Same-Sex Marriage
The liberal Jewish
movements are struggling to balance contemporary morality and Jewish tradition
in deciding whether to ritually honor same-sex unions.
By Michele Alperin
In light of the biblical prohibition against
homosexuality--"Do not lie with a male as one lies with a woman; it is an
abhorrence" (Leviticus 18:22)--the liberal Jewish movements have been
struggling to formulate religious responses that are true both to contemporary
ethics and to Jewish tradition. The decision about whether and how to support
both civil and religious same-sex marriage has been particularly difficult.
The movements have had to explore a number of issues: If
indeed the Torah has prohibited homosexuality, how have the Talmud and later
Jewish sources understood homosexuality and lesbianism? Is the nature of the
Jewish marriage ceremony or kiddushin
as defined in legal texts exclusively heterosexual or do other aspects of
Jewish tradition--the focus on family and on exclusive relationships--mandate
the acceptance of homosexual bonds? Or perhaps a new ceremony must be developed
that is like Jewish marriage, but has different legal implications. Finally,
each movement must decide whether it will require its clergy to perform
ceremonies for same-sex unions?
Whereas Orthodox Judaism, except for a scattering of
individual voices, sees such marriage as an affront to moral values, it's not
so easy for the more liberal movements.
Not surprisingly, the relatively traditional Conservative
movement has had difficulty reaching a consensus. The movement supports civil
rights for homosexuals and lesbians; however, the Conservative law committee
prohibits same-sex marriage based on the illegality of homosexuality according
to Jewish tradition. On the other hand, some influential Conservative rabbis
support both civil and Jewish same-sex marriage.
The Reform movement has also been conflicted about religious
same-sex unions, but has supported civil marriages for years. In a 1997
opinion, for example, the majority of the Central Conference of American
Rabbis' (CCAR) responsa committee (which provides "guidance, not
governance") held that the textual understanding of Jewish marriage
excluded the possibility of same-sex marriage. Yet just three years later, a
resolution of the entire CCAR stated that same-sex relationships were "worthy
of affirmation through appropriate Jewish ritual"--although the nature of
this ritual was left unspecified. The decision as to whether to perform such
ceremonies was left to individual rabbis.
Only the Reconstructionist movement has come out strongly in
favor of same-sex marriages, both civil and religious, claiming that just as
the love between heterosexuals is celebrated, "so too we celebrate the
love between gay or lesbian Jews." Reconstructionist rabbis are not
required to perform same-sex ceremonies, however most do.
With same-sex marriage increasingly discussed in legal and
public forums in the West, the question of where Jews stand on the issue will
only increase in coming years. Public debate on the issue will likely press the
liberal Jewish movements to continue and deepen their explorations of the
viability of rituals that celebrate same-sex unions within Judaism.
Michele Alperin is a
freelance writer in Princeton, New Jersey, and served as editor of the
lifecycle section of MyJewishLearning.com. She has master's degree in Jewish
education from the Jewish Theological Seminary.
