Jewish Quotes - Blog Posts
What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole Torah; the rest is just commentary.
Hillel the Elder
“Jewish law knows no incurable sin.”
— Moshe Glickson (via yidquotes)
“I knew only one other person who was queer, and that person – G-d – was much, much queerer than I was.”
— Joy Ladin, “The Soul of the Stranger: Reading G-d and Torah from a Transgender Perspective”
“No Sabbath laws apply where life is in danger.”
— Mathia ben Heresh, Mishna: Yoma 8:6
“One of the biggest problems with religion is that people stubbornly, insistently reduce God to their own size; they imagine that God loves the same people they love, and that God hates the people they hate. This is not just insidious theology; it’s actually idolatry, because people are just worshiping a blown up version of themselves. So let me say it simply: God’s love transcends all of that. When your parents reject you, God loves you; when your friends or classmates make fun of you, God loves you; when your priest, minister, imam, or rabbi tells you that you are an abomination, God loves you; when politicians cater to people’s basest prejudices, God loves you. No matter how many times and in how many ways people make you feel less than human, God knows otherwise, and God loves you. When you feel frightened, or abandoned, or humiliated, I hope the unshakeable conviction that God loves you can help hold you and enable you to persevere.”
— From a Rabbi, An Open Letter To People Who Are LGBTQ by Rabbai Shai Held (via jewishtransition)
In the Mishnah, Rabbi Yosi makes the radical statement: “androgynos bria bifnei atzma hu / the androgynos he is a created being of her own.” This Hebrew phrase blends male and female pronouns to poetically express the complexity of the androgynos’ identity. The term bri’a b’ifnei atzmah is a classical Jewish legal term for exceptionality. This term is an acknowledgement that not all of creation can be understood within binary categories. It recognizes the possibility that uniqueness can burst through the walls that demarcate our society. The Hebrew word bria (created being) explicitly refers to divine formation; hence this term also reminds us that all bodies are created in the image of God. People can’t always be easily defined; they can only be seen and respected, and their lives made holy. This Jewish approach allows for genders beyond male and female. It opens up space in society for every body. And it protects those who live in the places in between.
Rabbi Elliot Rose Kukla and Reuben Zellman
Traditionally religious people often claim that the Torah requires them to exclude, exile, or condemn transgender people, but the Torah never commands or encourages that kind of behavior. None of the Torah's laws requires the Israelite community to treat people whose appearance or behavior doesn't fit binary norms as defiled or defiling.
— Joy Ladin, “The Soul of the Stranger: Reading G-d and Torah from a Transgender Perspective”
“Gay sex life, unlike straight sex life, is never a private matter. When a man and a woman walk hand in hand, it is their love that they make public. When two men walk hand in hand, it is their sex life that they make public… Our words are acts; our privacy is public. This reality stems from the nature of homophobia.”
—
Rabbi Steven Greenberg
“Wrestling with G-d and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition” (2004)
Digimon Adventure tri. ~ Japanese version Featuring Character: Meiko Mochizuki ~ {Originally for} International Women’s Day [March 8th, 2021]
“When a woman speaks her truth, it is as holy as prayer.”
- Rabbi Shoni Labowitz z”l
Gifs by @izzyizumi, {Do Not Repost} {Do Not Remove Caption} {Do Not Reproduce without my Permission Under any Circumstances!} {Usage of gifs may be allowed if permission is asked / or if credit is given. However, read my about & FAQ pages first. Please do not use / ask if you match anything in my “Do Not Interact” section.}
Bonus gifs + further original commentary under the ‘read more’! (Including information re: Meiko’s Tottori prefecture Japanese speech dialect + what it may mean)
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The current concept of “sin” is a stain upon the soul that requires a kind of supernatural atonement or cleansing process. In the Hebrew Bible, wrong behavior is seen in a rational, natural way. Scripture speaks of three categories of wrongs that are not synonyms. There is chet, the misstep, literally meaning “missing the mark,” as if one were shooting an arrow and hitting the outer rims of the target and missing the shooter’s goal, its center. The Bible mentions it 34 times. The second pesha, occurring 93 times, is a conscious rebellious act such as taking revenge, stealing, murder. The third avon, cited in 233 instances, is an error, an unintentional act that nevertheless has harmful consequences. Understood in this natural way, it should be clear that the misdeed is something that shouldn’t provoke passive feelings of guilt and prayerful recitations, needing clergy or a psychiatrist to erase it. Individuals should recognize what they did wrong, think why they did the wrong, take actions that remedy the consequences, and assure that there will be no repetition.
Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin