24 April 11 • 2019
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Liberal Orthodox Yeshivah
Won’t Ordain Gay Student
S
ignaling a red line on how far
Modern Orthodoxy is prepared
to bend to adjust to societal
changes, a liberal New York City sem-
inary will not ordain an openly gay
student who is engaged to be married
and completing his fourth year of rab-
binical studies this spring, The Jewish
Week has learned.
In a statement to The Jewish Week,
Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT) stu-
dent Daniel Atwood, 27, wrote: “Four
years ago I came out as gay during my
first year … and it was decided that
I would receive semicha [ordination]
as their first openly gay student. After
four years of study and my completing
almost all of the program’
s require-
ments, YCT decided not to give me
semicha, news delivered to me only a
few weeks ago, three months before
my graduation, without any prior con-
versation on the matter.
”
Atwood became engaged in the fall
and is living with his partner.
Rabbi Asher Lopatin, who was pres-
ident of YCT at the time of Atwood’
s
acceptance into the school, is currently
the spiritual leader of Kehillat Etz
Chayim in suburban Detroit. He is
also the founder of the Center for Civil
Discourse here. He was dismayed by
the school’
s decision.
The decision marks a turning point
for the school, which has served for
nearly 20 years as the flagship insti-
tution for a subgroup of Modern
Orthodoxy often dubbed “Open
Orthodoxy.
” Founded in 2004 by
Rabbi Avi Weiss as an alternative
to the more right-leaning Yeshiva
University, the school has ordained
more than 100 rabbis.
The decision on Atwood is being
perceived by some as an attempt by
the yeshivah to more firmly ground
itself in the traditional Orthodox
world, which maintains that Jewish
law prohibits homosexual relations.
“I always knew that being in the
position that I am in would be a dif-
ficult process,
” Atwood wrote. “I was
always willing to navigate those chal-
lenges and work with YCT through-
out this process. And I have always
been fully committed to living my
life according to Orthodox Halachah
[Jewish law]. At the same time, I refuse
to live anything but a dignified life,
something I was always transparent
about, including not being closeted or
secret about my Torah, my identity, my
beliefs or my relationship.
In his statement, Atwood said he is
pursuing an independent ordination.
Rabbi Dov Linzer, YCT’
s president
and rosh yeshiva, declined to com-
ment on the specifics of the case.
“We accept all students regardless of
sexual orientation, provided they are
fully committed to Orthodox halachic
observance,
” he wrote in an email.
“There have been students in the past
who did not receive semicha, each
one for reasons specific to his case.
Out of respect for all our students, the
jews d
in
the
SHIRA HANAU/JTA
“I’
ve never been more disappointed in
Modern Orthodoxy and its institutions.”
— RABBI ASHER LOPATIN
continued on page 26
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