On March 15, I was privileged to speak before a gathering of people of faith in Madison who were present to lobby their legislators on issues surrounding the proposed biennium budget for Wisconsin. Below are nine values that seemed appropriate to me to impart to them and encourage them to use during both their lobbying visits and their future advocacy work. These are values that emanate from the biblical tradition of doing what is right, the value of tzedek, or righteousness.
Presented before "People of Faith United for Justice"
March 15, 2011
Religious Values that lead to the Perfection of Our World
Adapted from Tough Choices: Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice. URJ Press 1992 and 1998, by Albert Vorspan and David Saperstein
1. The inherent dignity and value of all human beings, derived from the belief that we are all made in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27 – “God created humanity in the divine image, in the image of God, God created it; male and female God created them.”)
2. The equality of all people, rooted in the tradition of our common descent from Adam and Eve. (Genesis 5:1-2 – “This is the book of the generations of humanity. On the day when God created humanity, in the likeness of God, God made them, male and female God created them, and blessed them, and called their name humanity, on the day when they were created.”)
3. The need to empathize with the plight of the Israelites in Egyptian slavery, and, then, to channel our powers of empathy to help people who are oppressed, persecuted, and wronged. (Thirty-six times throughout the Torah we are taught that we should love, as we love ourselves, the stranger who resides with us, for we were strangers in the land of Egypt; see Leviticus 19:34 for example.)
4. The concept of wealth as lent by God in a trust relationship (for example, Psalm 24:1, “The earth and all its fullness belongs to Adonai...”), that requires sharing with the less fortunate. Hence, the special concern that God demands for “the poor, the widowed, the hungry, the orphan, and the stranger,” as the Bible tells us in many places. (Exodus 22:21 – “You shall not afflict any widow, or orphaned child.” Deuteronomy 10:18-19 – “God executes the judgment of the orphan and widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and garment. Love you therefore the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Deuteronomy 14:29b – “The stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are inside your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied, that the Eternal your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.” Deuteronomy 16:11 – “You shall rejoice before the Eternal your God, you, . . . and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are among you, in the place which the Eternal your God has chosen to place his name there.” Deuteronomy 24:19-21 – “When you cut down the harvest of your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to fetch it. Let it be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow, that the Eternal your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again. Let it be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward. The gleanings shall be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow.
5. The belief that we have a responsibility of “stewardship” over the earth and that we must protect it. (Genesis 2:15 – “The Eternal God took the human, and put him into the Garden of Eden, to serve it and to protect it.”)
6. The inference of certain laws (the seven laws of the Sons of Noah) that are regarded as basic to any civilized society. These include six prohibitions: murder, robbery, blasphemy, idolatry, incest and adultery, and the eating of living flesh; as well as the positive command that every community establish fair courts of justice. (Midrash Genesis Rabbah 34:8)
7. The rule of law to which even the highest human ruler is accountable. (Second Samuel 12:11-12 – “Thus said the Eternal God [to David when he committed adultery with Batsheva and had her husband placed at the most violent battle front], ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of the sun. For although you sinned secretly, I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.”)
8. Freedom of choice, and the responsibility of each person for his or her own actions. (Genesis 2:7 – “The Eternal God formed. . . . [The Hebrew word for formed is ייצר, yeitzeir. The Rabbis understood the presence of two yud’s (the first letter of that word) – when only one would be expected – to mean that humanity has two inclinations as part of its basic personalities, the good and the bad. Throughout our life as humans we are always choosing between the two.]. . . .the man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.”)
9. The paramount obligation of individuals and societies to pursue justice, righteousness, and ‘pathways of peace’) that is, to be involved in the work of social justice. (Deuteronomy 16:20 – “Justice, only justice shall you pursue, that you may live, and inherit the land which the Eternal your God gives you.” Psalms 34:15 – “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
A Night of Justice and Song
"A Night of Justice and Song" led by the Rabbis of Madison will take place at 7 PM on Monday, March 14 - and every Monday at 7 PM from now on - at the State Capitol in Madison, King Street Entrance. Join Madison's Rabbis as they stand vigil and pray for sanity and peace, and for the benefit of the workers of Wisconsin. On March 14, join Rabbis Bonnie Margulis and Jonathan Biatch as they hold a candlelight vigil, and invite the Jewish community to stand with them, to sing and be heard, and bear witness to the right and proper way to support the working people of Wisconsin, and the United States.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Madison Rabbis Speak Out Against Governor Walker’s Proposed Budget Repair Bill
All of the rabbis of Madison, Wisconsin’s liberal Jewish movements (Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative) signed on to the letter below.
