Transgender Community: We Love You Exactly How You Are

August 19, 2017 — Av 27, 5777

We, the Greater Cincinnati Board of Rabbis, serving the vast majority of Cincinnati Jewish congregations, have a message to the trans community, and in particular to trans youth in Cincinnati:

We love you. We love you exactly how you are. You are perfect, and you are beautiful, and we are so so sorry for anyone who has ever told you that they, or God, feel otherwise.

We are here for you, whether you are Jewish or not.

For those of us who aren’t a part of the trans community, who come to this from a place of privilege, the terrible truth is that almost half of all trans kids try to kill themselves before they are 25. This isn’t a political issue; the bullies aren’t just in Washington. They are parents, neighbors, clergy and teachers, all with the same message to trans kids: there is something wrong with you.

This is why we, as religious leaders, feel the pressing need to loudly declare that there is a Divine Spark within each and every one of us that cannot be beaten or tweeted out of existence.

It is the sacred obligation of every person of conscience to be a voice of acceptance and love. When we are with our friends, when we are at our places of worship, and most importantly when we are around kids, we must loudly proclaim that trans rights are human rights, that trans lives matter, and that trans people belong in our communities. We must remember that in almost every room we walk into, there are trans people there; the only question is whether they feel comfortable being themselves around us, or not.

In rabbinic tradition, there is no value that is more important than that of Kavod HaBriyot, the dignity and honor that is due to each and every human being. Our Torah teaches that every single one of us, no matter what our bodies look like, how we dress, how we speak, or what we believe, is a perfect Image of God, a tzelem Elohim. And you, our trans community, are holy, and beautiful, and of infinite value.