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Conservative Judaism’s Flagship Seminary Opens Door to Gays and Lesbians
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More in NewsEnding nearly two decades of debate, the flagship seminary of Conservative Judaism announced this week that it would now accept gay and lesbian students into its rabbinical and cantorial schools. But a subsequent declaration from the movement’s Israeli seminary upholding the ban on gay rabbinical students made clear that the issue was far from settled in the Conservative movement.
The decision by Arnold Eisen, chancellor-elect of the New York-based Jewish Theological Seminary, follows on the heels of a vote last December by the Conservative movement’s top lawmaking body to permit gay ordination and same-sex unions. The main Conservative seminary on the West Coast, the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, recently announced that it had accepted its first two openly gay students.
On the East Coast, however, the decision to admit gays was not a foregone conclusion. Senior members of the JTS faculty opposed the adoption of an inclusive policy and made their dissatisfaction known.
Eisen’s decision to welcome gays and lesbians at JTS comes after a nearly four-month long process designed to take the movement’s pulse on whether to allow gays in the rabbinate. That process included surveying the opinions of more than 5,500 of the movement’s rabbis, lay leaders, students and professors, as well as holding faculty discussions that often went on late into the night. The results of the survey, which was conducted by Jewish demographer Steven M. Cohen, showed that a clear majority of Conservative Jews in the United States support the allowance of gays and lesbians into the clergy.
A vote by the JTS faculty produced similar results, with the majority of professors favoring an inclusive admissions policy at the 121-year-old seminary. In a show of just how deep feelings run on the divisive issue, many of the votes delivered to Eisen came with highly detailed personal notes attached, Eisen told the Forward. The chancellor-elect also said he hoped that the time he took to engage with the community before making a final decision would have a positive impact on the movement as a whole.
“I’m hoping that the whole process that surrounded the decision will revitalize the sense that Conservative Judaism is a living organism,” Eisen said, adding that he has received “a lot of mail to that effect.”
Eisen also said that he is initiating a movement-wide discussion about the obligations of religious observance, as a means of demonstrating the core principles that unite, rather than divide, the movement.
Conservative Judaism, once America’s most popular synagogue stream, has seen its numbers decline in recent years, in the face of the Reform movement’s growth. Advocates for the new ordination policy at JTS say that the open acceptance of gay and lesbian clergy will go a long way in helping to re-energize the movement and will keep it in step with changes in American society and culture. Advocates also say that the move will allow the seminary to be more selective in choosing future rabbis.
“If you have a higher number of candidates, it will up the admissions standards,” said Judith Hauptman, a professor of Talmud and rabbinic culture at JTS, and a vocal proponent of gay ordination.
But those who oppose Conservative Judaism’s slide to the left, including the past chancellor of JTS, Ismar Schorsch, have warned that the acceptance of gays could ultimately divide the movement. Thus far, those predictions have not been borne out in the United States.
In Canada, though, Conservative Jews tend to be more traditional than in America and movement leaders are mulling whether to split off from the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the stream’s congregational arm in North America. Rabbis there describe the newly liberal approach to homosexuality as just one issue among a host of other problems — including whether the movement’s Canadian branch is getting its fair share of the financial pie — that are driving the discussions of a break-away.
Referring to the decision by JTS, Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl, one of two Canadian members of the law committee, said, “I would imagine that the decision today will go into the hopper, but it will not be the determining decision in terms of whether the Canadian Conservative synagogues will remain formally connected with the United Synagogue.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli seminary became the first Conservative one in the world — including those in South America, the United Kingdom and Hungary — to declare formally that it would not accept gay and lesbian students into its rabbinical training program. The dean of the Jerusalem-based Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, Rabbi Einat Ramon, announced March 27 to the seminary’s board that she had made her decision following a study of the issue.
“This is a final decision,” Ramon said in a phone interview. “In Israel, the [Conservative] movement has to be consistently halachic” — true to rabbinic and biblical law — “otherwise it will unite with the Reform Movement.” Ramon said that the rabbinic opinion paper put forth by Rabbi Joel Roth, which upholds the ban on gay ordination, was in keeping with Jewish law.
