530:
also called ELoHiYM. That name ends with…masculine plural… If human beings are created in God’s image, and the single most important thing we know about God is that He is One – why did God create two kinds of people, male and female, after His likeness? …God chose to create two different kinds of people on this earth, not in spite of the fact that He is One, but precisely because God in the deepest sense of the word is really two. Of course we do not suggest any kind of dualism implying separate identities. Rather, as the very names of God imply, there are two distinct aspects to the Deity. God is both masculine and feminine. This gender difference is not one of physical attributes but one of emotion and typology. Benjamin Blech,
252:"...by whose intervention they might obtain a reconciliation with the Father. First of all, the merciful, and gentle, and compassionate nature of him who is invoked, who would always rather have mercy than punishment. In the second place, the holiness of all the founders of the nation, because they, with souls emancipated from the body, exhibiting a genuine and sincere obedience to the Ruler of all things, are not accustomed to offer up ineffectual prayers on behalf of their sons and daughters, since the Father has given to them, as a reward, that they shall be heard in their prayers." Philo – On Rewards And Punishments (166)
334:
describes the
Goddess as both a person and in an impersonal form of nature. While she privileges the imagelessness that allows for a God beyond gender, she honors all framings and diverse experiences and visualizations of the Goddess. Julia Watts-Belser also discusses God/dess’ gender. Like Hammer, Watts-Belser celebrates diversity of experiences and conceptions of God, stating that “
339:
the female divinity it was denied rather than replace God with
Goddess. In order to do so, she wants to utilize the Shekhinah, God’s feminine side. She concludes that God is ultimately beyond gender since gender is a social construction and therefore insignificant. However, because gender does matter so much in our society, God’s gender does and should matter to us.
333:
Some Jewish thinkers address issues of gendered language and imagery directly. Rabbi Jill Hammer challenges the features of traditional Jewish conceptions of God by creating a relatable deity, a
Goddess, for those who cannot relate to “God.” The Goddess is nondual, panentheist, and earthbound. Hammer
274:
Spinoza states, "Some imagine God in the likeness of man, consisting of mind and body, and subject to passions. But it is clear from what has already been proved how far they stray from the true knowledge of God. These I dismiss, for all who have given any consideration to the divine nature deny that
529:
Yet … Judaism long ago acknowledged the validity of feminine dimenstion of the Deity. The two names of God differ grammatically with regard to sexual connotation… The
Tetragrammaton (YHVH)…is…feminine; it refers to God as if “He” were in fact “She.” Yet, as we have frequently noted, the Lord is
338:
was none of that and all of it,” demonstrating also panentheist notions. Watts-Belser visualizes a “trans God/dess…characterized by fluidity, a shifting nature that refuses to resolve itself into a single manifestation or gender expression.” This God/dess would allow the Jewish tradition to reclaim
260:
Many Jewish thinkers have rejected the notion that God can be anthropomorphized. Under this assumption, one cannot qualify God in terms of gender. Although egalitarian practices didn't emerge until much later, genderless concepts of God began to develop as early on as the mid-17th century. In his
265:
was a highly controversial figure in the Jewish community of
Amsterdam due to the perception of his views as heretical. Instead of the classic literal vision of God as depicted by Jewish Religious text, Spinoza envisioned God as a presence that encompassed the entire universe and beyond, a view
148:
To God, according to
Judaism, is attributed the fatherly role of protector. He is called the Father of the poor, of the orphan and the widow, their guarantor of justice. He is also called the Father of the king, as the teacher and helper over the judge of Israel.
164:
creation myths show a matriarchal substratum that has been overlaid by a patriarchal approach. "In the Bible, the earth is the feminine complement of God: the two combined to form man, who articulates their relationship, for example, in sacrifice."
464:
ch.2 God as Father in the Old
Testament and Second Temple Judaism p35 2000 "Christian theologians have often accentuated the distinctiveness of the portrait of God as Father in the New Testament on the basis of an alleged
325:
Feminist views in
Judaism often retain the traditional view that God does not have any sex but does have a gender which is male, but experiment with the use of feminine language and symbolism for God.
