You are very judgmental, self-righteous and hate-filled for someone who complains about being judged by others. You need to get down off your high horse and do some real chesbon ha-nefesh instead of lashing out. You need to learn forgiveness instead of fueling your anger.

Cindy, I apologize for using the word 'fake' in my previous talkback. Please be assured that I did not mean in any way that you are a fake. But the story appeared to be part of the media's constant anti-religious bias, which I resent. However, you write convincingly, and I am now convinced that the story is genuine. My heart goes out to you for the terrible ordeal that you and your children went through. I do believe, however, that you can find acceptance and peace in other communities. Here in Baltimore, there are certainly frum counselors that would be more than willing to talk to you. If there is something I can do to help, please contact me.

"You are very judgmental, self-righteous and hate-filled for someone who complains about being judged by others." That's funny, I didn't detect the slightest hint of those things in what Cindy said. Could it be that you are projecting something in you onto her...??

I am a Lebanese Christian browsing Israeli websites because it dawned on me in the latest round of (mutual) destruction that I really don’t know much about your people so I am trying to learn despite all the insanity going on around us. I am touched by your story and very sorry for what you have suffered. I hope one day all forms of discrimination will be eradicated: anti-semitism, homophobia, racism - the list goes on. I can only pray that one day the human race will be enlightened and stop defining identity in narrow terms that subject individual will to the ill-gotten prejudices of communities. Peace be with you Ghassan

Thank you Ynet for having the courage to present in photo the perversion of homosexuality. YES #1, this photo truly depicts this perversion. I did a search of all the major 2006 gay "pride" parades aroudn the world. Trust me. This photo is g rated compared to others. If you do not want us to believe these images portray your group...tell them to get dressed before leaving their bedrooms!

Ari, do you how tedious you are? Is there any merit in mindlessly quoting Torah? All you do is add fuel to the argument that the Haredim are a net cost to Israel and world Jewry. By the way, you idiot, you should re-read the passages around the one you quote; you will find many, many capital crimes, some of which, I have no doubt, you have been guilty of.

Cindy wrote. "To rabbis who counsel gay men to marry so that they will be cured, stop it at once! A woman is not a cure" She is correct. Rabbis who find gay men in the community should advise the community. So they can keep their boys away from them and their daughters. Rabbis who counsel people with mental illness to marry, without telling the otherside should also stop it at once. Manic depressives etc have no sexual function due to their medication and who wants to lead a life without children. Shadchanim and rabbis have a lot to answer for

Yo, Davida, you say we should "trust you" in your comprehensive web search. Personally, I wouldn't trust you to write a holiday card to my mailman. In this case, you manage to have used the wrong search terms. The issue is whether this picture is typical of gay attire IN GENERAL, not whether the attire is typical of that worn in gay pride marches, let alone the husband being discussed in the present essay. Is this distinction too difficult for you to understand? Let's go futher, though. Have you ever been to a gay pride march? Does it occur to you that photographers at such a march might focus on those who are dressed most outlandishly? Are you aware of how few participants actually dress this way? I guess, though, that you believe anything that journalists print and photograph. But then so does the Left.

Read this from #1"the norm in the 70s and 80s, BUT NO ONE IN THE MAINSTREAM AMERICAN MEDIA does that anymore." Don't trust me, go read it. He was trying to excuse the photo as something from the past. That is why I did the search. I don't take essays, news reports or forum post at face value. If this type of dress is not the "norm", why would one possibly get so vulgar in public? This display is an "in your face" protest because the "norm" will not accept the perversion or relax G-d's Torah to soothe hurt feelings or stay in the politically correct line. You cannot excuse this behavior or the lifestyle. At least no in a way that makes it acceptable according to Torah. I am sorry for the exwife and the children, but this is a good example of how perversion destroys what it touches.

I believe it is possible that you met with unkind Rabbis and that your children suffered unfairly at the hands of others. I have had my own experiences with Rabbis who did not behave as they should have. That is not a reason to leave Torah. Being frum you would know that all difficulties are G-d sent to test our faith. You should look for ways to strengthen your faith and that of your children. If you found the black/white crowd not to be suitable you would just have to look for another community. There are more understanding communities. Also, I find it unusual that you could not find any therapist that didn't want to counsel you on this. You need to be a bit more resourceful. Look for help in the right places. Leaving Torah is definitely not going to bring you or your children happiness. One very understanding Rabbi is Rabbi Lazer Brody of Ashdod. His website http://lazerbrody.typepad.com. Many write to him with all sorts of problems. Having said all that, my view is that if somebody discovers gay tendencies he should do all that is necessary to get help. It is an avera and no Rabbi can condone the gay way of life. Counselling on how to live with such a problem whilst being Orthodox is vital.

