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Trans Torah: Moshiach ben Yosef v'Dinah
There is a long tradition describing half-siblings Yosef and Dinah as genderqueer or trans individuals, a narrative that begins before birth (they're "born this way"):

וְלָא מַהֲנֵי רַחֲמֵי? מֵתִיב רַב יוֹסֵף: ״וְאַחַר יָלְדָה בַּת וַתִּקְרָא אֶת שְׁמָהּ דִּינָה״: מַאי ״וְאַחַר״? אָמַר רַב: לְאַחַר שֶׁדָּנָה לֵאָה דִּין בְּעַצְמָהּ וְאָמְרָה: שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר שְׁבָטִים עֲתִידִין לָצֵאת מִיַּעֲקֹב, שִׁשָּׁה יָצְאוּ מִמֶּנִּי וְאַרְבָּעָה מִן הַשְּׁפָחוֹת, הֲרֵי עֲשָׂרָה. אִם זֶה זָכָר, לֹא תְּהֵא אֲחוֹתִי רָחֵל כְּאַחַת הַשְּׁפָחוֹת, מִיָּד נֶהֶפְכָה לְבַת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַתִּקְרָא אֶת שְׁמָהּ דִּינָה״. אֵין מַזְכִּירִין מַעֲשֵׂה נִסִּים.

Is a prayer in that case ineffective? Rav Yosef raises an objection based on a baraita: It is stated: “And afterwards she bore a daughter, and called her name Dina” (Genesis 30:21). The Gemara asks: What is meant by the addition of the word: Afterwards? What does the verse seek to convey by emphasizing that after the birth of Zebulun she gave birth to Dina? Rav said: After Leah passed judgment on herself and said: Twelve tribes are destined to descend from Jacob, six came from me and four from the maidservants, that is ten, and if this fetus is male, my sister Rachel will not even be the equivalent of one the maidservants; immediately the fetus was transformed into a daughter, as it is stated: And she called her name Dina; meaning she named her after her judgment [din]. The Gemara rejects this: One does not mention miraculous acts to teach general halakha.

(כא) וּמִן בָּתַר כְּדֵין יְלֵידַת בְּרַת וּקְרַת יַת שְׁמָהּ דִינָה אֲרוּם אַמְרַת דִין הוּא מִן קֳדָם יהוה דִיהוֹן מִנִי פַּלְגוּת שִׁבְטַיָא בְּרַם מִן רָחֵל אַחֲתִי יִפְקוּן תְּרֵין שִׁבְטִין הֵיכְמָא דִנְפָקוּ מִן חָדָא מִן אַמְהָתָא וּשְׁמִיעַ מִן קֳדָם יהוה צְלוּתָא דְלֵאָה וְאִיתְחַלְפוּ עוּבָּרַיָא בִּמְעֵיהוֹן וַהֲוָה יָהִיב יוֹסֵף בִּמְעָהָא דְרָחֵל וְדִינָא בִּמְעָהָא דְלֵאָה

(21) And afterward [Leah] bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah; for she said, "Din"/Judgement is from before the Divine, that there shall be from me a half of the tribes; but from Rahel my sister shall go forth two tribes, even as they shall proceed (in like manner) from each of the handmaids. And the prayer of Leah was heard before the Lord; and the infants were changed In their wombs; and Joseph was given to the womb of Rahel, and Dinah to the womb of Leah.

The tune of alternate gender can be heard in both Dinah and Yosef's stories. We know less about Dinah, but notice the one act of initiative that we're told about it below: they leave camp, and they leave camp to check out other women. These are not behaviors that are coded female. These are behaviors that are coded male. This could be the story of a lesbian cis-woman or this could be the story of a genderqueer person or this could be the story of a trans man. Shiviim panim laTorah, we're told. There are a multitude of overlapping narratives in the sacred texts. For Dinah, disaster follows, as too often has been the case when people challenge the gender binary. Dina's story is weaponized for generations to threaten others: don't try to step beyond the bounds of proscribed gender or a terrible fate may befall you.

(א) וַתֵּצֵ֤א דִינָה֙ בַּת־לֵאָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָלְדָ֖ה לְיַעֲקֹ֑ב לִרְא֖וֹת בִּבְנ֥וֹת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (ב) וַיַּ֨רְא אֹתָ֜הּ שְׁכֶ֧ם בֶּן־חֲמ֛וֹר הַֽחִוִּ֖י נְשִׂ֣יא הָאָ֑רֶץ וַיִּקַּ֥ח אֹתָ֛הּ וַיִּשְׁכַּ֥ב אֹתָ֖הּ וַיְעַנֶּֽהָ׃ (ג) וַתִּדְבַּ֣ק נַפְשׁ֔וֹ בְּדִינָ֖ה בַּֽת־יַעֲקֹ֑ב וַיֶּֽאֱהַב֙ אֶת־הַֽנַּעֲרָ֔ וַיְדַבֵּ֖ר עַל־לֵ֥ב הַֽנַּעֲרָֽ׃

(1) Now Dinah, the "daughter" whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. (2) Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, chief of the country, saw her, and took her and lay with her and disgraced her. (3) Being strongly drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and in love with the boy, he spoke to the boy tenderly.

