CJV wanted as many rabbis as possible on their roster to bolster their claim to authenticity. They did not require members to be pulpit rabbis or even to have had a career in any facet of the rabbinate - so long as they were ordained. CJV currently has over 2,500 member rabbis.
I decided against joining. Even though I support their mission, I found CJV to be a bit too political. Almost as if their goal was to equate all politically conservative views with Halacha and every liberal view as anti-Halacha. While I’m sure they would deny that characterization, their track record suggests otherwise.
This is something I do not agree with. Even though I lean heavily conservative on most issues, there are some where I would be considered quite liberal.
That being said, I obviously agree with CJV on most issues. The latest of which is their response to what has to be one of the most misleading claims ever made by movements that call themselves Jewish. A view that is outrageous by any sane measure unless one is a far-left progressive. As noted in JNS:
CJV released an open letter from 150 rabbis and teachers reaffirming Judaism’s “clear and unambiguous stance on human genders.” This came in response to a letter sent to members of Congress by more than 100 left-wing Jewish organizations opposing what they described as an “anti-transgender sports ban.”
The letter to Congress, led by the Union for Reform Judaism, asserted that Jewish legal texts mention at least six different genders—an assertion that the rabbis affiliated with CJV described as a distortion of those texts with “no relationship to normative Judaism and three millennia of Jewish law.” The missive also argued that “there is no evidence that transgender athletes have an advantage,” despite the American College of Sports Medicine issuing a consensus statement that “biological sex is a primary determinant of athletic performance.”
This is a no-brainer. Even if one supports transgenderism as normative, the idea that a man who has undergone gender-affirming surgery is now on the same competitive playing field as a biological woman is so ridiculous, I don’t see how even the most progressive views on transgenderism could support allowing a transgender female to compete with women in the same sport.
Especially from those who love to say, “follow the science.”
We aren’t even talking about religious values here. We are talking about an unambiguous scientific fact: “biological sex is a primary determinant of athletic performance.”
Is it unfair to trans athletes who want to compete? What about fairness to the rest of the athletes who are biological women? How is it fair to them? Such nonsense.
As for the claim that Jewish legal texts mention at least six different genders - that is patently false. They must be referring to an Androgynos - an individual born with both male and female genitalia - or a Tumtum, someone born without clearly defined genitalia. The Gemara qualifies the status of a Tumtum as uncertain, noting that their genitalia are often hidden or covered. Once exposed, they are classified as either male or female.
I have no clue what the other two genders they were referring to might be. Honestly, I can’t imagine what they’re talking about. But I’m sure the same logic applies. The point is, these are not genders; they are rare anomalies for which we should have empathy.
That’s the trouble with most heterodox Jewish movements. They have made a religion out of progressivism. Calling it Judaism does not make it so.