Roth, a longtime JTS professor, resigned from the law committee in protest of the vote approving gay rabbis. Three other law committee members also submitted their resignations.
Ramon stressed that her conclusion was based in part on the importance of the heterosexual family unit in traditional Judaism. She said that a discussion of “why people are feeling disenchanted and alienated by the heterosexual family today” should be undertaken in order to ensure the family unit’s survival. Ramon further contended that homosexuality is a choice, a position, she said, that is taken by “gay thinkers,” including Michel Foucault.
Rabbi Andrew Sacks, who is the director of the Israeli branch of the Rabbinical Assembly and serves on the board at Schechter, said he believes that eventually the decision may need to change.
“We live in a global society, and it is difficult for me to imagine that what occurs in the United States will not have an impact or influence here in Israel,” he said. “And a decision that is more inclusive seems to me to be inevitable.”
Comments
The real tragedy is that the vast majority of American Jews don't really believe in Judaism anymore. They don't believe in the Torah or that it was given to us by G-d. There must be some line which we will not cross regardless of what is happening in society. Arbitrary decisions based on making people feel good or to be inclusive rather then following the Torah is what is killing the conservative movement. The clergy in particular must adhere to the moral absolutes that are clearly written in the Torah. I expect a Rabbi to be the role model for his synagogue. Regardless of whether he is reform or conservative I would expect him to keep kosher, to be shomer Shabbat, and yes, to be heterosexual. The Rabbi needs to set the standard that the congregation should aspire to. It certainly does not benefit religion or society to attempt to normalize abnormal behavior. Our society is becoming more and more decadent and indecent. You would think that the synagogue would be a safe sanctuary for our children.
As far as our society goes we lost the argument long ago. We allowed homosexuals to change the frame of the whole discussion from "what they do" to "who they are". They are people who have relations and relationships with members of the same sex (what they do). They have changed it to they "are" gay ... so now we are critical of their identity, not their behavior. And by framing it as their identity, now they can say that we discriminate against them as people.
It's a shame that "the people of the book" no longer believe in or follow their book.
As a lifetime Coservative and observant Jew, I don't profess to observe every precept of the Torah in exacting detail (Nor do I think that ritual laws should be kept so strict). I do have sympathy for the difficulties that homosexuals may endure. However on an individual basis, are the desires of someone who is homosexual all that different from a married heterosexual who has desires for someone outside their marriage? What about the desires of consenting adults who enter into incestuous relationships? (even many distant relatives or relatives through marriage cannot enter into those relationships)What about polygomy? With the scientific knowledge that we have today, why keep kosher? Certain rules can be relaxed or interpreted differently, but I feel it was wrong to completely disregard the precepts in the Torah, if the Conservative movement believes in halacha. So now they tell me it's OK to live openly and proud as a homosexual, but I should be more strigent in my observance of eating kosher. Sounds hypocritical to me.
People should actually read the responsum "normalizing" homosexual conduct and relationships, together with Rabbi Roth's criticisms, to understand how bad it is. They are on the Rabbinical Assembly's website. Just why this issue compels people to cast aside intellectual honesty and gut the moral authority of our tradition is beyond me.
Compassion for those who find themselves with perverted inclinations they did not choose does not mean there is no difference. If we believe in any sense that this is a created world, and as Jews I think we must, we must distinguish between what is and what ought to be.
Judaism's disapproval of homosexual conduct has been unequivocal since the Book of Leviticus. If we are to say that Judaism has been morally wrong in principle about something like this for millennia, how do we know Judaism is right about anything? Put another way, how can we believe God speaks through our Torah and tradition in any way whatever? I'm not willing to see Judaism gutted so that gays and lesbians can be blessed in a tradition that they effectively deny has any connection with God.
