Trans Talmud: Androgynes and eunuchs in rabbin. lit.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Trans Talmud places eunuchs and androgynes at the center of rabbinic literature and asks what we can learn from them about Judaism and the project of transgender history. Rather than treating these figures as anomalies to be justified or explained away, Max K. Strassfeld argues that they profoundly shaped ideas about law, as the rabbis constructed intricate taxonomies of gender across dozens of texts to understand an array of cultural tensions. Showing how rabbis employed eunuchs and androgynes to define proper forms of masculinity, Strassfeld emphasizes the unique potential of these figures to not only establish the boundary of law but exceed and transform it. Trans Talmud challenges how we understand gender in Judaism and demonstrates that acknowledging nonbinary gender prompts a reassessment of Jewish literature and law.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationTrans Talmud
Subtitle of host publicationAndrogynes and Eunuchs in Rabbinic Literature
PublisherUniversity of California Press
Pages1-262
Number of pages262
ISBN (Electronic)9780520382060
ISBN (Print)9780520382053
StatePublished - Apr 26 2022

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Arts and Humanities

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