ABBY STEIN

Abby Stein is one of the most well-known transgender activists, blogger, model, writer, and rabbi, the first openly transgender woman raised in a Hasidic community, and a direct descendent of the Hasidic founder, Baal Shem Tov.  

Stein was born in 1991 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in New York City, she was the sixth son of a family of thirteen children. Her family is of Polish and Ukrainian/ Romanian, Serbian, and Israeli descent. She grew up speaking Yiddish and Hebrew, in a community highly segregated by gender. She was ordained as a rabbi in 2011. One year later, she left the Hasidic community with the help of a non-profit called Footsteps.  

In November 2015, Stein made headlines when she came out on her blog as transgender and started her physical transition, being featured in major magazines and newspapers, and on international tv networks. She explains that she experienced her transition with less hate from other people than she would have expected. 

Stein published her first book: Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman, in 2019, describing memories and transition. Her second book will be published in 2023 titled: Sources of Pride, an anthology of Jewish texts on “Identity, Gender, Sexuality, and Inclusivity, in Jewish Texts.  

After coming out as a trans-Jewish woman, she becomes an activist supporting trans people from orthodox backgrounds, creating online support for communities. In 2018, Stein co-founded the so-called sacred space: a feminist multi-faith and inclusive space for self-identified women and non-binary people of all faith traditions, including former Mormon feminist and human rights lawyer Kate kelly, and Baptist preacher Eboni Mashall.  

In early 2019, Stein Joined the Women’s March leadership, as a member of the 2019 Steering Committee stating, “expressed solidarity with other Jewish women who are supporting the march on grounds that it has emerged as an important and growing coalition of marginalized groups, including Jews, African Americans, Hispanics, and LGBT people”. 

Further information

https://www.westsidespirit.com/voices/the-journey-of-abby-stein-BY1177740