Rabbah Rona Matlow (ze/hir) is an AMAB NB trans woman. Ze is a retired navy nuclear power officer, permanently disabled veteran and ordained rabbi. Ze is the author of the upcoming book “We are God’s Children Too”, part autobiography and part text which debunks the myths that conservative clergy have been teaching about trans and queer people for millennia. Ze is a communal activist, pastoral counselor and educator. Hir websites are http://www.RabbahRona.us and http://www.RonaMatlow.com.
History is repeating here in the United States as we are fighting to keep the Evangelicals from taking control of our government, along with their stooge Donald Trump and his chosen running mate, the atrocious J.D. Vance. If Trump and Vance win the White House trans lives will be in more danger than ever.
Rabbah Rona Matlow condemns the use of political violence and condemns in particular the attempt to assassinate presidential candidate Donald J. Trump at his rally in Butler, Pa. While some people experienced Schadenfreude -a wonderful German word defining the sense of jubilance we experience when we see the downfall of others – when they learned of the shooting, Rona takes a closer look at this incident and past assassinations.
Rabbah Rona Matlow writes about her relationship to Lynn Conway. How after being fired for transitioning at IBM she went on to be a force in computer science and an advocate and activist for transgender people. She never had her head in clouds but remained grounded and ready to answer Rona’s question.
Rabbah Dr. Rona Matlow urges you to remember the transgender soldiers, many who died while they were still in the closet, on Memorial Day.
As trans people, we face a similar Exodus when we transition. We are in bondage in our birth sex, facing myriad forms of oppression, internally and externally. If we are fortunate enough to transition, and have adequate support, we can cast off many of the chains of that bondage and move “across the sea” to a new life of freedom as our true selves.
March 31 was the Transgender Day of Visibility, and since it was also Easter Sunday there was a perfect opportunity for trans women to wear their Easter Bonnets and join in an Easter parade. But, as Rabbah Rona Matlow points out in this post, not every trans person can display themselves in public in all areas. If it’s to dangerous don’t risk it. Don’t feel guilty if you didn’t take part in an Easter parade.
This month Rabbah Rona Matlow is dealing with a couple of heavy issues and she is sure sure many trans readers will resonate with them. The first involves having PTSD and ASD. The second is planning for the inevitability of aging and the changes it brings.
Every February in the United States, we commemorate Black History Month. We remember the horrible oppression done to those of African descent in this country, and we note the continued oppression that Black people face. We study and hopefully work to remit the horrible generational trauma that Black people live with, along with the myriad […]
I’m writing this on the airplane on the way back from England. Over Christmas, I was at a major Jewish Studies conference in Birmingham UK. With around 2,000 people there, naturally there were quite a few trans people present. At mealtimes or other times when we were chatting, we would compare notes as we got […]
Well, it’s that time of year again. The winter holiday season. Hanukkah started on December 7 this year. The new moon is December 12, and of course the solstice is December 21. Christmas, for those who observe it is December 25 and Kwanza begins December 26. We won’t have a solar/lunar darkness as we did a couple years ago, but it is still a very dark time of year.
Rabbah Rona Matlow believes that religious orthodoxy, Jewish and Christian, has corrupted biblical and other religious texts to defend the oppression of trans people. According to the Hebrew Bible and the rabbinic commentaries that follow it, sex and gender have ALWAYS been non-binary. Politicians use the cherry picked or corrupted text to make trans and nonbinary people into “the other” so they can stay in power. The lesson of the election on November 7 shows the people don’t support the right wing oppression of transgender people.
Rabba Rona Matlow, like many people around the world, was shocked and appalled at the brutal attack on Israel on the last day of the Jewish Fall Holy Days. Rabba Matlow recognizes that the war is a complex situation and she prays for peace.
Every major religion has language of peace and love in its traditions. Sadly many so-called Christians have stopped reading the parts of their holy book that speaks of peace and love. Of treating your neighbor as you wish to be treated and helping those who are in need of help. Instead there are Christians who want God to smite those with whom they disagree. They pray for storms and floods to afflict those they see as enemies while ignoring our shared humanity.
Rabbah Rona Matlow, like many transgender folks in the USA is feeling stressed over the continuing attacks by right wing politicians on the LGBTQ+s community. If she thought there was any other place to migrate to she would seriously consider going there. But she knows the answer to the situation we’re in. Everyone needs to vote the haters out of the legislatures and replace them with legislators who will repeal the anti-trans laws.
The Christian community in the U.S. reads their bibles in English, and they don’t care about the inaccuracies (many of them deliberate) that exist in those translations. They fiercely believe those translations come from God, so they must be right – no matter that there are many translations, and they often contradict each other. The danger to trans people comes from this evangelical right that believes the inaccurate translations and forget to love their neighbor.
Rabbah Rona Matlow writes about the Black trans women who were there at the beginning of the gay rights movement.
If something has not been done about the debt ceiling that the GOP is holding hostage in just a few days the government will default on paying the debts that have already been authorized by Congress. What happens then to people, many of them members of the transgender community, who depend on government assistance to survive? Rabbah Rona has a preview.
The right wing is displaying downright paranoia over transgender people. We continue to see record numbers of attacks against trans people in the US. As a result of this, some trans activists urge trans people to arm themselves for self-defense. Why do conservatives engage in attacks, both legislative and physical? Rabbah Rona feels that much of it has to do with their interpretation of Christianity.
Friday March 31 was Transgender Day of Visibility. This is a day where we work to bring ourselves out and bring justice for those in our community who are being oppressed. Rabbah Rona writes that this year TDOV happened the weekend before Passover begins and there are connections between TDOV and Passover.
Haters gonna hate. Hate based on lies and misinformation. The LGBTQ+ community doesn’t have an “agenda” that menaces straight white people. The existence of transgender people doesn’t take away things or threaten white, straight men. But lies spread to get votes cause real suffering. Rabbah Rona writes about the situation and suggests a possible path to rebuke the lies.
For millennia humans have felt that the Moon affects behavior on Earth. Some said the full Moon makes people crazy, or just loony. Others believe the Moon controls fertility determining when a woman can become pregnant. Rabbi Rona Matlow has made some observations that seem to connect certain phases of the Moon with the perpetration of violence on our planet. Could she be right?
Rabbah Rona Matlow recently submitted a scholarly paper about generational trauma in the Book of Genesis, in the Hebrew Bible. She has found evidence that the trauma experienced by previous generations is passed down to children and grandchildren of those who experienced the original pain. Not only does she find it in the Book of Genesis but in members of the transgender community.
We again this year have the Winter Solstice occur with a new moon, making things extremely dark. This is why so many far northern cultures developed the Yule festivals in the first place. Of course practices from the Yule are what are seen now in the Christmas tree, the Hanukkah and Kwanzaa candles and many other winter holiday features. We work to bring light into a very dark time in our lives.
In keeping with Veteran’s Day Rabbah Rona Matlow reflects on her time in the service and how she had a revelation that changed her destination in life. She knew that she was meant to rabbi. She also looks at the way the U.S. uses its military might around the world.
Rabbah Rona Matlow writes about the Fall Festival of Sukkot. A celebration that requires Jews to make a temporary structure outside their homes. The structure is meant to remind the faithful of the image of God spreading a Sukkah or covering of Peace over them as they lay down to sleep.
Right wing evangelicals have an agenda. Rabbah Rona Matlow feels that their agenda is very much anchored in white supremacy. Somehow the “Christian” evangelicals always fail to follow the teachings of Christ. Rabbah Rona can quote from the Bible on how Christians are supposed to relate to other people and to God. Read on to find out who the real sinners are.
