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which represents the nation's
Conservative movement, has not
spoken on the issue of civil mar-
riage, but has come out against
rabbis officiating at same-sex cer-
emonies.
The Reconstructionist and
Humanistic branches of Judaism
have performed so-called "com-
mitment ceremonies" for years.
"I'm totally in favor of the res-
olution," said Rabbi Sherwin
Wine, of the Birmingham Tem-
ple. Rabbi Wine, a Humanist
who has performed many com-
mitment ceremonies, said the
right of homosexuals to wed "is
something necessary for both
pragmatic and moral reasons."
At its meeting in Philadelphia
last month, the Central Confer-
ence, which represents 1,750 Re-
foi in rabbis, overwhelmingly
approved the civil-marriage res-
olution. The group also voted to
\;;„. oppose efforts by more than a
dozen states to bar recognition
of gay and lesbian marriages.
The votes have no binding effect
on individual members.
And the group specifically did
not decide what role, if any, rab-
bis should play in same-sex cer-
emonies. A New York Times
report said the matter will like-
ly be addressed by the group next
year.
The issue, of course, has reper-
cussions well beyond the Amer-
ican Jewish community.
Next year, the Hawaiian
Supreme Court is expected to de-
cide if that state will become the
first to sanction same-sex mar-
/
riages. If so, critics fear lesbian
women and gay men will flock to
Hawaii to wed, and then seek to
have the marriage certificate en-
forced elsewhere.
Many states have already
drafted bills intended to deny
government recognition to ho-
mosexual marriages. The con-
troversy seems sure to end in a
federal-court showdown, and
may well become a hot-button
political issue in the 1996 pres-
idential campaign.
In many Reform congrega-
tions in Michigan and elsewhere,
a growing number of rabbis are
already performing commitment
ceremonies for gay and lesbian
couples.
Rabbi Schwartz figures he has
presided over seven or eight such
rites in the past decade, often to
mixed reviews in the Jewish
community. He defends his role
as reflecting traditional Jewish
values in a changing world.
"Judaism is a fluid move-
ment," he said. "Its fluidity is its
beauty."
While Jewish law condemns
homosexuality, Rabbi Schwartz
noted that "ancient Jewish law
has also opposed a great deal of
other things, masturbation be-
ing one of them.
"Does that mean that Ortho-
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