The Orthodox Jew who became a gender-reassignment surgeon

pearwaldorf:

I’m still an Orthodox Jew. I have faith. I keep kosher, I wear a kippah to work, and I pray every morning. I put on phylacteries, because that’s what my father does and what my grandfather did when he was hiding out in an attic during the Holocaust. I’m at synagogue on Saturdays, but if my pager goes off, I drive in to the hospital, because saving a life supersedes the Sabbath. Many people I meet believe that my faith is at odds with my career. But my work allows me to practise the medicine that interests me while helping a marginalized community. I deal with patients who, by and large, have had negative experiences with hospitals and the health care system, and I give them the care they deserve. That is very much in line with my religious practice.

My parents are observant yet socially progressive, and religious practice for me has always been associated with social justice and activism. I love my Jewish traditions. I believe they’re important tools to help navigate the ethics of contemporary life. And the values we read about in the Bible—that we’re obligated to help the immigrant and the stranger and the convert—are fundamentally consistent with helping people with gender dysphoria.

The Orthodox Jew who became a gender-reassignment surgeon