"Trans" Biblical characters in Jewish tradition? (Part 1 of 2)

The disturbing origin of oft-quoted religious narratives of "gendered souls".To watch this on video and for full access to notes and resources, go to https://shirabatya.substack.com/p/trans-biblical-characters-in-jewish1“Queer” teachers such as Abby Stein have sought religious foundations in Judaism for the idea of true trans - that some people are born in the wrong body, with the soul of the opposite sex. They do this by appealing to narratives in Lurianic Kabbalah to do with reincarnation, and by projecting trans identities onto biblical personalities such as Joseph, Dinah, Isaac, and Michal. Such narratives have been promoted by organisations such as Keshet (the Jewish LGBT charity, whose judgment in promoting these texts must be questioned).I have explored the texts behind these arguments, including quite a bit of halacha (Jewish legal texts) to do with Michal's tefillin. This quest took me on a very dark journey that ended with homophobia, misogyny and an accusation of witchcraft.Warning: You will be offended!This is the first half of a recording of a Zoom shiur (lecture) that I gave on Sunday 23 February. This is a more in depth and uncensored version of a similar session that I gave at Limmud Festival in December 2024 with a slightly different title.In this episode, I cover the background to these narratives and the link with gender identity ideology, and discuss the narratives relating to Dinah, Joseph, and Isaac. Michal’s story will have to wait until next week (Part 2) as she deserves your full attention. (The full shiur is just too long for a single sitting.)We discover that far from being transgender, Isaac is understood to have been an immature boy with a “female soul” who matured into a proper man who could give his wife children.We end on the question of what the “soul” really means in these narratives, and whether Judaism is really compatible with the soul / body or mind / body dichotomy inherent in the idea of a “gender” separate from sex.You are best off watching this on video, as I speak quickly, and the slides contain important information. However, if you are on a podcast app, you can also download the slides with the link below and flip through them as you listen: https://docs.jcob.org/gender/GenderSoulPresentationSubstack1of2.pdfYou can also read the full source sheet here: https://docs.jcob.org/gender/GenderSoulSourcesSubstack.pdfLinks:Stonewall list of LGBTQ termsAbby Chava Steinsource sheet from Limmud Festival 2019interview in 2019 describing how Sha’ar HaGilgulim changed Stein’s lifesource sheet on Sefaria (includes text by Rabbi Yechiel Michael of Zloczow)upcoming book “Sources of Pride” שורשי גאווהRabbi Jack Abramowitz An Orthodox Rabbi Discusses Transgender Issues in Jewish Texts (Orthodox Union 2017).Keshet resource on Gender Fluidity in the Jewish TraditionJericho Vincent on our “trancestors”Jay Michelson: Kabbalah and Queer Theology (July 22, 2012).Much more in the full source sheet (see above)Sefaria Source Links:Talmud Berachot 60a: Leah’s child was originally male but Leah prayed that her sister Rachel should have a son so the sexes were switchedBeresishit Rabbah 72:6 sex switch because Rachel prayed for two sonsRabbi Eliyahu Munk on Dinah’s male natureBereishit Rabbah on Joseph’s laddishnessBereishit Rabbah 87:7: on Joseph finding himself not to be a man [ish].Or HaChayim on Isaac’s double birth (female then male)TO BE CONTINUEDDon't miss Part Two!Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. https://shirabatya.substack.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shirabatya.substack.com