To addrs the subject of homosexualy and Judaism, we spoke to a gay Jew and had the followg exchange:
Contents:
- HOW N YOU BE GAY AND JEWISH?
- “ARE THERE GAY JEWS?”
- LGBTQ PRI MONTH: OY VEY, WHY ARE SO MANY JEWS GAY?
HOW N YOU BE GAY AND JEWISH?
Two vers Levic (Levic 18:23 and Levic 20:13) exprs unequivol nmnatn of male homosexual sex (although is not clear whether what is referred to is terurse or all sexual acts between men). Nohels, the tradnal Jewish posn on homosexualy is still difficult for many liberal-md Jews, and the liberal nomatns have bated the extent to which gays and lbians n be fully tegrated to relig Conservative Halakhah and HomosexualyThe first and least ntroversial step taken by the Conservative, Renstctnist, and Reform movements was to endorse civil equaly for gays and lbians. Th some Jewish thori have argued that sce homosexualy is not chosen, s exprsn nnot be, the Reform movement do not nmn homosexual sex, and openly gay people are eligible for admtance to Reform rabbil schools.
In addn, the Reform movement approv of rabbic officiatn at same-sex marriag and mment Denomatnal Approach on Ordag Openly Gay and Lbian RabbisDaniel Siegel, the Rabbic Director of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, has endorsed same-sex marriage specifilly bee he believ that hols should not be limed only to certa people and certa relatnships. Usg this as her startg pot, Rebec Alpert, a Renstctnist rabbi, has argued that the ernment’s refal to regnize same-sex marriage vlat relig rabbis wh the Conservative movement also ce the ncept of on ( which an dividual has no real choice) permtg homosexual sex.
“ARE THERE GAY JEWS?”
The rult of the vote is that rabbis, synagogu, and other Conservative stutns may choose to ntue to not perm mment ceremoni and not hire openly gay or lbian rabbis and ntors, or may choose to do so. They are rarely acquated wh gay or lbian people, and lack data that is absolutely necsary orr to properly unrstand the verse: the voic of those who know that their sexualy is eher geic or so eply environmentally ndned that is unchangeable. However, havg spent many years meetg both open and secret gay Jews, across all movements and relig affiliatns, I have not met a sgle reprsed gay Jew who is healthy, happy, wise, and livg a full life of tradnal Jewish valu.
LGBTQ PRI MONTH: OY VEY, WHY ARE SO MANY JEWS GAY?
And, jt as we do not query heterosexual upl about their adherence to the laws of fay pury much more important, legally speakg, than the anal sex prohibn, we do not query homosexual upl about their practic here. Moreover, at the very least, society’s wildly disproportnate attentn to homosexualy needs to be rrected; this is a s far ls important than drivg on the Sabbath, or scpuloly observg the laws of fay pury. In any se, the on should be on those who would prohib same-sex relatns to expla their theology, the grammar of the verse, and the place of gay men (remember, none of the above appli to lbians) the Jewish muny if their souls are to be cut off this way.
Ias about LGBTQ clivy have been rapidly evolvg and diversifyg sce the turn of the 21st century, as I document “Queer Judaism, ” my forthg book about homosexualy and Orthodox Judaism Israel. The dozens of gay, lbian and bisexual Orthodox Jews I terviewed ndidly spoke of the digni they enuntered tryg to f to the expectatns: experienc of shame, secrecy, nial, reprsn, fay drama and spirual harm.
He wrote rponse to lls at the time to ncel the sodomy law (which was ultimately ncelled only 1988, thanks to Shulam Aloni) I, as an Orthodox Rabbi, Support Legalizg Same-sex Marriage We Sharpened the Assailant's Knife In Their Own Words Livneh was neher ultra-Orthodox nor Orthodox, but rather a Jewish natnalist, yet his ma argument was that homosexualy is foreign to Judaism, nstut a foreign fluence by generate Wtern culture and should be the op-ed he claimed that for hundreds of years Jews the Diaspora succeed prervg their muni om those “sexual perversns, ” or as he phrased : “It is totally absurd to have suffered for many generatns the Diaspora, while strictly prervg, nurturg and refg the heterosexual prciple, only to return to the Land of Israel and renew the ‘gentil’ abomatn’ here.