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Abby Chava Stein (; born October 1, 1991) is an Israeli-American author, rabbi, activist, blogger, Spokesmodel, and public speaker. A member of New York's Ultra orthodox community and an ordained rabbi, Stein made headlines after she Coming out as a Trans woman in 2015. After going public about her gender identity, Stein founded support groups for transgender people from religious backgrounds and published a memoir, Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman. Since September 2024, she has served as a rabbi for Congregation Kolot Chayeinu, a progressive synagogue.
Stein's parents were ultra-Orthodox Jews. Growing up, Stein was heavily sheltered from the outside world. She was taught Yiddish, Hebrew language, and Aramaic but not English language and had very limited access to literature, music, and the internet. Though unaware of the existence of gender dysphoria, Stein exhibited signs of being transgender as a child. She wanted a dollhouse to play with and to wear bright colors, something men in her community couldn't do. At age four, her mother caught her Self-harm with a pin, and at age nine, she prayed nightly, asking God to turn her into a girl.
As a teenager, Stein was educated in both general and religious studies at several Yeshiva alongside other young Orthodox men. At 16, she was expelled for questioning religion and rebellious acts. She was sent to study at Yeshiva Viznitz, an all-boys Jewish boarding school over 100 miles away, in Kiamesha Lake, New York. There, Stein had a long-term secret romance with a fellow classmate.
While still in school, Stein's parents arranged for her to be married. After screening thousands of women, they chose Fraidy Horowitz based on a combination of her family history, genetic testing, and personality. Stein was uneducated about sex, only learning that women had Vagina a few days before her wedding to Horowitz, when a rabbi instructed her on how to consummate her marriage. They married in 2010, when Stein was 18.
Stein received her semikhah in 2011 but she didn't immediately become a rabbi.Abby Stein's profile on Sefaria "Jewish Education Yeshivat Viznitz" "attended Yeshiva, completing a rabbinical degree in 2011" Glaad.com, April 27, 2016. "36 Under 36" Abby Stein, The Jewish Week Her and Horowitz's only child, a son, was born in 2012 and after witnessing his Brit milah, Stein had a revelation that she needed to leave the Hasidic community. She contacted Footsteps, a New York City-based non-profit organization that helps Jews leave the Ultra-Orthodox community, and with their help, she left Williamsburg in 2012, a decision she described as "life-saving". Her separation from Horowitz was an amicable one. Stein struggled to assimilate into mainstream society due to the cultural and language barriers, describing her experience as "being an immigrant in her own country".
When Stein left her community in 2012 and came out as an atheist, her parents said that no matter Stein's choices in life, she would remain their child. After coming out as trans, though, her father told her that, "You should know that this means I might not be able to talk to you ever again." "Hassidic-raised trans woman to speak about her journey". Alix Wall, Jweekly, April 7, 2016. Since then, her parents have shunned her and stopped talking to her altogether. "I Have Daddy and Mommy Issues". The Second Transition, January 16, 2016. She has also received some hate from her former community, "This trans woman got some serious hate when she left Hasidism behind". Joseph Patrick McCormick, Pink News, November 19, 2016. but, in an interview with Chasing News (a Fox News short film company), Stein said that she received less hate than some people would have expected. She described her life post-transition as "better than I could have ever imagined".
Stein was featured in the 2016 Showtime Documentary series, Dark Net, in episode 8, "Revolt". "DARK NET: Growing Up Trans In An Ultra-Orthodox Community" Tracy Clark-Flory, March 10, 2016.
Becoming Eve has been translated into Dutch language, and was published under the title Eigenlijk Eva: Mijn transitie van ultraorthodoxe rabbi tot trans-vrouw by De Geus on January 18, 2022.
Stein's second book, Sources of Pride, an anthology of Jewish texts on "Identity, Gender, Sexuality, and Inclusivity, in Jewish Texts from the Torah to Kabbalah, Hasidic Teachings, and Contemporary Sources." The book will be a collection of her source sheets on Sefaria. It is to be published by Ben Yehuda Press, who describe the book as "Jewish views on gender and sexuality anthologized from Biblical, Talmudic, Midrashic, Rabbinic, and Chassidic sources with contemporary and personal commentary," with publication date set for September 2nd, 2025.
Stein was profiled in, and wrote the foreword for, Peter Bussian's book of portraits, Trans New York: Photos and Stories of Transgender New Yorkers. In the foreword, she described her love for New York City – both while in the Hasidic community, and now living as a Queer person in New York.
