Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyJune 1st, 2012
Dancing the horah at the 2009 wedding of Andrew Shulman and Jeremy Hooper of goodasyou.org
There are about 7 million Jews living in the United States and about 4.3 million are religious to some extent. Unlike Christianity with it gazillion different variations and denominations, Judaism basically falls into a handful of camps:
For several years Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism have been active supporters of marriage equality and have permitted and supported same-sex marriages. And now we welcome a new participant and ally: (Fox News)
The Conservative branch of American Judaism has formally approved same-sex marriage ceremonies, nearly six years after lifting a ban on ordaining gays and lesbians.
The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards issued the ruling Thursday on a 13-0 vote with one abstention, said Rabbi Elliot Dorff, the committee chairman. The panel of scholars approved two model wedding ceremonies and guidelines for a same-sex divorce. Rabbis can adapt the marriage ceremonies for the couples.
There are some distinctions between the new “Covenant of Loving Partners” and more traditional heterosexual marriages but the rabbis declare it to be “a Jewish wedding” nevertheless.
Mazel Tov!!
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SharonB
June 1st, 2012
From 40 to @73% official support.
Judaism, in the main, can said to be religiously in support of marriage equality. Why is the GOP hindering the religious free exercise of the Jewish faith? Why are the discriminating against marriages performed in accordance with the Jewish faith?
TampaZeke
June 1st, 2012
It’s a huge step in the right direction but it’s a Jewish Covenant of Loving Partners and not a Jewish marriage even if they call it a Jewish wedding. It’s another “separate but equal” offering.
Still, it is a big and much appreciated move in the right direction.
Timothy Kincaid
June 1st, 2012
Zeke,
I kinda was thinking in that direction, but then noticed the differences were not so much exclusions as they were sexist and outdated.
And there’s this:
“The result is still a Jewish marriage,” the legal opinion on gay marriage states.
But (not being Jewish, this is just a guess) I suppose it would have been better without a separate name.
DN
June 1st, 2012
I’d never even heard of Reconstructionist Judaism until I went to my first bar’mitzvah at the age of 33 (I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood until I was 12 – guess how PISSED I was to miss all the parties when we moved…)
I was like “OK finally this’ll be interesting”
And then people are wearing tie-dye tallits and they’re talking about all sorts of crazy lib’rul stuff.
Coincidentally, it was the day of the vote on DADT and Carl Levin was related to some of the folks there and the rabbi made a few comments about why he couldn’t be there because he had some VERY important work to do.
For someone who is generally not into religion, I gotta say, the Reconstruction synagogue in Rockville is awesome.
MsRowena
June 1st, 2012
Oy gay!
Truthspew
June 1st, 2012
It’s amazing that 73% of religious Jewish bodies believe it’s ok for same sex partners to marry.
If only the Catholic church were to have such an epiphany!
james
June 2nd, 2012
But, but, but the Leviticus thing about abomination is, is, well, it’s a Jewish law!
What will happen when the Christians find out the Jews are rejecting their own laws?
Although I guess since it’s their law they can do with it as they want.
Palmer
June 2nd, 2012
What many non-Jews fail to understand is that the Torah, is only the beginning of Jewish law, that there the Talmud, Halacha and one other part (I can see my rabbi shaking his head, this is the problem with only being part Jewish) and NOTHING is really set in stone, all of the rabbinical schools teach a method called “pilpul” which means pepper. The point of pilpul is to take a single phrase or word and see if you can find a new way of interpreting it. This is how the elaborate Kosher laws came about. Take a few chapters in Leviticus and Numbers, add some Talmud, a few grinds of pepper and you’ve got separate dishes for meat and for dairy.
Some Ultra-Orthiodox Jews go so far as to argue they can engage in anal sex with another man so long as it’s standing up and not lying down.
Andrew
June 2nd, 2012
I tell people I was lost in the suburbs and raised by Jews – it’s nearly though not entirely true, but where I grew up, it was on the order of 30-50% Jewish. My Italian dad hasn’t set foot in a church in 40 years, but he has a prayer shawl and a yarmulke (and yes, I know how to spell yarmulke).
This removes a great disappointment I have felt for many years. Even though my Jewish friends – including the Conservative Jews – have always been supportive, it’s nice to make it official.
Mazel Tov!
tavdy79
June 2nd, 2012
That leaves the Orthodox branch as the last remaining major Jewish group that hasn’t accepted marriage equality – but I believe it’s only a matter of time. There are already orthodox rabbis working towards it, and what’s promising is that they tend to be young, so their influence can only grow.
DN
June 2nd, 2012
Andrew, if only I could find a handy link to the Arrested Development scene where George Sr. tries to stop a prison riot…
“guys come on! There are may ways to spell ‘Channukah!'”
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