Shabbat Gathering: SVARA and the Trans Halakha Project

Dear Chevra, as is our custom, we will gather tonight at 5.45p ct to welcome Shabbat. These are the coordinates:

Zoom
Meeting ID: 963 5113 1550
Password: 1989
Phone: +1 312 626 6799

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Here we go.

I’ll be honest: I wasn’t completely aware of what I was signing up for. Here’s how it happened.

I was reading a newsletter I subscribe to, the Weird Jewish Digest. (Recommended.) In the Sivan issue, I saw the listing for a class that sounded interesting: Revolutionary Reading Group: Ten Teshuvot from the Trans Halakha Project  As someone who is active in Jewish Anarchist activities (revolutionary) and has some trans folks as friends, this piqued my interest. I read the description and signed up for the class. I didn’t know what to expect.

I certainly didn’t expect what I found. Revolutionary Reading Group: Ten Teshuvot from the Trans Halakha Project is a very deep dive into how the Halakha (the Jewish law) intersects or should intersect with trans life. For example, we’ve spent two of the ten classes on how brit milah and brit dam applies to trans conversion to Judaism. (Brit milah is the ritual circumcision and brit dam is the drawing of a drop of blood for someone who has already been circumcised.) And these rituals are, for cis gendered people, something that applies only to males.

Obviously, this model falls apart when applied to trans folk. What happens when someone with a penis who identifies as a female converts. Do they go through the ritual? Or, conversely, what does someone do when they are not born with a penis but identify as a male? What do they do? Halakha doesn’t specifically address these issues and these issues need to be managed in today’s society. It’s up to us to write Halakha to meet today’s needs. Just to let you know, dear reader, these are real world issues. I’ve heard at least one of our fellow congregants wonder what to do in their own case.

For the course, we are assigned chevruta, study partners. The class meets every other week and, between classes, chevruta meets together at least once to review / preview what we’re studying. Speaking of what we’re studying, This is a list of the readings for the course and links to those readings.

The course operates under the general umbrella of SVARA which describes itself as "a traditionally radical yeshiva." Rabbi Benay Lappe founded SVARA in 2003 and is the Rosh Yeshiva, head of the school. SVARA says its mission is to “empower queer and trans people to expand Torah and tradition through the spiritual practice of Talmud study.”

Based only on the one course I'm taking, I highly recommend SVARA’s programs. They seem to be very well organized and affordable.

And may it be for all of us a blessing.

See you tonight!
Gut Shabbes!

All my love,
brian.

PS

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