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Author Archive: rabbahrona
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.
Rabba Rona Matlow feels that many of those who consider themselves to be Christians are not following the words of Jesus. They rely on religious texts that vary in meaning from the original texts which were written in ancient languages. The poorly translated texts that make up the evangelical Bible are what those on the right use to justify their attacks on LGBTQ+ people. Rona has studied the original scrolls that indicate God is not interested in what body houses the soul.
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Rabbah Rona Matlow feels it is holy work to oppose those who are working to destroy transgender rights. The only way to put a stop to the erosion of our rights is to vote progressive and liberal candidates into office to actually represent the people. Vote, help others to vote. That’s the holy work Rabbah Rona promotes.
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Rabbah Rona Matlow connects Pride with Juneteenth and demonstrates how God created us in God’s image and we were created with infinite possibility of sex and gender. And an infinite possibility of sexuality. Therefore, gay, straight, bi, pan, poly – it’s all kosher.
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Transgender people have become disabled veterans in a percentage much higher than the general population. As we enter the Memorial Day weekend, we hold all these national heroes in our hearts, and uplift their spirits to wherever they have gone. There are currently 134,000 trans veterans and 15,000 trans Active-Duty service members. While we sacrifice for our country some people refuse to give us respect.
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Raba Rona Matlow feels that If more people could learn meaning of Isaiah chapter 11, perhaps we would have fewer trans murders, and less anti-trans legislation. Perhaps we could just live as PEOPLE, have jobs, housing, healthcare, etc. Read on for hir thoughts on what that might be like.
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Rabbah Rona wonders why people who profess to abide by the rules of their religion often seem to only follow some of the rules while ignoring the instructions to love thy neighbor, lift up the least of us, and don’t oppress strangers.
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Rabbah Rona Matlow shares their feelings about the war being waged against Ukraine by Russia. Hir thoughts range from the motivation to engage in this war to the effect it will have on trans people in Ukraine. They will face all the problems the cisgender citizens face and more. Even leaving the country may not be possible for them if the “wrong” gender is on their ID and passports.
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Rabbah Rona Matlow takes a look at the the section of the Torah that bans crossdressing in order to prevent “sexual licentiousness.” But crossdressing is often a part of the celebration of Purim. So which is it? No crossdressing or it’s okay for Purim? Rabbah Rona comments.
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Recent triumphs for trans people gain praise for their achievements. While Rabbah Rona Matlow acknowledges their triumphs they take a look at it from a different angle. Rabbah Rona wonders why are there are not more people from minority communities being successful in areas that require higher education?
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The end of year holidays are meant to bring joy and happiness but for many people, particularly members of the LGBTQ community, the holidays can be the opposite of happy. Holiday cheer can turn to depression as loneliness, unemployment, and other issues make problems seem insurmountable. Rabbah Rona Matlow reminds us that there is help and you are not alone.
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Without memory it is hard to live. But remembering too many things that are painful is not good either. Rabbah Rona Matlow examines some of her memories in today’s post. She hopes that soon good memories will blot out the memory of bad things.
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Rabbah Rona Matlow has some thoughts on the recent National Coming Out Day. While organizations promote the idea that all LGBTQ people should emerge from hiding and proudly let everyone know who they are, it’s not that simple.
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Rabbah Rona Matlow reminds us that “haters are gonna hate” and the only way to undermine their hate is with education. People who assault and murder trans people are sinning in the eyes of all religions. No matter that they often use their interpretation of their religion to justify ridding the world of “sinners”.
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Rabbah Rona Matlow has served in the military and now counsels vets who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the U.S. works to get all American citizens, coalition partner’s citizens, and Afghans who worked with the U.S. out of the country Rabbah Rona has some thoughts about not just the end of this conflict but of all wars.
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Rabbah Rona Matlow points out that many people who consider themselves to be Christians fail to follow the words of Jesus. He said to love God first and after that love your neighbor as you love yourself. So many find justification in the Bible to allow them to hate, senselessly. Listen to what the Rabbah advises.
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Rabbah Rona Matlow says we must do better. Better at educating people about the contributions to society from marginalized communities. She makes the point, just after Juneteenth is made a federal holiday, that many of the contributions of Black people are either accepted without acknowledging the race of the person who contributed or who they were is not mentioned at all.
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Two years ago Rabbah Rona Matlow published a paper with evidence showing that interfering with gender transition is prohibited by Jewish Law. Ze provided evidence such as the National Trans Discrimination Survey, other sociological research, and then went to texts in the Torah, Talmud and Shulhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law) which show that “saving a life overrides all biblical laws!”
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Rabbah Rona Matlow writes about the continuing killings of Black and brown people by law enforcement and finds a link to the radical views of some Christian sects. What faith do those who do these shootings follow? The Christian Bible has clear statements that say killing people is a sin. Are some Christians misinterpreting the Bible or maybe they’re not getting the whole story?
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Rabbah Rona Matlow uses the just passed Transgender Day of Visibility as a starting point for today’s post. The need for such a day shows that being visible can be dangerous. And, while all major religions preach love there are too many that promote orthodox doctrines which makes “othering” people easy.
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Rabah Rona Matlow takes a look at how the words of ancient religious texts are too often cherry picked for justification of modern prejudices. A deeper study of the texts would reveal the true meaning but too many people cling to the superficial understanding as it agrees with what they believe.
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Today Rabbah Rona looks at holy texts and concludes that being nonbinary, transgender, intersexed or asexual is far from being the abomination that many who profess to adhere to Christianity believe. God created the world (and the whole universe) with many different options. Being LGBTQ+ is just as natural as anything in that universe.
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With Martin Luther King day coming soon Rabbah Rona Matlow finds a connection between the struggles of the Black community fighting for quality and freedom, and the suffering of the Israelites under the foot of an insecure pharaoh in ancient Egypt.
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Rabbah Rona goes into the reasons that many of the world’s holidays happen in the darkest times of winter. Ze points to ancient pre-biblical texts that instruct people to light up these dark times. But ze points out, not everyone, like trans people who are alone on the holidays, can push back the darkness.
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Joe Biden won the Presidential election and Kamala Harris is the Vice President – Elect. People are celebrating, because Biden mentioned trans people in one of his speeches. This means we can all breathe a sigh of relief and assume the war is over, right? Not so fast! In Pirke Avot – The Teachings of […]
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Rabbah Rona feels that the current president does not have the best interests of the transgender community at heart. She feels, as do many others, that he has at best, paid lip service to the important issues affecting the whole LGBTQ+ community. She not only looks at this president from a practical viewpoint but in a spiritual manner as well.
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During the High Holy Days Jewish people recite a classic prayer that lays out the different ways people will die in the coming year. Today Rabbah Rona writes about the prayer, Unetane Tokef, and while it is a remnant from the early days she finds that it does offer a way to reduce the number of deaths through righteous deeds and repentance.
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