Dear Rabbinic Colleagues and Friends,
Many of you have been watching what is going on in our beloved city of Madison, Wisconsin. As rabbis who live and work in Madison, we wanted to share with you some reflections on recent events.
This is an extraordinary time in Madison. We have never seen anything like it. The sheer number of people who have come to protest, testify, or attend vigils at the State Capitol is unbelievable. Through sunshine and freezing rain, we have been shocked at how long people have sustained this engagement. The overwhelming number of protesters has been respectful, peaceful, and well, downright friendly (this is the Midwest, after all!). The energy inside the Capitol rotunda is astounding. It has brought tears to our eyes to watch young people become so passionate about these issues, even sleeping there throughout the night. We have heard some grumbling about the school closures, but there could be no better civics lesson than watching strangers – young and old, workers and professors, from small towns and big cities, all holding hands all around the perimeter of the Capitol and chanting, “This is what democracy looks like.”
We have been very focused on the local level, but we understand that this is a national issue. The stakes are very high. They are so high because our very communities are at risk. Contrary to many news reports, this is not about greedy labor unions. If Governor Walker’s bill passes, it will destroy local economies throughout the state – and drastically reduce the quality of our public schools, universities, nursing homes, child care centers, and hospitals. Through its devastating changes to Medicaid it will jeopardize the health and well-being of the mentally ill, disabled, elderly, and poor. This will affect each of us personally and professionally, and it will spread to other states as well. Sadly, our children’s future is on the line, and Governor Walker has tried to prevent any public discussion or debate on these issues.
As rabbis we find this an affront to our values – the Jewish mandate to protect workers, as well as the poor and needy among us. It is an affront to our deep value for education, for supporting women’s rights, and for creating sustainable communities. And it is an affront to our belief that these issues should be debated openly and fairly under public scrutiny.
We humbly share the attached resources that we have compiled in the hopes that we can renew our commitment to social justice for all members of our society. What is happening in Wisconsin will likely spread to other states, and we hope that you will discuss these issues in your communities.
The organization that has been coordinating the interfaith religious response in Madison is the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice of South Central Wisconsin. Their members are a combination of grassroots activists, clergy, laity, congregations, community organizations, and labor unions. If you would like to support their work, please visit http://www.workerjustice.org. The issue of cuts to health care coverage for low income Wisconsin residents is also at stake. To read more about this or to support these efforts, please visit Save Badger Care, http://www.savebadgercare.org.
As Rabbi Hillel once said, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?"
B’shalom,
Rabbi Renee Bauer
Rabbi Joshua Ben-Gideon
Rabbi Rebecca Ben-Gideon
Rabbi Jonathan Biatch
Rabbi Kenneth Katz
Rabbi Bonnie Margulis
Rabbi Andrea Steinberger
Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman
Dear Rabbinic Colleagues and Friends,
Many of you have been watching what is going on in our beloved city of Madison, Wisconsin. As rabbis who live and work in Madison, we wanted to share with you some reflections on recent events.
This is an extraordinary time in Madison. We have never seen anything like it. The sheer number of people who have come to protest, testify, or attend vigils at the State Capitol is unbelievable. Through sunshine and freezing rain, we have been shocked at how long people have sustained this engagement. The overwhelming number of protesters has been respectful, peaceful, and well, downright friendly (this is the Midwest, after all!). The energy inside the Capitol rotunda is astounding. It has brought tears to our eyes to watch young people become so passionate about these issues, even sleeping there throughout the night. We have heard some grumbling about the school closures, but there could be no better civics lesson than watching strangers – young and old, workers and professors, from small towns and big cities, all holding hands all around the perimeter of the Capitol and chanting, “This is what democracy looks like.”