Stein's essay about COVID-19 and its impact on the LGBTQ community, titled, "COVID has exploded Jewish LGBTQ acceptance online. There's no going back." (originally published on The Forward,) was included in When We Turned Within: Reflections on COVID-19, an anthology of 165 essays edited by Sarah Tuttle-Singer and Menachem Creditor. (2020). 9798650180951, Independently Published. EAN 9798650180951
Another one of Stein's essays on the current political climate, titled "When One Line Makes All the Difference" - reflecting on President Joe Biden's victory speech (on November 7, 2020), and his mentioning of the transgender community (originally published online by T'ruah (of which Stein is a rabbinic member), as part of their "Torah 20/20" series.) - was published in the 2021 anthology No Time for Neutrality: American Rabbinic Voices from an Era of Upheaval.
Stein's essay titled "Bring Them In," based on her remarks as part of the 24 hour "Call To Unite," hosted by Tim Shriver and Oprah Winfrey, was published in The Call to Unite.
Stein also contributed to Jewels of Elul: A Letter to Myself XII, a collection of essays published by singer / songwriter and music producer, Craig Taubman. Her essay, titled, "Dayeinu" ("Enough" in Hebrew), focused on the question of "What If?", and explored an answer to the question of "What If you would have been" born or raised in different circumstances.
Stein also contributed an essay to Kaye Blegvad's The Pink Book: An Illustrated Celebration of the Color, from Bubblegum to Battleships, discussing her relationship with the color pink, the Hasidic community and the color, and her feelings about stereotypical femininity.
In December 2015, Stein founded a support group for trans people from Orthodox backgrounds. "She also founded a support group for trans people of Orthodox backgrounds," Summer Luk, Glaad.com Blog, April 2016. The group's first meeting had 12 people attending, most of them fellow Hasids struggling with their gender identity. "Stein decided to start her own support group, and 25 people signed up. Most were fellow Hasids struggling with their sexuality or gender identity, Stein said. In December, they had their initial meet-up, with 12 people attending., Alix Wall, Jweekly, April 2016. Stein's avid blogging also gained her a big following in the Jewish community, and she has become a role model for former ultra-Orthodox Jews – both LGBTQ and not. "She recently started a support group for transgender people from Orthodox backgrounds, and, as an avid blogger (she came out as trans via blog, in a post that garnered 20,000 views overnight), has become a role model for former ultra-Orthodox Jews – both LGBTQ and not." Jodie Shupac, Canadian Jewish News, March 2016.
In addition to transgender activism, Stein has also been active in several projects to help those going off the derech and leaving the ultra-Orthodox community. She has been working with Footsteps, and its Canadian sister organization, Forward, for which she traveled to Montreal in 2016 to help jump-start. In addition, she has also done some lay advocacy work with YAFFED, working towards a better education in the Hasidic schools, for which she has also engaged in political work.
In 2018, Stein co-founded her own feminist/womanist multi-faith and inclusive celebration of women and non-binary people of all faith traditions, called Sacred Space, with former Mormon feminist and founder of Ordain Women, human rights lawyer Kate Kelly, and Yale Divinity School professor and Baptist preacher Eboni Marshall-Turman.
Stein has been an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights. Following the October 7 attacks, Stein, the daughter of an Israeli immigrant, managed her own grief while mobilizing her community in opposition of Israel's increasing violence against Palestinians. She has continued to work towards ceasefire solutions and recognition of human rights violations against Palestinians as a founding member and organizer of Rabbis for Ceasefire
During the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Stein served as a national Surrogate for the Bernie Sanders campaign.. It also appears in Stein's Twitter bio.
Stein is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
In December 2021 Stein was photographed by Annie Leibovitz as part of Celebrity Cruises' "industry-elevating" All-Inclusive Photo Project. The Project, which according to CNN was "some of the world's most innovative artists and photographers teaming up with a cruise line in a bid to help change the face of travel marketing" was according to Celebrity Cruises "starting a movement to address under-representation in travel marketing through our All-Inclusive Photo Project. In partnership with world-renowned photographers, we have created the world's first open-source photo library featuring ethnic, disabled, curvy and LGBTQ+ changemakers. We invite our industry to join us in changing the face of travel." Stein said about that shoot that “while I don't understand corporate intentions, the people I worked with from Celebrity were all really, really amazing and they really mean it. I think they've done a lot of amazing stuff towards being more inclusive and I'm a big fan of inclusivity. Specifically, actual actions.”
Stein's photo from that shoot was printed in The New York Times Sunday edition on Sunday April 24, 2022, as a double page centerfold feature in the main section.
In addition to public speaking, she also teaches classes on gender within Judaism, as well as bringing attention to trans people from Orthodox communities. Abby stein on Sefaria. As of November 2016, she has had speeches at several universities. She has also done longer speaking tours to several communities in Montreal, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the New York metropolitan area. "The Second Transition – Calendar".