The responsum frankly subordinates our Torah and tradition to contemporary liberalism, stating that if homosexuals cannot be accommodated Judaism will have failed. But if political liberalism tells us all we ever need to know, who needs Torah? This amounts to avodah zarah, a violation of the First Commandment, and nobody even notices? The real failure would be for us to become, in Heschel's words, the messenger who has forgotten the message.
I'm a member of a Conservative congregation whose rabbi holds to the traditional position, so there will be no gay Jewish weddings in our synagogue for now. But I cannot respect a denomination which makes subordinating the Torah to liberalism and subordinating liberalism to the Torah equally valid options, or that exalts the content-empty values of "inclusivity" and "diversity" over actually believing in something. I agree with Sabi Israel that there has to be a line somewhere, and this crossed it.
I'm a Conservative Jew who loves torah, who reads and studies, who leads services and leyns from the torah every shabbat. I'm also a lesbian. Those two things are't incompatible. And while I don't keep strictly kosher, and I'm not completely shomer shabbat, what I expect of my rabbi is not that they will model in perfect detail these rituals. What I expect from my rabbi, and from all Jews, is the understanding that human rights and dignity come before everything, that we are all created in the divine image, and that none of us has the right to condemn someone else's existence. How dare you compare being gay to being adulterous or incestuous? Adultery and incest are choices that people make, like choosing to eat pork or buy things on shabbat, and people's choices can be defended and argued. But being gay is absolutely not a choice. Who would choose to be so hated and degraded by their families and communities? And there are many, many gay & lesbian Jews who are in long-term, loving, monogamous relationships with other Jews, raising Jewish children. How is a loving two-parent household dangerous to society? How are these people harming you in any way? Torah is not the final word - if it was, we would never read the talmud! As Jews, we're expected to read torah, yes, but also to interpret, to argue, and to define what will continue to make us a holy community. And many, many rabbis have argued extensively over that line from Leviticus, which seems on it's surface to prohibit one specific act, for generations. There are more responses to that line than you can imagine, and none of them simply take it at face value. Your baseless hatred will never be part of tikkun olam, which makes me question how many of you I would be proud to call fellow Jews.
I heard these same arguments when women were first ordained. Please tell me you'll all get over it faster this time. This is a great thing, and about time.
Hi Marisa, First of all I don't hate gays. I treat all people with respect and dignity. I just don't believe that the the openly gay lifesyle is sanctioned in the Torah. If I don't agree with you however, please don't hate me. Is being gay wrong, or is just male gay sex wrong? That's where interpretation comes in. However, when the Torah says "thou shall not commit adultery", should that be re-interpreted as well? (even if that persons' spouse gives the OK) I doubt that you would want that law relaxed, but even adulterers are created in the divine image. Human rights and dignity for all people, but maybe not for all of their actions. I also struggle with those declarations in Leviticus. Being gay may not usually be a choice, and you make some good points in your letter, but why are those proclamations in Leviticus? Does God prefer a monogamous heterosexual lifestyle as the only way to be a holy community? I don't condemn your existence, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with your decision to want your gay lifestyle sanctified either. Would like to hear your opinions, without anger if possible. Shabat Shalom
How sad!!! Why even bother calling it conservtive "judaism". Why not call it liberal humanists? It no longer has any relevance to judaism. If you can reinvent and disregard fundamentals of the Torah, by what yardstick can you say with intellectual honesty that it is a stream of judaism? Let's be honest and just start a new religion, the feel good secular humanists. Where I need not regard any historical precepts, we just hire a pollster and whatever the majority opinion is, that is the new bible. How Sad!!!!
What a sad day it is for the Jew when the Conservatives equate our faith with Abominations. Man and Women choose right from wrong. Making wrong right by an organization, only underlines the wrong of that group.
