The Level

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When Abby stone came out as trans, they sent Shock Waves through the ultra-Orthodox Hasidic community. A direct descendant of Hasidic Judaism 's founder, The Baal Shem Tov, Abby's parents when she was born her first Son , and a future Rabbi , But she was convinced That she was a Girl .

My father is a Rabbi , and A Son was a Big Deal . He would always tell me That , after five girls, he had almost given up on a boy, and how much he meant. I almost Felt bad for Him throughout My Childhood - a sense of: "I'm So Sorry , But I can't give You what You Want . "

I didn't know there were Other People Like Me , But I knew what I Felt - I saw myself as a Girl .

sometimes I wish I had A Teacher who was TRANS-more phobic, because That would have meant That I knew That the trans-existed people. In the Hasidic community, which was spoken to You just never.

What kept me healthy during My Childhood , my imagination was.

When I was six, I began collecting newspaper clippings About organ transplantation - lung, kidney, heart and so on. In my head, The Plan was simple: One Day , I would go to a doctor, show You my impressive collection of newspaper clippings, and she'd turned a full-body transplant me into a Girl .

When I was a little older, I realized That was not realistic, and so I came up with my next idea, which was to ask God. I grew up in a very religious Family , and we were told That God could not do Anything .

So, at the Age Of nine, I wrote this prayer That I said every night: "Holy Creator, I'm going to sleep now and I look like a boy. I'm begging You , if I Wake up in The Morning , I would like to be a Girl . I know That You can do Anything and nothing is too hard For You .

"If You do, I Promise That I Am a Good Girl . I dress them in the modest clothes. I will keep all of the commandments, to keep the Girl .

"When I get older, I have The Best wife going to be. I will help You , my husband studies the Torah day and night. I'm going to The Best food to cook for Him and my children. Oh, God, Help Me . "

The Hasidic community is The Most Gender -segregated society That I know of or heard - and I have researched, sex-segregated communities, which is quite a bit.

There are even some Hasidic communities in upstate New York , where men and women are encouraged to walk on the separate sides of The Streets - it is the closest thing to a 19th-century Eastern European Jewish shtetl (village).

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The Second You start, pre-school, separated The Sexes completely. Boys and girls are told not to play together.

although in Jewish Law there is no prohibition against hugging or Hand-in-Hand with her sister or mother when I grew up, it was still a little Hasidic boy should not do.

I never saw anyone naked. I didn't know That my sisters and I had different Body Parts Down Under . It was never discussed.

Even so, when I was Four Years old, I had this intense feeling Of Anger in the direction of My Own parts. You don't have the feeling That a part of me. It was an extremely strong feeling That I can't explain to This Day .

at That Time , my mother prepare the bath, and let me play with The Toys in the bathtub.

You used to hold a small tray of Safety Pins in The Cabinet of the sink, so I would sneak and take needles this security and stinging this to a very specific part of My Body .

It is not something That I encourage everyone to do That , But I wanted to feel pain, to punish, almost as.

Once , my mother went me, as I was doing this and she's freaking out. I can't remember what She Said exactly, But it was a very clear message: "You 're a boy and should act like One , and not always tell You what a challenge That can be. "

at The Age Of three, Hasidic cut Jewish boys their first hair, called the upsherin, which is when You curl the page, or Paolo determined. This is The First kind of physical manifestation, The World - and to herself -That she is a boy.

I didn't Want That haircut. I was throw a tantrum for hours. "I Want to have long hair! Why can't my sisters long hair and I have?"

At 13, I had my bar-mitzvah, That is, when a boy becomes A Man - so That was very hard.

I have some positive memories of Him as a party and get lots of gifts, But the concept of: "are You A Man now", was really a challenge. It was a celebration That I Felt I should not.

If You Want to get a feel for how the Hasidic community is isolated until I was 12, I thought That the majority of people in The World were Jews, and That the majority of the Jews were the ultra-Orthodox - none of which is correct.

Take each and every aspect of the pop culture of the 90S - Britney Spears , or Seinfeld - I didn't even know he existed.

I did not speak English until I was 20, only Yiddish and Hebrew. In school we only learned the ABC's and writing our names and addresses, and the only lasted from the fourth to The Eighth class, for an hour of The Day and even this hour was split between English and math. Math only went up to The Level of the division, and we never have any science or history touched, outside of some Jewish History .

The Expectation , Growing Up , was That I work as A Teacher or a rabbinical judge.

If You lead a synagogue or teach at a school in the Hasidic community, they are also called, a Rabbi , regardless of whether they are ordained or not - But actually, I wanted to be ordained. There were several reasons why.

part of it was That I wanted to know exactly what I was rebelling against - my struggle with my identity as A Woman meant That I was put in question told me About religion and God. In school they called me the "kosher-rebel".

At the same Time , Another part of me was hoping That if I really gave my whole self to it, all these feelings I had, were just magically go away.

When I was 16, I immersed myself in Jewish Mysticism , the Kabbalah. That was where I first heard About a Religious Text That justifies my existence.

In the 16Th Century . Century study of the human souls as The Door of reincarnation, I read: "In these times, man is born again in The Body of A Woman , and A Woman in a male body. "

It gave me hope That maybe I wasn't crazy.

Even though I knew I was really A Woman , I had an Arranged Marriage , as everyone in the Hasidic community. You 're born, You eat, You breathe, You Get Married at the Age Of 18.

My parents have it set up. My bride had to be of a rabbinic dynasty, and follow the same dress codes That are in My Family , which is very unusual - so much so, That there are probably only 20 to 50 girls in the whole world, the matches were acceptable.

Fraidy and I met for About 15 to 20 Minutes , And Then we were engaged. We didn't meet again until our wedding, a year later.

at first, Everything went well. I liked her, she's a great woman, really smart, and loving. We had Great Conversations , we have never fought. As far as arranged marriages go, it was perfect.

It was the First Time That I had lived with A Woman , which Felt good. She was very fashionable, and, when we went shopping, it was a way to put myself in their position and think: "Oh, what would I get?"

Hasidic men wear to clear black and white clothes with almost no choice. Women will discover a little bit more, although it is to be humble, and certain colors, such as red and pink, are off-limits.

But if Fraidy is pregnant, I really struggled with this. It was As If Everything , the sex, the religion, My Family , my Son was collapsing on me and punching me.

It was like sex hit me in The Face , it was just so available to buy what kind of clothes we were there for The Baby , to do whether we were going to be, which was a circumcision on The Eighth day - it is impossible not to face it every second.

was born, My Son , was The Final knock-out punch. I wanted my child to have The Best life possible, But how could I, when, at the Age Of 20, I didn't even know what "a good life"?

So I went online.

I knew, to find That there is a place called internet, where You can connect with people and information. There is a strong focus on was not to tell us How To connect to The Internet , by error, I had learned About Wi-Fi, and Google.

I borrowed a friend, the tablet and hid in a toilet cubicle in a shopping center, public Wi-Fi.

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Source of news: bbc.com