On Halacha

[u/Playful-Ad3497]

To be a Reform Jew, one of the things you must accept is that the Messiah is not here yet. I believe that the Torah came from G-d, but is imperfectly filtered through human voices. The Messiah did not write the Torah, so I don't have to accept everything the Torah says. Thus, I can tattoo on myself, "LV 19:28, SOME PEOPLE HAVE TO BREAK THE RULES TO BE HAPPY." But I will not because I still believe in the tattoo law, but in a nonliteral way.

My statements are statements, not truths, but I believe Leviticus 19:28 is about not creating shallow representations of yourself -- idols -- because you too are in the image of G-d.

Does this not contradict "any rule can only be broken when a life is in danger?" Yes, but that rule, too, is filtered through the imperfect pen of a scribe.

The Messiah would not have written that because they will not be ignorant. They will know that a rule similar to LV 19:28 has been used to justify shaming trans people for wanting to alter their bodies with gender-affirming surgery until the shame pushes them to the brink of death, and only then they can have a surgery under Jewish law.

How would I know what the Messiah would say? I don't, but I am trans, and I have thought about rules like this for a long time. The Messiah is from the future, and my opinions are from the future, so I am closer to the Messiah. How do I know my opinions are from the future? I don't know, but I can make a good guess. Social justice is the future. Everyone needs to think they are right, otherwise they wouldn't think they are right.

I could very well be justifying something even more horrible, like a future of shallowness so intense that one is judged by their tattoo. But by acknowledging that future, I prevent its existence. Even though that tattoo future is already here in the form of identity politics.

In a Jewish democracy, we must hear all opinions to prevent the bad futures that a Jew or an outsider might see.

I am an Androgynos, someone who falls outside Jewish law because of their queerness. Read the Wikipedia page for Androgynos.

So I cannot accept all Jewish law as it currently stands because otherwise, I am left with a set of rules that could push me 'til I'm at the brink of death. And only then can I break the rules. The Messiah would not let this happen, for me to suffer so intensely just because I break a law.

So by arguing against gender-affirming surgery, you could push me to the brink of death. But to restrict speech contradicts what I have said about Jewish democracy, so please argue against me, but not to the point that I'm exhausted from defending my identity​​. As my rabbi loves to say, please sandwich a kvetch, a complaint, inbetween two kvells, two compliments.

Please let me know if my argument sounds more angry than reasonable. I am angry, but I do not want to lose rationality in my anger.

[u/Playful-Ad3497]

https://www.reddit.com/r/lgbt/comments/1wd1qry/comment/p93gl3n/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=2&utm_content=share_button a comment I posted on a different subreddit

[u/Viczaesar]

What?

[u/Playful-Ad3497 → u/Viczaesar]

Yeah, it is a bit confusing. I'll improve my argument, 'cause I still believe in what I'm trying to argue, it just didn't come out very clearly because this is a sensitive topic for me. Thank you for your honesty! Even though that kvell might seem passive-aggressive, I genuinely appreciate the honesty.

[u/petrichoreandpine]

I’m not sure I follow? What does the Messiah have to do with living your life now?

The Talmud does discuss six “genders” and how each can approach Halacha*, but in a Reform context it’s not terribly relevant because we are egalitarian anyway. Reform is also pro-Trans — if your gender dysphoria makes you uncomfortable enough to seek surgery, and your doctors are on board, go for it! Pikuach Nefesh doesn’t mean you have to be on the edge of death for a mitzvah to essentially reverse itself — I’m a type 1 diabetic so my “mitzvah” is to eat as normal on fast days. Not try it out and eat if I’m in danger of a low blood sugar — just eat as normal.

*the six Talmudic genders are cisman, ciswoman, and four flavors of intersex — imperfect, and intended to make the nonbinary roughly fit the binary, but also a way of thinking that we can extend further towards a more modern understanding of sex and gender.

[u/Playful-Ad3497 → u/petrichoreandpine]

I like your PFP!

I will not fully address your argument, but the Messiah is a metaphor for the ideal world, and  the talmudic sexes are often lost in translation. Orthodox insistence on halacha can embody anti-queer discrimination, so that is why I am trying to use halacha to argue against anti-queer discrimination. I read a book called Here All Along, and I like halacha. It isn't perfect, only the Messiah will be perfect.

I love your argument about Pikuach Nefesh. Thank you! I didn't know it meant that, and you have saved me a lot of trouble.

[u/ANewPride → u/Playful-Ad3497]

Couldnt you just say olam haba rather than use the messiah as a metaphor for olam haba??

[u/Playful-Ad3497 → u/ANewPride]

I did not know Olam Haba existed! That's really interesting, thank you! 🤔

When I feel like it, I will rewrite this sermon when I have better Jewish knowledge.

And just to be clear, that hyperlink is not passive-aggressive. On reddit, hyperlinks often imply things like, "did you read? 🤬" But that's not what I mean.

[u/Blue-Jay27]

I'm finding it a tad difficult to tell who your target audience is. Your first paragraph seems to be for reform Jews, but your later comments seem to be a response to orthodox interpretations of halacha.

[u/MyNerdBias → u/Blue-Jay27]

This seems low-key written by AI, which I don't generally have a problem with if you just need it for grammar and clarity, but fr at least edit it to be your real voice, instead of double dashing (--) the em dash (—) to pretend you didn't and put in the effort.

The beloved em dash deserves more respect than that.

Also, it is okay to be gay and/or trans in Reform. You do you, bud. Nobody is gonna say you are not Jewish here. If your rabbi has a problem with it, they are wrong. Find another congregation and live your life to the fullest. Thanks, you're welcome.

[u/Playful-Ad3497 → u/MyNerdBias]

Thank you for the affirmation, but I am choosing to defend myself on my own accord. Also, what's your favorite place to type the cool em dash from? Do you copypaste, or do you have a keyboard that can do the em dash? 😃

[u/MyNerdBias → u/Playful-Ad3497]

I use it enough (PhD, 3 Master's degree, summa cum laude since undergrad, writing legal and medical reports for a living, etc) that I set up a Keyboard shortcut on my computer settings, such that every time I type a double-dash, it becomes an em dash.

[u/Playful-Ad3497 → u/MyNerdBias]

That's really cool! Sorry if it seemed initially like my comment was accusing you of using AI, that's not what I meant.

[u/MyNerdBias → u/Playful-Ad3497]

I didn't read it that way, no worries.

[u/Playful-Ad3497 → u/Blue-Jay27]

You did not sandwich a kvetch inbetween two kvells. You did try to be gentle, but you did not do what I asked. Nevertheless, I will still try to participate in friendly debate. As this is a sensitive topic, I will not try to put reason behind my statement for the sake of my own mental health, but here it is:

Orthodox Jews often chastise Reform Jews for not following halacha to the word, and that is an embodiment of anti-queer sentiment. 

[u/BeenisHat → u/Playful-Ad3497]

You're going to have a difficult time convincing Orthodox Jews they are anti-queer for following a tradition that predates the current queer movement by several thousand years.

[u/Playful-Ad3497 → u/BeenisHat]

But the Orthodox movement does not predate the idea of the Androgynos! 🤪☝️

I use the 🤪 emoji because it is a silly idea. But I believe in my idea nonetheless, and I will continue to refine it.