Conservatives to Ordain Gay and Lesbian Rabbis in Israel
Latest update: April 20th, 2012
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The Board of Trustees of the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary voted Thursday night to accept gay and lesbian students for ordination beginning in the next academic year.
Affiliated with the “Masorti” movement in Israel and with the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, Schechter trains educational and spiritual, non-Orthodox leaders for positions in Israel.
“The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary views the serious process leading to this decision as an example of confronting social dilemmas within the framework of tradition and halachah,” Hanan Alexander, chair of the seminary’s Board of Trustees, said in a statement. “This decision highlights the institution’s commitment to uphold halachah in a pluralist and changing world.”
Students are ordained by a rabbinical court, made up of three members of the Rabbinic Advisory Committee of the seminary, all of whom are members of the Rabbinical Assembly of the Masorti/Conservative movement. The court members are chosen by the candidate and subject to the approval of the seminary’s dean. They have different opinions regarding the ordination of gay and lesbian students, according to the seminary.
“This unique mechanism is an expression of halachic pluralism, one of the founding principles of SRS,” the seminary said in its statement. “The Seminary is a religious institution of the Masorti/Conservative Movement, bound by Halacha, whose inclusive approach allows for a variety of Halachic opinions.”
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5 Responses to “Conservatives to Ordain Gay and Lesbian Rabbis in Israel”
2
good now we can eat ham.
And bacon cheese burgers! *sigh* I miss eating at Wendy's.
and what exactly is the difference between the Conservatives and the Reforms now?
Not much, at least where I live. They're mostly J Street, Code Pink Jews.
Will the conservative movement now erase the commandment from the Torah that forbids homosexual conduct ?
Hi:
I am trul;y delighted that Gays, Lesbians, etc can now be ordained as Rabbis.
Why, you ask?
I have a seven-year-old French Poodle. I taught him to bark once whenever he hears
me making Kiddush, twice when I give him a piece of Chala – Kosher, of course – and he wags his tail when served some Chulent.
I think this qualifies him to be an Ordained Conservative Rabbi.
Thank you
This is going to far. Torah,the Christian writings and the koren condemn homosexuality.
There is certainly a good portion of the Torah I'm sure they'll choose to skip over and not read. This is just not right and deep in your nashama you know it regardless of what society has chosen to tolerate now and convince you it's OK. It's not. What's next? Did HaShem make a mistake or change His mind about that pork or kosher food thing? I'm sure some new age "new Rabbi" will find a way to get around it.
These Godless Jews have gone whorring after Godless cultural Marxism–what a disgrace!
These Godless Jews who whore themselves to sexual immorality and Godless cultural Marxism–are not conservative!
Nothing here that a little wrath from God won't cure.
To call this idea by ‘Conservatives’ is misleading and shows how stupid the author is. The BIBLE is clearly against Homosexual in any form and shows how low this organization has gone down to align itself with people and not the Word of God.
I applaud the Jewish Press for courageously publishing articles covering the many diverse groups that make up the Jewish community.
Lots of hateful comments! I believe that God wants all of us to work together in making this world a better place. Gay or Straight, we all have what to give. If God created every person the exact same way, he would not be God. Let's look at the story of Purim. Queen Esther was chosen for one of the biggest honors in the universe, to save the Jews from extinction. She married the wicked king in order to be able to influence him and saving the Jews. If she had stayed in her community and was afraid to step out of the box, the Jews would have been destroyed. Sometimes, God has different missions for different people. No one should judge anyone that wants to help in making Gods world a better place for all. God doesn't make mistakes. Gays and Lesbians or not mistakes, rather they were chosen for other missions. What each persons mission is, only that person could know.
http://www.JewishPinkElephant.com
" Ideas of an American Gay Syrian Orthodox Jew".