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LIBERAL
JUDAISM IN PRACTICE
LESBIAN AND GAY JEWS AND SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS INTRODUCTION The last half of the twentieth century saw an extraordinary shift in public and private attitudes towards homosexuality. With the passing of the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 private homosexual acts between consenting adults were decriminalized and the gradual process began whereby gay men and lesbians adopted a more visible profile. Today being lesbian or gay is no bar to holding public office and there are openly gay and lesbian people working in nearly every walk of life, including the rabbinate. Today lesbians and gay men are raising children and having marriage ceremonies. Liberal Judaism is proud to have been in the vanguard of this change of attitude. All these rights, however, have been hard won. Sadly, homophobia (the irrational hatred of homosexuals) still exists in some parts of society, and is sometimes expressed in violent ways. So, while we celebrate the diversity of God's creation, we must not be complacent and we must be vigilant in safeguarding the rights of gay men and lesbians and of other minority groups. TRADITIONAL STANCE The Bible states: "You shall not lie with a man as with a woman: it is an abomination" (Leviticus 18.22) and also ordains the death penalty for those who commit this physical act (Leviticus 20:13). From the standpoint of traditional commentary these biblical verses outlaw male homosexuality. Many modern commentators, however, point out that they do not express a condemnation of the love between a same-gender couple, but rather state a specific law forbidding the physical penetration of one male by another. Female homosexuality, or lesbianism, is not explicitly forbidden or indeed mentioned in the Bible, though such a prohibition was later inferred from the warning against doing "as they do in the land of Egypt" (Leviticus 18:3 and Sifra ad loc). Based upon these Biblical verses, a hostile stance was maintained in subsequent Jewish tradition, which discussed the precise definition of the offence and its penalties but regarded the matter as largely theoretical on the basis (which was definitely a case of wishful thinking) that "Jews are not suspected of homosexuality" (Kiddushin 82a). The Jewish aversion to homosexuality passed into Christian morality, which in turn influenced the public attitudes and legal codes of Christian countries, including Britain. THE LIBERAL APPROACH As Liberal Jews we seek to understand the social and religious reasons behind the appearance of this law in the Torah, but we reject the idea that it should be used to stigmatise the relationships of lesbian and gay Jews. From the perspective of Liberal Judaism, the Bible is a compound of perfect Divine Revelation and imperfect human understanding, which challenges as well as reflects the ideas of the ancient Near East. Therefore we need to make an effort to understand, historically and psychologically, why the biblical writers believed and legislated as they did, and then to evaluate their teachings in the light of the factual knowledge as well as the ethical insights of our own time. ASSUMPTIONS AND MOTIVES Why was Leviticus so vehement that a man "should not lie with a man as with a woman"? The prohibition occurs towards the end of a list of all the women with whom a man is forbidden to have sexual relations (such as his sister, his neighbour's wife and so forth). This list suggests that the Torah does not distinguish between one who is heterosexual by nature and one who is homosexual by nature, but is simply delineating certain physical acts. Indeed, there is an argument to be made that Leviticus is addressing itself solely towards those men who use another man sexually as a substitute for a woman, perhaps due to the unavailability of women, or to impress their power upon another man. From the Talmud (Bava Metzia 84a) we can infer that a homosexual act was seen as an imbalance of power between two men, as if one man is dominating another like a woman. It is possible that Leviticus therefore saw homosexual acts as a challenge to the accepted natural order of a world in which men were supposed to wield sexual power over women. If we look again at the lists in Leviticus chapters 18 and 20 we also see that the Torah was trying to differentiate the Israelites from the religious customs of other peoples surrounding them. The use of ritual prostitution, both male and female, falls into this category and it has been suggested that the prohibition arose to warn Israelite men away from cultic male prostitutes. In addition, it is likely that homosexual acts were seen as a 'wasting of seed' (the offence of Judah's son, Onan, - as related in Genesis 38:9-10), which militated against group fertility and hence survival. All these practices were regarded as characteristic of pagan societies and unbecoming the 'holiness' of the Covenant People. In later times, the evolution of what we know as traditional Jewish family life, and the enormous importance attached to it, provided another vantage-point from which homosexuality seemed an unacceptable deviation. However, we can at least be clear about one thing: the Torah is not addressing itself to the loving same-gender relationships that we see around us today. FACTS AND UNCERTAINTIES Modern research has brought to light many facts about homosexuality but also revealed many uncertainties. It is not known what leads someone to be or become gay or lesbian: most scientists think that genetic factors probably determine ones sexuality but it is also possible that environmental influences may play a part. Some would argue that, since homosexuality is no longer regarded as an illness or a pathology, looking for its 'causes' is as pointless as looking for the 'causes' of heterosexuality. Regardless of why a person is homosexual the fact remains that it is in most cases involuntary and unalterable. Organisations that seek to 'change' homosexuals do terrible psychological harm and would never be endorsed by Liberal Judaism. It is not known what proportion of the population is homosexual. Some estimates will say five per cent and some ten per cent, but there is no reason to suppose that it varies vastly from society to society. The existence of many Jewish lesbian and gay groups and synagogues around the world disproves the Talmud's theory that Jews are never homosexual! Homosexual relationships can be fleeting or lasting, exploitative or unselfishly caring. In other words, just like heterosexual ones. SAME-SEX COMMITMENT CEREMONIES As Liberal Jews we believe that a loving, monogamous relationship deserves to be sanctified in front of one's family and community. In Britain gay and lesbian marriages performed by clergy are not recognised by civil law and have no legal validity. However in December 2005 the new law of civil partnership for same-gender couples came into force. A same-gender couple may now go to a registry office to have their partnership legally registered. Civil Partnership gives them almost identical rights and responsibilities to those enjoyed by heterosexual married couples. Dissolution of the partnership will require a divorce. Liberal Judaism encourages couples who choose to register their partnership to affirm their relationship with a religious ceremony, which might be called a Commitment Ceremony or Wedding, depending upon their wishes and the opinion of the rabbi presiding. The ceremony might look very traditional, with the couple celebrating their commitment to one another under a chuppah, or it might be a specially designed ceremony that looks very different from a traditional heterosexual wedding. Liberal rabbis will only perform such a religious ceremony once the couple have registered their civil partnership. Liberal Judaism has prepared a booklet of creative liturgy for the use of rabbis and same-gender partners planning such ceremonies. This publication, entitled, Brit Ahavah - Service of Commitment for Same Sex Couples, is available from Liberal Judaism. CONCLUSIONS
POSTSCRIPT We know that the views we have expressed will not be shared in all respects by every member of our section of the Jewish community, but we believe that they express a broad consensus. In any case, to set the subject in its proper perspective, we want to end by emphasising that, while Judaism does indeed call for exemplary conduct from its adherents, this is not only, or even primarily, in the realm of sexual morality. Exemplary conduct is first and foremost a matter of respecting the Divine Image in every human being, of practising truth and love in all personal relationships, and of promoting social justice.
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