Re: Healing

[Seth Austen <klezmusic...>]

on 2/21/01 1:26 AM, shirona at shirona (at) bellatlantic(dot)net wrote:

Shirona,

> Can we all agree that
> we need  healing?

Absolutely yes. And this healing, tikkun olam, can happen as we open our
hearts to this dialogue and welcome the shekhina back into our lives.

> There are only TWO sexes in this world,  to the best of my knowledge.

There have been numerous scientific studies in recent years as to how many
biological sexes there are. There have been different conclusions, five is
one number I remember hearing but I can't find which book this paper is in.
I also heard later that the author had expanded this to more than five in a
revision. Suffice it to say that there are more than two. The Olympics has
no longer found it reliable to use chromosonal testing to determine gender,
as there are too many variations.

Beyond the biological, there are numerous expressions of gender outside the
either/or dychotomy of our society. I for one, am quite interested as to how
and where these persons fit into our current vision of Judaism, their/our
history having been largely excised in the same manner that womens' history
has been ignored in the patriarchal accounts of history.

> Is it 
> OK that one sex has the power to make all the rules that bind both sexes, and
> that the other sex has no say in that process.  For me it is that simple, and
> the answer is either yes or no. If this is not the core issue - then what is?

Regardless with how many genders there are/might be, I wholeheartedly agree
with you that it is not OK that one sex has the power to make all the rules,
just as it is not OK that one race make all the rules.

In solidarity,

Seth

-------
Seth Austen
http://www.sethausten.com
email; seth (at) sethausten(dot)com
klezmusic (at) earthlink(dot)net
 
"First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then
you win." Gandhi




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