n>When he was a rabbinical student intern at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York City, the world’s largest LGBTQ synagogue, Rabbi Steven Philp received dozens of pastoral inquiries from across the globe. He clearly remembers one such call two years ago from the rural Midwest. “A transgender individual reached out to me for practical steps to make arrangements for tahara,” the physical and spiritual preparation of the deceased for burial, said Philp, now a rabbinical fellow at New York City’s Park Avenue Synagogue. The caller wanted to ensure, in advance, that they could have tahara performed when they died. “I went online but could not find any resources.”Read Full Article »