Alan, thanks for your questions. First of all, the torah says nothing at all about "the openly gay lifesyle," whatever that means to you. I have a feeling that the "style" of my life is probably much more like yours than you might imagine. And I certainly don't hate you, or anyone - hatred is definitely not part of my life. While I do get angry when other Jews uniformly condemn me, or when I see "observant" Jews spitting or throwing rocks at other Jews who are gay, I am always happy to respond to respectful questions! From my own study of the torah, the only (apparently) direct prohibition is one specific sexual act. But when we look at the other, similar prohibitions, the commentators of the Talmud have told us that many of these actions were common practice in Egypt, and these rules are meant to separate and define "us" as "not like them." The Egyptians engaged (we are told) in idol worship, which included human sacrifice and the use of temple prostitutes. We are forbidden from practices which in any way mimic theirs, because our god does not want human sacrifice, and the torah makes it clear that god wants us to love and respect each other, provide hospitality for each other, teach and learn from each other. Especially during this season, when we are commanded to remember that we were strangers in Egypt, so we must treat the stranger with respect. Well, I do my best on a daily basis to help create and maintain the holy community of b'nei Yisrael, I refuse to condone Pharaoh-like behavior that makes other people feel like slaves, and I do my best personally to treat every other person with respect. (I would say that adultery and incest both involve treating another person with no respect, and acting as if another person was your slave or prostitute.) But if I'm lucky enough to find my bashert, and I want to have a Jewish life with her, then I'll be treated as the stranger by my own community. If the tables were turned, and you wanted to join a new Jewish community, but people responded with anger when you wore your wedding ring or mentioned your wife, how would you respond? If you had done your best to create a respectful, loving relationship, and others told you that your relationship was destroying society? Interpretation is necessary, but the principle of kavod ha'briot still trumps all for a reason - the overriding injunction is to remember that we were slaves in Egypt, and to never use our own positions of power to create another "Egypt" where others are enslaved. Thanks for listening, and a zisn pesach.
Hi Marisa, Nice to hear from you again. I'm no Torah scholar, and although I do feel for you, I'm not qualified to know the nuances of the prohibition in Leviticus (e.g. in what context, what it's grouped together with, what specific words are used, and how those words are used elsewhere in the Torah, etc.) However, you have made me think about the complexities of the issue, especially the human aspect. My family and I have suffered much do to life's seemingly unfair events, and I don't think that people who are menschlach, honest, and good to others deserve to suffer. I don't think that you should suffer either. Maybe you are right in what the "big picture" should be, but even if you're not right, that matter is between you and God alone. In the end, if we will be judged, I think we will be judged on how we dealt with, and treated our fellow people, Jews and non-Jews alike. So, even though I am torn by this issue, and not sure what the right path is, I will continue to evaluate, and (maybe) eventually alter my position. Sorry we can't talk in person, but I hope God blesses you with peace and a good life with whatever path you take. Shabat Shalom, Alan
Marisa, You cannot say with a straight face that the Torah prohibition is only of the actual act described. Please be intellectaully honest!
It is a sad day when the conservative Jew is so pressured as to relinquish his hold on the one unchangeable part of his religion--his G-d. A Jew is not one physically, but one spiritually. To give up a conservative grasp of Torah is to give up the "tutor" which brings us to understand the perfect requirements of G-d are impossible for us to accomplish through Law alone. You cannot be a friend of God, if you reject holiness, and refuse his Grace found in the death of Messiah. While I commend your "inclusive" mentality, taking fire to one's bosom will only get you burned. You cannot serve two masters. Choose G-d (your judge!) While you might stop on the road to render charity to a beggar, you wouldn't give him the keys to your car along with directions!! Sadly, nobody recognizes a spiritual beggar any more...(One Goy's opinion)(clarification--that's "Goy", not "Gay")
Homosexuality is forbidden by Jewish law. Period. Jews, however, are not the "God Hates Fags" sign type of protesters. The misguided liberal "movements" (denominations ?) are vicitms of the PC Police and secular culture in thinking that homosexuality is perfectly fine in Judaism. It isn't. And it's also wrong, by the way, to treat homosexuals with the contempt and hatred that is seen by other traditional groups. Ahavas yisroel applies to ALL Jews, "gay" or otherwise.
Go CANNADA, you are going in the right direction. Make that split and we will join you.