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Jewish World Review July 1, 1998 / 7 Tamuz, 5758
Rabbi Avi Shafran
THE BIG NEWS out of the recent Central Conference of
American Rabbis convention in Anaheim emerged weeks before the
conclave even began. And it had nothing to do with what would
happen there -- but rather with what would not.
What did not happen was consideration of a resolution
endorsing Reform rabbis' officiation at "same-sex" commitment
ceremonies. Though it had been expected to draw considerable
attention from the press and public, a vote on the resolution was
abruptly withdrawn from consideration.
Many observers feel the resolution would likely have passed.
For almost two years, they note, the CCAR has endorsed civil
"marriage" for same-sex couples. Religious officiation for such
unions, according to Rabbi Jerome Davidson, a member of the
Reform Ad Hoc Committee on Jewish Sexual Values, enjoys "enormous
support" among the Reform clergy. More Reform rabbis than ever
are performing such rites, and at least one Reform rabbi --the
spiritual leader of Baltimore's largest Reform congregation --
has even been a partner in a same-sex "Chuppah Ceremony".
Why, then, with same-sex relationships enjoying such
credibility and fanfare within the Reform rabbinate, was the
proposed resolution so unceremoniously jettisoned?
The official Reform explanation is that there was, in the
words of CCAR President Rabbi Richard N. Levy, "a very large
group in the middle on this issue" who were not ready to vote on
it.
Something else, though, was certainly on the minds of many
Reform leaders, something that was spelled out in a memo
distributed weeks ago to members of the conference's board.
Penned by Reform Rabbi Richard Hirsch, a long-time leader of
the effort to help the Reform movement establish itself in
Israel, the memo was a plea to not pass the "same-sex"
resolution. Were such a measure to be endorsed by the Reform
rabbinical body, Rabbi Hirsch wrote, the Reform "demand for
rights" in Israel "would be undermined by allegations that we are
not an authentic movement, but a separatist movement engaging in
'aberrations' and 'perversions' of Judaism."
Such criticisms, he went on, would be leveled "not only by
the Orthodox... [but] by the vast majority of Israeli Jews, whose
recognition of our authenticity we do seek..."
Rabbi Davidson, too, though he maintains that the Reform
movement in America "must do what is right for... hundreds of
thousands of gays and lesbians," admits that passage of the
resolution would "pose a certain public relations problem in
Israel."
The rabbis, of course, are entirely on target about the
likely impact in Israel of their movement's endorsement of
religious "same-sex marriage". The average Israeli would find it
troubling, to say the least. He or she may think "Jewish
religious pluralism" an unthreatening concept when it is
introduced by a reporter or pollster, but when an understanding
of just what the phrase means actually becomes clear, the result
will be -- and often has been -- a raised eyebrow and a strong
suspicion that some joke is being played.
For, though the fact is often obscured, Israelis are in the
end largely "Orthodox".
Not necessarily in practice, of course, (though most do
indeed engage in a host of Jewish religious practices that are
virtually ignored by most American non-Orthodox Jews). But
clearly in attitude. A distinct majority of Israelis not only
equate Judaism with the Torah's laws (whether they choose to
observe them all or not) but actually affirm, as the much-quoted
Guttman Report confirmed, that "the Torah was given to Moses on
Mount Sinai" -- the quintessential Orthodox credo.
Which is why they remain so adamantly unimpressed with the
American "alternate Judaisms". The Reform movement's attempt to
become part of the Israeli religious scene, after all, is nothing
new. As far back as 1955, Rabbi Julius Mark, a leading spokesman
for the movement at the time, remarked after a trip to the Holy
Land that "Israel is ready for a non-Orthodox type of Judaism."
It wasn't then, and it isn't now.
To its credit, the Reform movement has seldom if ever tried
to hide its stance regarding Jewish religious law and tradition.
If it had any qualms about declaring the laws of the Torah non-binding,
about rewriting Jewish prayers or recasting the
definition of a Jew, the misgivings never showed. It shouldn't
start dissembling now.
As Israel is forced by the American non-Orthodox movements
to grapple with the issue of "Jewish religious pluralism" today,
it is sad but telling that, simply to avoid losing points in
their quest for Jewish authenticity, the Reform leadership is
putting its conscience and principles on hold -- feigning
disapproval of something it in truth holds dear. Full disclosure
of the movement's attitudes and goals, including the full
sanction of acts the Torah condemns in no uncertain terms -- come
what may in Israel or elsewhere -- is only right and proper.
To do less, to act as if the Reform movement maintains some
fealty to the Jewish religious tradition -- or to the Jewish
Bible -- when it simply does not, hardly shows respect for truth
-- or for the innocent, believing Jews, here or in Israel, who
may be seeking it.
Full disclosure
Rabbi Avi Shafran is Director of Public Affairs for Agudath Israel of America, the largest grass-roots Orthodox Jewish group in America.
7/01/98: Full disclosure