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| Gay Pride celebration in Washington (AARP) |
Although I have discussed this topic in a variety of
different contexts, the problem for me is always the same: how to reconcile the
Torah’s severe prohibition of homosexual sex with modern society’s celebration
of it.
Please do not misunderstand. The Torah’s prohibition
overrides societal acceptance. But the fact that society no longer considers
homosexual sex to be aberrational and instead views it as no different from
heterosexual sex makes it difficult for me to express what I believe the Jewish
attitude should be, based on both the Torah and what we now believe is the
irreversible nature of human sexual attraction.
I have explained my Torah-based views on this subject many
times. Briefly, they are as follows: We cannot judge people by whom they are
attracted to, only by what they do about it. If a man is sexually attracted to
another man and does not act on that attraction in ways prohibited by Halacha,
he should be treated like anyone else. To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr., it
is the content of their character that matters. What they might do in the
privacy of their own home is nobody’s business but God’s.
That people like this are still persecuted in society is
tragic.
That said, societal acceptance does not accord with the
halachic view. Society asks us to celebrate people precisely because they
are homosexual. I understand the motive behind this. It is a reaction to a
not-too-distant past in which homosexuals were treated with derision and
contempt, sometimes even violence.
When being gay was still considered abnormal, many gay
people hid their homosexuality. If they were discovered, it could cost them
their jobs and social standing. They were often treated as pariahs, ridiculed
and ostracized. There was little compassion for their struggles. They
frequently became outcasts.
That is why many homosexuals went to great lengths to
conceal their orientation, sometimes even marrying and hiding it from their
wives while satisfying their sexual urges on the “down low.”
Today, the opposite is happening. Gay people often celebrate
their homosexuality with great fanfare, as seen in the annual Pride parades
that take place throughout the world. We are now in the midst of Pride Month.
Western civilization not only treats homosexuals with complete social equality;
it increasingly bends over backwards to make homosexuality morally equivalent
to heterosexuality.
This is absolutely not the way the Torah looks at it.
Torah law does not change increasingly seeks to erase any
vestige of biblical values from public consciousness. Religious objections
notwithstanding.
As much as there is a public push by well intended people
and institutions with enough influence to promote this level of tolerance, the
public is not yet entirely convinced. There are still people who have issues
with homosexuality. Some unfairly, and some based simply on religious values.
An article in eJewish
Philanthropy touches upon this aspect of the issue.
Where does Orthodoxy fit in…
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