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Apr. 3rd, 2005 03:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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one_in_a_minyan, (here, with fascinating discussions in the comments):
The Committee for Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS), which considers religious law for the centrist Conservative Movement of American Judaism, is meeting Tuesday for a formal reconsideration of its 1992 decisions prohibiting same-sex marriages and ordination of gay and lesbian (1) rabbis.
As a lesbian Conservative Jew, I have been watching what little bits of news emerged from the CJLS very closely. The 1992 decisions, which said that gay and lesbian congregants should be welcomed but refused to sanctify same-sex commitment ceremonies or to ordain gay and lesbian rabbis, were completely unsatisfying to just about everyone I've heard from. The several opinions all relied on dubious science to bolster their claims. I am not an expert on halacha (Jewish law) so I don't know whether the halachic arguments were any more convincing than the scientific arguments. (2) In any case, debate (often thoughtful and occasionally acrimonious) over the decisions has continued for the last fourteen years. About two years ago the CJLS chose to reopen discussion on homosexuality and Jewish law. Apparently (if we trust the Associated Press) the final discussion will be occurring this week. I don't quite know what this entails. Have the new responsa been written yet? Is the committee ready to vote? I would like very much to find out.
I pray that the committee finds a halachically valid solution that permits both some form of movement-recognized commitment ceremonies/marriages for same-sex couples and open ordination without reference to sexual orientation.
(1) The fate of bisexuals in the Conservative movement is not currently under discussion. Conservative Jewish leadership concludes that anyone who is attracted both to men and women could choose only to date/marry people of the opposite gender. I understand the position but I strongly disagree with it, for reasons I cannot articulate nearly as well as I would like.
(2)Summaries of all of the 1992 decisions, and links to the full decisions, are available here. Note that only items 1 through 5 on that list of decisions were officially approved as law.
one_in_a_minyan, (here, with fascinating discussions in the comments):The Committee for Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS), which considers religious law for the centrist Conservative Movement of American Judaism, is meeting Tuesday for a formal reconsideration of its 1992 decisions prohibiting same-sex marriages and ordination of gay and lesbian (1) rabbis.
As a lesbian Conservative Jew, I have been watching what little bits of news emerged from the CJLS very closely. The 1992 decisions, which said that gay and lesbian congregants should be welcomed but refused to sanctify same-sex commitment ceremonies or to ordain gay and lesbian rabbis, were completely unsatisfying to just about everyone I've heard from. The several opinions all relied on dubious science to bolster their claims. I am not an expert on halacha (Jewish law) so I don't know whether the halachic arguments were any more convincing than the scientific arguments. (2) In any case, debate (often thoughtful and occasionally acrimonious) over the decisions has continued for the last fourteen years. About two years ago the CJLS chose to reopen discussion on homosexuality and Jewish law. Apparently (if we trust the Associated Press) the final discussion will be occurring this week. I don't quite know what this entails. Have the new responsa been written yet? Is the committee ready to vote? I would like very much to find out.
I pray that the committee finds a halachically valid solution that permits both some form of movement-recognized commitment ceremonies/marriages for same-sex couples and open ordination without reference to sexual orientation.
(1) The fate of bisexuals in the Conservative movement is not currently under discussion. Conservative Jewish leadership concludes that anyone who is attracted both to men and women could choose only to date/marry people of the opposite gender. I understand the position but I strongly disagree with it, for reasons I cannot articulate nearly as well as I would like.
(2)Summaries of all of the 1992 decisions, and links to the full decisions, are available here. Note that only items 1 through 5 on that list of decisions were officially approved as law.
