Running Up That Hill(el)

Sunday, November 30, 2025

I am an armchair religious scholar. I don’t have the patience or character for academia. I like to learn quickly, directly, and without a cultural element that I cannot connect with.

Trans people have become the target of state and church leaders whose careers rely on fear mongering, lying, and generally being dramatic for no reason.

Hillel was a rabbi around the time of Jesus’ birth. He was known for his maxims, short sayings packed with meaning. One of which is a reiteration of the Golden Rule. He was asked to sum up his religion while standing on one leg. He answered “That which is hateful to you, do not do unto your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.”

Similarly, Jesus was asked about which of the Jewish teachings were the greatest and he replied (paraphrased) 1. Love God 2. Treat other people with love.

Everyone thinks they understand the Golden Rule, and that they live it (or Jesus’ great commandments) but I’d bet that’s not true.

There’s no qualifiers in these statements. There’s no exception made for people who are trans, nonbinary, gay, “undocumented”, Muslim, brown, etc.

If our leaders, and the rest of us for that matter, could master these simple teachings, then we can move on to questions of ontology, soteriology, gender identity, sexuality…go and learn and embody, indeed.