We have been very focused on the local level, but we understand that this is a national issue. The stakes are very high. They are so high because our very communities are at risk. Contrary to many news reports, this is not about greedy labor unions. If Governor Walker’s bill passes, it will destroy local economies throughout the state – and drastically reduce the quality of our public schools, universities, nursing homes, child care centers, and hospitals. Through its devastating changes to Medicaid it will jeopardize the health and well-being of the mentally ill, disabled, elderly, and poor. This will affect each of us personally and professionally, and it will spread to other states as well. Sadly, our children’s future is on the line, and Governor Walker has tried to prevent any public discussion or debate on these issues.
As rabbis we find this an affront to our values – the Jewish mandate to protect workers, as well as the poor and needy among us. It is an affront to our deep value for education, for supporting women’s rights, and for creating sustainable communities. And it is an affront to our belief that these issues should be debated openly and fairly under public scrutiny.
We humbly share the attached resources that we have compiled in the hopes that we can renew our commitment to social justice for all members of our society. What is happening in Wisconsin will likely spread to other states, and we hope that you will discuss these issues in your communities.
The organization that has been coordinating the interfaith religious response in Madison is the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice of South Central Wisconsin. Their members are a combination of grassroots activists, clergy, laity, congregations, community organizations, and labor unions. If you would like to support their work, please visit http://www.workerjustice.org. The issue of cuts to health care coverage for low income Wisconsin residents is also at stake. To read more about this or to support these efforts, please visit Save Badger Care, http://www.savebadgercare.org.
As Rabbi Hillel once said, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?"
B’shalom,
Rabbi Renee Bauer
Rabbi Joshua Ben-Gideon
Rabbi Rebecca Ben-Gideon
Rabbi Jonathan Biatch
Rabbi Kenneth Katz
Rabbi Bonnie Margulis
Rabbi Andrea Steinberger
Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Jewish Connection to Labor Issues
The controversy regarding Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s proposal to eliminate most of the collective bargaining agreements of public sector employees is, at the time of the publication of this blog, only a few days old. Yet this controversy has engendered heated debate, discussion, and disagreement on the issues.
For this Rabbi, it is difficult to understand the severity of Governor Walker’s proposal, as it runs completely counter to the history and direction of organized labor, and the benefits that organized labor has brought to our economy. The century-and-a-half stream of collective bargaining agreements in our country is a tide that has raised all boats: bringing the working class into the middle class; increasing the productivity and the profitability of the companies and public agencies that hire union workers; and providing lives of dignity for all participants.
The system of union representation has granted real human dignity to each person in our land, those who are union workers and others who have benefited – at some time in their lives – from a union agreement.
What is our connection?
Here is a brief synopsis of the Jewish position on labor and related issues, and perhaps hints as to why Jews can proudly support the stance of the labor union members who will be drastically affected by the proposed loss of the power of collective bargaining.
We Jews are heirs of a prophetic tradition that has ever sought to perfect the world that God gave to us. As the book of Genesis reminds us, we are all made in the divine image, and no one person is inherently better than another. That is why we honor the dignity of each person, for their being a member of the human family, and for their chosen work in the world.
The books of Leviticus [19:13] and Deuteronomy [24:14-15] demand that employers should be fair and honest in their relationships with their employees. From these Scriptures we specifically learn “You shall not defraud your fellow. You shall not commit robbery. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.” And “Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy…Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it.”
And the book of Exodus [23:12] brought forth the ancient but sublime innovation of a day of rest. Specifically in connection with the laborer, it commands, “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household, and the foreigner as well, may be refreshed”.
The Talmud not only deals with working conditions and appropriate wages, but provides justification for the establishment of workers' unions and guilds. Later Jewish rabbinic tradition continues this trend, referring both to the need for people to work seriously and long, and the sanction for organizers to organize for their benefit and safety. Please contact me at rabbi@templebethelmadison.org if you would like information about specifics.
