community high school of the bay in san francisco and the rabbi is the director of music at the congregation bethel in berkeley. welcome. >> thank you. >> this is a different kind of a conversation that we usually have but lgbtq life in a faith community in the jewish community, let's start and ask each of you what has your experience been in the jewish community itself? maxine. >> wow, well, i am going to date myself. i am twice blessed. being a lesbian and being jewish, it was difficult because i didn't come out until graduate school. i didn't think being queer had anything to being jewish. i had no role models, had no one to model myself after. i didn't think i could be jewish and be queer until i met somebody in graduate school at the same seminary that i attended as a communal professional studying nonprofit management. and my first woman lover was there at huc and usc. i thought oh my god, the heavens opened. talk about two parts of myself that became integrated. >> it's a very similar and very different story for me. being transgender, the trans community is one might say in broad strokes ru