Rabbi’s Message: May 12, 2025: Mark Your Calendars for Pride Shabbat
There are moments in Jewish text when love appears quietly, almost hidden beneath the surface of political danger and uncertainty. And then there are moments when love refuses to stay hidden at all.
This week’s Haftarah, from the First Book of Samuel, gives us one of those moments.
David is in danger. King Saul’s rage has become unpredictable and violent. Jonathan, Saul’s son, devises a secret code to warn David whether it is safe for him to remain or whether he must flee for his life. It is a story of loyalty and protection, of devotion enacted not only through words, but through risk. And then, after the signal is given and David understands he must go, the text offers us something astonishingly tender:
“They kissed one another and wept together.”
(1 Samuel 20:41)
Before they part, Jonathan and David once again bind themselves to one another and to future generations through covenantal language. They reaffirm their vows of care, protection, and beloved enduring connection. Even as political instability swirls around them, love remains steadfast.
Jewish tradition has often emphasized many forms of love. In the V’ahavta, we are commanded toward love of the Divine through our everyday actions. In Ahavat Olam, we speak of the eternal love that surrounds and sustains Creation, that we bask in this love each and every day that we express gratitude for the world around us. In our daily lives, we strive toward chesed, lovingkindness, as a sacred way of moving through the world.
But the Jewish tradition also understands something else: love itself is holy.
The Song of Songs declares:
“Set me as a seal upon your heart…
for love is strong as death.”
(Song of Songs 8:6)
And elsewhere:
“Many waters cannot quench love,
nor can floods drown it.”
(Song of Songs 8:7)
These verses do not describe a fragile love. They describe a love that persists through danger, exile, grief, uncertainty, and fear. A love that insists upon human dignity. A love that binds souls together even when the world around them feels unstable.
This year, as we gather for Pride Shabbat – in Truckee on Friday, June 5th – we do so with full awareness that many members of the LGBTQ+ community continue to experience fear, vulnerability, and political uncertainty. And yet, Jewish tradition asks us not to retreat from love in difficult times. It asks us to deepen our commitment to it.
Love that protects.
Love that tells the truth.
Love that honors the image of God reflected in every human being.
Love that creates covenantal belonging.
At Pride Shabbat, we are excited to honor love in all its forms: romantic love, familial love, friendship, chosen family, communal care, and the sacred love that emerges when people are fully seen and fully welcomed. Like Jonathan and David standing together at the edge of uncertainty, we reaffirm our commitment to one another. We reaffirm that our community will strive to be a place of safety, dignity, tenderness, and joy.
And we remember the ancient wisdom of our tradition: that love is not peripheral to Jewish life. It is one of the forces that sustains the world.
We hope you will join us for Pride Shabbat on Friday, June 5th in Truckee, as we celebrate the holiness of love, covenant, and belonging together.