Textual references are important, but remember this: We in the liberal community follow the words of certain scripture passages not because God commanded them and/or out of a fear of punishment, but rather because they represent wisdom in building – together with God – a just world.
The American Jewish tradition of support for union organizing and collective bargaining began more than 100 years ago, beginning in earnest with the tragedy that we know of as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. One hundred forty-six women lost their lives that March day, whose centenary anniversary we will observe next month. From that event we strove to correct the unsafe and unjust conditions at factories and sweatshops all across the country. We moved forward and continued to honor the dignity of all workers who daily toil for themselves and for their family.
What does all this mean?
Our Jewish religious and civil tradition demands that employers treat workers fairly, from providing adequate wages and benefits, to ensuring safe and appropriate working conditions. And the ability of workers to bargain collectively has allowed us to achieve a higher standard of living for workers, such as a fair and safe workplace; to raise the profits and benefits of employers due to the hard work of dedicated employees such as you; and to receive many other benefits for working people in our country.
We therefore move onward with work and workers' right as sacred , because, our tradition states, “Great is labor for it gives honor to the laborer” [Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 49b].
For this Rabbi, it is difficult to understand the severity of Governor Walker’s proposal, as it runs completely counter to the history and direction of organized labor, and the benefits that organized labor has brought to our economy. The century-and-a-half stream of collective bargaining agreements in our country is a tide that has raised all boats: bringing the working class into the middle class; increasing the productivity and the profitability of the companies and public agencies that hire union workers; and providing lives of dignity for all participants.
The system of union representation has granted real human dignity to each person in our land, those who are union workers and others who have benefited – at some time in their lives – from a union agreement.
What is our connection?
Here is a brief synopsis of the Jewish position on labor and related issues, and perhaps hints as to why Jews can proudly support the stance of the labor union members who will be drastically affected by the proposed loss of the power of collective bargaining.
We Jews are heirs of a prophetic tradition that has ever sought to perfect the world that God gave to us. As the book of Genesis reminds us, we are all made in the divine image, and no one person is inherently better than another. That is why we honor the dignity of each person, for their being a member of the human family, and for their chosen work in the world.
The books of Leviticus [19:13] and Deuteronomy [24:14-15] demand that employers should be fair and honest in their relationships with their employees. From these Scriptures we specifically learn “You shall not defraud your fellow. You shall not commit robbery. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.” And “Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy…Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it.”
And the book of Exodus [23:12] brought forth the ancient but sublime innovation of a day of rest. Specifically in connection with the laborer, it commands, “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household, and the foreigner as well, may be refreshed”.
The Talmud not only deals with working conditions and appropriate wages, but provides justification for the establishment of workers' unions and guilds. Later Jewish rabbinic tradition continues this trend, referring both to the need for people to work seriously and long, and the sanction for organizers to organize for their benefit and safety. Please contact me at rabbi@templebethelmadison.org if you would like information about specifics.
Textual references are important, but remember this: We in the liberal community follow the words of certain scripture passages not because God commanded them and/or out of a fear of punishment, but rather because they represent wisdom in building – together with God – a just world.
The American Jewish tradition of support for union organizing and collective bargaining began more than 100 years ago, beginning in earnest with the tragedy that we know of as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. One hundred forty-six women lost their lives that March day, whose centenary anniversary we will observe next month. From that event we strove to correct the unsafe and unjust conditions at factories and sweatshops all across the country. We moved forward and continued to honor the dignity of all workers who daily toil for themselves and for their family.
What does all this mean?
Our Jewish religious and civil tradition demands that employers treat workers fairly, from providing adequate wages and benefits, to ensuring safe and appropriate working conditions. And the ability of workers to bargain collectively has allowed us to achieve a higher standard of living for workers, such as a fair and safe workplace; to raise the profits and benefits of employers due to the hard work of dedicated employees such as you; and to receive many other benefits for working people in our country.
We therefore move onward with work and workers' right as sacred , because, our tradition states, “Great is labor for it gives honor to the laborer” [Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 49b].
