“Brit Karet”: A Play About Love, Identity, and the Clash Between Tradition and Modern Life
In Tel Aviv, at Beit Lessin Theatre, as part of the contemporary Israeli drama festival “Potchim Bama” (פותחים במה), audiences were presented with “Brit Karet” (ברית כרת, “A Covenant Has Been Made”) — a play that explores themes particularly relevant to LGBTQ+ audiences: identity, family, religion, relationships, and the right of every person to decide for themselves who they want to be.
At the center of the story is an Israeli army widower who, following the death of his partner, tries to fulfill a promise he made to him while he was alive. Their child was born through surrogacy, and now the protagonist wants to undergo a conversion to Judaism with his son. What initially appears to be a formal religious procedure, however, quickly develops into a much more complicated conflict.
The rabbi responsible for the child’s conversion discovers that the child’s father is gay. He then sends his adopted son — a young Haredi man — to meet him. His task is to teach the protagonist the fundamentals of Judaism while also observing him.
This encounter becomes the heart of the play. An unexpected and complicated connection develops between two men who come from completely different worlds, forcing both of them to reconsider their ideas about faith, family, love, and identity.
More Than a Coming-Out Story
“Brit Karet” is particularly interesting because it does not reduce the story to a simple confrontation between “religion and gay people.” Instead, the play explores much more nuanced questions.
What happens when someone tries to maintain a connection with their past while building an entirely different life?
Can religious identity be separated from personal life?
Where do family obligations end, and where does a person’s right to choose their own path begin?
And perhaps the most important question of all: is it possible for people who grew up in completely different worlds to find a common language?
The creators of the play describe it as an emotional yet comedic drama that explores the Israeli conflict surrounding identity, gender, and tradition.
An LGBTQ+ Story Without the Usual Clichés
For GAYIL, it is particularly interesting that the play focuses on much more than the protagonist’s sexual orientation.
His homosexuality becomes part of a much broader story — one about partnership, fatherhood, loss, religious belonging, and the attempt to build a family.
This is an important aspect of contemporary LGBTQ+ culture: our stories do not end at the moment when someone realizes their sexual orientation or comes out.
After that, ordinary life begins.
Love. Family. Loss. Children. Faith. Conflict. New relationships. And the need to negotiate every day with the world around us — and with ourselves.
Who Created the Play?
“Brit Karet” (ברית כרת) was written by Tom Salema (טום סלמה) and directed by Ram Guetta (רם גואטה).
The cast includes Bar Brimer, Lev Leib Levin, Rada Kantorovitz, Sharon Malki, and Avishai Milstein.
The performance lasts approximately one hour and is presented in Hebrew.
Bravo Ticket Office — “Brit Karet – Potchim Bama”
The play was presented on September 29, 2026, at 5:00 PM in Hall 2 of Beit Lessin Theatre, 101 Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv, as part of the “Potchim Bama” festival.
Beit Lessin Theatre — “Brit Karet – Potchim Bama”
For GAYIL, this play is a good example of how contemporary Israeli theatre can tell LGBTQ+ stories not only through the lens of discrimination, but also through love, family, loss, and the search for one’s place between different worlds.
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