On Sunday, January 31, at 8 p.m., Cong. Rinat Yisrael Adult Education Program presents Rabbi Michael Taubes, head of school of YUHS for Boys and rabbi of Congregation Zichron Mordechai, addressing “The Transgender Individual in the Eyes of Halacha.”

Issues addressed will include: Does the Torah permit transgender surgery? What is the halachic gender of such individuals? What are the ramifications regarding marriage, prayer services, inheritance, burial, etc? How should the Jewish community relate to such individuals?

Rabbi Michael Taubes is rosh yeshiva at the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy – Yeshiva University High School for Boys, and the spiritual leader of Congregation Zichron Mordechai in Teaneck. His classes are well known for their breadth of sources and clarity of presentation. Rabbi Taubes has been involved in formal and informal Jewish education for more than 30 years, serving both in the classroom and in various administrative posts.

An alumnus of Yeshivat Har Etzion in Israel, where he was a student of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, z”l, Rabbi Taubes attended Yeshiva College and received his rabbinic ordination at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He also earned a master’s degree in Jewish education from Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf Graduate School and spent several years learning in YU’s Marcos and Adina Katz Kollel. He helped found and directed the Jewish Learning Experience of Bergen County. He has authored a book, “The Practical Torah,” as well as essays about a wide array of Torah subjects.