CLGS Jewish Queeries: Abby Stein

Abby Stein is a Jewish educator, author, speaker, and activist. She was born and raised in a Hasidic family of rabbinic descent and is a direct descendent of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism. Abby attended yeshiva, completing a rabbinical degree in 2011. In 2012, she left the Hasidic world to explore a self-determined life. Abby came out in 2015 as a woman of trans experience. Since coming out, she has been working to raise support and awareness for trans rights and those leaving Ultra-Orthodoxy.Her story has been covered in the New York Times, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Jewish Daily Forward, Daily Mail, NBC, Vogue, InStyle, and more, as well as live appearances on CNN, Fox News, HuffPost Live, ShowTime, NowThis, PopSugar and in international media venues. In 2016, Abby was named by The Jewish Week as one of the “36 Under 36” young Jews who are inspiring change in the world. She was awarded the Pride Award by the Brooklyn Borough President in 2018. Abby studied gender studies and political science at Columbia University in New York City.Her book Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman, a coming-of-age memoir, will be published by Seal Press (Hachette) in December.

Posted by Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion – CLGS on Thursday, December 5, 2019

Abby Stein is a Jewish educator, author, speaker, and activist.  She was born and raised in a Hasidic family of rabbinic descent and is a direct descendent of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism.  Abby attended yeshiva, completing a rabbinical degree in 2011.  In 2012, she left the Hasidic world to explore a self-determined life.  Abby came out in 2015 as a woman of trans experience.  Since coming out, she has been working to raise support and awareness for trans rights and those leaving Ultra-Orthodoxy.

Her story has been covered in the New York Times, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Jewish Daily Forward, Daily Mail, NBC, Vogue, InStyle, and more, as well as live appearances on CNN, Fox News, HuffPost Live, ShowTime, NowThis, PopSugar and in international media venues.   In 2016, Abby was named by The Jewish Week as one of the “36 Under 36” young Jews who are inspiring change in the world.  She was awarded the Pride Award by the Brooklyn Borough President in 2018.  Abby studied gender studies and political science at Columbia University in New York City.

Her book Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman, a coming-of-age memoir, will be published by Seal Press (Hachette) in December.