Jewish views on homosexuality
The book of Vayikra (Leviticus) is traditionally regarded as classifying sexual intercourse between males as a to'eivah (something abhorred or detested) that can be subject to capital punishment by the current Sanhedrin under halakha (Jewish law).
The Book of Leviticus refers to male homosexual sexual practices twice (JPS translation): .וְאֶת-זָכָר, לֹא תִשְׁכַּב מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה — תּוֹעֵבָה הִוא Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is detestable.
[17] Nevertheless, the Shulchan Aruch recommended to avoid such yichud, "in these generations where promiscuous people are common" (possibly a reference to the use of Köçek dancer-prostitutes in the Ottoman Empire at the time).
Rabbinic tradition understands the Torah's system of capital punishment to not be in effect for the past approximately 2,000 years, in the absence of a Sanhedrin and Temple.
The Talmud discusses tribadism (women rubbing genitals together, or nashim mesolelot) without explicitly prohibiting it; the main concern was whether or not this activity removed their status as a virgin, making them ineligible to marry a member of the priesthood.
[38] The archetypal model in Judaism is marital heterosexuality with fornication, celibacy, adultery, homosexuality, incest and bestiality seen to be part of a continuous prism of wrong.
[39] In a speech given in 1986, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, discussed "individuals who express an inclination towards a particular form of physical relationship in which the libidinal gratification is sought with members of one's own gender".
[41] Up to 2013, 163 Orthodox rabbis from Israel and abroad signed this statement, including Yuval Cherlow, Binyamin Lau, Haim Navon, Daniel Sperber, Eliezer Melamed, Shai Piron, and Yehuda Gilad.
[47] When Steven Greenberg, who received Orthodox rabbinic ordination, publicly announced in 1999 that he was homosexual, there was a significant response from rabbis of all denominations reported in the Jewish newspapers.
[57] Yosef has stated his approach to the issue of homosexuality in Judaism as follows: "It is clear to me that lying with another man is forbidden, and our starting point is commitment to halacha and Torah.
[62] Soon after in that same year, the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), a professional association of more than 1,000 Orthodox rabbis around the world, sent an open email to its members that it no longer supported conversion therapy generally, or JONAH specifically.
[62] In 2015, a New Jersey jury found JONAH guilty of consumer fraud for promising to be able to change its clients' sexual urges and determined its commercial practices to be unconscionable.
[80][81] In October 2010, Boteach wrote an op-ed column in The Wall Street Journal on homosexuality, arguing that he does not deny that there is a biblical prohibition on male same-sex relationships and a commandment for men and women to marry and have children.
[82][84][85][86][83] Open Orthodox Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz declared that the Jewish values of justice, equality, and dignity lead him to support the cause of gay rights and advocate for same-sex civil marriage.
[88] In 2017, the Senior Rabbi of the Spanish & Portuguese Sephardi Community Joseph Dweck gave a class describing "the entire revolution of feminism and even homosexuality in our society [...] is a fantastic development for humanity".
A second responsum by Rabbi Leonard Levy, adopted as a minority opinion by 6 votes, delineated ways in which to ensure that gays and lesbians would be accorded human dignity and a respected place in Conservative communities and institutions while maintaining the authority of the traditional prohibitions against same-sex sexual activity.
[99] On March 26, 2007, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York followed suit and began accepting openly gay/lesbian/bisexual candidates for admission for their Rabbinical program.
[102] Although the American example was initially an outlier in the global Conservative movement, it is now the case that "all Masorti seminaries, except for the one in Argentina, now accept openly gay students".
His critics included Mazsihisz's Chief Rabbi and earlier that same year the movement made a statement widely seen as condemning new Hungarian laws limiting the exposure of children to content referencing homosexuality.
[108] Rabbi Bradley Artson, Dean of the Rabbinic School at American Jewish University, claims to have studied every reference he could find to homosexual activity mentioned in ancient Greek and Latin writers.
They view Levitical laws as sometimes seen to be referring to prostitution, making it a stand against Jews adopting the idolatrous fertility cults and practices of the neighbouring Canaanite nations, rather than a blanket condemnation of same-sex intercourse, homosexuality, or bisexuality.
Reform authorities consider that, in light of what is seen as current scientific evidence about the nature of homosexuality and bisexuality as inborn sexual orientations, a new interpretation of the law is required.
[111] In the late 1980s, the primary seminary of the Reform movement, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, changed its admission requirements to allow openly gay and lesbian people to join the student body.
In 1990, the Union for Reform Judaism announced a national policy declaring lesbian and gay Jews to be full and equal members of the religious community.
Also in 1998, the Responsa Committee of the CCAR issued a lengthy teshuvah (rabbinical opinion)[115] that offered detailed argumentation in support of both sides of the question whether a rabbi may officiate at a commitment ceremony for a same-sex couple.
"[118] In 2009, Siddur Sha'ar Zahav, a prayer book written to address the lives and needs of LGBTQ as well as heterosexual and cisgender Jews, was published.
[138][139] The Statement of Principles of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal (and OHALAH and the Rabbinic Pastors Association) states in part, "We welcome and recognize the sanctity of every individual regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
LGBT-inclusive services and ceremonies specific to Jewish religious culture have also been created, ranging from LGBT-affirmative haggadot for Passover[144] to a "Stonewall Shabbat Seder".
[145][146] In October 2012 Rainbow Jews, an oral history project showcasing the lives of Jewish bisexual, lesbian, gay, and transgender people in the United Kingdom from the 1950s until the present, was launched.
[149] Recent research by the sociocultural psychologist, Chana Etengoff, has highlighted the therapeutic benefits of LGBTQ petitions to religious leaders, including meaning-making, social action, agency and empowerment.
