Congregation Ateres Zekanim

Congregation Ateres Zekanim Ateres Zekanim is a congregation of survivors of the Holocaust and our families.

Our spiritual leader is Rabbi Dr. Levi Alter, who is an Orthodox rabbi who speaks Yiddish.

03/12/2024

TranSpirituality Weekly TranScripture Thought: Parshas Pekudei Shemos/Exodus 38:21-40:38 Melachim I/1 Kings 7:51-8:21 Y’hoshua/Joshua 21-22

What is the implication of, “to walk in all His ways” that we read in chapter 22, verse 5? Each individual has their own experiences with which they use to understand their world. Is there a standard way to understand this verse? After all, some people understand G-d to be a judgmental old man in the sky itching to throw down some thunderbolts. Walking in the way of that kind of god leads to a scorched earth policy: anyone who is not like me and doesn’t do as I say is an abomination and worthy of extermination. Our sages tell us “to walk in all His ways” means we are supposed to imitate HaShem’s goodness and mercy. Our bashers clearly do nothing of the sort: they are scorched earth people. The question then arises how to handle persecution and religious disagreements. In verses 9-30 we read that when a disagreement arose our ancestors sat down and discussed it till everyone was satisfied. But when we try to discuss anything with them, the only answer we seem to get from our bashers is more hate because of their fears of diversity. We actually hold many of the same values they do. One example is “family values.” We may define family a little differently than they do, but the love and commitment are the same. Despite their hate, we can treat ourselves with loving kindness and our family of others who are different like Jewish women, Jews of color, and vulnerable LGBT Jewish youth with kindness too, and continue to work for the protection of human rights to keep everyone safe.

L'shalom,
Yona
Rebbetzin Dr. Yona Ruth Alter, author
Shalom,
Levi
Rabbi Dr. Levi Ethan Alter, editor
President, Female-To-Male International

03/10/2024

TranSpirituality Weekly TranScripture Thought: Parshas Vayakhel Shemos/Exodus 35:1-40:38 Melachim I/ 1 Kings 7:13-26, 7:40-8:21 Y’hoshua/Joshua 15-20

In chapter 15, verses 22-31 we read a total of 38 names of cities...yet verse 31 concludes that there are 29 cities. Is this a miscount, or is something else going on? Our sages tell us that there are hidden connections handed down through the generations, such as “He who dwells in the thorn-bush will execute judgment for him.” Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses) was called by HaShem who got his attention using a burning thorn-bush that was not consumed by the flames. HaShem told Moses to go free the downtrodden Israelite slaves. The thorn-bush is symbolic of HaShem’s concern for the downtrodden. Who are the downtrodden today? Clearly it isn’t the ones in power denying basic rights to others. Like the Israelites, we have to do our part: today that means we need to gird our loins, march to the voting booths (or mail in if available), and elect proper representatives who will protect the defenseless. In chapter 16, verse 10 we see what happens to us and our descendants if we fail to do our part now: “They did not drive out the Canaanite...the Canaanite dwelled in the midst of Ephraim until this day.”

After gaining some basic rights we rested, thinking that the haters would leave us alone. That was never going to be the case. They take affront whenever anyone they deem less than them asks for equality. Those who are guilty of violating our human rights as Jews, Jewish women, Jews of color and vulnerable LGBT Jewish youth must be held accountable. This accountability was of such great importance, that once the Israelites entered the land and divided it, their first task was to build cities of refuge. These refuge cities were not for the defenseless: they were for those who killed to either be held while pending trial, or if found guilty of manslaughter, kept apart from the rest of the Israelites until their sentence was complete. (Chap 20, verses 2-6.)

As we can see in these 5 chapters, we need to set things right by protecting ourselves and those who can’t protect themselves.

