D'var Torah

Hamvaser – Heshvan 5767

You’re Both Right

One of the hallmarks of the Conservative Movement long has been the way in which we struggle with Jewish law and halakhic process. While the script of the Torah consists of black letters on white parchment, Jewish law (halakhah), is far from black and white. There is much to be said for both/and rather than either/or as legitimate halakhic positions. For millennia, the give and take between Jewish legal authorities and their struggles with one another underscores and underlines Jewish legal dynamic. The dates and discussions that fill the pages of traditional Jewish law texts and responsa manifest mightily that text and context constantly interact in determining what it is that Jews may or may not do.

In 1992 the law committee of the Rabbinical Assembly (officially the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards) accepted four teshuvot (responsa) on homosexuality; these were used as backing sources for a unified consensus position. Then, the consensus position was that given the current scientific, psychological and biological information on the origin and nature of homosexuality, homosexual relationships cannot be judged to be in accord with halakha (Jewish law). Some of the responsa noted that future information on this subject might be sufficient to utilize leniencies and potential legal novellae; therefore the law committee held the right to re-evaluate this area at a future date.

For the past many months newspapers and columns have been filled with information about meetings of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS), the halakhic body of the Conservative Movement as it struggles with homosexuality. As has already been made clear, come December, the Committee will not offer one clear, concise, position. What has not been made clear is that these position papers will not determine who will or will not be ordained as Jewish professionals, or whether gay marriage is acceptable/allowable under Jewish law. I do not expect unanimity. My suspicion is that there will be three possible positions presented:

(1) Homosexuality is prohibited by the Torah
(2) only anal intercourse is prohibited by the Torah; all other forms of sexual expression are permissible
(3) All homosexual and heterosexual activity is allowable

Depending upon the number of votes received in Committee, these views will either be acceptable positions within the Movement or not. According to the rules of the CJLS, to be a valid opinion, the position must receive at least six votes from among the members of the committee. Unanimous decisions of the committee (rare indeed!) are binding on all Conservative Rabbis. Each of these decisions will be predicated upon an understanding of the text of Torah and the Jewish legal tradition and each will proclaim the need to be open, sensitive, compassionate and embracing of all Jews regardless of sexual orientation. There will be programmatic and halakhic consequences that follow upon each of the positions. The language and terminology used in the decisions will be critical to an understanding of what is or is not being said in the position papers.

What will follow from each of the opinions will be a discussion of the ramifications of some possible options to be explored by the Conservative Movement with respect to ordination, marriage, divorce, issues of death and burial, and adoption. Yet again, we will be reminded that there are many Jews of various backgrounds and orientations who help to create community. These positions will undoubtedly reaffirm earlier statements asserting and affirming the value of reaching out to, and enfolding, all Jews within the family of the Jewish people (along with a refining of the concept of households and families). As was the case in my teacher, Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff’s "This Is My Beloved, This Is My Friend: A Rabbinic Letter on Intimate Relations," on behalf of the Rabbinical Assembly, I believe that there also will be an affirmation of the Jewish historic ideal of Jewish marriage as a sacred heterosexual union between valid contracting partners. The December decisions will open the conversation more fully and more directly; we as a community will be challenged to engage in the give and take of the Jewish legal process with understanding, dignity, mutual respect, and compassion. I look forward to sharing these decisions with you.

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