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| Rabbi Dov Linzer delivering a Shiur at YCT (JTA) |
According to a report in JTA, YCT (Yeshivat Chovevei Torah) Rosh
HaYeshiva and President, Rabbi Dov Linzer, has taken a step in the right direction
by denying Semicha (a rabbinic ordination) to an openly gay student. This does not exonerate YCT for
their other controversial positions. But at last they have finally drawn a line.
A Halachic line that his left flank has strongly objected to. (Yes, even YCT
apparently has a left flank.)
I have had many issues with the decisions YCT has taken that
places them completely out of mainstream Orthodoxy. Decisions they are actually
proud of. Like their advocacy for ordaining women (among many other things).
Although they never claimed to be mainstream, they do claim to be Orthodox. In
my view they have crossed too many lines for that to be a certainty.
Be that as it may, a line has finally been drawn by its leader.
Even though his views are controversial, by all accounts, Rabbi
Linzer is a brilliant Talmid Chacham. He knows Halacha. The idea of giving
Semicha to an openly gay man
who proudly trumpets his sexual orientation and lives with another gay man as a
‘partner’ goes too far in suggesting that living a homosexual lifestyle is
permitted by Halacha.
That said, I never had nor do I now have a problem giving a gay
man Semicha. I don’t know how many times I’ve said this, But being gay (having
a same sex attraction) is not against Halacha. People can’t help who they are
attracted to. What is against Halacha is acting on it in ways which the Torah
prohibits.
If one does not live a homosexual lifestyle, I see no reason
why he can’t be ordained. On the other hand if an Orthodox rabbi openly and
proudly proclaims he is a homosexual and lives with male partner, at the very least it implies that serious
Halachic violations are permitted. Especially if he does so without ever saying a word about the Halachic prohibitions that apply to such living arrangements. The message is clear. ‘Be loud and be proud’.
This is the opposite of what a rabbi is all about. Which is not only about
teaching Torah but about living it.
Instead he places a rabbinic imprimatur on living a lifestyle that
most often includes serious prohibitions as though they are not only
permitted, but to be celebrated.
I think this is why Rabbi Linzer drew this line. I applaud
him for having the courage to do it. Courage because of the obvious backlash that would generate. Which he got from YCT supporters and students who are upset that the supposed bastion of
liberal Orthodox Judaism has drawn a very un-liberal line. It is almost as if he
betrayed the very mandate of liberalism that YCT stands for. This is the reaction from immediate
past YCT president, Rabbi Asher Lopatin:
“I’ve never been more disappointed in Modern Orthodoxy and its institutions,” he said. “We are supposed to stand for an unfearing loyalty to halacha, and it seems to me that there are so many who are acting out of fear and not who they really believe halachically can be a rabbi. We’re supposed to fear God alone, we’re not supposed to fear what other Jews are going to say about it. “So it’s a real shameful moment…
I am disappointed (but not surprised) that my friend Rabbi Lopatin feels this way. I do
not see Rabbi Linzer as anything but an idealist who does not fear what those to
his right think. He has demonstrated that in many ways, not the least of which
is supporting all of the controversial things YCT stands for. Now because of that same strong sense of idealism, he is standing up to critics from his left.
I am here to lend Rabbi Linzer some moral support for his
courage in doing the right thing. The buck stops with him as Rosh HaYeshiva and
President. He calls the shots. And I know he will stand his ground.