L'shalom,
Yona
Rebbetzin Dr. Yona Ruth Alter, author
Shalom,
Levi
Rabbi Dr. Levi Ethan Alter, editor
President, Female-To-Male International

03/06/2024

TranSpirituality Weekly TranScripture Thought: Parshas Ki Sisa Shemos/Exodus 30:11-34:35 Melachim I /1 Kings 18:1-39 Y’Hoshua/Joshua 11-14

In chapter 11 verse 20 we read “For it was from HaShem to harden their hearts toward battle against Israel, in order to destroy them.” This verse means on character-defining ethical issues, heaven will not intervene to stop us, but will allow our choice to further to a process that will strengthen our decision whichever way we decide, asserting the freedom to choose. This is both scary and reassuring: scary because we are not guaranteed divine intervention every time someone wants to hurt us. Sometimes, they will. Reassuring because the most precious of all human rights is the freedom to choose. Even though there is the possibility we will make the wrong choice and suffer the consequences, we have the gift of freedom to make decisions. The obvious advice here is, “choose wisely” because once a choice is made, that decision will trend and escalate and proliferate. What starts as a thought becomes a word, then an action, then a habit, then a way of life, then our character and finally, our identity. It becomes engrained, strengthened, and hard to change.

One choice we are confronted with is how we respond to those who are different from us. Will we refuse to see any humanity in them because they are not exactly like us? In today’s climate saturated with hatred through slogans and labels, toxic debates over taking away human rights and the freedom to choose, and discriminatory and punitive laws, it becomes ingrained to think hatred is the correct path. That repetition makes it harder for those who choose hate to recognize the error of their actions or to fix their attitudes. In the end, these people condemn themselves due to a complete lack of basic human decency.

Verse 15 of chapter 14 ends with, “Then the land had rest from war.” This sounds wonderful - peace at last! Who doesn’t like peace? Our sages tell us this was actually a rebuke against the Israelites for quitting before real peace was obtained. “Peace” that is capitulation to those who hate us for being Jews, Jewish women, Jews of color, vulnerable LGBT Jewish youth or different in any other way, is just a pause before the hostilities resume. Justice and equality come close, then the bashers regroup in backlash to strip away any hard-earned human rights. This emboldens them, and in their minds justifies them killing someone for using a bathroom. Murdered for being a non-binary child at school, Nex Benedict is only the latest victim in a line that is already too long. Part of the problem is our lack of stamina. The haters have convinced themselves that they are correct: their hearts are hardened against people they deem less than themselves. We have to stand up for ourselves and for those who can’t defend themselves and demand transparency and accountability including from schools that do nothing about repeated, escalating bullying. We need to strengthen our resolve to keep fighting for our rights to live authentically.

L'shalom,
Yona
Rebbetzin Dr. Yona Ruth Alter, author
Shalom,
Levi
Rabbi Dr. Levi Ethan Alter, editor
President, Female-To-Male International

02/20/2024

TranSpirituality Weekly TranScripture Thought: Parshas Tetzaveh Shemos/Exodus 27:20-30:10 Yechezkel/Ezekiel 43: 10-27 Y’hoshua/Joshua 8-10

Does anyone have an obligation to respect other people’s bodies? If we look in chapter 8 verse 29, we read that “when the sun went down, Joshua commanded, and they lowered his (i.e. the king of Ai) co**se from the gallows.” They then buried the body even though he was a criminal. Several states’ and federal legislators who claim to be pro-life are attempting to subject women who get an abortion and those who help them to the death penalty (this isn’t all the politicians who are in favor of the death penalty, just of the ones who say they are pro-life while they are killing people). Rather than, “O, the humanity!” the cry needs to be, “Oh, the hypocrisy!” Even after fighting in battle, Joshua showed more respect for his enemy’s co**se than some politicians show to living people, especially Jewish women, Jews of color and vulnerable Jewish LGBT youth.

