The Autistic Rabbi(nical Student) | Mati [he/they]

neuroqueer talmud ableism power dynamics and oppression in rabbinic literature

Learning Talmud is not about mastery.

It’s about relationship.

With the text. With each other. With our own bodyminds.

This is the heart of Neuroqueer Talmud.

Let's study together and reclaim our tradition.

www.theautisticrabbi.com/autistic-tor...

We build the sukkah knowing it will fall.

That’s the point.

Sukkot teaches us that safety is temporary but connection is real.

We can’t build permanence, but we can build care and authentic relationships with our world and with others.

That's Sukkot folx.

Chag Sameach!

You weren’t lazy.

You were exhausted.

You weren’t unmotivated.

You were in burnout.

You weren’t “too sensitive".

You were under-supported.

Now you’re rebuilding.

At your own pace.

And that’s beautiful.

That's the autistic experience.

Autistic spaces change everything.

You stop translating.

You start breathing.

Your nervous system exhales.

That’s when healing begins - not when you’re alone, but when you’re seen.

An autistic meltdown isn’t a loss of control.

It’s your body demanding to be heard.

It’s not moral.

It’s biological.

Not weakness.

It's Information.

The question isn’t “how do I stop melting down?”

It’s “what have I been forced to hold for too long?”

absolutely incredible - except, sadly, nothing is incredible anymore.

And it struck me that those lines sit right next to each other.

Perhaps the author felt the same tension.

No line in liturgy ever lands by accident.

The healing I need isn’t from disability.

It’s from shame.

From a world that won’t carry us.

And then - immediately - the next line - Avinu Malkeinu, chazireinu b’teshuvah shleimah lefanecha.

Return me to myself.

I realised I had just asked to be saved from myself.

But I don’t want to be different from who I am, or to be like everyone else.

I want to be myself.

Which is different.

I don’t think I need to be healed of being disabled.

Disability is part of life, part of me.

But on YK, I read Avinu Malkeinu, shlach refuah shleimah l’chol cholei amecha

And I asked the Divine to heal me of my disabilities.

Because sometimes I wish.

Because struggle is real.

Thread 🧵🧶

Neuroqueer Talmud - Ableism, Power Dynamics, and Oppression in Rabbinic Literature — The Autistic Rabbi(nical Student) Join Neuroqueer Talmud: Ableism, Power Dynamics, and Oppression in Rabbinic Literature (Nov–Dec 2025). A 5-week online Beit Midrash exploring Talmud on personal harm through a queer, disabled, and neurodivergent lens. No prior Talmud study required—just Hebrew alphabet recognition. Learn in chevruta

While I love talking about autism, I love talking talmud even more!

In my 5-week class we will be exploring how to neuroqueer the talmud and see what the tradition has to say about opression and ableism.

All learning levels welcome!

www.theautisticrabbi.com/autistic-tor...

BBC just mentioned that Starmer’s wife is Jewish in the context of his comments on the synagogue attack.

Why and how is that relevant?

Hint - it isn’t.

Killing people in a synagogue on Yom Kippur should be offensive to all people.

This isn’t complicated.

And we are back

It’s an insult. It’s offensive. Always.

A meaningful YK to you all

Neuroqueer Talmud - Ableism, Power Dynamics, and Oppression in Rabbinic Literature — The Autistic Rabbi(nical Student) Join Neuroqueer Talmud: Ableism, Power Dynamics, and Oppression in Rabbinic Literature (Nov–Dec 2025). A 5-week online Beit Midrash exploring Talmud on personal harm through a queer, disabled, and neurodivergent lens. No prior Talmud study required—just Hebrew alphabet recognition. Learn in chevruta

While I love talking about autism, I love talking talmud even more!

In my 5-week class we will be exploring how to neuroqueer the talmud and see what the tradition has to say about opression and ableism.

All learning levels welcome!

www.theautisticrabbi.com/autistic-tor...

If you can’t criticise Schumer or any other politician without referring to every hasbarist as “rabbi” you’re just an antisemite and sullying the entire thing.

Embarrassing.

The Teshuvah of Unmasking Autistic Integrity, Divine Presence, and the Return to Self

Masking is not simply hiding.

It's a full-body, full-self performance constructed for survival.

It shapes how we speak, how we move, how we relate.

Bright orange background with bold black title “The AuDHD Experience Workshop.” Text below reads “Five weeks for autistic–ADHD adults – Mondays starting November 17” in black. Red subheading “With Matthew @theautisticcoach.” Four color-coded boxes: teal (emotional profiles, triggers, meltdowns, burnout, getting needs met), white (safer unmasking, social navigation, self-advocacy, balancing hyperfocus and unfocus), pale yellow (reclaiming special interests for stability), and lavender (interoception, sensory profile, tools for overwhelm and recovery).

Are you AuDHD and looking for community, support, and tools for not burning out?

My next workshop begins in November and is limited to 7 spots.

You're not alone in this.

www.theautisticcoach.com/audhd-group-...

Weaponizing the US military to target political opposition domestically is not how things work in a democracy. If this isn't a redline, what is?

Israeli ch12 news reports that Netanyahu reassured his cabinet: "don't worry, there's no chance Hamas would say yes to such a vague deal"

start the year off with some talmud!

no more whistleblowing!

Kavvanot for Jonah | Meditations for Yom Kippur Entering Jonah’s journey as a mirror for our own unmasking, longing, and return

Some kavvanot on the book of jonah for tomorrow

Teshuvah doesn’t mean repentance in the way most people use the word.

It means return.

A turning.

A coming back - not to perfection, but to presence.

To authenticity.

Not to some idealized version of ourselves, but to the parts of us we’ve been taught to cut off.

Teshuvah is not about becoming someone else.

It’s about returning to yourself.

Unmasking.

Aligning.

Letting the fragments of who you are find their way back together.

The rabbis taught us that Torah is never finished.

So why let only “mainstream” voices decide what it means?

Neuroqueer Talmud re-centers disabled & queer understandings of our tradition.

Not as add-ons, but as the heart of Torah itself.

Join us in November.

jewish autism network - october 5

Looking to connect with fellow autistic members of the Jewish community?

Join us on October 5 as we dig into relationships, friendships, and family.

www.theautisticcoach.com/autism-discu...

blue background with purple letters - virtual seminar for autistic adults - understanding autistic meltdowns, shutdowns, and burnout - sunday, november 30 - 20 cet 19 bst 2pm est 11am pst

On November 30 I'll be hosting an online seminar all about autistic meltdowns, shutdowns, and burnout.

Not just what they are - but how to sail thru them with grace and care.

www.theautisticcoach.com/autism-educa...

Neuroqueer Talmud - Ableism, Power Dynamics, and Oppression in Rabbinic Literature — The Autistic Rabbi(nical Student) Join Neuroqueer Talmud: Ableism, Power Dynamics, and Oppression in Rabbinic Literature (Nov–Dec 2025). A 5-week online Beit Midrash exploring Talmud on personal harm through a queer, disabled, and neurodivergent lens. No prior Talmud study required—just Hebrew alphabet recognition. Learn in chevruta

While I love talking about autism, I love talking talmud even more!

In my 5-week class we will be exploring how to neuroqueer the talmud and see what the tradition has to say about opression and ableism.

All learning levels welcome!

www.theautisticrabbi.com/autistic-tor...

Could we know love if not for all the hate?