NEWS
Sinai Hospital
welcomes Detroit area physicians and nurses to attend the
Gay Rabbis
Continued from Pagel
Annual David Feld Memorial Lecture
8 a.m. June 12
Zuckerman Auditorium
Sinai Hospital
8 -9 a.m.
"Controversial Aspects of Ectopic Pregnancy"
Alan H. DeCherney, M.D.
John Slade Ely Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Director of Reproductive Endocrinology
Yale University School of Medicine
9 - 10 a.m.
"Hysteroscopic Diagnosis and Management of Submucous Fibroids"
Milton H. Goldrath, M.D.
Section Chief of Gynecology
Sinai Hospital
10 - 11 a.m.
"Induction of Ovulation: Lessons Learned from Assisted Reproductive Technology"
Alan H. DeCherney, M.D.
This free lecture is held in association with Hutzel Hospital and the Wayne State University
School of Medicine. It is in memory of David Feld, M.D., former chairman of the Department
of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Sinai Hospital.
For reservations call 493-5220.
eNtinal
I I PJ MANZ
• X411111
MASSIMO
IOSA GHINI
1 9 8 9
DETROIT SHOWING
MAY 29 JUNE 23, 90
•k<,4.:4;k%,
15 East Kirby Street
Detroit Mi. 48202
Tel: 8 7 3 2 7 0 7
22
FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 1990
In 1984, the Reconstruc-
tionist Rabbinical College
adopted a policy of admitting
students without regard to
sexual preference. The
Reconstructionist Rab-
binical Association
automatically accepts any
graduate of the college.
The Episcopal and
Unitarian Universalist
churches have also admitted
gay clergy.
Rabbi Joseph Glaser,
CCAR's executive vice pres-
ident and an ex-officio mem-
ber of the 17-person com-
mittee, said that he and his
colleagues were aware of the
recommendations' potential-
ly divisive impact, but that
the decision was ultimately
based on the principles of
Reform Judaism.
But bowing to pragmatic
considerations, the report, in
effect, urges gay and lesbian
rabbis not to flaunt their
sexual preference.
Put more diplomatically,
the report warns that
"publicly acknowledging
one's homosexuality is a
personal decision which can
have grave professional con-
sequences."
Pointing to the difficulty of
assuring tenure to gay or
lesbian rabbis who come out
of the closet, the report notes
that "the committee does not
want to encourage col-
leagues to put their careers
at risk."
This reference to a con-
gregation's possible opposi-
tion to a gay or lesbian rabbi
is re-emphasized by pointing
out that "rabbis are both
role models and exemplars.
Therefore, the committee
calls upon all rabbis —
without regard of their sex-
ual orientation — to conduct
their private lives with
discretion and with full
regard to the mores and sen-
sibilities of their com-
munities."
Rabbi Yoel Kahn, a mem-
ber of the Reform panel and
religious leader of a San
Francisco congregation with
special outreach to the les-
bian and gay community,
said he believes it is
"increasingly possible for
rabbis who are gay or les-
bian to be employed by syn-
agogues."
He expressed confidence
that just as women rabbis
were once shunned and later
welcomed into the Reform
movement, lesbian and gay
rabbis will eventually be ac-
cepted.
Committee members ad-
mitted that their task was
made more complex by the
unanimous condemnation of
homosexual behavior by
Jewish tradition, and by
scientific disagreement on
whether homosexuality is a
matter of conscious choice or
whether it is innate and
therefore unchangeable.
A majority of the com-
mittee strongly affirmed the
"centrality of monogamous,
heterosexual, procreative
marriage in Jewish tradi-
tion," and declined to en-
dorse wedding-like
ceremonies between part-
ners of the same sex.
After urging all rabbis and
congregations to treat with
respect and fully integrate
all Jews into the life of the
community, the committee
"strongly endorsed the view
that all Jews are religiously
equal, regardless of their
sexual orientation."
After vigorous debate, the
full report was backed by a
majority of 13 committee
members, with two opposed
and two abstentions, Glaser
said.
In New York, the Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congrega-
tions of America condemned
the Reform panel's recom-
mendation, saying "the en-
tire idea is an abomination."
"The Torah in the most
unambiguous terms says
that the gay lifestyle is a sin
and is against the natural
order. People who teach the
Torah are expected to uphold
its standards," Rabbi Pin-
chas Stolper, executive vice
president of the Orthodox
Union, said Tuesday.
Rabbi Chaim Shnur,
California director of
Agudath Israel, said the
report "simply confirms that
the Reform movement is
basically rudderless when it
comes to halachic tradition."
By contrast, Rabbi Harold
Schulweis of Los Angeles, a
leading Conservative rabbi,
said he was giving the
Reform movement "a great
deal of credit for tackling an
issue that has long been
muted and suppressed."
He urged that the Conser-
vative movement re-
examine and reappraise its
own position on the issue.
Two weeks ago, the Con-
servative movement's Rab-
binical Assembly voted
overwhelmingly to endorse
full civil equality for les-
bians and gay men, and said
such Jews should be
welcome in synagogues. It
also called on the Conser-
vative movement "to in-
crease awareness, under-
standing and concern for our
fellow Jews who are gay and
lesbian."
But the assembly did not
take a stand on admitting
openly gay rabbis to the
Conservative rabbinate. 0
Jewish Telegraphic Agency