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| YCT's first openly gay ordainee, Tadhg Cleary (Forward) |
The fact is, we have no way of knowing how many gay men have
been ordained over the course of Jewish history. Even by rabbis of great
stature. That’s because they never revealed their same sex attractions and
certainly did not act on them.
But when someone comes out publicly as gay, that is a horse
of an entirely different color. Coming out usually means they will be acting on
those attractions. The Torah is very clear on this point. It unambiguously
forbids homosexual sex. And treats it as a capital crime.
The latest nail in the coffin for Yeshivat Chovevei Torah’s
(YCT) claim to be an Orthodox institution is its decision to ordain Tadhg
Cleary - an openly gay man. He was
accepted to the school with the understanding that he could publicly identify
as gay. After receiving semicha, he announced that he would be ‘marrying’ his
partner. There is little doubt about the serious Torah violation that such a
marriage entails. One of the essential elements of marriage is the expression
of love through sexual intimacy.
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| YCT head, Rabbi Dov Linzer (Forward) |
In the highly unlikely event that
Rabbi Linzer has been assured there will be no sexual intimacy in the marriage,
I have to question how any couple - where there is physical attraction - can
realistically uphold such an assurance. The human sex drive is exceedingly
strong. It will not be denied.
And even if they do plan to abstain, if they don’t make that
commitment publicly and explicitly, the message sent to other gay couples is
that there is nothing wrong with homosexual sex - completely ignoring the
Torah’s unambiguous prohibition.
The Forward reports this is the first time an Orthodox seminary has ordained an openly gay man. In my view, it will be the last. This ordination seals YCT’s fate. I do not believe there is any way on earth it can be called Orthodox anymore.
It doesn’t matter how ‘Frum’ Cleary is in all the other Miitzvos.
Even if he is makpid on Chalav Yisrael and Yoshon. That
doesn't change anything. The deliberate violation of even a single Mitzvah
removes someone from the realm of being a fully observant Jew. Especially when
that violation concerns a capital offense. That he insisted on being openly gay
and proudly proclaims he will marry his partner takes him out of the category
of observance altogether. In no way can he serve as a role model of Orthodox
Judaism for any congregation he might lead.
Truth be told, I feel sorry for Cleary. Raised in a
non-observant home, his sincere search for truth and meaning led him to
observance and to study Torah for nine years at Yeshivat Har Etzion - one of
the most prestigious Modern Orthodox/Religious Zionist yeshivas in Israel. When
he came out in 2023, he was asked to leave.
Interestingly, Cleary says he ‘did not give up on the idea
of marrying a woman until 2020’.
Whether a gay man should marry a woman is generally frowned upon by mental
health professionals. For obvious reasons.
But I’m not so sure this is always wrong. Sometimes, we must
fight our natural urges to live a life in accordance with the Torah. The
rewards of marrying a woman, raising a family, and building a Torah home are
surely worth the sacrifice of not satisfying an urge that – if acted upon - is
considered a major sin.
That has certainly been the case in the not too distant past,
when homosexual sex was seen as a mental disorder. Men who were attracted to
other men tended to stay in the closet. Some never married, others married and
found fulfillment in other, more meaningful ways. Those who succumbed to temptation,
did so on the ‘down low’. Those who were caught were often humiliated and ostracized
from society. Often causing depression and even suicide. That is still true to
a certain extent in some cases.
Humiliating other human beings is a gross violation of the
Torah as well. But that is a sperate issue that should be dealt with. WITHOUT
legitimizing the behavior that brought about that humiliation. Furthermore, I
would be willing to bet that there were more than a few gay men that got married, continued
to struggle with their same sex attractions, but otherwise led quite fulfilling
lives as husbands and fathers.
I know that in today’s world, this kind of thinking is
considered sacrilegious. Dangerous even! It surely goes against modern
conceptions of morality. But the Torah does not change to reflect the moral
sensibilities of the time. If the Torah declares something immoral, it remains
immoral. No matter how much societal values have shifted.
I hate talking about this subject so often. But when yet another
public event raises new questions, I feel obligated to speak out. Despite the
backlash I will surely get from the left.
If Tadhg Cleary happens to read this post, he will surely
hate me. I don’t blame him. And that makes me sad. I certainly do not
hate him. On the contrary, I actually admire him for making the difficult
decision to become observant and for spending so many years studying Torah. He
is probably a wonderful human being, motivated by a sincere desire to serve the
Jewish people as a rabbi.
But a rabbi cannot openly declare that he will be living
with another man as a married couple - with al that this entails. One cannot
promote Torah observance while visibly violating one of the most serious
prohibitions in it. Nor can one explain the prohibition away with convoluted
interpretations of a clearly stated law.
As for YCT, they need to stop claiming to be a flagship
institution of Modern Orthodoxy. Rabbi Linzer may have meant well by ordaining
an openly gay man, seeing it as an act of inclusion. But granting Semicha in
this case goes far beyond inclusion. By doing so, YCT has, in my view, abdicated any claim
to representing Orthodox Judaism.
