Sunday, March 29, 2015

Not All Religions Are The Same

Some are affirming.
California Jewish school marks 8th grader’s gender transition
In religious ceremony crossing a bar mitzvah with a baby naming, Tom Chai Sosnik becomes a man
Times of Israel
By Renee Ghert-Zand
March 26, 2015

Earlier this month, 13-year-old Tom Sosnik, wearing a tallit and holding a kiddush cup, marked a transition into manhood with a special ceremony at his Jewish day school. He wasn’t celebrating receiving a first prayer book or a first Bible, or graduating from one grade to another. He wasn’t really observing his bar mitzvah, either. In what was a decidedly nontraditional event, the short-haired teenager was publicly marking his gender transition from girl to boy.

Sosnik’s Jewish ritualized coming out as transgender in front of classmates, teachers and family at the Tehiyah Day School in El Cerrito, California, is believed to be the first time that a Jewish day school has sanctioned and performed such a ceremony. It hasn’t gone without notice.
[…]
While acknowledging the societal risk Tehiyah’s leadership took in performing Sosnik’s transition ceremony, Marc Kramer, executive director of RAVSAK: The Jewish Community Day School Network commended the school for being “a safe, warm, accepting place that accepts children for who they are.”

“Jewish community day schools have been on the front line of acceptance of gay and lesbian teachers, administrators, families and kids for more than 20 years. Making schools safe for transgender kids is a new frontier and I am thrilled (and not surprised) that again we are leading change,” he said.
There are many religions that accept transgender people, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and many other religion that accept us with open arms. This year I have done many diversity trainings at churches.

1 comment:

  1. All religions are the same in that they are all bad science fiction.

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