MenschUp is building a supportive brotherhood of Jewish men joining together in an effort to demonstrate authenticity, responsibility, respect, and allyship. We invite Jewish men to educate each other and become change makers by exploring and embracing expressions of masculinity that go against stereotypes. Together we can support survivors of abuse, advocate for gender equity, and promote safety in Jewish spaces.
We meet in a multigenerational Minyan of men from all over the Bay Area to share in a supportive manner, unpack male conditioning that no longer serves us, and explore how to be allies to the women in our lives. Join us on Thursday every other week at 5 PM for an hour and 15 minute session.
Click here to join the Minayn.
How can I MenschUp?
- INVITE: our MenschUp Facilitator to lead an “Introduction to MenschUp” workshop with your men’s group (now available via Zoom)
- HOST: a MenschUp Minyan! Gather 10 men for a monthly or quarterly conversation with our MenschUp Facilitator (now available via Zoom)
- ADVOCATE: Are you a man in a Bay Area Jewish community leadership position? We need your help to implement policies that support survivors of abuse and promote safety in Jewish spaces. Request Shalom Bayit’s policy samples
- SHARE: Watch, comment, share #MenschUp videos on social media. We invite Jewish men to engage in conversations online about authentic expressions of masculinity and actions they’ve taken to interrupt sexism. While we launched this campaign in #MenschUp May 2020, we invite you to continue generating change by sharing your stories year-round.
Fill out this form to let us know how you’d like to participate and receive information about upcoming MenschUp events.
Testimonials
“I felt for the first time I had this sense of brotherhood. I felt embraced for who I am, as a man, not in this narrow, violent sense of someone who’s oblivious and who harms others, but, as someone who is gentle, giving, connected, loving and able to ask for support. I just feel so grateful for the transformative container of this weekend, for the facilitators, and every man who showed up here.” — MenschUp Retreat Participant
“I was nervous to come into this retreat. I’ve grown up without a lot of role models for being the type of man that I want to be: gentle, strong, giving, and compassionate. I have had models for how I don’t want to be: competitive and possessive. I think a lot of those things come from insecurity, honestly. That way of being, I learned, harms others. I started to notice how much harm it was having on me and on my relationships. What’s been so powerful about this weekend has been the other amazing men who are each a role model for me and on how to embody the healthy masculinity that I want to have.” — MenschUp Retreat Participant
“I think that it takes courage to come to a place like this for anyone to really seek the growth in themselves, as an individual, but also for their community, for their family, and to change the world and make it a better place. Some of these overwhelming issues that we face today, they don’t really have an answer from any one person to change. But if we can work on ourselves and go from there, I think that’s a great start.”
— MenschUp Retreat Participant
MenschUp Advisory Committee
Barry Cohn | Ben Cook | Marc Dollinger | Barry Finestone
Jordan Gill | Tom Kasten | Paul Kivel | Rabbi Chaim Koritzinsky
David Lee | Evan Levy | David Waskberg