Friday, October 8, 2010
There is Still Far to Go
Thanks to the media we have a sharper focus on gay and lesbian teen suicide. What's needed is eliminating the prejudice that preceded it.
The following is an editorial that appeared in a newspaper called the New Jersey Jewish Standard this past Monday [October 4]:
“We set off a firestorm last week by publishing a same-sex couple’s announcement of their intent to marry. Given the tenor of the times, we did not expect the volume of comments we have received, many of them against our decision to run the announcement, but many supportive as well.
“A group of rabbis has reached out to us and conveyed the deep sensitivities within the traditional/Orthodox community to this issue. Our subsequent discussions with representatives from that community have made us aware that publication of the announcement caused pain and consternation, and we apologize for any pain we may have caused.
“The Jewish Standard has always striven to draw the community together, rather than drive its many segments apart. We have decided, therefore, since this is such a divisive issue, not to run such announcements in the future.”
In the words of our Yom Kippur confessional liturgy: “Ashamnu – bagadnu – gazalnu. We are guilty; we have betrayed; we have stolen”.
And for me, questions remain. “Who is guilty?” and “Of what are they guilty?”
I wonder whether this newspaper took confession to a completely new level!
And here is one of the – literally – hundreds of responses to this editorial that appeared online, which the paper posted and for which I give them some credit.
This reaction sums up all the negative comments – and most if not all of the 421 comments posted online – as of October 7 – were negative:
“How on earth can someone else’s simcha cause anyone pain and consternation? If it does, that person needs therapy, not to throw his or her weight around and bully a newspaper into bigotry.”
Or this reaction, which is also typical: “While I am happy to learn that you want to be sensitive to those in your community who are bigoted and exclusionist, I wonder whether you even care about the rest of us, the majority, who welcome the announcement of love and commitment between two members of the Jewish community?”
This newspaper, its so-called “editorial”, the Orthodox impetus for its printing, and the reaction to it, represents – sadly – a microcosm of the American society in which we live.
Even in an era when gay teen suicide is a prevalent issue in our national dialogue and a problem to be addressed – and even within a theoretically enlightened Jewish community – we are in need of education.
This demonstrates the old adage that Jews are just like everyone else, but even more so.
We are in an entirely new epoch when it comes to our relationships with gay and lesbian members of our society. It has taken us years to move our nation and individuals within it, toward a time when a person’s sexual orientation is irrelevant to his or her place in society.
But there is still far to go.
There comes a time when acceptance must give way to activism. People of moral conscience need to work to create a community where gays and lesbians are accorded the same rights and privileges as everyone else.
This week’s Torah portion reviews the sins of the early humans that, in the eyes of our Israelite ancestors, were the precipitating factors of the flood of the era of Noah and the downfall of the Tower of Babel.
The story of Noah and the ark, similar to the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, has often been portrayed – in certain biblical fundamentalist circles – as a tale relating to so-called “sexual perversions” of humanity.
In addition to these narratives in the early Torah text, one can read the laws of Leviticus and infer that homosexual acts were something abhorred by the ancient Israelite community; these strictures are often used by fundamentalists to demonstrate that the Bible is against homosexuality.
But modern scholars now believe that these texts were more against homosexuality as a method of worship. Besides, sexual orientation was something that was not understood by our ancestors.
Still, because of fear, and following the pattern of many societies that were concerned with these kinds of issues, they condemned the practice without understanding its origin.
Today we know different.
Today we know that somewhere between 3% and 5% of the human family are homosexual. We also believe that God does not frown upon the expression of human sexuality, and that whether gay, lesbian, or straight, God’s divinity and image reside within each of God’s children.
But I am affected by a particular teaching in this week’s Torah portion, the section that deals with the destruction of the earth at the time of Noah.
The text says this: “Va-tishachet ha’aretz lifnei ha’elohim, va-timalei ha’aretz hamas.” “The earth was corrupted before God’s very presence, and the world was filled with violence.” And in these heated days of extreme national debate and angst, I think this may be true – in a way – about our nation.
But not in the way that biblical literalists think.
As a society, we have corrupted our land and committed violence against people. It’s just that today we have incited violence against yet another minority group whom we find easy to disparage.
