When Abba becomes Ima:Transsexuals in the Jewish Orthodox world

[Kate Thomas]

When Abba becomes Ima:
Transsexuals in the Orthodox world
By Meira Maierovitz Drazin, JTA news service
December 25, 2006

       
http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=17420&intcategoryid=5

TORONTO, Dec. 25 (JTA) — Mordechai, a 31-year-old Orthodox lawyer from Toronto, gave his wife a Jewish divorce this summer.
Then he began his life as Nicole, a woman.

Nicole isn't the first transgender person to live an Orthodox life, but as far as anyone knows she is the first Orthodox person to transition publicly and "in place."

Transsexuals may always face obstacles and taboos in mainstream Western societies, but Orthodox Jews who make the transition face even greater complications.

"I'm not challenging halachic Judaism and I don't want it to be perceived that way," Nicole said, referring to Jewish law. "It would be easier for me in some ways to reject Judaism and the Orthodox...

[Shana A]

I've been following this story from various sources, here's another article about Nicole.

http://www.glbtjews.org/article.php3?id_article=344

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