184:
puts it, "very name and every description that we may give to God can only apply to His relationship to His creation" Although God is not generally regarded as gendered in
Judaism,
275:
God is
Corporeal". Spinoza's seemingly heretical views for his time period opened the door for differing thoughts about the nature of God in relation to gender, even though
544:
581:
249:"...discovering the nature of the one God, who is alone everlasting, and the father of everything else..." Philo – A Treatise Concerning the World (1)
367:"The fact that we always refer to God as 'He' is also not meant to imply that the concept of sex or gender applies to God." Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan,
410:
24:
with masculine imagery and grammatical forms, traditional Jewish philosophy does not attribute the concept of sex to God. At times, Jewish
501:
128:"For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy
380:
238:(rabbinic commentators) hold that these descriptions, like all physical descriptions of God, are metaphorical or symbolic.
801:
548:
117:
89:26 God is referred to as Father. "He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation."
585:
806:
305:
811:
152:
Some literary approaches to the Tanakh have argued that parallels between Biblical stories and earlier
729:
Jill Hammer, “To Her We Shall Return: Jews Turning to the Goddess, the Goddess Turning to Jews,” in
206:
712:
665:
704:
657:
509:
406:
153:
393:
Coogan, Michael (October 2010). "6. Fire in Divine Loins: God's Wives in Myth and Metaphor".
696:
649:
29:
637:
402:
320:
298:
157:
276:
262:
197:) is a grammatically feminine word, and is often employed as a feminine aspect of God.
185:
108:
89:
795:
716:
669:
286:
292:
181:
144:"Thou, O Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name." (ASV)
395:
267:
210:(idolatry). Secondary male sexual characteristics are attributed to God in some
700:
348:
201:
708:
661:
653:
684:
234:
193:
608:
The Ethics; Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect; Selected Letters
177:
173:
781:
Julia Watts-Belser, “Transing God/dess: Notes from the Borderlands,” in
768:
Julia Watts-Belser, “Transing God/dess: Notes from the Borderlands,” in
755:
Julia Watts-Belser, “Transing God/dess: Notes from the Borderlands,” in
742:
Julia Watts-Belser, “Transing God/dess: Notes from the Borderlands,” in
282:
Other thinkers who also thought of God as transcending gender include:
401:(1st ed.). New York, Boston: Twelve. Hachette Book Group. p.
223:
25:
214:(religious poems). These include a description of the beard of God in
124:
62:5, God is compared to the bridegroom, and his people to the bride.
623:
Reason and Hope: Selections from the Jewish Writings of Hermann Cohen
277:
Spinoza was excommunicated from his community for these views in 1656
161:
137:
121:
114:
69:
56:
is also masculine in form. The most common phrases in the Tanakh are
41:
21:
785:, ed. Noach Dzmura (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2010), 239.
772:, ed. Noach Dzmura (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2010), 238.
759:, ed. Noach Dzmura (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2010), 239.
746:, ed. Noach Dzmura (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2010), 235.
733:, ed. Elyse Goldstein (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights, 2009), 25, 26.
308:
viewed God in this same way, yet also viewed God as an experience.
84:, the feminine of the same verb form. The personal name of God,
295:, who viewed God in an "I:Thou" relationship with human beings.
129:
462:
The promise of the Father: Jesus and God in the New Testament
73:
were male and female, and humans were made in their image.
783:
Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in Jewish Community
770:
Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in Jewish Community
757:
Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in Jewish Community
744:
Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in Jewish Community
140:
63:16, God is directly addressed and called "our Father".
731:
New Jewish Feminism: Probing the Past, Forging the Future
289:, who viewed God as the "ultimate archetype of morality."
200:
Many traditional rabbinic commentators, however, such as
188:
writes that God has both masculine and feminine aspects.
638:"How Shekhinah Became the God(dess) of Jewish Feminism"
567:
565:
176:
Judaism often relates to various "aspects" of God (cf.
383:, (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1990), p. 1.