Then there are the adulterers who claim to be “family values” people while attacking vulnerable Jewish LGBT youth who can’t defend themselves. They need to be shut down, and an end brought to their bully-pulpit reign of terror. The list of “family values” politicians and clergy who cheated on their spouses is long: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich, Jeff Duncan, Rabbi Sidney Goldenberg repeatedly s*xually molested a 12 year old girl in his synagogue, Rabbi Nachman Eisfeld s*xually abused seven boy students aged 4 to 6 years old, Rabbi Yisrael Moshe Weingarten repeatedly r***d his daughter between the ages of 9 and 18, Rabbi Baruch Lebovits r***d a minor boy, Rabbi Yakov Yitzok Roth r***d a minor girl relative, Rabbi Shimon Amar repeatedly r***d a minor girl, Rabbi Daniel Greer repeatedly r***d a minor boy yeshivah student and Rabbi Gershon Kranczer incested three girls ages 5, 6 and 11 (this isn’t an exhaustive list of all the rabbis and politicians who are committing adultery and s*x crimes, just of the ones who say they are pro-family values while they are doing it). Whose family are they talking about, anyway? What gives them any right to dictate their hypocritical “family values” to anyone else? Why are they given pass for clearly egregious behavior when vulnerable Jewish LGBT youth simply want to go to school in peace? The answer is simple: the LGBT kids are an easy scapegoat. Where is their honor? They have no honor, no matter what they say. Just like the Gibeonites.

In chapter 9, verse 4 we read, “they also acted, but with guile.” This is what the Gibeonites and our bashers do: they lie and distract us from their treacherous acts by scapegoating someone who looks different to make the public see them as a threat. What can we do about this? When we read chapter 10 we see that standing together and trusting that HaShem made us perfectly, and living up to that perfection by living authentically, we will have a strength that we can’t begin to fathom. We don’t need to make the sun and moon stand still in the sky to win, but we do need to shine the light of truth on the lies and the liars. We need to elect proper lawmakers, and we need to live as we were created to be, in the divine image in all our diversity.

L'shalom,
Yona
Rebbetzin Dr. Yona Ruth Alter, author
Shalom,
Levi
Rabbi Dr. Levi Ethan Alter, editor
President, Female-To-Male International

02/13/2024

TranSpirituality Weekly TranScripture Thought: Parshas Terumah Shemos/Exodus 25:1-27:19 Melachim I/ 1 Kings 5:26-6:13 Y’hoshua/Joshua 6-7

This week we read about the battle of Jericho. Neither artillery nor explosion was needed to bring down the walls: marching, raising our voices, and sounding the alarm brought down the walls. In verse 5 we read that the “city wall will drop down in its place.” The entire thickness of the walls went all the way down allowing us to walk in without having to climb over barriers. How does this relate to living authentically? For those of us who are Jews, Jews of color, Jewish women, or vulnerable LGBTQ+ Jewish youth, when we stop living in fear of antiSemites and our bashers’ abuse, we find a comfort that we’ve never known. The trauma we endured or witnessed for so long and seemed impossible to overcome became less intimidating. Then the sense of peace: self-actualization, self-realization, and self-validation became empowering, and allowed us to show the love we have for HaShem. Given the magnitude of our oppression, our success feels miraculous.

The curse we read in 6:26 “Cursed before HaShem be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho” describes the current attacks we face. The backlash of those who seek to re-impose barriers once again, to marginalize us again, to take away our human rights again, are ensuring their own destruction. In recent months anti-Semitic incidents have gone up 400%, our youth on campus are barricaded in the library and dining hall for protection from violent mobs, visibly Jewish religious people are assaulted in public spaces, synagogues have had to hire armed guards. The call in 7:10 “Raise yourself up” is directed at Joshua, but it is also directed at us. There is a time for prayer and a time for action. Now is the time for action. Now is the time to be more Jewish than ever, to commit to doing more acts of kindness or increasing our supporting our community. Voting for the right candidate is the simplest way to do our part. Without laws to protect us, especially our youth, we will be stuck in a needlessly long and destructive exile. We’ve been given the miracle of our diversity: we need to act to protect it.

