Peysakh VII / פּסח ז
This is a weekly series of parsha dvarim written by a frum, atheist, transsexual anarchist. It's crucial in these times that we resist the narrative that Zionism owns Judaism. Our texts are rich—sometimes opaque, but absolutely teeming with wisdom and fierce debate. It's the work of each generation to extricate meaning from our cultural and religious inheritance. I aim to offer comment which is true to the source material (i.e. doesn't invert or invent meaning to make us more comfortable) and uses Torah like a light to reflect on our modern times. The full dvar is paywalled for four weeks to help me sustain my work as a writer; if you can't afford to subscribe, email me and I'll send you the link for free.
An appeal: My friend Madleen needs help to support her children in Gaza. This fundraiser is run by a friend of a comrade, and I talk to Madleen regularly. Any amount helps, no matter how small.
Content note: Transphobia, fascism, recent UK court ruling on biological sex
Time isn't linear.
This week, we go back and re-read most of parsha Beshalakh for Peysakh:
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה נְטֵ֥ה אֶת־יָדְךָ֖ עַל־הַיָּ֑ם וְיָשֻׁ֤בוּ הַמַּ֙יִם֙ עַל־מִצְרַ֔יִם עַל־רִכְבּ֖וֹ וְעַל־פָּרָשָֽׁיו׃
וַיֵּט֩ מֹשֶׁ֨ה אֶת־יָד֜וֹ עַל־הַיָּ֗ם וַיָּ֨שׇׁב הַיָּ֜ם לִפְנ֥וֹת בֹּ֙קֶר֙ לְאֵ֣יתָנ֔וֹ וּמִצְרַ֖יִם נָסִ֣ים לִקְרָאת֑וֹ וַיְנַעֵ֧ר יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶת־מִצְרַ֖יִם בְּת֥וֹךְ הַיָּֽם׃
Then 'ה said to Moishe, “Hold out your arm over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Mitsrayim and upon their chariots and upon their riders.”
Moishe held out his arm over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state, and the Mitsrayim fled at its approach. But 'ה hurled the Mitsrayim into the sea.
Shemoys 14:25–27
Hashem hardens Paroy's heart so that he refuses to let the Israelites go, prolonging their oppression and justifying the 10 horrible plagues. Then Hashem hardens the hearts of the people of Mitsrayim so the army will pursue the Israelites through the desert and into the parted sea. Then, Hashem prevents the army from fleeing, and instead kills them when they try. It's a lot of interference from Hashem for the sake of further violence. The Israelites sing a song of praise to Hashem after they cross and see the dead Mitsrayim on the shores.
Why is Hashem interfering with our hearts? For a tradition that places great emphasis on co-creation and free will, this has never sat right with me.
The simple explanation is fate: it was always going to go this way, and there is no other way in which the Israelites can leave Mitsrayim behind. We can't understand the ways of Hashem but we know that Hashem is good—it was good that Paroy oppressed us, and maybe the oppression we're currently facing is good too.
I feel this rationale lacks imagination and justifies cruelty. Is this supposed to give us comfort, or just make us complacent? I am not interested in (or even able to briefly entertain the idea of) "it will be what it will be". Rather, it will be what we will make it.
"The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms 'woman' and 'sex'… refer to a biological woman and biological sex," Judge Patrick Hodge told the court Wednesday, summarizing the ruling.
The sea on my mind isn't the Sea of Reeds but the seas and oceans surrounding Great Britain. During moed, the UK Supreme Court ruled that "sex" is an immutable, binary state determined at birth. This overturned a previous ruling by Scottish courts that trans women were protected from discrimination under the 2010 Equality Act under the category of "sex" (i.e. gender) as well as "gender reassignment" (i.e. trans status). Now, trans women are not protected as women (nor trans men as men) which means they no longer have access to single-sex spaces like healthcare settings, sports, shelters, prisons, or bathrooms.