246:Philo refers to God as Father in several passages:
394:
100:) is the masculine subjective prefix to the verb
301:, who viewed God as part of a natural process.
8:
487:Francis Landy, The Song of Songs chapter of
64:— "and God said" (hundreds of occurrences).
428:, specifically in their sexual differences.
52:(he created) suggests a masculine subject.
48:— "In the beginning God created." The verb
476:The Origins and History of Consciousness
397:God and Sex. What the Bible Really Says
360:
439:
204:, view any such beliefs as verging on
371:, Mesorah Publications (1983), p. 144
222:), and similar poetic imagery in the
7:
610:. Indianapolis: Hackett. p. 40.
80:(he said) is masculine; it is never
14:
32:do treat God as having a gender.
636:Devine, Luke (September 2014).
625:. New York: Norton. p. 58.
489:The Literary Guide to the Bible
191:In addition, God's "presence" (
381:Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia
272:Theological-Political Treatise
67:Genesis 1:26–27 says that the
1:
606:Spinoza, Benedictus (1992).
828:
701:10.1215/08879982-2010-2024
318:
256:God as transcending gender
106:
683:Plaskow, Judith (2010).
654:10.1177/0966735014542380
306:Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
18:gender of God in Judaism
621:Cohen, Hermann (1971).
460:Marianne Meye Thompson
451:ASV 1901, Public Domain
369:The Aryeh Kaplan Reader
227:Song of the Seas Rabbah
40:The first words of the
424:humans are modeled on
20:is referred to in the
532:Understanding Judaism
502:"Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan,
36:Biblical perspectives
571:Yonge, Public Domain
46:B'reshit bara Elohim
329:God/dess in Judaism
132:rejoice over thee."
802:Gender and Judaism
266:commonly known as
88:, is presented in
26:aggadic literature
685:"Sacred Pronouns"
642:Feminist Theology
504:Understanding God
412:978-0-446-54525-9
220:The Hymn of Glory
819:
786:
779:
773:
766:
760:
753:
747:
740:
734:
727:
721:
720:
680:
674:
673:
633:
627:
626:
618:
612:
611:
603:
597:
596:
594:
593:
584:. Archived from
578:
572:
569:
560:
559:
557:
556:
547:. Archived from
541:
535:
527:
521:
520:
518:
517:
508:. Archived from
498:
492:
485:
479:
472:
466:
458:
452:
449:
443:
437:
431:
430:
421:
419:
400:
390:
384:
378:
372:
365:
169:Rabbinical views
76:Again, the verb
30:Jewish mysticism
827:
826:
822:
821:
820:
818:
817:
816:
807:Jewish theology
792:
791:
790:
789:
780:
776:
767:
763:
754:
750:
741:
737:
728:
724:
682:
681:
677:
635:
634:
630:
620:
619:
615:
605:
604:
600:
591:
589:
580:
579:
575:
570:
563:
554:
552:
543:
542:
538:
528:
524:
515:
513:
500:
499:
495:
486:
482:
473:
469:
459:
455:
450:
446:
438:
434:
417:
415:
413:
392:
391:
387:
379:
375:
366:
362:
357:
345:
331:
323:
321:Jewish feminism
317:
315:Jewish feminism
299:Mordecai Kaplan
258:
244:
171:
111:
38:
12:
11:
5:
825:
823:
815:
814:
812:God in Judaism
809:
804:
794:
793:
788:
787:
774:
761:
748:
735:
722:
675:
628:
613:
598:
573:
561:
536:
522:
493:
480:
467:
465:discontinuity"
453:
444:
442:, p. 176.
