Kesher Talk

Latest on gay rabbis debate. As I previously reported (and follow that link back to more posts on this issue), The Jewish Theological Seminary (which produces rabbis for the Conservative Movement as well as scholarship in Jewish studies) continues to make its way through a minefield of halacha and inter-denominational politics to figure out how to fully include gays in Conservative Jewish life. A few weeks ago, a few students conducted an informal Internet poll on the movement's listserv for rabbis.

The poll, conducted on the "Ravnet" Internet list and tallied earlier this week, found that of 103 respondents, 66% said they would support the ordination of men and women who openly declare themselves homosexual, 26% would not, and 8% answered "maybe."

The main bind for the Conservative movement is that it claims to adhere to halacha, yet tries to interpret it in a way that legitimizes beneficial societal changes. Most Conservative Jews at this time (including most Conservative rabbis) would agree that homosexuals should be fully included in Jewish ritual life, but if they ignore centuries of Jewish law to do this, they reduce that law to historical quaintness. (More on interpreting halacha here and here.)

posted by Judith @ 2/27/2003 05:14:05 PM