Starting in 2016, Stein has also become a rising star in demand for speaking engagements and conferences, such as the Limmud franchise, "Her Journey From Hasidic Rabbi To (Happy) Transgender Woman", Debra Nussbaum Cohen, Forward, February 7, 2017. where, at the 2017 Limmud NY conference, she spoke more times than any other presenter. "Limmud Conference Tests Limits Of Pluralism", The New York Jewish Week, February 22, 2017. At the same time, she has also spoken internationally at conferences such as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee's annual Junction Conference in Berlin, "The Junction Annual: Our World in Transition", Speakers. and the Miles Nadal JCC's Shavuot in Toronto.
A big part of Stein's events have been with Hillel International affiliates all over the world. According to a 2017 report by Hillel, "Stein has visited more than 100 campuses, sharing her story with thousands of students, in hopes of teaching them the importance of inclusivity, and that 'Judaism and queerness are not a contradiction'." Her events drew hundreds of students, where she talks about her life, Transgender in Judaism, Intersectionality, policy, and politics, as it relates to the LGBTQ community, and consulting on how to be more inclusive.
Stein is today a globally recognized author, activist, and speaker. As of July 2020, she has given over 400 speeches at venues worldwide.
During the rally following the march, Stein also spoke on stage alongside Reverend Jacqui Lewis, senior minister of Middle Collegiate Church, and Muslim activist Remaz Abdelgader, leading the spiritual invocation opening the rally. During her speech, which she started with the traditional greeting of "Shabbat Shalom", she related the march to the The Exodus, leading the audience in chants denouncing different forms of prejudice and oppression, with a chant of "Let It Go!". She also called for unity, saying that, "A lot of people out there, a lot of people in the media are trying to divide us. What brings us together is not the fact that we are all the same. What brings us together is our differences."
In 2020, Stein was a featured speaker at the Women's March NYC, in Foley Square.
By 2019 she has re-embraced her title and work as a rabbi, leaning into the knowledge she got in her training to advance LGBTQ right and social justice." She also said that “I have found that even the most secular Jews have a certain type of respect when you say, ‘rabbi,’” and she has used that ability to talk more about how Judaism and Jewish texts have space for queer and trans people, saying that “While I don't think that we need text to justify who we are... I do think that texts create something so beautiful and powerful.” While making a video teaching Jewish texts with the Jewish Daily Forward, she said that “I'm hoping that looking at these texts and sharing them could help us all, if we wish, to find a space for us within Judaism to learn not to tolerate who we are, but to celebrate who we are.” Stein also partnered with the Yiddish Forverts to create content in her native Yiddish on the topic of gender and transgender in Judaism.
Stein currently serves in the capacity of a rabbi on NCJW's "Rabbis for Repro" board, overseeing "a network of Jewish clergy who have pledged to preach, teach, and advocate for abortion justice," which currently has over 1,500 members.
Stein is an active member of the rabbinical group T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, as well as a member of the rabbinical advocacy group "Tirdof: New York Jewish Clergy for Justice" which is a partnership between T'ruah and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ).
A February 2022 article in Distractify claimed that the transgender rabbi character (played by Hari Nef) in episode 10 of And Just Like That... was based on Stein.
As of the High Holy Days 5784 (September 2023), Stein has been working as a rabbi and scholar-in-residence at The New Shul, a Non-Denominational progressive synagogue in Manhattan's West Village.
American Jewish Press Association Rockower Award, First place Award for Excellence in Personality Profiles. In the 2019 awards, Simi Horowitz's profile of Stein, "Abby Stein: A Gender Transition Through a Jewish Lens", in the Moment Magazine Received the first place award for Excellence in Personality Profiles. The AJPA commented by saying that, "This piece captures the humanity of Abby Stein, with an abundance of quietly telling details (like what she's eating during the interview). An impressive work."
