Life of Spud

One of the steps in the process of understanding the concept of “transgender” is to recognize that society assigns one of two gender roles to people, based on their sex at birth. When someone is born with a penis, society labels them as male and projects certain expectations onto that person (i.e., blue clothing, sports-lover, stoic, etc.); when someone is born with a vagina, society labels them as female and projects other expectations onto that person (i.e., pink clothing, princess-aspiring, emotional, etc.).  Transgender people do not fit the typical binary expectations of society, with some even identifying as non-binary and/or gender fluid. This week’s Torah portion - Parshat Toldot - begins with the story of the birth of Yakov (Jacob) and Eisav (Esau). Almost immediately, each of the children were assigned specific identities, which the Torah presents as binary (and which, perhaps, can be mapped onto gender roles): Eisav emerged first from his mother’s womb, covered in hair f...

  A quick Dvar Torah regarding men's health... After eating from the Eitz HaDaat (Tree of Knowledge) AdAm/Man becomes aware of his nakedness and goes into hiding when God seeks him. He is ashamed of his nakedness - his "manhood" - and does not want to be seen in public with it uncovered. A little while later, Noah, too, has his nakedness uncovered. After exiting the Ark, he plants a vineyard and - yada, yada, yada - he gets drunk on the wine that he produces from it. While in a drunken stupor, his youngest son sees him unclothed. When he sobers up, Noah is so ashamed that his "manhood" has been seen by his child that he curses his grandson. Abraham, on the other hand, transformed his "manhood". Instead of being ashamed of it, he used it to conclude a covenant with God through circumcision. He performed this act on his whole household, ensuring that his descendants would receive the blessings that he received from God. And when it was time to find a ...

In the Genesis story  there are two moments that recall the creation of human beings. Many Biblical commentators and scholars analyze and compare the two stories. And although I don’t even “reach to their ankles”, I’d like to offer a reading that I heard.  At the end of the first chapter, on the 6th day of a 6-Day Creation Story, Human is created. The Torah reads: "וַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם." (בראשית א: כז) “And GD(s) created the AdAm in his/its image; in the image of GD(s) he/it created him/it; Male and Female created them.” (Genesis 1:27) Here the terms “Male” and “Female” are introduced in the context of B’Tselem Elohim - in the image of GD - which means that GD is both male and female in nature. That is, GD possesses both characteristics/traits that are generally classified as masculine or feminine. And since Human is created in GD’s image, all humans can possess both characterist...

Mining the weekly Torah portion for insight into educational leadership. A few months back I embarked on a search for my next leadership opportunity in Jewish education - and soon afterwards I found myself at Mens' Wearhouse in search of some new suits.  You see, for the last five years I have lived in Israel and South Florida, environments and cultures that tend to punish/shun suit-wearers. And in that time my suits had become obsolete (and outgrown), so I bought some new ones for my inevitable interviews elsewhere in the United States. Now I've been told by many people that I "clean up well" and I even had it as my personal tagline in my email signature ("Avi Spodek - He cleans up well"). But it was only after I sat through Skype interviews in a suit (at least the top half) that I became mindful of the impact that my appearance had on me and cognizant of its influence on those who saw me. Not ten minutes earlier I was walking around the house in shor...

  Educational Vision The Hebrew word for vision is chazon , which is the same word that is often used in TaNaKh to denote a prophecy. According to some, a prophecy draws a picture of the future with the aim of affecting immediate change and informing subsequent decisions. The same is true regarding an educational vision. An educational institution cannot exist without knowing its purpose and where it is going. Much like the prophet, the role of the educational leader is to provide the vision – an ideal of the future – to which the institution then strives. My personal educational vision is a community of learners for whom Jewishness is an essential, positive, and deeply personal piece of their human identity. They are knowledgeable in areas of Jewish content and practice, confident in their individuality and empowered to participate as part of a continuum of Jewish community.  My vision is deeply impacted by the values of Achdut/Community, Chinuch/Education, Hishtadlut/Engage...

I recently completed my program at Pardes and delivered the following address to my teachers, cohort and friends.

The incidents at the Kotel these past few months have dominated the atmosphere where I study. There is an overwhelming sense of support for the Women of the Wall and their efforts to be recognized as legitimate players in the Jewish-religious narrative. Many of my friends have donned their Talitot and Tefilin (some for the first time) and made headlines in the process. I can personally attest to the character and passion of these people and I believe their intentions are sincere. And yet I struggle. I struggle because I believe that Jewish history provides us with important lessons for the present. And when I view what is going on at the Kotel plaza it is as if I have been transported to Jerusalem just prior to the destruction of Second Beit HaMikdash (Temple). Both Josephus and the Talmud record a time of great division amongst the Jewish people and both ascribe the ultimate loss of the war with Rome and the destruction of Beit HaMikdash (Temple) to this infighting (Tradi...