L'shalom,
Yona
Rebbetzin Dr. Yona Ruth Alter, author
Shalom,
Levi
Rabbi Dr. Levi Ethan Alter, editor
President, Female-To-Male International

02/07/2024

TranSpirituality Weekly TranScripture Thought: Parshas Mishpatim Shemos/Exodus 21:1-24:18 Yirmiyah/Jeremiah 34:8-22, 33:25-26 Y’hoshua/Joshua 2-5

In chapter 3, verses 3-6, when we read about the “Ark of the Covenant” we understand that we are being told to delve deeper into the meaning behind the words for ourselves. Getting to a deeper level is usually done with understanding what our sages taught the words meant in the original Hebrew. If we can’t read the commentaries (in Hebrew and/or Aramaic), we are handicapped by needing people who can. What’s worse is there are many who can’t, but claim that through an introductory course of a few weeks, that they know. Anyone who has studied different languages in depth knows that it requires immersion and years to be able to fluently pick up subtleties of meaning. This tells us to be very careful of who we trust with translation and interpretation of one language to another, especially if one plans to use this information as “holy scripture.” Verses 3-6 tell us to understand our scriptures: move in close enough to not miss any subtleties, but not so close that we miss the big picture (can’t see the forest because of all the trees in the way). This is exactly what our bashers do: they take a few words from somewhere in the scriptures, misunderstand them, quote them out of context and then misuse them to marginalize Jews of color, Jewish women and vulnerable Jewish LGBT youth. We are told to follow the Ark of the Covenant as a guide to life. This guide is meant for love, respect, and appreciation of others in spite of the Israelites being a diverse nation of people. It is not meant to be used as a tool to bash others into our way of thinking or acting. When were we told to follow the Ark? Just as we were entering the promised land. Why then, and why not sooner? We were going from a purely spiritual, totally protected, almost child-like existence (manna and water were always provided), to a physical, more adult-like (you have to work the land and dig wells) existence. We were told we were responsible to live Torah-centered lives, not do-it-my-way centered lives.

In chapter 5, verse 9, the phrase “rolled away the disgrace of Egypt” means that the circumcision that they just did was a sign that they were to lead lives different from the majority they had been slaves to for centuries; not just an outside change, but an inner change. We can best live Torah lives by understanding the original meaning of our holy texts and then reflecting on how to apply it to our own unique lives for personal growth without listening to those who offer their shallow opinions to push us away from our beautiful Torah path “all her ways are pleasant, all her paths are peace.”

L'shalom,
Yona
Rebbetzin Dr. Yona Ruth Alter, author
Shalom,
Levi
Rabbi Dr. Levi Ethan Alter, editor
President, Female-To-Male International

01/30/2024

TranSpirituality Weekly TranScripture Thought: Parshas Yisro Shemos/Exodus 18:1-20:23 Yeshayah/Isaiah 6:1-7:6, 9:5-6 Y’hoshua/Joshua 1

After three and a half years of working with Tehillim (Psalms), we are starting now with Y’hoshua (Joshua). One might think that going from the poetic genre to the prophetic genre that there would be an abrupt thematic shift, but surprisingly, there is a smooth transition. Both use symbolism to cut through the static of information overload and competing ideologies to bring awareness and appreciation of ourselves and others. Last week we talked about the subtle differences between different people’s ability to sense things such as color, sound, smell, etc. This week we will start delving into what it means to be a prophet and whether there are any traces left of it in us today...or whether we have all become color-blind and tone-deaf. Before discussing what the book of Joshua says, it will be helpful to have some background.

The prophetic books we have from Biblical times are the ones that hold meaning for more than just that time, they are timeless. A prophet was a visionary (seer) who experienced an insight. How do we sometimes come up with an idea before anyone else does? What is this subjective, intuitive, imaginative, symbolic sort of intelligence that inspires creative artists and brilliant scientists alike, a “sixth sense?” Just like there are differences between people in our vision, hearing, and smelling senses, there are also differences in our 6th sense abilities.