Today, we legitimize old prejudices and encourage new discrimination by displaying examples of both in a Jewish newspaper.
Today, we can bully someone through the World Wide Web, showing video footage that is assured to bring embarrassment and humiliation.
Today, we can spread rumor and innuendo about anyone through the viral spread of Internet email and web images.
The media have put a well-deserved emphasis on the heart-wrenching suicides of gay and lesbian youth in recent weeks. But what really needs to brighten is the spotlight on the overt prejudice that has led to these needless deaths.
And in this election year, when self-aggrandizing politicians use anti-gay bias as a wedge issue, something is very wrong with the way we conduct our national business.
When homophobic interpreters of scripture mis-characterize the sins of the generation of Noah as being sexually based, they pervert the very validity of using the Bible as a book of moral instruction.
When we neglect to sincerely empathize with the families of Raymond Chase, Seth Walsh, Billy Lucas, Asher Brown and Tyler Clementi, five gay teenagers who recently committed suicide, we have permitted others to set the societal agenda. We have abdicated our role of leading a society by example.
Here is a set of statistics regarding gay and lesbian suicides that I found terribly distressing. I suspect you, too, will find them unsettling:
* Of all American teens who die by their own hand, 30 percent are lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, or queer.
* According to the 2007 Massachusetts Youth Risk Survey, lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.
* According to researchers in the journal Pediatrics, lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth who come from families that reject them when they come out of the closet, are more than eight times as likely to have attempted suicide than lesbian, gay, and bisexual peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection.
* According to a 2009 survey by GLSEN, a national organization that seeks to create healthier atmospheres on school campuses for all people, almost 85 percent of LGBTQ teenagers are harassed in high school because of their sexual orientation, with 61 percent of gay youth reporting that they felt unsafe in school and 30 percent staying home to avoid bullying.
We need to rid ourselves of prejudice and purposeful mistranslating of scripture. We need a certain kind of religious understanding that seeks not violence but rather tolerance and full acceptance, based upon the values of the text rather than ancient words that reflect fear and suspicion.
What is needed are more days similar to this Sunday’s “National Coming Out Day.” This is an annual event when gay and lesbian youth are encouraged to stop concealing their sexual orientation, and to disclose their orientation to those who know them and would be most supportive of this reality of their lives.
What is needed is more encouragement similar to that of the local cast of “Wicked”. Last Friday they placed on the YouTube website a two minute video reminding gay and lesbian youth that, ‘yes, it is difficult to reveal one’s homosexual orientation, but that the more one is honest and open about it, the easier it gets to do it.’
What is needed is our changing our attitudes. It actually helps society when our fellow citizens are able to be honest with themselves and with us regarding their sexual orientation. Suppressing one’s identity is unhealthy for the individual and for society.
What is needed is education and patience, but an always forward-moving set of attitudes.
What is needed is the expression of sincere remorse, and dedication to correcting past wrongs.
What is needed is for the religious community to take its place beside our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, and to stand firmly on the side of equal rights in all areas of life.
It is time for us to reach out to other religious communities and encourage them to say “enough” to bullying, to suicides, and to harassment due to a person’s sexual orientation.
I invite you to begin this process locally with me, along with clergy and members of other religious congregations.
We must bear in mind the words he who stood in the breach between Nazi atrocities and humanity, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
Finally, what is needed are more follow-up editorials like this one that appeared in the online version of the New Jersey Jewish Standard after the so-called “firestorm” that erupted because of that paper’s initial editorial stand:
“We ran the wedding announcement because we felt, as a community newspaper, that it was our job to serve the entire community — something we have been doing for 80 years.
“We did not expect the heated response we got, and — in truth — we believe now that we may have acted too quickly in issuing the follow-up statement, responding only to one segment of the community.
“We are now having meetings with local rabbis and community leaders. We will also be printing, in the paper and online, many of the letters that have been pouring in since our statement was published.
“We urge everyone to take a step back and reflect on what this series of events has taught us about the community we care so much about, and about the steps we must take to move forward together.”
