Ordination of Gay Rabbis
A look at the different Jewish movements' attitudes.
By Elizabeth Richman
Traditionally, Judaism has disapproved
of homosexual sex. Leviticus 18:22 prohibits two men from having sex, and
rabbinic literature extended this prohibition to sex between women, as well.
It's not surprising then that, for most of Jewish history, the idea of a gay
rabbi was largely unthinkable.
However, over the past few decades
some Jewish denominations have become more accepting of gay Jews, eventually
leading to conversations about ordaining gay rabbis. While the Conservative
movement recently addressed this issue publicly, all the major
movements, from the right to the left, have had to address this topic.
Reconstructionist Movement
During its first 15 years of existence, the
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) did not ordain openly gay Jews. Beginning
in 1984, though, RRC changed its admissions policy and became the first major
rabbinical seminary to accept openly gay students. In 1990, the
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Assembly recommended that the Reconstructionist movement
also establish a policy of non-discrimination in rabbinic job placement processes.
"It became a civil rights issue," said Rabbi Linda Holtzman, a
former director of practical rabbinics at RCC, of the college's decision to
change its policy to admit gays and lesbians. "The gay rights movement was
strong enough that it started to have an impact." Holtzman added that a lot
of "pushing" catalyzed study and eventual change in the movement
about what "it means to be open and inclusive."
Reform Movement
The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), the
rabbinic arm of the Reform movement, catalyzed a series of discussions about
homosexuality with its 1977 resolution calling for an end to discrimination
against gay people in both secular and Jewish society. Among the responses over
the following decade was a resolution submitted to the movement in 1985 by
Rabbi Margaret Wenig and rabbinical student Margaret Holub calling for gay
ordination.
In 1986, the movement convened a group called the Ad Hoc
Committee on Homosexuality and the Rabbinate to study the issue of gay
ordination. The committee eventually produced a report advocating that "all
rabbis, regardless of sexual orientation, be accorded the opportunity to
fulfill the sacred vocation that they have chosen." In 1990, the CCAR
officially endorsed this report, while still acknowledging that some of its
members felt differently about the issue.
The CCAR report also endorsed what had been a recent change in the
admissions policy of its rabbinical seminary, Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). That new admissions policy declared "that
HUC-JIR considers sexual orientation of an applicant only within the context of
a candidate's overall suitability for the rabbinate, his or her qualifications
to serve the Jewish community effectively, and his or her capacity to find
personal fulfillment within the rabbinate."
According to Jean Rosensaft, HUC-JIR's national director for public affairs,
the Reform movement took a stand on the issue then as an outgrowth of the
American Psychological Association's determination that homosexuality should no
longer be classified as a disease. Rosensaft also suggested that the APA's
decision helped empower gay and lesbian Jews, encouraging them to speak out.
Like the Reconstructionist seminary, HUC-JIR now accepts openly gay students
and counts many openly gay rabbis among its alumni.
Conservative Movement
Changes in the Conservative movement occurred more slowly
and more recently. Gay ordination was first considered in 1992 by the movement's
halakhic decision-making body, the
Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS). On March 25, 1992, after voting into
effect teshuvot (rabbinic response
papers) that prohibited gay ordination, the CJLS also issued a Consensus Statement
on Homosexuality.
It declared that the movement "will not knowingly admit
avowed homosexuals to our rabbinical or cantorial schools..." or perform
commitment ceremonies. Whether openly
gay individuals could serve as synagogue lay leaders, teachers, and youth
leaders was left up to individual rabbis. The statement nevertheless ended with
a declaration that "gays and lesbians are welcome in our congregations,
youth groups, camps, and schools."
In 2002, then-president of the United Synagogue of
Conservative Judaism, Judy Yudoff, asked the CJLS to reconsider the question of
gay rabbis and same-sex unions. Rabbi Reuven Hammer, then-president of the
Rabbinical Assembly (RA), made a similar request. In response, the CJLS officially
reopened its deliberations, and several grassroots organizations formed within
the movement to advocate for gay ordination
The CJLS eventually received five papers and approved three
of those teshuvot (responsa) on December 6, 2006. One teshuvah permitted
gay ordination, while the other two opposed it. Because of the CJLS's rule that
any approved teshuvah is recognized as valid, even if it contradicts another
approved teshuvah, all three now represent official policy options for the
movement. Individual institutions, congregations, and rabbis within the
movement are free to decide which opinion to adopt:
·
The teshuvah written by Rabbis Eliott Dorff, Danny
Nevins, and Avram Reisner received 13 votes and used the principle of k'vod
habriot (human dignity) to override rabbinic prohibitions on homosexuality.
The teshuvah permits gay ordination and same-sex unions, but stops short of overturning
what it considers the biblical prohibition on anal sex between two men.
·
Rabbi Joel Roth's teshuvah, which also received 13
votes, refuted the conclusions of Rabbis Dorff, Nevins, and Reisner, and upheld
his earlier position from 1992 banning gay ordination and same-sex unions.
·
Rabbi Leonard Levy's teshuvah focused more on the
current state of knowledge about homosexuality, but endorsed the same general policy
conclusions as Rabbi Roth's paper and offered the suggestion of reparative
therapy for gay Jews.
In the aftermath of the CJLS vote, four rabbis, including
Roth, resigned from the law committee, saying the committee had overstepped the
bounds of Jewish law.
The Conservative movement's Los Angeles-based seminary, the
American Jewish University, permitted gay students to apply immediately, as it
had promised to do once the CJLS paved the way for the change. The Jewish
Theological Seminary (JTS), the movement's New York-based seminary, waited
until it had surveyed the opinions of faculty, students, rabbis, and other Conservative
leaders before taking further steps.
On March 26, 2006 it announced that "effective immediately,
[JTS] will accept qualified gay and lesbian students to our rabbinical and
cantorial schools." Reaction to the announcement was mixed. Advocates of
gay ordination were jubilant about the policy change, though many also
expressed disappointment that the Dorff-Nevins-Reisner teshuvah did not go far
enough in promoting full equality. Opponents of gay ordination were upset and
disappointed, viewing the change as too extreme and concerned that their views
might become less welcome in the movement.
Openly gay students are now studying at both JTS and AJU.
However, the movement's two non-American seminaries, Machon Schechter in Israel
and the Seminario Rabinico Latinoamericano in Argentina, have indicated that
their admissions policies will not change following the CJLS vote.
Orthodox Movement
Social attitudes
toward gay Jews have begun to shift in the Orthodox community, due in part to
movies like Trembling Before G-d, a documentary about the lives of gay
Orthodox Jews,and books such as Rabbi Steven Greenberg's Wrestling
with God and Men.
Rabbi Greenberg, a graduate of Yeshiva University's
rabbinical school and generally considered the first openly gay Orthodox rabbi,
has worked intensively to raise the visibility of gay Orthodox Jews. However, the
Orthodox community generally remains opposed to gay ordination and no Orthodox
rabbinical institution currently admits openly gay students.
Non-Affiliated Rabbinical Seminaries
It is worth noting that The Rabbinical School of Hebrew College, a major transdenominational
rabbinical program, was the first seminary to maintain an open admissions
policy from its inception. Founded in 2003, its admissions policy states that "The
Rabbinical School does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnic origin,
gender or sexual orientation." At least one openly gay student was
admitted in the first class of students in 2003 and then ordained in 2008.
Elizabeth Richman is a
rabbinical student at JTS
