We are building a bigger tent for nonbinary Jews through a third-gender grammar systematics for Hebrew, guided by our Torah and Talmud that
Because Hebrew is a gendered language, the Nonbinary Hebrew Project has created a third grammatical gender system! They are building a bigger tent for nonbinary Jews, guided by Torah and Talmud which teach us to rejoice that which cannot be neatly categorized.
The project is free, open-source, community-based, and grassroots. It lives and grows and changes with every single person who uses and adds to it.
Here are some example usages:
Candlelighting Blessing:
with gender-expansive God language
בְּרוּךֶ אָתֶה ײַ, אֱלֹהִימוֹתֵינוּ מַלְכֶּת הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְשֶׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתֶיהֶ וְצִוֶנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל שַבָּת
Bruche ateh Adonai, Elohimoteinu Malket ha’Olam asher kidshenu b’mitzvoteihe, v’tzivenu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbat.
Blessed are You, God, Ruler of the universe, who sanctified us with the commandment of lighting Shabbat candles.
Kiddush:
with gender-expansive God language
בְּרוּךֶ אָתֶה ײַ, אֱלֹהִימוֹתֵינוּ מַלְכֶּת הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרָאת פְּרִי הַגָּֽפֶן
Bruche ateh Adonai, Elohimoteinu Malket ha’Olam, borat p’ri hagafen.
Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
Blessing over Bread:
with gender-expansive God language
בְּרוּךֶ אָתֶה ײַ, אֱלֹהִימוֹתֵינוּ מַלְכֶּת הָעוֹלָם, הַמּוֹצִיאֶה לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ
Bruche ateh Adonai, Elohimoteinu Malket ha’Olam, Hamotzi'e lechem min ha'aretz.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has brought forth bread from the earth.
Waking-up Blessing:
with gender-expansive language for the speaker, but traditional God language
מודֶת אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם, שֶׁהֶחֱזַרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה, רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ:
Modet ani l'fanecha, melech chai v'kayam, shechezarta bi nishmati, b'chemla, raba emunatecha.
I give thanks before you, King living and eternal, for You have returned within me my soul with compassion; abundant is Your faithfulness!
Morning Blessing substitutions:
with gender-expansive language for the speaker, but traditional God language
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁעָשַׂנִי בֶּת חוֹרין
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-Olam, she-asani bet chorin.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has made me free.
~~~
Soulmate Blessing:
written by Ariel Ezekiel Tovlev, with gender-expansive language for the speaker's soulmate, but traditional God language
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה אֶת יְדִידֶת נַפְשִׁי
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, asher asah et yedidet nafshi.
Blessed are You, Ruler of the Universe, who created the companion of my soul.
Wedding-Enacting Words:
with gender-expansive language for the one the speaker is marrying and for the ring, but traditional God language
הרי אתה מקדשה לי, בטבעת זת, כדת משה וישראל
Harei ateh m’kudesheh li, b’tabaet zet, k’dat Moshe v’Yisrael.
Behold, you are sanctified to me, with this ring, according to Moses and Israel.
~~~
For more examples, as well as charts explaining the grammar system, check out the website!
A note from Jewish-LGBTQ: The Nonbinary Hebrew Project is primarily being created in the diaspora and is used for ritual purposes; queer communities in Israel have their own system for creating gender-expansive Hebrew. The Nonbinary Hebrew Project should be understood as creating a third grammatical gender for liturgical and ritual Hebrew, rather than for everyday, spoken Modern Hebrew.
