{"id":1471624,"date":"2022-05-11T12:59:40","date_gmt":"2022-05-11T16:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1471624"},"modified":"2022-05-11T12:59:44","modified_gmt":"2022-05-11T16:59:44","slug":"does-the-talmud-teach-that-abraham-and-sarah-were-non-binary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/does-the-talmud-teach-that-abraham-and-sarah-were-non-binary\/","title":{"rendered":"Does The Talmud Teach That Abraham And Sarah Were Non-Binary?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoes-the-talmud-teach-that-abraham-and-sarah-were-non-binary%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1471624&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/05\/Talmud-scaled.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.3.0\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>On April 25, Daniel Bogard, a Reform (read: very liberal) rabbi,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RavBogard\/status\/1518610027984175107\"><span> posted<\/span><\/a><span> a 9-part viral thread on Twitter, beginning with these words: \u201cI keep hearing from GOP lawmakers that they \u2018just want to return to a Judeo-Christian idea of men being men and women being women.\u2019 So let\u2019s talk about that \u2018Judeo\u2019 part for a moment (because it\u2019s a lot queerer and less binary than y\u2019all seem to think).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Bogard\u2019s thread goes on to make several claims about the teachings of rabbinic literature and what they supposedly have to say about queerness and gender identity in the Bible. Here are some of the claims he makes::\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>\u201cAbraham &#038; Sarah, the founders of the Jewish people . . . were both intersex! Or non-binary! Or both!\u2026In fact, the rabbis of the Talmud even get into an argument as to which category of (the very much non binary) sex\/gender spectrum Abraham and Sarah fall into!\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>The ancient Jewish texts \u201cdescribed SIX genders\/sexes, not two.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>\u201cAdam was \u2018made in God\u2019s image\u2019, which . . . means: \u2018At the moment when the Holy Blessed One created the first adam, God created them as an androginos [androgynous].\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Consequently, this means that \u201cGOD IS NON-BINARY.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Mordecai (the hero in the book of Esther) was \u201ca trans-man.\u201d He \u201cnursed Esther from his own breasts when she was a baby.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, was a \u201ctrans-woman\u201d and \u201cGod is the one who helped her transition!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>Is there any truth to these claims? Rabbi Bogard references several rabbinic texts to \u201cprove\u201d his assertions. So let\u2019s examine them to get to the bottom of his claims.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Before responding, it is important to understand that: 1) not a syllable in any of the rabbinic texts cited by Rabbi Bogard speaks of a biological male identifying as a female (or the reverse); and 2) not a syllable in these texts says anything about queer identity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The issues addressed in the texts cited by Rabbi Bogard have to do with either biological questions about sexual identify (which is something quite separate from transgender identity) or fanciful rabbinic speculation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But what of the rabbinic traditions he cites? What should we make of them?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Before we begin, let me just say that, as a Messianic Jew (rather than a traditional Jew), I do not need to defend the Talmudic writings as a part of my faith. But as a lover of truth, I am duty bound to expose error. What, then, do these texts actually say?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>With regard to Abraham and Sarah, the Bible tells us that Sarah was barren. Talmudic rabbis have speculated as to why, wondering if both Abraham and Sarah had biological issues that rendered them unable to conceive children. When Bogard says that \u201cthe rabbis of the Talmud even get into an argument as to which category of (the very much non binary) sex\/gender spectrum Abraham and Sarah fall into,\u201d he is referring to<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org\/Yevamot.64b.1?ven=William_Davidson_Edition_-_English&#038;vhe=William_Davidson_Edition_-_Vocalized_Aramaic&#038;lang=bi&#038;with=all&#038;lang2=en\"><span> Yevamot 64a-b<\/span><\/a><span>, which he references. But there is nothing there that suggests non-binary-ness or a gender spectrum!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The \u201cargument\u201d Bogard references is over whether Abraham and Sarah were tumtumim or alynoit. Tumtumim literally means \u201chidden,\u201d in this case implying that their sexual organs were \u201chidden\u201d (as in not visible or fully developed). But by God\u2019s intervention, their organs developed and they were able to conceive. Alynoit means an underdeveloped woman, in Sarah\u2019s case without a womb, which God then miraculously formed for her.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Neither having under-developed genitalia nor being without a womb is a gender identity. By anyone\u2019s standards, a woman without a womb is still a woman. Bogard is presumably implying that being without a womb makes Sarah biologically male. But there is much more to being a biological woman than having a uterus\u2014as any woman who\u2019s had a hysterectomy can attest. Similarly, a man with \u201chidden\u201d genitals is still a man. This has absolutely nothing to do with queer identity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>What about the 6 categories of gender\/sex in the Mishnah (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org\/Mishnah_Bikkurim.4.2?ven=Mishnah_Yomit_by_Dr._Joshua_Kulp&#038;vhe=Version_of_the_Gemara_-_vocalized&#038;lang=bi\"><span>Bikkurim 4:1-4<\/span><\/a><span>)? Again, nothing in these texts has anything to do with queer identity. The discussion does not challenge the male-female sexual binary. Instead, it is a legal discussion concerning hermaphrodites and whether they should be categorized as male or female.