Q Jew: How to Make Programs That Last

by Sarah Wechsler, Second-Year Fellow at San Francisco Hillel

During my time at San Francisco Hillel, I’ve learned that the best programs come from a mix of student-driven curiosity, real data, and personal creativity. At our Hillel, an interest that has come through loud and clear from our students has been an eagerness to learn more about Queer Jews. One of our biggest wins in this space is Q-Jew, a home-grown learning cohort created by the former Springboard Fellow, Matthew Lacoff, who now is a Hebrew School Principal.

Matt set out to create an engaging program that future facilitators and students alike could expect a deeper level of content, while still jumping into those harder topics with confidence.

This year, I’ve stepped into the Facilitation role for Q-Jew, round two! The 10-session curriculum created is designed to engage students beyond a surface level exploration of queer theory, historical queer Jews, modern queer Jews, and a spectrum of rabbinic perspectives across a number of topics, emphasizing that there is nothing new under the sun, queer Jews have always been around.

Throughout my facilitation I have approached the Q-Jew curriculum with flexibility by design, as both a steward and a creator- I’ve learned that it is my job to preserve the integrity of what students loved previously while also adapting sessions to meet the needs, questions, and lived experiences of a new group of students. New students showed up because they heard something real was happening. That kind of continuity—students telling other students that this space matters—is how a program grows into a community. 

I had been advised by Matt, “These are sensitive topics… it takes a lot of preparation to be clear in your mind about how each piece connects to the next and to facilitate a conversation that can be quite difficult.” That guidance quickly proved true, especially when navigating students through sources that wrestle with homophobia, misogyny, and complex relationships with G-d.

And as I continue to facilitate, I’m reminded that this isn’t work meant for just one semester. We’re creating an entry point for students to keep developing their Jewish learning skills, their confidence, and their ability to stay in the conversation even when it’s challenging to do so. Q-Jew has allowed for complex ideas that deserve more than a single season to be altered to the needs of a new group of students, and eventually a new facilitator. Facilitating Q-Jew has provided me the opportunity to carry that vision forward, shaping the program through my voice, my values, and the needs of our students.