Would that be the approach of all citizens in our nation!
The following is an editorial that appeared in a newspaper called the New Jersey Jewish Standard this past Monday [October 4]:
“We set off a firestorm last week by publishing a same-sex couple’s announcement of their intent to marry. Given the tenor of the times, we did not expect the volume of comments we have received, many of them against our decision to run the announcement, but many supportive as well.
“A group of rabbis has reached out to us and conveyed the deep sensitivities within the traditional/Orthodox community to this issue. Our subsequent discussions with representatives from that community have made us aware that publication of the announcement caused pain and consternation, and we apologize for any pain we may have caused.
“The Jewish Standard has always striven to draw the community together, rather than drive its many segments apart. We have decided, therefore, since this is such a divisive issue, not to run such announcements in the future.”
In the words of our Yom Kippur confessional liturgy: “Ashamnu – bagadnu – gazalnu. We are guilty; we have betrayed; we have stolen”.
And for me, questions remain. “Who is guilty?” and “Of what are they guilty?”
I wonder whether this newspaper took confession to a completely new level!
And here is one of the – literally – hundreds of responses to this editorial that appeared online, which the paper posted and for which I give them some credit.
This reaction sums up all the negative comments – and most if not all of the 421 comments posted online – as of October 7 – were negative:
“How on earth can someone else’s simcha cause anyone pain and consternation? If it does, that person needs therapy, not to throw his or her weight around and bully a newspaper into bigotry.”
Or this reaction, which is also typical: “While I am happy to learn that you want to be sensitive to those in your community who are bigoted and exclusionist, I wonder whether you even care about the rest of us, the majority, who welcome the announcement of love and commitment between two members of the Jewish community?”
This newspaper, its so-called “editorial”, the Orthodox impetus for its printing, and the reaction to it, represents – sadly – a microcosm of the American society in which we live.
Even in an era when gay teen suicide is a prevalent issue in our national dialogue and a problem to be addressed – and even within a theoretically enlightened Jewish community – we are in need of education.
This demonstrates the old adage that Jews are just like everyone else, but even more so.
We are in an entirely new epoch when it comes to our relationships with gay and lesbian members of our society. It has taken us years to move our nation and individuals within it, toward a time when a person’s sexual orientation is irrelevant to his or her place in society.
But there is still far to go.
There comes a time when acceptance must give way to activism. People of moral conscience need to work to create a community where gays and lesbians are accorded the same rights and privileges as everyone else.
This week’s Torah portion reviews the sins of the early humans that, in the eyes of our Israelite ancestors, were the precipitating factors of the flood of the era of Noah and the downfall of the Tower of Babel.
The story of Noah and the ark, similar to the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, has often been portrayed – in certain biblical fundamentalist circles – as a tale relating to so-called “sexual perversions” of humanity.
In addition to these narratives in the early Torah text, one can read the laws of Leviticus and infer that homosexual acts were something abhorred by the ancient Israelite community; these strictures are often used by fundamentalists to demonstrate that the Bible is against homosexuality.
But modern scholars now believe that these texts were more against homosexuality as a method of worship. Besides, sexual orientation was something that was not understood by our ancestors.
Still, because of fear, and following the pattern of many societies that were concerned with these kinds of issues, they condemned the practice without understanding its origin.
Today we know different.
Today we know that somewhere between 3% and 5% of the human family are homosexual. We also believe that God does not frown upon the expression of human sexuality, and that whether gay, lesbian, or straight, God’s divinity and image reside within each of God’s children.
But I am affected by a particular teaching in this week’s Torah portion, the section that deals with the destruction of the earth at the time of Noah.
The text says this: “Va-tishachet ha’aretz lifnei ha’elohim, va-timalei ha’aretz hamas.” “The earth was corrupted before God’s very presence, and the world was filled with violence.” And in these heated days of extreme national debate and angst, I think this may be true – in a way – about our nation.
But not in the way that biblical literalists think.
As a society, we have corrupted our land and committed violence against people. It’s just that today we have incited violence against yet another minority group whom we find easy to disparage.
