Conservative Judaism* in the News
There are lots of interesting articles in the NY Times today, this article first and foremost: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/us/07jews.html?ref=us
For those of you who haven't read the article, the leaders of the Conservative Movement in Judaism have voted to allow the ordination of gay rabbis. I think about how I view homosexuality and it seems to be opposite of Orthodox Judaism, which presents a conflict. I daven in a Modern Orthodox synagogue and the way I practice Judaism is headed in that direction. Let me explain:
In my life, I try my hardest to be non-judgmental. I have a 'live and let live' attitude, meaning that you can live your life however you want as long as it doesn't impede the way I live my life. I find that some of my beliefs are opposite of Orthodox Judaism, specifically homosexuality.
The thing is, I don't view homosexuality as 'wrong'. If every human being is made in the image of G-d and the only difference between two specific people is that one person is homosexual and the other is not, what's the problem with homosexual couples wanting to get married, or wanting to be ordained as rabbis?
Orthodox Judaism holds a strong view against homosexuality, as seen in the Torah*, specifically Leviticus 18:22 "And you shall not cohabit with a male as one cohabits with a woman; it is an abomination." and Leviticus 20:13 "And if a man cohabits with a male as with a woman, both of them have done an abominable thing; they shall be put to death; their blood falls back upon them." No shades of gray in those verses!
You can see how the 'live and let live' attitude isn't in sync with Orthodox Judaism. What if I believe that the Torah is from G-d, and I observe Shabbos and Kashrus but I don't share the same views on homsexuality? Can I still be a Modern Orthodox Jew and believe that its' okay for homosexual couples to get married or for a gay rabbi to be ordained? Do I have to change my beliefs in order to be accepted as a Modern Orthodox Jew?
* A branch of Judaism that is more traditional than reform but less stringent than Orthodox Judaism. Look at www.uscj.org
*Torah, otherwise known as the Bible, separated into 5 portions (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
posted by justanotherSWJF at
12:03 PM
1 Comments:
The modern orthodox Jews I know just avoid the subject. Thoughts seem to go along the lines of "G-d created them this way. It seems to be pretty clear-cut that homosexual activity is wrong. But G-d is good. I don't understand why G-d would create someone that way if it were really bad. There are some things in the Torah that seem to be clear-cut but really aren't. Maybe I'm missing something... I don't know enough to really understand all the angles..." and it trails off from there. I believe that love is a gift from Hashem. If G-d gave two men (the Torah doesn't definitely say anything about homosexuality among women) love for each other... I don't see how that could be bad. I'm less certain about marriage and ordination.
I'm going to guess that me and those I know are fairly typical in this regard. Even among some yeshivish families I know, they're not going to come out and rant against homosexuals. That's between the men involved and Hashem.
12:41 PM
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