Yeshiva University agreed to recognize an LGBTQ+ student group Thursday, settling a lawsuit that once seemed destined for the Supreme Court and delivering a landmark victory to queer Jews at the school and in the Orthodox community beyond.
The agreement with the YU Pride Alliance established a new club for LGBTQ+ students called “Hareni” — a Hebrew word that roughly translates to “I hereby.” The club will be eligible for school funding and will be treated like any other official student organization at the flagship Orthodox university, according to a joint statement from the parties.
While the exact terms of the settlement were not made public, an attorney representing the Pride Alliance said the agreement allows the group to use the term “LGBTQ” in promotional material and appoint its own advisor.
I am reserving judgment on this new development until I hear what the YU Roshei Yeshiva have to say about it. What I will say is that this is a complicated issue with many implications. YU may not have had a realistic choice in the matter.
I suppose one option would have been to close the school
rather than have an Orthodox institution place its imprimatur on a club that
takes pride in behavior the Torah considers a capital crime. On the other hand shutting down the
only institution of its kind would be a tragedy of immense proportions. I need
to hear what people like Rav Herschel Schachter have to say before I comment
further.
Bearing that in mind, I will speculate and perhaps be able to provide some sort of rationale that allows YU to recognize this club without it being an endorsement of the sexual behavior that makes such recognition so problematic. Meaning that if they do not act in the aforementioned way they can live their lives as they wish and even be proud of who they are. One’s self-pride need not trumpet which sex they are attracted to. That is nobody’s business but their own.
However, gay activists have made an issue of taking public pride
precisely in that aspect of their lives. This means that if a person is gay,
they now feel they must tell the world as a matter of self-pride.
Hiding it suggests a sense of shame, and they do not want to live their lives
in shame. Hence, the advent of the Gay Pride movement in all of its
incarnations. Whether through an annual pride parade or a gay club with people
who have shared inclinations.
In the not-too-distant past, if you were gay, you kept that
in the closet for fear of being ridiculed, harassed, or worse. If someone was
discovered to be gay, they could lose their job. If in the military, they would
receive a general (not honorable) discharge without the benefits accrued to veterans.
Gay people were often beaten by vigilantes who believed they were doing God’s
work. As a result, many gay people were embarrassed by their natural
inclinations… embarrassed that they were attracted only to members of their own
sex.
But ever since 1973 when progressives in the APA removed
homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM-II) there has been a sea change in how gay people see themselves. Instead of hiding in the closet, they now seek full acceptance as mentally
healthy individuals but with different sexual preferences.
Now that gay people are out of the closet, we are obligated
to treat them with compassion and dignity. We may not ridicule them or harm
them in any way, God forbid. As I have said what seems like over a gazillion
times - being gay is not a sin. They should be fully accepted.
How accepted? They can even become a Rebbe in a right wing yeshiva. I
recall one such Rebbe who a few years ago came out of the closet and still
holds his position. How does he deal with it? I don’t know. But what I do know
is that he declared that he does not engage in the sinful behavior associated
with being gay. There is no reason not to believe him.
That should be our assumption about every observant gay person we
meet. We need not - nor should we - delve into their private behavior. We must
be Dan L’kaf Zechus (judge them favorably) and assume they are as fully
observant as any other observant Jew. Gay or straight.
This brings me back to a possible rationale for YU’s
decision to recognize this gay club. If the club does not promote a sinful
lifestyle and simply provides a space for individuals with shared experiences,
then there is nothing inherently wrong with that.
The only issue I see is one of perception. The idea that an
Orthodox Yeshiva recognizes a gay club may imply that it endorses everything associated
with being gay..
This is why I am reserving judgment until I hear from someone I consider to be one of the Gedolei HaDor, YU Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Herschel Schachter. Until then, I remain conflicted.