Today, we legitimize old prejudices and encourage new discrimination by displaying examples of both in a Jewish newspaper.
Today, we can bully someone through the World Wide Web, showing video footage that is assured to bring embarrassment and humiliation.
Today, we can spread rumor and innuendo about anyone through the viral spread of Internet email and web images.
The media have put a well-deserved emphasis on the heart-wrenching suicides of gay and lesbian youth in recent weeks. But what really needs to brighten is the spotlight on the overt prejudice that has led to these needless deaths.
And in this election year, when self-aggrandizing politicians use anti-gay bias as a wedge issue, something is very wrong with the way we conduct our national business.
When homophobic interpreters of scripture mis-characterize the sins of the generation of Noah as being sexually based, they pervert the very validity of using the Bible as a book of moral instruction.
When we neglect to sincerely empathize with the families of Raymond Chase, Seth Walsh, Billy Lucas, Asher Brown and Tyler Clementi, five gay teenagers who recently committed suicide, we have permitted others to set the societal agenda. We have abdicated our role of leading a society by example.
Here is a set of statistics regarding gay and lesbian suicides that I found terribly distressing. I suspect you, too, will find them unsettling:
* Of all American teens who die by their own hand, 30 percent are lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, or queer.
* According to the 2007 Massachusetts Youth Risk Survey, lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.
* According to researchers in the journal Pediatrics, lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth who come from families that reject them when they come out of the closet, are more than eight times as likely to have attempted suicide than lesbian, gay, and bisexual peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection.
* According to a 2009 survey by GLSEN, a national organization that seeks to create healthier atmospheres on school campuses for all people, almost 85 percent of LGBTQ teenagers are harassed in high school because of their sexual orientation, with 61 percent of gay youth reporting that they felt unsafe in school and 30 percent staying home to avoid bullying.
We need to rid ourselves of prejudice and purposeful mistranslating of scripture. We need a certain kind of religious understanding that seeks not violence but rather tolerance and full acceptance, based upon the values of the text rather than ancient words that reflect fear and suspicion.
What is needed are more days similar to this Sunday’s “National Coming Out Day.” This is an annual event when gay and lesbian youth are encouraged to stop concealing their sexual orientation, and to disclose their orientation to those who know them and would be most supportive of this reality of their lives.
What is needed is more encouragement similar to that of the local cast of “Wicked”. Last Friday they placed on the YouTube website a two minute video reminding gay and lesbian youth that, ‘yes, it is difficult to reveal one’s homosexual orientation, but that the more one is honest and open about it, the easier it gets to do it.’
What is needed is our changing our attitudes. It actually helps society when our fellow citizens are able to be honest with themselves and with us regarding their sexual orientation. Suppressing one’s identity is unhealthy for the individual and for society.
What is needed is education and patience, but an always forward-moving set of attitudes.
What is needed is the expression of sincere remorse, and dedication to correcting past wrongs.
What is needed is for the religious community to take its place beside our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, and to stand firmly on the side of equal rights in all areas of life.
It is time for us to reach out to other religious communities and encourage them to say “enough” to bullying, to suicides, and to harassment due to a person’s sexual orientation.
I invite you to begin this process locally with me, along with clergy and members of other religious congregations.
We must bear in mind the words he who stood in the breach between Nazi atrocities and humanity, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
Finally, what is needed are more follow-up editorials like this one that appeared in the online version of the New Jersey Jewish Standard after the so-called “firestorm” that erupted because of that paper’s initial editorial stand:
“We ran the wedding announcement because we felt, as a community newspaper, that it was our job to serve the entire community — something we have been doing for 80 years.
“We did not expect the heated response we got, and — in truth — we believe now that we may have acted too quickly in issuing the follow-up statement, responding only to one segment of the community.
“We are now having meetings with local rabbis and community leaders. We will also be printing, in the paper and online, many of the letters that have been pouring in since our statement was published.
“We urge everyone to take a step back and reflect on what this series of events has taught us about the community we care so much about, and about the steps we must take to move forward together.”
Would that be the approach of all citizens in our nation!
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