How can we tap into our 6th sense? We begin to reach into and beyond ourselves to connect to “more”. Our life experiences also affect our perceptions of our realities. This brings us to Joshua. In verse 8, “This Book of Torah shall not depart from your mouth; but you shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein” refers to both the oral Torah and the written Torah. We can’t understand the written Torah without the oral Torah, otherwise we might mistranslate, misinterpret, and misapply the Torah. We hear from people who claim like false prophets all sorts of toxic teachings of religious abuse, leading us to hate ourselves and others, leading us in the wrong direction, instead of towards our personal development into better people. This is why we focus on our own need for growth and not on labeling and judging ourselves or others especially Jews of color, Jewish women and vulnerable Jewish LGBT youth for being different from the mainstream.

The Talmud says “Although we are not all prophets, we are all the children of the prophets.” We may not have a highly developed 6th sense and may not have reached our full potential, but we know deep down when something is on track and leading in the right direction of being closer to others, understanding and appreciating ourselves and them better, of having more awareness of the diversity all around us and in each of us. We also know when something is untrue, unfair and unwise, even if we cannot fully explain it. If they are calling for abuse in the name of religion, promoting hate, rationalizing and enabling violence, they are false prophets. Diversity is not a reason to reject or disrespect someone made in the divine image, difference means different gifts, our paths are different but if we listen to the quiet voice telling us that everyone has potential, including ourselves, then we have the same prophetic calling.

L'shalom,
Yona
Rebbetzin Dr. Yona Ruth Alter, author
Shalom,
Levi
Rabbi Dr. Levi Ethan Alter, editor
President, Female-To-Male International

01/23/2024

TranSpirituality Weekly TranScripture Thought: Parshas Beshalach Shemos/Exodus 13:17-17:16 Shoftim/Judges 4:4-5:31 Tehillim/Psalms 150

This week’s psalm concludes the book of Tehillim (Psalms), and by using the root of the word for praise 13 times in only 6 verses, the psalmist is reiterating that in everything, we should seek and find HaShem in it. And give praise for it... This includes all of what we perceive as good or bad in this world, whether using musical instruments to help arouse our passions, our senses, or our intelligence.

Are we kidding ourselves? Our atheist friends will point out that there is no scientific evidence (yet) that proves the existence of a supernatural being in any form. We can point out that there is no proof (yet) that there isn’t one. We can also point out that science once claimed/proved the earth was the center of the universe. Science is evolving and growing. We are in a standoff which impedes our understanding of ourselves and each other. If we use our intellect however, we may be able to discern a path toward mutual respect.

When someone has a sensory organ deficit, they are frequently completely unaware of it, or refuse to accept the reality of their situation. When a child screams and drops a bowl because he sees blood not chocolate, we get him evaluated for color blindness. Sadly, to him, it is all varying shades of gray. There are no words to describe what red is like so that he can relate to it on any experiential level in his life. Likewise, when a tone-deaf person sings off-key, there is no way to explain pitch that they can relate to. The same is true for people who have no sense of smell. The mercaptans that are added to natural gas will not alert them to the dangers of a leak. Similarly, some people feel a connection to a higher power/supreme being, while others have no sense of it at all. Those who can’t feel this connection are as incapable of it as the colorblind, the tone-deaf, the anosmic, are and those who can are not hallucinating, they have senses that can pick up things scientific instruments do not detect. None of these differences make anyone less human or less lovable: it makes them different from, but not less than, ourselves. The first step to respecting each other is to validate the other person’s experience as real to them. The second step is to not force one’s own viewpoint (no matter how deeply one believes it) upon another, the world was made with a huge diversity of gene expression between one person to another. This diversity also includes our vulnerable LGBT Jewish youth and other differences. While we can’t see things inside the brains of others, we can respect that their world and sense of self is valid to them. So long as we are all kind to one another, and allow each other to live authentically, lovingly, and peacefully, we are living as we were created to be. In this way, we can praise HaShem for everything in our lives, and hopefully we can be motivated to make the world a better place for all, not just those who think like us. And with this thought, we reach the end of the one hundred fifty chapters of Sefer Tehillim, the Book of Psalms.