432:
411:
385:
373:
359:
358:
356:
353:
352:
351:
344:
341:
330:
327:
319:Main article:
316:
313:
312:
311:
310:
309:
296:
290:
263:Baruch Spinoza
257:
254:
243:
240:
186:Benjamin Blech
170:
167:
146:
145:
134:
133:
109:I am that I am
107:Main article:
58:vayomer Elohim
37:
34:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
824:
813:
810:
808:
805:
803:
800:
799:
797:
784:
778:
775:
771:
765:
762:
758:
752:
749:
745:
739:
736:
732:
726:
723:
718:
714:
710:
706:
702:
698:
694:
690:
686:
679:
676:
671:
667:
663:
659:
655:
651:
647:
643:
639:
632:
629:
624:
617:
614:
609:
602:
599:
588:on 2009-02-20
587:
583:
577:
574:
568:
566:
562:
551:on 2009-02-23
550:
546:
540:
537:
533:
526:
523:
512:on 2010-12-19
511:
507:
505:
497:
494:
490:
484:
481:
478:pages 177–178
477:
471:
468:
463:
457:
454:
448:
445:
441:
436:
433:
429:
427:
414:
408:
404:
399:
398:
389:
386:
382:
377:
374:
370:
364:
361:
354:
350:
347:
346:
342:
340:
337:
328:
326:
322:
314:
307:
303:
302:
300:
297:
294:
291:
288:
287:Hermann Cohen
285:
284:
283:
280:
278:
273:
269:
264:
255:
253:
250:
247:
241:
239:
237:
236:
230:
228:
225:
221:
217:
213:
209:
208:
203:
198:
196:
195:
189:
187:
183:
179:
175:
168:
166:
163:
159:
155:
150:
143:
142:
141:
139:
131:
127:
126:
125:
123:
118:
116:
110:
105:
103:
99:
95:
91:
87:
83:
79:
74:
72:
71:
65:
63:
59:
55:
51:
47:
43:
35:
33:
31:
27:
23:
19:
16:Although the
782:
777:
769:
764:
756:
751:
743:
738:
730:
725:
692:
688:
678:
648:(1): 71–91.
645:
641:
631:
622:
616:
607:
601:
590:. Retrieved
586:the original
576:
553:. Retrieved
549:the original
539:
531:
525:
514:. Retrieved
510:the original
503:
496:
488:
483:
475:
470:
461:
456:
447:
435:
425:
423:
416:. Retrieved
396:
388:
376:
368:
363:
335:
332:
324:
293:Martin Buber
281:
271:
259:
251:
248:
245:
233:
232:Traditional
231:
226:
219:
216:Shir Hakavod
215:
211:
207:avodah zarah
205:
199:
192:
190:
182:Aryeh Kaplan
180:). As Rabbi
172:
151:
147:
135:
119:
112:
101:
97:
93:
85:
81:
77:
75:
68:
66:
62:vayomer YHWH
61:
57:
53:
49:
45:
39:
17:
15:
491:, page 314.
440:Coogan 2010
304:Similarly,
268:panentheism
174:Kabbalistic
796:Categories
592:2009-06-04
555:2009-06-04
534:, page 273
516:2009-06-04
355:References
349:Androgynos
202:Maimonides
92:as if the
717:201769651
709:2164-0041
695:(2): 55.
670:170876337
662:0966-7350
474:Neumann,
270:. In his
235:meforshim
194:Shekhinah
162:Canaanite
343:See also
212:piyuttim
178:Sephirot
158:Akkadian
154:Sumerian
96:(Hebrew
90:Exodus 3
582:"Philo"
545:"Philo"
224:midrash
82:vatomer
78:vayomer
715:
707:
689:Tikkun
668:
660:
426:elohim
418:May 5,
409:
261:time,
138:Isaiah
122:Isaiah
115:Psalms
70:elohim
54:Elohim
42:Tanakh
22:Tanakh
713:S2CID
666:S2CID
242:Philo
102:to be
705:ISSN
658:ISSN
420:2011
407:ISBN
279:.
160:and
86:YHWH
60:and
50:bara
44:are
28:and
697:doi
650:doi
403:175
336:She
136:In
130:God
120:In
113:In
98:yod
798::
711:.
703:.
693:25
691:.
687:.
664:.
656:.
646:23
644:.
640:.
564:^
422:.
405:.
229:.
156:,
104:.
719:.
699::
672:.
652::
595:.
558:.
519:.
506:"
218:(
94:Y
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.