Today was one of “those days.” I got to be a rabbi today. That was wonderful. I prepared some words of Torah, I met with congregants, I worked on the forth coming CCAR convention, and I evaluated some student work from my students at HUC-JIR. I ate healthy meals, I made time to exercise. It was good.

Today I also had to write a letter for a congregational family to put in their “safe file”. There have been many challenging days in my rabbinate and this will count among them. The fact that my people need a “safe file” because they provide their children with gender affirming care is so upsetting. A “safe file” is a collection of documents that families that include transgender, non-binary, and gender expansive kids are recommended to have on hand as the Texas attorney general and governor attack these families. (Equality Texas, ACLU, and Lambda Legal have excellent resources available. Let me know if you need them).

I am vacillating between rage and utter shock that this is the reality for people in Texas. And so this day will end with donations to the organizations linked above and my unwavering commitment to these families.

Families that include transgender, non-binary, and gender expansive people you are loved. Tonight I will try to sleep so tomorrow I can continue the work.