What I understood from Michaelson’s essay is that homosexuality and other deviance from the norms of gender and sexuality have a deeper place in theology than the prohibitions that are normally the focus of such discussions. He looks at binaries and structures of power through Othering, using the defining boundaries of Israel as a theological example. Sexual liminality, according to Michaelson, opposes and challenges the boundaries of Judaism. He goes on to describe relationships with Torah and God, and how any Jew approaches those relationships from their own perspective of gender and love. He examines how a male Kabbalist might take on the feminine role when relating to God’s masculinity, while God is also recognized to have a feminine aspect. Michaelson aims to challenge the rules and boundaries that have been understood around Judaism and notice the liminality and boundary crossing that actively occurs.
Writing and other content
