Sandra Seltzer Silberman HBI Conversations Series Featuring Max Strassfeld, author of “Trans Talmud: Androgynes and Eunuchs in Rabbinic Literature”
Hosted By: Hadassah-Brandeis Institute (HBI)
HBI Scholar in Residence and University of Arizona professor Max Strassfeld argues that rabbinic literature’s eunuchs and androgynes profoundly shaped ideas about law, as the rabbis constructed intricate classifications of gender across dozens of texts to understand an array of cultural tensions. In doing so, “Trans Talmud” deftly expands and challenges how we understand gender in Judaism.
“In a world that seeks to erase our history and our bodies, these texts provide images of a past where we may have existed, albeit with complexities. To study Talmud is to dream our past into the future, and to engage in the act of traveling through time accompanied by our ancestors’ voices. . . .As queer, trans and nonbinary Jews do the work of consciously creating a usable past, “Trans Talmud” invites us to do so with more integrity and precision.”—Lilith Magazine, read the full review
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