Eli and the prophet Elijah

Eli Rosenberg used to think that being trans was incompatible with faith.  But with help from their rabbi, transtorah.org, and the prophet Elijah, they discovered that Judaism has room for all sorts of people and welcomes questions without answers.   In this interview, Eli talks about conflict and interpretation. They wrestle with various supposed dualisms, from faith vs. science to being disabled vs. being made in the image of God -- and find that these concepts are not so dichotomous after all.  They also discuss the challenges of finding trans-friendly therapists, the pain of dysphoria and the wonders of hrt,  support from loved ones, and autism and EDS.  Eli can be found on twitter at @chronautist Talking Points: - Avery invites YOU to share your story for a special episode on Faith and Violence (for more details, see: https://tinyurl.com/yx8z75et) (0:00 - 3:23) - Introducing Eli -- nonbinary, disabled, autistic, Jewish (3:24 - 4:13) - Psychology and therapist problems (4:14 - 6:05) - Interpretation and conflict -- Judaism allows for wrestling with God (6:06 - 7:55) - A new rabbi and transtorah.org (7:56 - 10:25) - How Eli got their name: dysphoria and Elijah the prophet (10:26 - 16:30) - "You can't be trans, you're autistic" (16:31 - 18:47) - Testosterone and gender presentation (18:48 - 23:40) - Eli's fiancée, sister, family (23:41 - 30:29) - Love for math and science: "Numbers are the closest we get to the handwriting of God" (30:30 - 33:07) - "This can't be accidental" -- intelligent design and human advancements (33:08 - 36:34) - We are made in God's image -- made to be creative -- tattoos and piercings (36:35 - 42:20) - The medical model vs. the social model of disability (42:21 - 45:36) - Wrapping up (45:37 - 48:16)