Acharei Mot / Kedoshim אחרי מות / קדושים

אחרי מות / קדושים

For the second week in a row, we read a double portion - Acharei Mot and Kedoshim. These two parshiot are filled with laws - the Yom Kippur ritual, sexual regulations, ethical obligations, agricultural laws, and more.

There is a lot to talk about, but given current events, one law in particular stands out as worthy of attention.

וְאֶת-זָכָר--לֹא תִשְׁכַּב, מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה:  תּוֹעֵבָה, הִוא.

"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination." (Leviticus 17:22)

Taken on face value, it seems pretty clear. Male homosexuality is outlawed in the Torah.

If we look through the Five Books of Moses, the word תועבה , usually translated as abomination, appears in a few different contexts - including an idol made of silver and gold (Deut 7:26), the way that Egyptians viewed dining with Israelites (Genesis 43:42), and non-Kosher animals (Deut 13:3).

The thread that seems to connect all of the above is a mixing of things that the Bible thinks need to be kept apart - the work of humans hands vs. divine creation (idol worship), slaves vs. masters (in the case of Egyptian eating habits), kosher vs. non-kosher animals, and hetero vs. homosexuality.

In case we are not clear on the point, a verse from our second portion spells it out even clearer:

וְאִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁכַּב אֶת-זָכָר מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה--תּוֹעֵבָה עָשׂוּ, שְׁנֵיהֶם; מוֹת יוּמָתוּ, דְּמֵיהֶם בָּם

"And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."
Deut 20:13

Based on this "pshat" (simple, literal) level of interpretation, we can begin to understand some of the hostility religious fundamentalists of all kinds feel towards homosexuality. Of course, the Jewish understanding is quite a bit more nuanced. One of the defining features of Judaism is incredibly in-depth text study that looks beyond the obvious meaning and finds something else - think of Leviticus 24:19-20.

וְאִישׁ, כִּי-יִתֵּן מוּם בַּעֲמִיתוֹ--כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה, כֵּן יֵעָשֶׂה לּוֹ. שֶׁבֶר, תַּחַת שֶׁבֶר, עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן, שֵׁן תַּחַת שֵׁן--כַּאֲשֶׁר יִתֵּן מוּם בָּאָדָם, כֵּן יִנָּתֶן בּוֹ

  "Anyone who maims another shall suffer the same injury in return: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; the injury inflicted is the injury to be suffered."

Again - simple meaning is obvious, if I chop off your hand, you do the same to me. However, our tradition doesn't interpret this literally - our sages tell us that the injured needs to repay (in money) the cost of the injured hand. The implications of this change in reading is hard to overemphasize, it's the difference between midieval barbarianism and the modern system of justice.

Getting back to our original topic, sexuality is an incredibly charged topic in our sources. Besides the Biblical prohibitions, the Rabbis placed a great deal of importance on these issues. On the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur, we read exactly this portion - the atonement ritual in the morning and the sexual prohibitions in the afternoon. Repentance and sexuality and tied have been tied together deeply in our history - think of the cult of Baal, David and Baathseeba, etc.

Our parsha, Acharei Mot starts by talking about the death of Aaron's sons at the hand of God.

. וַיְדַבֵּר יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה אַחֲרֵי מוֹת שְׁנֵי בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן בְּקָרְבָתָם לִפְנֵי יְ־הֹוָ־ה וַיָּמֻתוּ:

And the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons, when they drew near before the Lord, and they died.

Note the language - they came close, לקרב, to God, and that is what they died.

In the introduction to the laws governing sexuality, we read

אִישׁ אִישׁ אֶל-כָּל-שְׁאֵר בְּשָׂרוֹ, לֹא תִקְרְבוּ לְגַלּוֹת עֶרְוָה:  אֲנִי, יְה-ה.

  None of you come close to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness. I am the LORD.

"To come close" - the same language. The sexual act is perhaps the most intimate, and close, two human beings can become. Seeing that humans are created בצלם אלוקים, in the image of God, we are also coming close to God when we are intimate in this way. As we learn from Nadav and Avihu (Aaron's sons) we need to be very careful when we come close to God!

All of this leads us to the big news out of Machon Schechter, the Conservative Movement's Rabbinic Seminary in Israel, that they have reversed a long standing policy that kept homosexual men and woman from being ordained as rabbis through the school. This is a tidal wave in the Movement, and the fallout is just beginning.

To understand how big a shift Schechter made, we need to know where they were coming from. Here are two samples from Schechter's old Gender Policy, written by former Dr Einat Ramon, former Dean of the Schechter Rabbinical Saeminary.

"If we define “homosexual relations” so narrowly, thus allowing same-gender marriage, then morally we are bound to apply the DNR in all cases of sexual Halakhic, prohibitions (e.g., incest), as long as such relations are between two consenting adults."

She goes further: "Moreover, this breaking with Halakha for the benefit of homosexuals is unjustified and discriminatory towards the other groups for whom we do not break with Halakha, who commit less serious transgressions than forbidden sexual relations, such as profaning Shabbat in public, not eating kosher, and others."

Basically, Rabbi Ramon is saying that if we accept homosexuals as full members of the community, we are breaking Halacha and our whole approach to Jewish law goes out the window.

She is not alone in this belief. Of course, the Conservative Movement has years ago officially accepted a teshuvah written by Rabbis Dorff, Nevins and Reisner that basically gives homosexuals the same rights of anyone else in the Jewish community, including being ordained as Rabbis, although the teshuvah stops short of actually accepting the sexual act itself.

Accordingly, the American Conservative Seminaries, have long accepted homosexuals, but Schecheter was a hold out. The issue became especially trying when the American schools would send their students for the mandatory one-year of study in Israel. Schecheter was unable to tell their American counterparts that they would allow certain students to study there and others not, so all the Americans were admitted, however gay Israeli students were still barred. It got so bad that Ziegler School refused to send anyone to Schechter, so now their students study at the Conservative Yeshiva next door.

Now, all of that has changed - homosexuals will be officially accepted as students into the Rabbinic Seminary. Personally, I am very proud of this accomplishment, and I know that many good people have worked very hard and sacrificed much to reach this day.

Putting aside personal opinions however, we can be inspired as Conservative/Masorti Jews by the ultimate solution that Machon Schechter came up with, even if we are not necessarily enamored by the process. Under the new policy, each graduating student Rabbi will be able to select, from a pre-approved list, which Rabbis will give him/her the final examination and סמיכח, ordination.

There are many learned, dedicated, well-meaning folks at the Institute that don't Halachically agree with this policy and the direction that it takes the school in, but because of the way the policy is crafted, they will not be ostracized or forced to personally do anything they don't agree with.

Obviously the solution is not perfect, and not everyone will be happy. But, as a movement that prides itself on a pluraslitc, inclusive approach to Halachah, we should be proud and excited that the Israeli Rabbinical Seminary has found a way to uphold what many regard as an ethical obligation, all the while respecting the dissenting voices and staying within the bounds of Halachah.

In this world of polarized opinions and a overarching meta-narrative that views compromises as surrenders, may we also be blessed to remember how to disagree peaceably and still remain united - "אלה ואלה דברי אלוקים חיים" This and that are both the living words of God.