Charedi yeshivos and seminaries, even and especially on the beginners levels, are clearly separated by gender and subject matter. Entering a yeshiva when one is disguised as a man may be an act of false pretenses , as opposed to the subject matter of a Broadway musical. There is no doubt that the Torah and Talmud rejected Greco Roman hedonsim of all sorts as well as ascetism and celibacy and emphasized that the union of man and woman in a marriage was the means of transmitting and instilling holiness in this world
Yitzchak Breitowitz, Rosh Yeshiva, was informed in advance of the situation and allowed the student to go ahead. There was no disguise or false pretense. Only when it became contrary to the opinion of others, Breitowitz reversed course. It is unclear at the moment if the grant money the Yeshiva received for accepting the student has been returned.
Ohr Somayach has Rabbi Breitowitz's lectures on YouTube. I can't find the one where he addressed it, maybe it's been removed. A video addressing gender identity is over a year old & has well over 20k views (significantly more than most videos). Presumably, they had no problem, (possibly) monetizing his views and at least publishing his views on their own YouTube page to bring notice.
Transexuals can raise their children according to Torah values and teach them to strive for the ideal even if they fall short, as we all do in one way or another. LGBT people can raise their kids teaching that a relationship between one man & one woman is the societal & religious ideal, even if they don't meet that ideal themselves. The point is to get as close as we can, however we can. Driving Jews away after clearing them, is a problem.
Rabbi Breitowitz's video/s on transexuals, which I can no longer find, stated the proper way to handle someone who is transexual, is to not condone the body modification, since its against Torah values/halachah. He stated that transexuals suffer tremendously & we should work with them, like any other Jew, to get closer to G-d by helping them complete more mitzvot. Given this previous very public, & apparently organizationally promoted stance, I have no problem understanding why the student reached out to this Rabbi specifically.
YU is facing a similar challenge and has stood firm and hopos to prevail in the Supreme Court. All Charedi yeshivos and seminaries are separated by gender and subject matter, with only men studying Gemara. If this student failed to tell the administration that he was trans, he may have entered there under false pretenses by pretending to be a male when in fact he is not .Like it or not, the Torah and the Talmud place a value on and celebrate the union of a man and woman who raise children in the values of the Torah. There is no doubt that the Rabbis of the Talmud rejected Greco Roman hedonism and ascetism and celibacy and viewed the union of man and woman in the family setting as the means of transmitting Jewish values and bringing holiness into this world.
YU is facing a similar challenge and has stood firm and hopos to prevail in the Supreme Court. All Charedi yeshivos and seminaries are separated by gender and subject matter, with only men studying Gemara. If this student failed to tell the administration that he was trans, he may have entered there under false pretenses by pretending to be a male when in fact he is not .Like it or not, the Torah and the Talmud place a value on and celebrate the union of a man and woman who raise children in the values of the Torah. There is no doubt that the Rabbis of the Talmud rejected Greco Roman hedonism and ascetism and celibacy and viewed the union of man and woman in the family setting as the means of transmitting Jewish values and bringing holiness into this world.
The examples you provide are not relevant to the situation. Example 1 relates to sexual assault, which is never mentioned in this story. Example 2 relates to bodily exposure, which also didn't happen here.
Furthermore, you state you don't know Jewish law and its categorization. Three points, first, he would be categorized as male for ritual purposes such as group prayer. There is a measure of debate in this point. Second, the alternative institution, Seminary (for girls) would not accept him based on his outer appearence including beard. Third, the head of the institution was aware of the situation and gave the go ahead.
Your examples are not relevant to the situation. Your criteria for categorization ignore Jewish law, institutions and customs, to the point they don't apply to the situation.
You should remove the whole of your comment as both your categorization as well as the examples are not relevant to the situation.
sending warmth to Kolenski ❤️❤️ I hope he finds the right yeshiva and community that will cherish and support him as he deserves!
If Rabbi Breitowitz let him in knowing his history, it seems very unkind to kick him out after initially allowing him in.
