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De roil
Conservative Rabbi
Addresses Gay Issues
LEASLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER
rdination, not accep-
tance in the congre-
gation, is the prob-
lematic question of
gays and lesbians in the
Conservative movement,
according to Rabbi Mayer
Rabinowitz.
Rabbi Rabinowitz, a
Jewish Theological Semin-
ary professor, spoke last
week on "Homosexuality
and Judaism: A Conserv-
ative Perspective." Detroit
Friends of Jewish Theo-
logical Seminary hosted
the early morning session.
The issue of homosexu-
ality in the Conservative
movement has been for-
mally addressed during
the last several years —
when a gay and lesbian
congregation requested to
join United Synagogue,
the umbrella organization
of Conservative syna-
gogues.
"Suddenly the questions
multiplied," Rabbi
Rabinowitz said. "Can a
gay or lesbian be a rabbi
or a cantor? Should rabbis
perform commitment and
dissolution ceremonies?
Can we change the view
on homosexuality?"
Rabbi Rabinowitz cited
Leviticus, calling the act
of gay sex an abhorrence.
"How do we get around
such an explicit state-
ment?" he said.
There are two ways, lie
said: reinterpretation or
redefinition of biblical law
or abrogation of biblical
law. Rabbis may give
themselves license to
abrogate law to keep the
congregation alive, Rabbi
Rabinowitz said.
Rabinowitz
Rabbi
emphasized such a change
may be made only if it
benefits the majority of
the community.
In meetings of the
Conservative movement's
Committee of Jewish Law
_ and Standards, no one has
shown proof that a change
in views would be benefi-
cial to most.
However, relying on
various arguments pre-
sented, the committee has
affirmed the following:
Conservative rabbis will
not perform commitment
or dissolution ceremonies.
Gays and lesbians will not
knowingly be admitted
0
into the Conservative
seminary — but witch
hunts will not be conduct-
ed either. Individual rab-
bis will decide for their
congregations whether
gays and lesbians can act
as teachers, youth and lay
leaders.
"It's against Jewish law
to discriminate," Rabbi -
Rabinowitz said. "It's our
position to make gays and
lesbians feel welcome in
synagogue."
In this vein, it was
decided United Synagogue
would not accept an all-
gay congregation. Synago-
"It's our position
to make gays
and lesbians feel
comfortable in
synagogue."
Mayer Rabinowitz
gues, they said, are for
worship, not for a particu-
lar kind of people.
Among the arguments
used in defining the posi-
tion were: the Bible pro-
hibits only promiscuous
acts, not loving, gay rela-
tionships; gay sex is not
unnatural as the animal.,
kingdom engages in it; the
American Psychiatric
Association removed
homosexuality from its
list of diseases.
On the flip side were
statements such as: homo-
sexuality is prohibited in
the Bible without reason,
and attempting to define a
reason is irrelevant; and
homosexuality erodes the
structure of the Jewish
family.
"Even if it's to be proven"
without a shadow of a
doubt that being gay is
genetic, that is not a rea-
son for us to abrogate,"
Rabbi Rabinowitz said. "If
you want to be a Jewish
leader, bound by Jewis
law in the Conservative
movement, you cannot say
that that which is unac-
ceptable is acceptable.
However, upon entering
seminary, students will
not be asked about their
sexuality. ❑ ,