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If a person we're both transgender and religious, which of the gendered brachos would they make for birchos hashachar?

Shelo asani isha: this person was either MADE an isha or BECAME one, so making a birchas hoda'a seems inappropriate.

She'asani kirtzono: as above, they clearly do not think their birth state (how they were "made" by Hashem) is preferable, so offering thanks would seem to be inappropriate.

Additionally, would the answer be different before surgical transition?

To explain, I am NOT asking how we define the gender of such a person - I am asking how such a person would handle making the brachos in question, since each would appear to result in either a falsehood (as they were not "made" that way) or something they would not properly be making a hoda'a on (which is apparent due to the premeditated switching of genders).

Isaac Kotlicky
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  • Possible duplicate of How is gender halachically determined? – Mithical Aug 09 '16 at 11:02
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    @Mithrandir Not at all. Regardless of how we assign halachic gender, the resulting bracha would seem to be something that this individual wouldn't be making a hoda'a on... or factually false... – Isaac Kotlicky Aug 09 '16 at 11:12
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    Secondly, the mishna in Brachos clearly states we make a bracha on the bad just as we do on the good. So if one thinks being born a male is no good, he still would be making the bracha shelo asani isha. – Mennyg Aug 09 '16 at 12:23
  • Another point to back up my second point is that the very language of the twi berachos that are in question seem to indicate that it is preferable to be a male. Yet, my wife makes the bracha sh'asani kirtzono every day – Mennyg Aug 09 '16 at 12:26
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    @Mennyg regarding your reference to the end of Brachos - *that* we make a bracha is independent of *which* bracha we make - we don't offer identical brachos over good and bad events, and it's not clear to me that making a Baruch Dayan HaEmes is a birchas hoda'ah rather than a birchas shevach or bakashah. Does one make a hoda'a over something they actively detest? One doesn't make a brachas nehenin on something unpalatable or dangerous... – Isaac Kotlicky Aug 09 '16 at 14:54
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; the conversation about whether one can change gender has been moved to chat. – Monica Cellio Aug 09 '16 at 20:13
  • There is a Hebrew sefer "Dor Ta'hapuchos" which deals with this and all transgender related questions. It had been available at Biegeleisens in Boro Park. – Mark A. Sep 07 '16 at 04:33
  • related http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/34496/759 – Double AA Feb 28 '17 at 18:19
  • Regarding BECAME one: AFAIU, a transgender man/woman believes that they had always been a man/woman, but that their presentations doesn't match that identity. Unless you're using the terms man/woman in reference to their physical presentation. – magicker72 Apr 29 '21 at 14:27
  • @magicker72 From the standpoint of halacha we do not consider how a person thinks of their gender when determining what gender they are treated as under law. Halacha in this regard cares about the physical manifestation of sexual characteristics, not about psychology. – Isaac Kotlicky Apr 30 '21 at 17:00
  • @IsaacKotlicky Whether or not that's accurate, you should be clear in your post about what your BECAME is in reference to: your understanding of halacha and the restriction of your question to physical presentations. A transgender person does not need to have changed their physical presentation, yet your question doesn't distinguish such a case. – magicker72 Apr 30 '21 at 17:11
  • @magicker72 The question was deliberately written to encompass all possibilities here - a person born physically female who identifies as male, a person born physically male and identifies as female, and both situations both pre and post op. "Additionally, would the answer be different before surgical transition?" The question is quite clear once you read the entirety of the question. – Isaac Kotlicky Apr 30 '21 at 17:27
  • @IsaacKotlicky You write "transgender" followed by "BECAME" without specifying post-op, so it's not so clear. And your "BECAME" is still your understanding of what halacha says, and is not a blanket truth about transgender people. – magicker72 Apr 30 '21 at 18:19
  • @IsaacKotlicky in particular, I suggest changing it, to (a) make your meaning clearer, (b) be accurate and correct in your terminology, and (c) avoid any (unintentionally) hurtful statements. – magicker72 Apr 30 '21 at 21:47

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