Shoval - All is created for your glory (Hebrew Synonym

Synonym

Synonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...

: שׁב"ל - שהכל ברא לכבודו) is an association of Jewish orthodox lesbian

Lesbian

Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...

, gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

, bisexual and transgender

Transgender

Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....

 people in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 that actively promotes tolerance and understanding of LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 people within religious communities in Israel through meeting with educators.

Mission statement

Shoval promotes tolerance and understanding of LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 people within the religious communities in Israel. Shoval's main focus is to create a safe place within the religious communities in Israel for LGBT adolescents. It provides educational programs that are directed at educators, social workers, and people that affect LGBT adolscents directly, in order to raise awareness about LGBT issues.

Core values

Shoval members hold to the following core values:

• Sexual orientation
  Sexual orientation
  Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
  
   and gender identity
  Gender identity
  A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
  
   are significant and central parts of a person’s life.
• Acceptance and being at peace with one’s sexual orientation is the way to an ethical life of health and fulfillment.
• There should be a place within religious society for LGBT people, without contradiction or denial.
• The religious society has a responsibility for the physical and mental well being for all youth with alternative sexual orientation and alternative gender identities.

Joint project

Shoval works closely with Bat Kol

Bat Kol (organization)

Bat Kol is a Jewish religious lesbian organization in Israel. The organization was founded to provide a home for religious women struggling to reconcile their traditional religious ways of life and their sexual orientation...

, the orthodox lesbian organization, and Havruta

Havruta (organization)

Havruta ) - Jewish Religious gays in Israel was founded by graduates of Hesder Yeshivas and Religious Pre-Military Preparatory Programs...

, the orthodox gay organization, in the areas of dialogue with Rabbis, press releases, internet sites and other resources.

External links

• Shoval - All is created for your glory (official site)
• Shoval on Havruta web site - A call for religious educators (Hebrew)