebrate, advocate, and stand in solidarity. Of course, these commitments should not be confined to a single month on the calendar. Justice, compassion, and allyship are year-round responsibilities. Pride Month reminds us to be intentional, visible, and vocal in our support.
I have family members and friends who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. One of my relatives posted on Facebook, “Why did nobody wish me Happy Pride? Don’t you all know I’m gay? Don’t you love me?”
Of course we love her. We tell her that all the time.
But her post was a reminder. Pride Month is not simply about celebration. It is also about affirmation. It is a time to say clearly to our friends, family members, neighbors, and fellow congregants: We love you. We support you. We celebrate you. We will stand beside you and advocate alongside you.
May we continue building communities where every person knows they are welcomed, valued, and loved.
Reform Movement Resources for Pride Month (including resources for Pride Shabbat, Liturgy, Personal Stories, Action Steps, and more).
Twilight People (by Rabbi Reuben Zellman)
As the sun sinks and the colors of the day turn, we offer a blessing for the twilight, for twilight is neither day nor night, but in-between. We are all twilight people. We can never be fully labeled or defined. We are many identities and loves, many genders and none. We are in between roles, at the intersection of histories, or between place and place. We are crisscrossed paths of memory and destination, streaks of light and swirled together. We are neither day nor night. We are both, neither, and all.
May the sacred in-between of this evening suspend our certainties, soften our judgments, and widen our vision. May this in-between light illuminate our way to the God who transcends all categories and definitions. May the in-between people who have come to pray be lifted up into this twilight. We cannot always define; we can always say a blessing.
Baruch Atah Adonai, haMaariv Aravim.
Blessed are You, God of all, who brings on the twilight.
Happy Pride!
Shabbat Shalom!
Shabbat Shalom!