Herschel Siegel was embraced by our Atlanta Orthodox community
Re: “A young gay Orthodox man died by suicide. We must confront how Jewish teachings harmed him” by Mordechai Levovitz
To the editor:
I am a member of the Atlanta Orthodox community and a good friend of the Siegel family. I want you to know that I wholeheartedly agree with the message of Mordechai Levovitz’s op-ed, “A young gay Orthodox man died by suicide. We must confront how Jewish teachings harmed him.”
The Orthodox community must find a way to welcome and embrace LGBTQ+ people, as it is clearly a matter of pikuach nefesh (preserving life).
I also want you to know how deeply and sincerely Herschel was embraced and accepted by many in our community, and specifically by his family. His parents and siblings showed him absolute love and acceptance. I completely understand the need to highlight important issues, but I can’t imagine the pain and suffering his family is going through, and it is completely wrong for this op-ed to even imply that his family did not accept him 100%. I won’t even go into the fact that mental illness is far more complex than what you’ve reduced it to for your article.
Those who know the Siegel family know the tremendous love and support they always showed their son. To ignores this dishonors to the memory of the precious and beloved Herschel Siegel.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Marks
Editor’s note: This letter refers to a suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support, call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO