Reaffirming Personhood Over Jewish Legal Strictures

MOST PEOPLE in my experience harbor a suspicion that God does not approve of their sexuality. Despite the earnest efforts of clergy and religious educators in both the Jewish and Christian traditions to suggest otherwise, the opinion subsists, fed, no doubt on the remnants of a preadolescent identification of the Divinity with one's own parents. In consequence, discussions that mix religion and sexual values tend to be particularly loaded.

This is all the more true when the topic at hand is homosexuality. Here, the mainstream religious thought has traditionally been so univocal in its negative attitude that it is easy, and not illogical, for someone struggling with the issues of gay identity to expect nothing but censure from the religious community. Fortunately, the reality is significantly different, at least in some places, from the expectation.

How one understands and evaluates the place of gays and lesbians in a Jewish religious context is a function of the relative weight given to two biblical verses. The first is most commonly introduced into discussions of this nature is Leviticus 18:22, which forbids and denounces as an abomination sexual relations between two men. (Sex between women is not specifically forbidden in the Bible, but is prohibited by extension in subsequent Jewish law.) The second is Genesis 1:27, which reminds us that each human being, male and female, has been created in the Divine Image. From this, tradition derives that each of us is infinitely valuable in our own right, in all our multiplicity.

One who stands at the traditional end of the Jewish spectrum and holds that both of these statements, along with all the rest of Jewish law, carry full Divine sanction in our lives must therefore view homosexual activity (although not necessarily homosexual orientation, over which one has no conscious control) as a sin. There would then be some possible distribution of opinion as to how one establishes a moral balance between the sin on the one hand and the inherent worth of the person on the other.

The liberal wing of Jewish thought, within which as a Reform rabbi I include myself, would come at the problem somewhat differently. Holding that Jewish legal tradition represents a compendium of each generation's best efforts to understand and fulfill God's will, it is possible to believe that contemporary understandings may in some instances reflect a moral or ethical perspective more relevant than that of an older world view. For me, the image of the Creator which I believe is present in each person I deal with takes precedence over the legal strictures. I cannot bring myself to believe that God abhors, a priori, some 10 percent of the human race--or that it is a religious duty for me to do so.

Such an approach does not lead to a single evaluation of homosexuality. Rather, it permits one to attempt to make the same moral distinctions among gay as among straight relationships: is the relationship mutually caring or exploitative? Does it nurture two whole people or is it destructive of the integrity of one or both? In short, is it a suitable way for two human beings of infinite worth to treat each other, or is it not?

This defines a context within which a student dealing with issues of being gay/lesbian and Jewish operates. Even so, the problem may be framed in several different ways. There are those who are at home with their Jewish identities but struggling with what it means to be gay. On the other hand, some people who have comfortably accepted being gay or lesbian have difficulty in reconciling the Jewish component of their lives. For some, there may be discomfort in varying degrees with both of these elements. There must be people who are at home with both the gay/lesbian elements, but these folks don't generally seek out rabbis to talk about it, so I must be content with hypothesizing their existence.

Among the several worshipping, studying and socializing sub-community at Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel are a number of gay and lesbian students. The degree to which they identify themselves publically varies from considerable openness to invisibility. They do not come to Hillel because they are gay; they come because they are Jewish. At the same time, at least some of those with whom I have had occasion to speak about the subject feel the importance of bringing their whole selves through the door with them. It is hard to feel spiritually comfortable unless you feel genuinely accepted, by God and by your community. The closet is not an easy place in which to worship.

Some people seek to resolve this difficulty by seeking out gay or gay-centered synagogues of which there are 20 or so scattered around the country, including one in Boston. My second-hand information is that some of these congregations are truly wonderful and supportive environments for their members. For the Harvard student, however, the decision to leave campus in search of community is not easily taken or even desirable. Harvard is a community of its own, and the need to feel at home here cannot be finessed.

At the same time that a number of Jewish gay and lesbian students find their way to Hillel, it must be acknowledged that there are in all likelihood many more such students whose assumptions about a negative reception preclude their even walking through the door. It was in part a response to this concern that the Hillel staff sponsored two programs focused on issues of importance to the gay community this spring. Doing so was not an easy decision. There are, after all, within our community those who find it in good conscience impossible to accept homosexuality as a moral option. There are also those who feel it is a moral option, whether for themselves or others. Hillel's sponsorship made no judgement on this question, but acknowledged our obligation to the diversity of constituencies we serve.

In this imperfect world, most real problems don't have obvious solutions. The biblical teaching on homosexuality will continue to exist; so will a great many serious, committed Jews, who, looking within themselves, conclude in all honesty that their fundamental sexual nature runs contrary to this teaching. However great the tension, there must be a place for both within the Jewish community. I believe we can find a way.

RABBI NEIL KOMINSKY '66 is Reform Rabbinic Advisor at the Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel. His views are his own and do not represent a statement of organizational policy.