In a tiny shtetl in rural Ukraine, some time in the 1800's, a young man set out on a journey to Odessa to become a man.

Berel was born, and lived most of his life in Krivozer, Ukraine. Assigned female at birth and given the name "Beyel", Berel was a tall, sturdily-built redheaded child, who clomped about town with heavy steps, affected a deliberately deep, bass voice, and sold herring, geese, and other foodstuffs to the working men of the town. His neighbors reportedly knew something was different about him from a very young age, saying that he "always brought forth an uncertain feeling: something like, [he’s] not quite a woman, but also not quite a man.”

Berel's father sought guidance in the only place he knew - his religion. The Talmud includes no less than eight gender categories, and preaches the notion that we are all made in God’s image. Teaching after teaching emphasizes the importance of life and bodily autonomy. So, he took this unusual child of his to rabbi after rabbi, seeking spiritual guidance and help. Over and over, the spiritual leaders told him the same thing - "God will help. God will help."

And God did help. In the form of an unnamed but “important” professor from Odessa, a journey of more than two days on foot. So, when Berel was 23, with his father's blessing, he crossed the little footbridge connecting his shtetl to the main road and set off north for Odessa. Leaving behind everything he ever knew - his father, his girlfriend, his livelihood - all on the thin thread of hope that somehow, some way, this professor could help.

Yeshaye Katovski, a Jewish-Ukranian immigrant living in Brooklyn in the 1930s told the story of Beryl's return in a letter to the editor of the Jewish Forward:

"...And on the day when Beyle was to arrive, half the shtetl ran to the bridge to greet her, or better said, to greet him. And she wasn’t called Beyle anymore: Now she was Berel. And when we saw ‘her,’ it was as if we were stunned: Before our eyes was a handsome, healthy, redheaded man. Anyone who didn’t know Beyle previously would never have known that he had been a girl. From then on in the shtetl, ‘she’ was called Berel-Beyle.”

The men of Beryl's shtetl immediately welcomed him into their social circles. They taught him to daven (or pray), and Beryl attended synagogue every day. And later, Beryl married his girlfriend from before his transition, whom Katovski notes was “a nice girl", with the full blessing of his rabbi, his synagogue, and his neighbors.

Beryl, was a man who was beloved by his town, his church, and his God. He lived a quiet, uneventful life on the far side of a small footbridge in rural Ukraine. He loved his wife. He attended synagogue. And, one day, presumably, he died, and was mourned by those who knew him.

Sometimes our stories are simple ones like this. No flashy inventions or daring wartime escapes. No tragic tales of star-crossed lovers. No court dramas. No political intrigue. Just a simple coming of age story of the love between a father and his boy, and the man he would become.

Tell our stories.

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