In a groundbreaking move to recognize the experiences of transgendered Jews, the Reform movement has published several prayers for sanctifying the sex-change process.
The Union for Reform Judaism this week released the second edition of Kulanu, the union’s 500-page resource manual for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender inclusion.
The issue of transgendered Jews was first addressed in 1978 when the Central Conference of American Rabbis deemed it permissible for one who had undergone a sex-change operation to be married according to Jewish tradition. In 1990, the CCAR allowed such individuals to be converted. And in 2003, the union retroactively applied its policy on gays and lesbians to the transgender and bisexual communities.
“It’s a logical next step in this process,” said one of the Kulanu editors.
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