Chaim Vital
You already know what our sages, of blessed memory, said regarding the verse “and afterward she bore a daughter”—that it was originally a male, and through Leah’s prayer it was transformed into a female. Thus, it was Leah who caused Dinah to be a girl, and therefore she is called the daughter of Leah, and not the daughter of Jacob.
This is also the secret of why Dinah is written in Scripture as na’ar (youth, masculine), but we read it as na’arah (young woman, feminine)—because initially she was a male youth, and afterward she became a female youth.


...(יא)ומכל מקום אין להרהר אחר יעקב ולאה איך יצא זה המכשול של דינה. דע כי טבע דינה היה טבע זכר שהוא יוצא השדה, על כן היתה יצאנית, והענין כמו שאמרו רז"ל (ב"ר עב, ו) שדינה היתה זכר בבטן אמה ויוסף היה נקבה בבטן אמו, והתפללה לאה על זה ונתהפכו שניהם, מכל מקום היה בה טבע הזכר. וזהו שאמר בת לאה, כי מה שנעשית בת ולא בן זה היה מכח תפלת לאה:

,,,(11) We must not spend time wondering how such a misfortune could have happened and what errors if any her parents had committed. We must remember that Dinah's nature was like that of a male who is in the habit of going out into the field; this is how she conducted herself. Our sages have explained that as a fetus Dinah grew in her mother's womb as a male child, and that it was Leah's prayer which led to her being born as a female (Berachot 60).

Who is Yosef? A dreamer and interpreter of dreams. A boundary crosser who figures out how to thrive in a strange land. A strategist. Someone who believes in the goodness even of people who have harmed them. Someone who does not display a cis gender identity

(ז) יוֹסֵף בֶּן שְׁבַע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה וגו' (בראשית לז, ב), וְאַתְּ אָמַר וְהוּא נַעַר, אֶלָּא שֶׁהָיָה עוֹשֶׂה מַעֲשֵׂה נַעֲרוּת, מְמַשְׁמֵשׁ בְּעֵינָיו, מְתַלֶּה בַּעֲקֵבוֹ, מְתַקֵּן בְּשַׂעֲרוֹ...

(7) “Joseph, seventeen years old…” – [so why do] you say [t]he[y] were a lad? It is because [t]he[y] would do the things of teen girls: [t]he[y] would groom [their] eyes, lift [their] heels, and curl [their] hair...


Yosef wears a garment that is worn by princesses:

(ג) וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אָהַ֤ב אֶת־יוֹסֵף֙ מִכׇּל־בָּנָ֔יו כִּֽי־בֶן־זְקֻנִ֥ים ה֖וּא ל֑וֹ וְעָ֥שָׂה ל֖וֹ כְּתֹ֥נֶת פַּסִּֽים׃

(3) Now Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons—he was his “child of old age”; and he had made them a (princess')"ketonat pasim"/ornamented tunic.

(יח) וְעָלֶ֙יהָ֙ כְּתֹ֣נֶת פַּסִּ֔ים כִּי֩ כֵ֨ן תִּלְבַּ֧שְׁןָ בְנוֹת־הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ הַבְּתוּלֹ֖ת מְעִילִ֑ים...

(18) [Princess Tamar] was wearing a "ketonat pasim"/ornamented tunic, for maiden princesses were customarily dressed in such garments...

Yosef has the striking womanly beauty of their mother:

(יז) וְעֵינֵ֥י לֵאָ֖ה רַכּ֑וֹת וְרָחֵל֙ הָֽיְתָ֔ה יְפַת־תֹּ֖אַר וִיפַ֥ת מַרְאֶֽה׃

(17) Leah had weak eyes; Rachel was shapely and beautiful/yafat to'ar v'yafat mareh.

(ו) וַיַּעֲזֹ֣ב כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ֮ בְּיַד־יוֹסֵף֒ וְלֹא־יָדַ֤ע אִתּוֹ֙ מְא֔וּמָה כִּ֥י אִם־הַלֶּ֖חֶם אֲשֶׁר־ה֣וּא אוֹכֵ֑ל וַיְהִ֣י יוֹסֵ֔ף יְפֵה־תֹ֖אַר וִיפֵ֥ה מַרְאֶֽה׃

(6) He left all that he had in Joseph’s hands and, with him there, he paid attention to nothing save the food that he ate. Now Joseph was shapely and beautiful/yafat to'ar v'yafat mareh.