L'shalom,
Yona
Rebbetzin Dr. Yona Ruth Alter, author
Shalom,
Levi
Rabbi Dr. Levi Ethan Alter, editor
President, Female-To-Male International

01/16/2024

TranSpirituality Weekly TranScripture Thought: Parshas Bo Shemos/Exodus 10:1-13:16 Yirmiyah/Jeremiah 46:13-28Tehillim/ Psalms 149

“Sing (to) HaShem a new song” begins this week’s psalm. It seems counterintuitive to begin a new song of praise when we have the troubles from bygone eras still unresolved. Our generation’s interpersonal problems revolve around denial of equality. It was over 100 years ago that women were given the right to vote in the USA. It’s been almost 170 years since slavery was legally abolished in the USA. It has been nearly 100 years since quotas barring all but a handful of Jews were finally dropped from American universities and medical schools. It has been close to 50 years since Stonewall. In spite of the time that has passed, we still have people who treat others as less worthy than themselves. Those in power want to keep it all for themselves.

The sages tell us that we are given the opportunity to face challenges in every generation. Because the discrimination problem has never been fully addressed, we now have an opportunity to right many wrongs. We see a hint of this opportunity throughout the scriptures in the simple word for song. In most of our scriptures we see it in the feminine form (sheer-ah), but in our psalm this week we see it in the masculine form (sheer). Our sages tell us that is because right now we are still writing the songs. We are still trying to elect proper representatives and write laws against discrimination. We have had many Jews including Jews of color, Jewish women and LGBT Jews serve with honor in the military, government, medical, legal, education and many other fields. By living authentically and showing that we are loving people, kind neighbors, good parents, and faithful friends, we can shine a floodlight on the lies of our bashers.

Verse 3’s, “Let them praise His name with dancing” (machol) specifically refers to the circle dance that is common in many cultures (and definitely in Jewish culture!). When we are in a circle, we are all facing toward the center (representing HaShem, according to our sages), and each one of us is important in completing the circle, it would be broken if any of us were missing. It is hard to imagine singing and dancing when we are still being excluded, rejected, bullied and bashed, but when we do our part, our voices and our dancing reveals the diversity of each of our contributions and also supports everyone around us to join with us in the circle of life.

L'shalom,
Yona
Rebbetzin Dr. Yona Ruth Alter, author
Shalom,
Levi
Rabbi Dr. Levi Ethan Alter, editor
President, Female-To-Male International

01/09/2024

TranSpirituality Weekly TranScripture Thought: Parshas Vaera Shemos/Exodus 6:2-9:35 Yechezkel/Ezekiel 28:25-29:21 Tehillim/Psalms 148

Verse 3 says to “Praise Him, all bright stars.” Who, where, or what are these stars? The simple answer is the lights in the sky. By shining brightly and leading the way for navigation, they are showing some of the diversity of nature. If we look at the bright stars who are supposed to praise their Creator, we can realize that each one of us is called to be a light and to give authentic praise. (See Dan 12:3 for example: “those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.”) We obviously can’t lead anyone to truth or justice if we are lying to ourselves or living a lie. The only way we can be a beacon of truth, light, hope, and love is by living as authentically as we can. Every Jew, especially Jews of color, Jewish women, vulnerable LGBT Jewish youth or those who are different, endures the harsh criticism or rejection of our bashers and anti-Semites no matter how much we try to assimilate, so we can channel our suffering into the energy, like the energy of the stars, to be supportive of ourselves and others and defend ourselves and others by questioning unjust laws, responding to lies and protecting our youth, the next generation, so they will be able to live authentically in safety.

