Sandra, this is beautifully said and written with a real understanding and clarity. My daughter is 25 and transgender and while I don't recall seeing a lot of her angst about being in the wrong body until she transitioned around 15 years old, the emergence of this woman into a smart talented and confident person was obvious. She's stepped into who she really is...and I couldn't be prouder .
I also want to express some thoughts on that final paragraph. And when I'm studying Torah so much of my study comes from trying to look at the text as metaphor... And as I read this text about wearing the clothing of the other gender I'm taken not from outward appearance rather from a sense of roles - or outward expression. For so long we've looked at men or masculine and female or feminine as their own specific roles with specific actions, feelings, expectations, and expression of emotion for example.
Likewise I think it also discusses the inward expression of this binary. The idea of taking on the roles or the emotions or the actions that might be considered feminine or masculine from our inward feelings of who we are. And I really think that this text is so much bigger than the binary. In fact as I write this I think it's really telling us not to engage in the binary. By suggesting that a man shouldn't wear the clothing of a woman with a woman shouldn't wear the clothing of a man I think it's offering a broader invitation to suggest that perhaps these two categories aren't enough to embrace who we are as a whole person. That perhaps we all wear aspects of the male and the female; the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine, and that we ought to step outside of these labels and embrace being Human which is different in all of us. And that humanity is the key to being a global community.
Rabbi, I hear what you are trying to say, but I find myself disagreeing with it. Transgender people are not just being true to themselves, they are also making demands on others that others are often uncomfortable meeting. Also, they often undergo severe medical procedures that drain the medical system and compromise their own health in incalculable ways for the rest of their lives. No matter what they do and how they feel about themselves, a biological male cannot be a woman, and a biological woman cannot be a man.
Sandra, this is beautifully said and written with a real understanding and clarity. My daughter is 25 and transgender and while I don't recall seeing a lot of her angst about being in the wrong body until she transitioned around 15 years old, the emergence of this woman into a smart talented and confident person was obvious. She's stepped into who she really is...and I couldn't be prouder .
I also want to express some thoughts on that final paragraph. And when I'm studying Torah so much of my study comes from trying to look at the text as metaphor... And as I read this text about wearing the clothing of the other gender I'm taken not from outward appearance rather from a sense of roles - or outward expression. For so long we've looked at men or masculine and female or feminine as their own specific roles with specific actions, feelings, expectations, and expression of emotion for example.
Likewise I think it also discusses the inward expression of this binary. The idea of taking on the roles or the emotions or the actions that might be considered feminine or masculine from our inward feelings of who we are. And I really think that this text is so much bigger than the binary. In fact as I write this I think it's really telling us not to engage in the binary. By suggesting that a man shouldn't wear the clothing of a woman with a woman shouldn't wear the clothing of a man I think it's offering a broader invitation to suggest that perhaps these two categories aren't enough to embrace who we are as a whole person. That perhaps we all wear aspects of the male and the female; the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine, and that we ought to step outside of these labels and embrace being Human which is different in all of us. And that humanity is the key to being a global community.
Rabbi, I hear what you are trying to say, but I find myself disagreeing with it. Transgender people are not just being true to themselves, they are also making demands on others that others are often uncomfortable meeting. Also, they often undergo severe medical procedures that drain the medical system and compromise their own health in incalculable ways for the rest of their lives. No matter what they do and how they feel about themselves, a biological male cannot be a woman, and a biological woman cannot be a man.
Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective. Have a wonderful day.
Nina Moliver, I suggest that you think more deeply and compassionately about this.
Actually, I have read very widely about it, and I am following some very wise thought leaders.
I suggest you take to heart compassion leaders and thought leaders such as Rabbi Lawson.