Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in the Jewish Community
By Paige Hunter
http://baltimoregaylife.com/item/778-balancing-on-the-mechitza-transgender-in-the-jewish-communityIn a time when major religions are grappling with their positions on women, gay men, lesbians, military service, and other issues for both progress and detriment, Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in the Jewish Community examines genderqueer and transgender aspects of Jewish life. This collection of essays, edited by Noach Dzmura, is not just for Torah-observant, frum Jews: these are stories for everyone: convert, frum, progressive, anti-Zionist, male-identified, female-identified, goddess-centric, scholar. These are essays for those exploring how Jews relate to other people as well as the divine.
The title references the mechitza, a traditional divider between the men's and women's sections of the synagogue. In Orthodox Jewish law, gender performances are highly regulated; males study and converse the Torah and Talmud in lively discussions with study partners, females learn laws and customs relating to cooking and family (such as the exact details and timing of separating dairy from meat, and what she would have to do or not do in terms of touch and modesty). Males, unlike females, have to perform certain ritual commandments, including thrice-daily prayers. Males typically wear a kippot (in Yiddish, yarmulke) and tallitot (fringes, often on prayer shawls)—but what would it mean for a female, or a genderqueer person, to wear them? Even in congregations that maintain equality, and participation from all, what constitutes welcome in the tradition?
