In a response to my last blog I got this email.
Friends
One way to elevate this entire discussion to a higher level (in theory at least) is to remember that Jewish law does not end with Torah. Even if you believe – as some do – that the entire Law was handed down to Moses on Sinai, it is not just Torah. Indeed, I grew up believing that one thing really commendable about Judaism is the exhortation to keep thinking and asking questions! So, there is also Mishnah, Codes and Responsa and, as far as I know, the last of these continues in our own day. Jews of whatever flavour, if they wish to call themselves knowledgeable or religious, are supposed to know of these texts and the tradition of ongoing questioning and discussion which underlies them.
Now, it may be (and here I confess my own ignorance on such matters), that in the centuries since Torah, the Rabbis, in their (finite!) wisdom, have managed to “spin” just about all the issues that were raised in the previous posting: stoning a wayward child, an adulteress, a Sabbath breaker, etc. It seems, however, that the prohibition proscribed in Lev. 18 and elsewhere remains in force. If so, then presumably the present generation of Rabbis and other leaders can explain, clearly and unambiguously, why this is so.
In other words, what does Jewish scholarship and learning say about homosexuality today? One thing is clear. It cannot legitimately just keep quoting Lev 18 at us, for reasons I hope to have made clear. So, let us challenge our detractors to justify their point of view without merely quoting Torah; indeed, without merely quoting any particular text. Surely the whole point of Jewish learning is, as I said, to go on questioning and thinking…. And so we ask, again and again, exactly what is wrong with who we are and/or with what we do with one another in private?
L
What a quaint notion. The torah, the word of god, is the rules given to the mighty Moses for all mankind to live by. Now you’d reckon that it’s pretty straight forward, at least our modern translations are pretty straight forward. However, you can ignore the word of god if you get a couple of rabbits to find a good enough reason to find a loop hole in the text and thereby subvert the original meaning. The jewish people have been doing this for thousands of years, and it’s what I have been saying all along. Just change the rules, you’ve done it before, and its time to do it again.
But…
If you are going to pick and choose which rules to change, which rules are hard and fast, which ones are open to interpretation or which ones don’t apply because the temple is not there, then how do you choose? What inspiration can there be. If you’re going to bring into question one of these rules, then you should bring them all in to question, and for that reason alone the whole lot can be thrown out because if you can reinterpret one rule then the whole lot are corrupt and not necessary.
As you go through your mind and find all the ‘buts’, you know that you can please yourself as to what you believe. The real issue I have with the current ongoing saga with the JCCV and it’s purported job of representing the jewish people of Victoria is that they continue to apply antiquated rules to people who don’t believe in it. The orthodox perspective continues to pervade the attitude of sexuality and it’s out of step with the real world, the JCCV don’t call them to account for that attitude and the homophobia continues with very little opposition.
So by all means get the nasty book reviewed, change the rules, then go the next step and change the attitudes.
This just in the Inbox:
Who is this person “Bruce Llamaâ€, and what connection do they have with the GLBT, Jewish Life, Knowledge of Torah (Jewish Bible / Old Testiment)?
I am Bruce. I have been here since before the beginning and I expect I will be here until the end. I dwell in the Great Lit and the Great Unlit. Read the rest here