Verse 14’s “His intimate nation” reminds us that even when we were enslaved in Egypt, HaShem claimed us as His own. Humans tend to shun the weird uncles, the family black sheep, the family rejects. HaShem doesn’t judge by human standards. We were made perfectly, each showing HaShem’s diversity. Living authentically loving and real lives is how we become the bright stars to navigate our lives.

L'shalom,
Yona
Rebbetzin Dr. Yona Ruth Alter, author
Shalom,
Levi
Rabbi Dr. Levi Ethan Alter, editor
President, Female-To-Male International

01/03/2024

TranSpirituality Weekly TranScripture Thought: Parshas Shemos Shemos/Exodus 1:1-6:1 Yeshayah/Isaiah 27:6-28:13, 29:22-23, and Yirmiyah/Jeremiah 1:1-2:3 Tehillim/Psalms 147

The sages tell us that in verse 1 (“for it is good to hymn to our G-d”) the psalmist means that our loftiest mission in life is to sing praise to HaShem. Our bashers “produce” all kinds of “evidence” that Jews, especially Jews of color, Jewish women, and vulnerable LGBT Jewish youth, are inferior to their superior ___ (fill in the blank: genetics, standing in life, income, etc), but what does that supposed evidence actually show? It shows that in their arrogant self-inflated opinion their god makes mistakes creating inferior, defective people, as they project their own inability to appreciate diversity onto all HaShem’s creation, us, created in the divine image, created “very good” just as we are.

If we know we are valued and loved by our Creator, should we not live up to the gifts we were given? Verse 6 (“HaShem encourages the humble, He lowers the wicked down to the ground”) tells us that those who are most in need of support are the ones who are rejected by the power-abusers, especially those who are subjected to unfair, dictatorial laws. These are the ones HaShem cherishes and protects. Who are the wicked mentioned in this verse? They are the ones who lead others astray from the real truth and try to get people to worship them as gods. In our case, our bashers would have us deny our authentic selves and live according to whatever rules they make and claim come from G-d, but are really just to keep them in power exploiting others.

Why do we, the innocent, have storms of persecution in our lives? Verse 8 (“Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth”) points out when we see storm clouds we frequently focus on the potential danger rather than the resupplying of cleansing water that clears away things that are toxic. We may not know the reasons we endure their attacks now, but we will in time. Do we have any hint of evidence in our scriptures that our knowledge is deficient? Yes. Verse 20 is loaded far beyond the simple English text (“such judgments-they knew them not”). One prime example of this is the utterance, “you shall not murder.” In a merely legal aspect, there are various degrees of murder, depending on intent, but all involve a co**se. Our sages teach us that a murderer is far more insidious than simply one who changes a living body into a dead one. Public embarrassment causes the color in one’s cheeks to drain: this is considered a form of murder. Since the poor person starves to death, the poor are compared to the dead, so someone who causes another to illegitimately lose their means of support is considered a murderer. The most treacherous and prolific murderer however, is one who leads others astray from HaShem. The sages specifically refer here to one who issues a halachic decision when they are not fully trained and qualified to do so. These are people who know only a little, but claim they are masters of the subject matter because they read an isolated clobber verse, in a bad English mistranslation, without any truly learned teacher, but they are in fact totally clueless on the subject, yet they claim expertise. These are the people we call bashers: they try to get us to abandon our authentic selves and live in their delusional world instead of being the spiritual people we are created to be, singing praise to HaShem by living our lives authentically reflecting the diversity of creation.

Despite their raging storms of lies, we know who we are, and we know we are cherished. We need to treasure ourselves and others who are different with inclusion, affirmation and equality. We need to treat ourselves and all who need our support kindly, even if our bashers do not. By leading loving lives, including loving ourselves created as we are, we are singing praises to HaShem.

L'shalom,
Yona
Rebbetzin Dr. Yona Ruth Alter, author
Shalom,
Levi
Rabbi Dr. Levi Ethan Alter, editor
President, Female-To-Male International

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West Hills, CA

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