From what we said above, it should be emphasized that the initial approach to counseling these individuals should be encouraging and uplifting. Since many have self-prescribed nullification (thus exacerbating issues of gender confusion), the first call to action is to rebuild and repair.
A Note on Selfies for Woman:
Whereas men are instructed not to look into mirrors where possible, women are encouraged to do so in order to beautify themselves for their husbands, or to keep a modest appearance. Men and women are likened to the sun and the moon (the light and vessel mentioned above). The sun shines its direct light to the moon, and the moon reflects this light. So, too, a male who has worked on himself to guard his covenant, the purity of his brit milah, has learned how to shine the essential light of his procreative seed solely for his wife. With regard to his public appearance, the external light that emanates from his skin – in the form of fame or glory – he has learned to direct it for the sake of inspiring others, not for his own aggrandizement.
Although Joseph began as a lad fixated on his own appearance, the mindset of Jewish women during the grueling years of slavery in Egypt was to entice their husbands to relations by means of mirrors (the holiness of this action was later confirmed by the use of the copper from these mirrors for the washbasin in the Temple). The consciousness of these wives, and of holy woman today, is like that of the moon, dedicatedly reflecting the light of their husband.
Thus the “selfie” experience for women is to include their husband in the picture, or if single, to prepare in modesty for marriage. The selfie alluded to at the beginning of this article also included others, but instead of the holy bond between husband and wife, it depicted a society fixated on self-appearances.
**************** Inspired by the teachings of Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh.
The full “I am Joseph” / “I am Pharaoh” class can be read (in Hebrew) here. Gender confusion material freely adapted from here.
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