(ז) וַיְהִי כְּהַיּוֹם הַזֶּה וַיָּבֹא וגו' וְאֵין אִישׁ מֵאַנְשֵׁי הַבַּיִת (בראשית לט, יא), אֶפְשָׁר בֵּיתוֹ שֶׁל אוֹתוֹ הָאִישׁ מִשְׁתַּיֵּר בְּלֹא אִישׁ,... וְרַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה אָמַר יוֹם תֵּיאַטִּירוֹן הָיָה, וְהָלְכוּ הַכֹּל לִרְאוֹתוֹ, וְהוּא לֹא הָלַךְ, אֶלָּא וַיָּבֹא הַבַּיְתָה לַעֲשׂוֹת מְלַאכְתּוֹ, לַחְשֹׁב חֶשְׁבּוֹנוֹת שֶׁל רַבּוֹ. רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָן אָמַר לַעֲשׂוֹת מְלַאכְתּוֹ וַדַּאי, אֶלָּא וְאֵין אִישׁ, בָּדַק אֶת עַצְמוֹ וְלֹא מָצָא עַצְמוֹ אִישׁ...

(7)“It was on a certain day, he came into the house to perform his labor, and there was no man from the people of the house in the house” (Genesis 39:11). – is it possible that this man’s house remained without anyone [inside]? ...Rabbi Neḥemya said: It was the day of the theater. Everyone went to see it, but he did not go. Instead, “he came into the house to perform his labor” – to calculate his master’s accounts. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: “to perform his labor” indeed (to submit to the demands of Potiphar's wife).However, “there was no man” – he examined himself and did not find himself to be a man...
(The text uses this Biblical phrase as a euphemism for Yosef's virility, we can read it literally as a reference to Yosef's gender.)

(כג) וַיַּ֤רְא יוֹסֵף֙ לְאֶפְרַ֔יִם בְּנֵ֖י שִׁלֵּשִׁ֑ים גַּ֗ם בְּנֵ֤י מָכִיר֙ בֶּן־מְנַשֶּׁ֔ה יֻלְּד֖וּ עַל־בִּרְכֵּ֥י יוֹסֵֽף׃

(23) Joseph lived to see children of the third generation of Ephraim; the children of Machir son of Manasseh were likewise born upon Joseph’s knees.

Joseph the Matriarch by Rabbi Irwin Kellerhttps://www.irwinkeller.com/itzikswell/2018/12/5/joseph-the-matriarch#_ftn5
At the end of his life, Jacob blesses Yosef with the blessing of breast and womb:

(כה) מֵאֵ֨ל אָבִ֜יךָ וְיַעְזְרֶ֗ךָּ וְאֵ֤ת שַׁדַּי֙ וִיבָ֣רְכֶ֔ךָּ בִּרְכֹ֤ת שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ מֵעָ֔ל בִּרְכֹ֥ת תְּה֖וֹם רֹבֶ֣צֶת תָּ֑חַת בִּרְכֹ֥ת שָׁדַ֖יִם וָרָֽחַם׃

(25) The God of your father’s [house], who helps you, and Shaddai/God of Breasts who blesses you with blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that couches below, Blessings of the breast and womb.

The lineage of Yosef AND Dina is established:

(א) כְּתִיב, ״וּבָא הַבַּיִת וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל הַקִּיר וּנְשָׁכוֹ הַנָּחָשׁ״ (עמוס ה, יט). וּכְשֶׁבָּא יַעֲקֹב לְאֶרֶץ אֲחֻזָּתוֹ שֶׁבְּאֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן נְשָׁכוֹ הַנָּחָשׁ, וְאֵי זֶה הוּא הַנָּחָשׁ? זֶה שְׁכֶם בֶּן חֲמוֹר. שֶׁהָיְתָה בִּתּוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב יוֹשֶׁבֶת אֹהָלִים וְלֹא הָיְתָה יוֹצְאָה לַחוּץ. מֶה עָשָׂה שְׁכֶם בֶּן חֲמוֹר? הֵבִיא נַעֲרוֹת מְשַׂחֲקוֹת חוּצָה לוֹ מְתוֹפְפוֹת. וְיָצְאָה דִינָה לִרְאוֹת בִּבְנוֹת הָאָרֶץ הַמְשַׂחֲקוֹת, וּשְׁלָלָהּ וְשָׁכַב עִמָּהּ, וְהָרְתָה וְיָלְדָה אֶת אָסְנַת. וְאָמְרוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְהָרְגָהּ, שֶׁאָמְרוּ: ״עַכְשָׁו יֹאמְרוּ בְּכָל הָאָרֶץ שֶׁיֵּשׁ בֵּית זְנוּת בְּאָהֳלֵי יַעֲקֹב״.
(ב) מָה עָשָׂה יַעֲקֹב? הֵבִיא שֶׁרֶץ שֶׁל זָהָב, שֵׁם הַקֹּדֶשׁ כָּתוּב בּוֹ, וְתָלָה עַל צַוָּארָהּ, וְשִׁלְּחָהּ וְהָלְכָה. וְהַכֹּל צָפוּי לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא. וְיָרַד מִיכָאֵל הַמַּלְאָךְ וְהוֹרִידָהּ לְמִצְרַיִם לְבֵית פּוֹטִיפֶרַע, שֶׁהָיְתָה אָסְנַת רְאוּיָה לְיוֹסֵף לְאִשָּׁה. וְהָיְתָה אִשְׁתּוֹ שֶׁל פּוֹטִיפֶרַע עֲקָרָה, וְגִדְּלָה עִמָּהּ כְּבַת. וּכְשֶׁיָּרַד יוֹסֵף לְמִצְרַיִם לְקָחָהּ לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיִּתֶּן לוֹ אֶת אָסְנַת בַּת פּוֹטִיפֶרַע״.

(1)... Dinah went forth to see those girls who were making merry; and he seized her, and he slept with her, and she conceived and bare Osnat. The sons of Israel said that she should be killed, for they said that now people would say in all the land that there was an immoral daughter in the tents of Jacob.
(2) What did (Jacob) do? He wrote the Holy Name upon a golden plate, and suspended it about [Osnat's] neck and sent her away. She went her way. Everything is revealed before the Holy One, blessed be He, and Michael the angel descended and took her, and brought her down to Egypt to the house of Potiphera; because Osnat was destined to become the wife of Joseph. Now the wife of Potiphera was barren, and (Osnat) grew up with her as a daughter. When Joseph came down to Egypt he married her, as it is said, "And he gave him to wife Osnat the daughter of Potiphera priest of On" (Gen. 41:45).

LGBTQ Activist Jericho Vincent’s Genderqueer Theology, Jewish BostonJudy Bolton-Fasman
As for the memory of Dina, Yosef marries Osnat, who is considered, in one rabbinic opinion, to be the daughter Dina gave birth to after she was attacked. From Vincent’s theological perspective, this establishes the House of Yosef and Dina, which stands for ways of being outside the binary. “Trans and nonbinary people can feel held in those stories and have an affinity to them,” Vincent said. “They can claim them as their own and be held in the presence of Yosef and Dina as their ‘transcestors.’”


We are told that there are two liberators (or, mystically speaking, liberatory consciousnesses): Moshiach ben Yosef (v'Dinah) and Moshiach ben David:

״וַיַּרְאֵנִי יהוה אַרְבָּעָה חָרָשִׁים״, מַאן נִינְהוּ אַרְבָּעָה חָרָשִׁים? אָמַר רַב חָנָא בַּר בִּיזְנָא אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן חֲסִידָא: מָשִׁיחַ בֶּן דָּוִד, וּמָשִׁיחַ בֶּן יוֹסֵף, וְאֵלִיָּהוּ, וְכֹהֵן צֶדֶק...

§ Apropos the end of days, the Gemara cites another verse and interprets it homiletically. It is stated: “The Lord then showed me four craftsmen” (Zechariah 2:3). Who are these four craftsmen? Rav Ḥana bar Bizna said that Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida said: They are Messiah ben David, Messiah ben Yosef, Elijah, and the righteous High Priest, who will serve in the Messianic era....

Rabbi Jericho Vincent
From a mystical perspective, Moshiach ben Yosef v'Dinah is the preliminary trans and queer liberation that is necessary to pave the way for Moshiach ben David, liberation for all.


Let us not forget the rainbow donkey!

אמר ליה שבור מלכא לשמואל אמריתו משיח על חמרא אתי אישדר ליה סוסיא ברקא דאית לי אמר ליה מי אית לך בר חיור גווני

King Shapur of Persia said to Shmuel mockingly: You say that the Messiah will come on a donkey; I will send him the riding [barka] horse that I have. Shmuel said to him: Do you have a horse with a multitude of colors [bar ḥivar gavanei] like the donkey of the Messiah?

With gratitude to Rabbi Irwin Keller, a pioneering teacher of this vital Torah