1. That if the wounds are still fresh, your departure from Torah is probably temporary and when you do some soul searching you will probably come back, perhaps stronger 2. If you wen to a secular therapist, that could have a lot to do with your leaving yiddishkeit. They do not understand the 'soul' aspect in the person, no matter how kind and well meaning they are cannot give you the appropriate advice. 3. Ynet seems to be using your story to support the gay movement. I don't think your story belongs here. Do not let yourself be used in this way. It is one thing to say give support to people who are faced with this difficulty and another to promote 'arrogance' about this lifestyle - which is what the parade is all about. Don't let your anger against the Rabbanim that were not sympathetic to your cause cloud your vision.

Let's see now. Leah, in her latest (67) asserts that gay men are child molestors and require medication. Evidently, she is an expert in the treatment of such conditions. However, while the astute censor prints this, when I refer to the mouth that said these things as a "foul orifice," my response is cut. This must be an Israeli style of argument. You know, the style Mazuz uses to assert that Sharon was "temporarily incapacitated" and that the present "difficulties" in North and South do not constittute a war.

Davida, you are as likely to offer a nuanced reading of Torah as I am to wear the garb in the photo under discussion. What the present essay has done is make the real perverts (e.g. you and leah) stand out. Nor do I feel (speaking personally now) that I need any excuse from the likes of you. Who are you, after all? Some Torah-toting hausfrau? Let me be more concise regarding your first-ever attempt at research: the photo in question has no connection to the actual man being discussed. At most, it relates to garb worn at a gay pride march by some (tiny) percentage of participants. What about this don't you understand?

AB, why does Cindy's story not belong on Ynet? Do you claim that personal stories about the frummies should only be here if they are positive? Do you think that she should keep the inhuman treatment she received a secret? Incidentally, rejection of the frum is not necessarily a "departure from Torah." Perhaps, it is a departure from wearing clown suits. Perhaps it is a departure from a community whose reading of Torah is alternately stupidly literal and completely made up.

More research sk. #;-) Those who cannot see the obvious here by the gay posters, has only to visit a Jewish forum for "gays" who aren't too happy. Why are you so angry? An observant Jew certainly is not accepted or understood by society in general, yet we do not respond in anger. We feel no need to justify our beliefs nor to explain them. Why is this? Because a belief - a true belief is owned by our soul and we do not care who understands or accepts us. SO, why do you defend your belief that it is "OK" to be homosexual? You don't really. The anger comes because you know it is perverted and you seek others to accept you to ease the guilt or legitimize your behavior. Sigh...to long an explanation, but you know well that you are not happy because your behavior is unacceptable by the majority of society and definately Torah. The agenda by "gays" is to change or erase Torah, thereby absolving them of accountability. Sorry, this is not just my opinion. Others can get educated now or wait until this tragic perversion visits their family through indoctrination of our children in schools or on the street in one of your freak shows. 'nuf said. You need to think about your anger and examine your desires that are definately abnormal.

sk, you are really confused. IN one sentance you state a departure from frum is not necessarily a departure from Torah and go on to state is is not literal and made up! Which is it sk? YOU do not want to follow Torah so you try to make a point it is "Made up"? You may want to go into Orthodox shul and parde your perversion to rub it in the noses of the religious, but you do not want to follow Torah. SO why the argument? It is Torah or it is your perversion. It is also your decision. Just don't expect Torah to "bend" to your desires.

You don't owe me any explanations but if you don't mind, when you say 'made up'. Are you referring to the written Torah? If not, as you well know the prohibition is explicit and does not leave room for interpretation. Or is your complaint that homosexuality is not a person's fault and therefore it should not be considered a sin even if the Torah says it is? Please clarify. About my point 3 that I didn't think her story belonged on Ynet. It has nothing to do with negative things being said about 'frummies'. I said myself that I had my own experiences with some Rabbis. There are superb Rabbis and there are mediocre or inexperienced ones as in any other field. It's just that Ynet is so keen to bash the orthodox that her story is being used to support its own agenda rather than Cindy's plight and hence is not taken as seriously and its veracity doubtful.

