A young gay Orthodox man died by suicide. We must confront how Jewish teachings harmed him

[Behind the Aegis]

One of the hardest parts of my job is attending the funerals of young Orthodox Jews who have died by suicide. As clinical director of JQY (Jewish Queer Youth), I’ve unfortunately been to too many of them.

This week, I am grieving the death of 25-year-old Herschel Siegel of Atlanta, who died this past Friday before Shabbat.

Herschel was not the first young Orthodox person to die by suicide this year. It is especially painful that, even when victims were openly gay themselves, the Orthodox community too often refuses to acknowledge or value this part of who they were.

The Trevor Project just released its 2023 National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People. Based on the experiences of over 28,000 queer youth across the U.S., the survey found that 41% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year.



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This makes me so sad and mad at the same time.

[LoisB]

1. What a beautiful young man. I wish someone could explain to me if homosexuality is a sin,

why isn't that "sin" between the "sinner" and his/her god? If god is so omnipotent, why did he make some people homosexual if it is an abomination to him? (I don't believe that "choice" or "lifestyle" crap). Isn't everyone supposedly one of "his children"? I think people who are uncomfortable with LGBTQ+ use religion as an excuse to shun or demonize those who are not like themselves.

I can't imagine the pressure Mr. Siegel felt thinking he was an abomination because his faith told him so.

[lambchopp59]

2. PTSD triggered

Because I'm the survivor of Westboro's attempts to drive home what I heard ad nauseum for over 2 years: "Fags deserve nothing but death". It drove one other gay student to suicide. I came a little too close myself, and honestly had I not been quite so skeptical about rote thinking reinforcement (Dick and Jane "novels" made me ill to my stomach) I might have taken myself out also.
This is the spectre of the isolation and shaming the religious right wants for LGBTQ. I was so sickened by schoolmates who actually regaled in our schoolmate's suicide. Sickening shit no one should be subject to, yet here we are.