| 2014 | Huffington Post Live | TV series; Episode: "Why Orthodox Jews Struggle to Leave Community" with Shulem Deen |
| 2015 | Huffington Post Live | TV series; Episode: "Why This Trans Woman Left Hasidism To Embrace Her Gender Identity" |
| 2015 | Chasing News | Fox TV Series; Episode: "Free To Be Me" |
| 2016–2018 | Great Big Story | A CNN Web Series; Episode: "Transitioning to Freedom" – in 2018 the episode was aired again by "Great Big Story Nordics" with Swedish language subtitles; Episode: "Transsexuell med ultraortodox bakgrund" |
| 2016 | Dark Net | Showtime Television documentary series, Episode 8, "Revolt" |
| 2016 | Vice Media – Canada | Canadian TV Series; Episode: "Les défis d'une activiste trans reniée par sa communauté juive hassidique" In French and in English |
| 2017 | NowThis News | TV series; Episode: "How This Hasidic Rabbi Became A Trans Woman" – Got 2.6 million views on Facebook alone. |
| 2017 | Shishi With Ayala Hasson | Israeli TV Series on Channel 10; Episode: "הכל אודות אבי: מסעו המופלא של האברך החרדי שהפך לאישה" (All About Abby: The Wonderful Journey of the Young Ultra-Orthodox Man That Became A Woman), In Hebrew |
| 2017 | The Theme of NOVA | Bulgarian TV Show; Episode: "Темата на NOVA: Свещеникът, който се моли да бъде жена" (The Rabbi Who Prays to Be a Woman) – this was Stein's first TV appearance in Eastern Europe, and Bulgaria's first transgender story on TV, in Bulgarian. |
| 2017 | PopSugar | Social Media series; Episode: "This Transgender Trailblazer Left the Hasidic Community to Live Her Truth as a Woman" – it got over 7 million views on Facebook alone,As of June 27 POPSUGAR. Celebrity the most of any of her videos |
| 2017 | Spanish TV series; Episode: "Abby Stein cortó toda la relación con su familia cuando les contó que era transgénero" – Stein was not interviewed for this episode, in Spanish. | |
| 2017 | RTVi | International Russian-speaking TV series; Episode: "«Тайм-Код» с Владимиром Ленским. 16 июня" – Filmed at Columbia University, in Russian. |
| 2017 | WNYW | NYC TV news series; Episode: "Transgender woman's journey from Hasidim to a new life". |
| 2017 | Weekly Facebook based show; Episode: "To mark Transgender Day of Remembrance". | |
| 2017 | The Rundown | TV show on the International Israeli channel i24NEWS; Episode: "Bridging Ultra-Orthodox and LGBT communities" in two parts,First part is called in English |
| 2018 | Todo Noticias | Argentina TV show; Episode: "Cómo un rabino ultraortodoxo (casado y con un hijo) se convirtió en mujer," and additional segment "Abby, el rabino ortodoxo que se convirtió en mujer"Aired on TV a day after in Spanish |
| 2018 | CAFE 100 | Web Series; Episode: "Episode 2: Abby Stein" |
| 2018 | HuffPost | TV series; Episode: S1:E11 "This Trans Woman Left Her Hasidic Community To Fully Embrace Her True Self" |
| 2018 | TRENDING | TV show hosted by Emily Frances; Episode: "From Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman"Paywall link on the official website: |
| 2018 | Stern | German Magazine based Series as part of JWD by Joko Winterscheidt; Episode: "Abby Stein musste eine Welt aufgeben, in der sie Rabbiner sein sollte – um eine Frau zu sein," In German |
| 2019 | 112BK | Brooklyn based BRIC TV weekly show; Episode: "A Hasidic Rabbi's Transition" |
| 2019 | Queer Kid Stuff | Web series educating kids on LGBTQ+ and social justice topics; season 4, episode 2: "Religion with Abby Chava Stein!" |
| 2019 | Studio 10 | Australian morning talk show on Network Ten; Episode: "Abby Stein: From Orthodox Rabbi To Transgender Woman" |
| 2019 | Today Show | American morning talk show on NBC; season 67, Episode: "Transgender Woman Chronicles Her Journey from Rabbi to Her True Self" |
| 2020 | Magellán | Hungarian Educational and Scientific show on Super TV2; Episode: "Rabbi volt, de nőként él tovább: Exkluzív interjú Abby Steinnel" (She was a rabbi, now she lives as a woman: An exclusive interview with Abby Stein), in Hungarian |
| 2020 | Soon By You | A credited and scripted cameo as a Yoga Instructor; Soon By You is a "frum and funky 'Friends'-esque sitcom", set in the Modern Orthodox community of New York City's Upper West Side. This S2:E2 episode was focused on the Orthodox LGBTQ community. |
| 2020 | Inside Edition | American TV News magazine on CBS; season 32, Episode: "Abby Stein Is the First from New York's Hasidic Community to Come Out as Trans" |
| 2021 | A Day in the Life of America | Documentary film produced by Jared Leto in 2017, aired by PBS as part of the Independent Lens series; season 21, episode 6. Stein is also featured in the trailer linked in this article. |
| 2023 | The Secret Life of Hasidic Jews in New York | Documentary produced by Drew Binsky exploring Williamsburg, NY, Abby's neighborhood where she grew up. |
| 2025 | The Encampments | Documentary produced by BreakThrough News and Watermelon Pictures about the 2024 Columbia University pro-ceasefire Encampments during which Stein, as part of Rabbis for Ceasefire, led Shabbat services. Her service leadership and remarks were included in the documentary. |
| 2025 | Girls & Gods | Documentary exploring "whether monotheistic religions can be feminist, with Ukrainians activist Inna Shevchenko of the FEMEN collective as their guide, from Copenhagen to New York." Premiered at . |
Stein is a cousin of the actor Luzer Twersky.
In a 2023 piece Stein wrote for Autostraddle, she identified her sexuality "as an out and proud queer, polyamory demisexual."
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