We, as Jewish rabbis and teachers, write to reaffirm Judaism’s clear and unambiguous stance on human genders. The Torah states that “male and female He Created them” (Bereishis 1:27), declaring a separation into two biological genders. Jewish law and ritual prescribe unique Jewish practices for men and women that address the inherent differences between them, reflecting the Divine Wisdom of the Torah.
We are deeply concerned by recent communications from “Jewish” progressive organizations and groups, stating that “Jewish values” compel recognition of a person’s declared “gender identity,” and even professing that our holy texts note “at least six different genders.” These are obvious distortions that bear no relationship to normative Judaism and three millennia of Jewish law.
The foregoing claims misrepresent Talmudic passages that, in reality, merely address how those affected by birth defects and other physical aberrations should observe Jewish laws that differ for men and women. In no way do these passages inflate the number of normative genders, nor is there credence given to the notion that an individual’s subjective self-perception is relevant to his or her biological gender.
The ideology behind such statements is clearly progressivism over Judaism, and even over reality: at least one such letter insisted that there is “no evidence” that males have an innate advantage if allowed into competitions previously reserved for women.
We should note that in addition to the unfairness and even risks of injury that accompany forcing women to compete against men, such practices also deny opportunities to young men and women who observe Jewish law and custom regarding social contact. For these reasons, we support measures that separate men and women by biological gender in sports, especially contact sports.
Rabbi Avrohom Gordimeris the Chairman of the Rabbinic Circle at the Coalition for Jewish Values.
Note: To see the long list of rabbis who signed this letter, an initiative of the Coalition for Jewish Values, click here. Although the letter was written in February 2025, it is relevant to the 2024 Paris Olympic travesty (note J.K. Rowling's response in the article linked here) and to the medical testing results that brought the issue to the fore again this week, as does the pride parade set to take place in iJerusalem on June 5th.