Practice what you preach. If you demand respect for your lifestyle then show the same respect for those who live and dress differently to you.

Apparently you do not read or cannot comprehend. We Jews do not DEMAND RESPECT from anyone! TOrah validates us. This is our belief so we need no approval. I hope you reconsider your situation and return to Torah. I am out of here. This is absurd.

Free to move elsewhere? So, people don't need to be tollerent - people should just move away from the intollerent. I can't even begin to put my hands around that arguement. For hundreds of years, Jews have been told to move because they lived in areas where people were not tollerant. One generation ago millions of Jews were murdered because people weren't tollerent. Who would "choose" to be gay in a world that condemns gay behavior? Who would choose that lifestyle when surrounded by hate, misunderstanding, and lack of tollerance? People are gay because that is who and what they are. That is how Hashem created them. Perhaps we shouldn't pretend to know better than Hashem. Perhaps we should try to understand or at the least accept that we we can not understand.

Well, interesting reading here. I knew I would find more of the rhetoric that gays are "born that way". This is a myth perptrated to absolve those who practice deviant sex. Pleeease! Where does "free will" come into play? I am ashamed that people blame G-d for their actions. Actions they are obligated to weigh in light of Torah.

It's ironic that people who have the least experience with G-d in the present tend to give the most weight to literal interpretations of old scriptures. Osama bin Laden and others in this forum come to mind. Here's the danger: If you blindly follow *any* doctrine, religious or otherwise, you run the risk of being complicit in the commission of atrocities, just as the people who blindly followed the Nazi doctine were complicit in what followed from that. G-d is here and now. Let the *living* Spirit of G-d inform you as to the meaning and scope of old scriptures. If all you have to go on is the old scriptures themselves, then the tail is waging the dog in your spiritual life. The reason people play "follow the leader" is because the leader will give them acceptance if they follow. Acceptance by others is the great validator of pride and ego. It is the apple that we eagerly bite on a daily basis, leading to all kinds of evil and atrocities. Blindly following a leader and his doctrine is never noble, and never leads to anything noble. If you really want to stop following others and to know G-d in the present, you have to learn how to BE STILL.

OY! You are saying the god of today is not G-d of yesterday? Humm..would that mean your god is gay? MY LEADER is Torah. IT NEVER changes. There is great comfort in know that since "civilization" is in a spiral down to the dogs...literally.

You said: "MY LEADER is Torah." Your Leader is a book?? Shouldn't your Leader be G-d?? "There is great comfort in know..." I rest my case: people who fall into religious fundamentalism are really seeking *comfort* via the acceptance of their religious peer group and the *feelings* of self-righteousness that inevitably follow. They are not seeking the TRUTH or G-d. You revealed this when you said that the Torah (a book) is your "Leader." Isn't it a little insulting to G-d to think that His word can be contained in any book? Doesn't it stand to reason that 99.99999999999% of His word must exist outside of any physical book? If you're only going on old scriptures, you're missing most pieces of the puzzle. There is no substitute for the real thing. A book is not a substitute for G-d.

When I say "made up," I mean that later interpretation inserts words into Torah (Pentatuch) in quite an arbitrary and shameless manner. For example, if we are to be literalists, we cannot read a reference to "a man lying with a man" as including "a woman lying with a woman." But that has stopped the rabbis and "sages." One of the basic principles of legal interpretation is that one cannot read a passage in such a way as to render it meaningless. Any interpretation of Leviticus that does so is shlock. I use this as merely one example. I could point out that various prohibited acts are treated much less vigorously by the rabbis and sages than homosexual acts, even though all such acts incur the death penalty. I could point out that the absence of penalty being carried out is itself an example of lousy scholarship and arbitrary doctoring of the "clear intent" of the text. Incidentally, I don't believe for a minute that the Torah is free from serious textual corruption. When that corruption occurred is unknowable. On the assumption that Hashem is capable of communicating in intelligible prose, was Moshe unable to understand? Did later scribes misunderstand? Who knows.

I would be happy, AB, to show respect for the Haredim if it were earned. I have responded to the disrespectful behavior at the very top of the Haredi leadership and the nearly mindless "dittos" by those here. If the other side were respectful, that wouldn't change my own belief that the intellectual quality of Haredi Judaism is low. I would just express myself more tactfully.

comment. That's another reason Jesus was killed. Jesus was Gay! Cindy's husband is with Jesus now. I know this for a fact Jesus loves all his SPECIAL PEOPLE.