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In keeping with the Talmudic focus, the discussion is legal rather than existential, and it is simply a matter of finding proper categories for people with biological abnormalities. They are fully human, but they are not fully male or female. How should they be classified?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The rabbis made these practical rulings: Does the person emit sperm? The person is to be treated legally as a male \u201cand he must perform all the commandments of the Torah, like men\u201d (Bikkurim 4:2). Does the person menstruate? The person is to be treated legally as a female and is disqualified from keeping certain Torah commandments, like women (Bikkurim 4:3).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>None of this relates to biological males identifying as females (or the reverse), none of it suggests that male and female are not the two categories of humanity, and none of it suggests that someone could be male one day and female the next, based on his\/her self-perception. The focus is biological and legal and does not touch at all on queer identity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As for Adam, it is true that he is created male and female, in the image of God (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Genesis%201%3A26-27&#038;version=KJV\"><span>Genesis 1:26-27<\/span><\/a><span>). This indicates to us that the qualities of male and female are both found in the Creator, who, by His very nature, transcends gender.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But there was nothing \u201cqueer\u201d about Adam\u2019s identity. Instead, as Sara Ronis<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myjewishlearning.com\/article\/eruvin-18\/\"><span> writes<\/span><\/a><span>, \u201cThe Talmud offers two different origin stories for womankind. Rabbi Yirmieya ben Elazar argues that Adam was first created as a two-faced, double-bodied being who was eventually split into dimorphic male and female beings. An earlier rabbi argues that, in fact, Adam was first created alone, but had a tail, and God removed the tail and used it as the foundation for the creation of woman.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In any case, God separated the female part from the male part, creating Eve, and from then on, every human being has been either male or female. (For the biblical account, see<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Genesis%202&#038;version=KJV\"><span> Genesis 2<\/span><\/a><span>.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>What about Mordechai being a trans man? Not a chance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Instead, in one of many fanciful rabbinic texts, it is claimed that during a time of crisis when there was no one to nurse his younger cousin Esther, God miraculously provided milk in Mordechai\u2019s breasts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But this is no different from the Bible saying that God brought water out of a rock. The nature and identity of the rock did not change. Instead, the Lord worked a miracle. Nothing about this rabbinic tradition suggests that Mordechai was, in fact, born a biological woman and was choosing to live as a man. Instead, it\u2019s the story of the Lord miraculously allowing a man to provide milk for his hungry cousin.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As for Dinah being a transwoman, perish the thought.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Instead, based on the Hebrew word achar (\u201cafterwards\u201d) in Genesis 30:21, Radak, a leading rabbinic commentator<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org\/Genesis.30.21?ven=The_Contemporary_Torah,_Jewish_Publication_Society,_2006&#038;vhe=Miqra_according_to_the_Masorah&#038;lang=bi&#038;with=Radak&#038;lang2=en\"><span> explained<\/span><\/a><span> (and note that this is merely fanciful speculation), \u201cit would appear that originally Dinah was meant to become Zevulun\u2019s twin (brother). This is why the Torah wrote \u2018and afterwards she bore a daughter,\u2019 without making any mention of Leah again becoming pregnant. The Torah did not even write \u2018and she again bore.\u2019 No mention is made of why she named the girl Dinah. There is a well known aggadic [homiletical] explanation that Leah did not want her sister to be shamed in having fewer sons than even the handmaids; her prayer to that effect was answered by this fetus becoming a girl.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>So, according to this non-historical, non-factual, totally-speculative interpretation, in the womb, God miraculously turned a male fetus into a female fetus. But this doesn\u2019t actually describe being trans. If God did, in fact, transform a male fetus into a female one, then the baby that was born was biologically female. Which is totally different than, say, Bruce \u201cCaitlyn\u201d Jenner or Richard \u201cRachel\u201d Levine who assert that they are female but have male bodies. Even according to Radak, Dinah\u2019s body was female at birth!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Worse still, in his Twitter thread, Rabbi Bogard<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RavBogard\/status\/1518624727467712514\"><span> wrote<\/span><\/a><span>, \u201cThe verse starts with the masc \u2018achar\u2019, yet finishes with \u2018daughter Dinah.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Seriously? This is a complete misinterpretation of the Hebrew, making something out of nothing. Achar is an adverb, not a noun, and is therefore without male or female gender in Hebrew. And a rabbi really made this argument? Ridiculous.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In sum, we can say that that queer claims of Rabbi Bogard are totally bogus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On April 25, Daniel Bogard, a Reform (read: very liberal) rabbi, posted a 9-part viral thread on Twitter, beginning with these words: \u201cI keep hearing from GOP lawmakers that they<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":672,"featured_media":1482605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1471624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/672"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1471624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1482605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1471624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1471624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1471624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}