I'm disgusted by the way some in our community have gone out of their way to make our institutions as unwelcoming as possible this Elul.
Charedi yeshivos and seminaries, even and especially on the beginners levels, are clearly separated by gender and subject matter. Entering a yeshiva when one is disguised as a man may be an act of false pretenses , as opposed to the subject matter of a Broadway musical. There is no doubt that the Torah and Talmud rejected Greco Roman hedonsim of all sorts as well as ascetism and celibacy and emphasized that the union of man and woman in a marriage was the means of transmitting and instilling holiness in this world
Yitzchak Breitowitz, Rosh Yeshiva, was informed in advance of the situation and allowed the student to go ahead. There was no disguise or false pretense. Only when it became contrary to the opinion of others, Breitowitz reversed course. It is unclear at the moment if the grant money the Yeshiva received for accepting the student has been returned.
Clearly R Breitowitz changed his mind when he realized his was a distinctly minority opinion
Ohr Somayach has Rabbi Breitowitz's lectures on YouTube. I can't find the one where he addressed it, maybe it's been removed. A video addressing gender identity is over a year old & has well over 20k views (significantly more than most videos). Presumably, they had no problem, (possibly) monetizing his views and at least publishing his views on their own YouTube page to bring notice.
Transexuals can raise their children according to Torah values and teach them to strive for the ideal even if they fall short, as we all do in one way or another. LGBT people can raise their kids teaching that a relationship between one man & one woman is the societal & religious ideal, even if they don't meet that ideal themselves. The point is to get as close as we can, however we can. Driving Jews away after clearing them, is a problem.
Rabbi Breitowitz's video/s on transexuals, which I can no longer find, stated the proper way to handle someone who is transexual, is to not condone the body modification, since its against Torah values/halachah. He stated that transexuals suffer tremendously & we should work with them, like any other Jew, to get closer to G-d by helping them complete more mitzvot. Given this previous very public, & apparently organizationally promoted stance, I have no problem understanding why the student reached out to this Rabbi specifically.
YU is facing a similar challenge and has stood firm and hopos to prevail in the Supreme Court. All Charedi yeshivos and seminaries are separated by gender and subject matter, with only men studying Gemara. If this student failed to tell the administration that he was trans, he may have entered there under false pretenses by pretending to be a male when in fact he is not .Like it or not, the Torah and the Talmud place a value on and celebrate the union of a man and woman who raise children in the values of the Torah. There is no doubt that the Rabbis of the Talmud rejected Greco Roman hedonism and ascetism and celibacy and viewed the union of man and woman in the family setting as the means of transmitting Jewish values and bringing holiness into this world.
YU is facing a similar challenge and has stood firm and hopos to prevail in the Supreme Court. All Charedi yeshivos and seminaries are separated by gender and subject matter, with only men studying Gemara. If this student failed to tell the administration that he was trans, he may have entered there under false pretenses by pretending to be a male when in fact he is not .Like it or not, the Torah and the Talmud place a value on and celebrate the union of a man and woman who raise children in the values of the Torah. There is no doubt that the Rabbis of the Talmud rejected Greco Roman hedonism and ascetism and celibacy and viewed the union of man and woman in the family setting as the means of transmitting Jewish values and bringing holiness into this world.
The examples you provide are not relevant to the situation. Example 1 relates to sexual assault, which is never mentioned in this story. Example 2 relates to bodily exposure, which also didn't happen here.
Furthermore, you state you don't know Jewish law and its categorization. Three points, first, he would be categorized as male for ritual purposes such as group prayer. There is a measure of debate in this point. Second, the alternative institution, Seminary (for girls) would not accept him based on his outer appearence including beard. Third, the head of the institution was aware of the situation and gave the go ahead.
Your examples are not relevant to the situation. Your criteria for categorization ignore Jewish law, institutions and customs, to the point they don't apply to the situation.
You should remove the whole of your comment as both your categorization as well as the examples are not relevant to the situation.