Jewish Scene
Religious gays battle for acceptance
Associated Press
Published: 26.05.11, 13:16
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1. Gays battling Rabbis? You sure?
Josh   (05.26.11)
2. openly gay Orthodox rabbi
Larry ,   Los Angeles   (05.26.11)
I like that: "openly gay Orthodox rabbi" sort of like: "honest crook". Orthodox meant following the Torah; the Torah forbids homosexuality, so how can one be gay and orthodox? It is like an honest con man. What a world!
3. Homosexuality isn't a choice!!!!!!!
Talula ,   Israel   (05.26.11)
Only thick uneducated people believe that. Does anyone honestly think these men would want to live in fear of being beaten, murdered, disowned by their families, treated as outcasts and called freaks if they had a choice? I'm sick and tired of gay men being treated like they are an 'abomination'. Some of my closest friends are gay men, and I have to say I love them all dearly, they are NORMAL wonderful caring and giving human beings, and furthermore, I felt more safe leaving my children with my gay friends when they were young, than with a babysitter. Just leave them alone and accept that they are gay, and some are religious! No-one should judge anyone!!!!
4. #3 Yes I think so.. They have minds you know.
Josh   (05.26.11)
You nehlect to say they get an alternative type of gratification and a cicrus like social unit to have large groups of friends. To say that no gay person ever chose to first experiment and then to make it a life sylte makes me believe you thnk that gays are pure instinctual humanoids that have no ability to think and chose. Like any social group, admitance has a price. If anyone is talking absurdly it is you. Choice to act on ones urges has everything to do with it. Sex is like that even for heterosexuals. A choice. One can abstain if they so choose. So no. They are not creatures of instinct. Many made a choice.
5. No. 3 Talula
NYC Girl   (05.26.11)
Amen, sister.
6. #2 Larry, so what
Ben ,   USA   (05.26.11)
So the Torah says gay anal sex is bad. So what. The Torah also allows for slavery, especially owning gentile slaves. So does being Orthodox mean you don't have to express Amnesty-International-level horror when your good buddy in the north is bossing around his Canadian slave regarding which fields need weeding today? How about this one: Deuteronomy forbids a man with crushed or injured testes from being part of the Israelite community. So, according to the Torah, eunuchs were basically told they had no part in Israel, and that they should Go Away. But the prophet Isaiah, supposedly channeling God, says eunuchs who keep the Sabbath, choose what God desires, and hold fast to the Covenant have "a name and a monument better than sons and daughters". So God countermanded, through Isaiah, His earlier commandment in the Torah. Wha-wha-what??? You mean the Torah should not be observed to every "yud"? I am so offended! Isaiah veered both to the left and the right of the Torah, and that's capital-W Wrong. Isaiah shouldn't even be in the Tanakh, it should be left out in the cold, along with Tobit, Judith, The Wisdom of Ben Sirach, ... ------------------------- If God can countermand His earlier commandment against eunuchs, what other commandments has He countermanded? The one against slavery? Hopefully, especially in the post-Abraham-Lincoln world. The one against gay anal sex?
7. No matter what the Bible say?
Brod ,   USA   (05.26.11)
Since they don't follow what the Bible says, they cannot be considered Bible believers or religious or spiritual.
8. For all physical defiencies...
ORA ,   JERUSALEM   (05.26.11)
before resigning,we do everything in our power to cure it ,or at least to improve.People who think they have gay tendencies should do the same.
9. Religious Gay Immorality = OXYMORON
Peter   (05.26.11)
10. Gay Orthodox
josh ,   jerusalem   (05.26.11)
It is fine by me if you want to be Gay. However if you want to be Orthodox than keep in mind that sex before marriage is a huge no no!
11. Religious & Gay
Dan ,   Israel   (05.26.11)
Being gay is as much a choice as eye colour. You can try and hide it temporarily, but it never truly changes, even with the best effort in the world. If you don't like orthodox gays, don't be one.
12. # 3 My real issue with Homosexuality
American Sabrah   (05.26.11)
Calling me homophobic would be an oxymoron because I am not afraid of homosexuals. Nor do I harbor any hatred or grudges against them (unless they molest and rape little children).I have no problem with homosexuals for being who they are. Yes religious homosexuals do exist. Some leave Orthodoxy because they understand that its contradictory to be gay and religious.I agree with them. But I don't agree with their lifestyle.Nor will I accept their sexual orientation as the norm. The problem is we try to indoctrinate our children that its completely normal for boys to have feelings for other boys. Same applies to girls. We tell them that its okay for Sam to have 2 mommies and Rebecca to have 2 daddies. And they grow up believing that there is nothing wrong with it. I shouldn't have to embrace homosexuality anymore than bi-polar disease or drug addiction. Some people say that homosexuality is a mental illness.Yes people are born with certain tendencies. If you have a flaming temper, you should seek anger management. If gays are comfortable with who they are then fine. Its not that they are a biblical abomination. And they shouldn't be treated as such. They are human beings after all and people do struggle with SSA (same sex attraction).Engaging in homosexual behavior such as 2 men or 2 women lying naked with each other is explicitly prohibited from the Torah.As a Jewish country and nation, we are held to a higher moral standard than the rest of the world. Just because Gay marriage is legal in Europe doesn't mean we should emulate their example. Just like you don't appreciate it when people try to flaunt religion in your face, please leave us to our religious lifestyle and don't try to impose ultra tolerance on us. Leave both the gays and the religious alone.
13. @Larry
Alexandra ,   Jerusalem   (05.26.11)
Actually the Torah only forbids specific acts of homosexual sex. Not 'homosexuality'. If you read the article properly you will see that Rabbi Yosef insists on abiding by the halachic restrictions.
14. WE ARE TWICE BLESSED
gays4Israel ,   not tellin   (05.26.11)
kisses to all Israeli soldiers (especially the men)
15. Gays and women deserve respect
Michael ,   California, USA   (05.26.11)
Women should join gays in the fight for recognition by Orthodoxy. Both groups are discriminated against terribly. From the "unofficial" statistics of San Francisco, the gay capital of the world, every third gay is a Jew. Supposedly, analysts say, the group is so large for two reasons: 1) The genetic reason of being born gay (having gay genes); and 2) The social reason of hating religion-inspired Jewish mothers (who are forced by their husbands to be mean and selfish.)
16. "No matter what the Torah Says"? NEVER!
Yehuda ,   Israel   (05.26.11)
17. Talula thats rich,,coming from you..
Al   (05.26.11)
You spout off on Religious Jews to the point that I think you are anti-semitic.
18. Gay Orthodox Synagogue Joke
Bunnie Meyer ,   Los Angeles, CA USA   (05.26.11)
An Orthodox gay guy from NY was amazed to find an ad for an Orthodox shul when he moved to San Francisco. He attended Friday night and sat next to this ultra cute blond guy. Try as he might to daven, he couldn't keep his eyes off the blond guy next to him and placed his hand on his knee. Promptly, two huge bearded chasids picked him up, dragged him out the door, threw him in the street and warned him never to come back. "What's the big deal," he asked astonished, "I'm gay, you're gay." Came the reply, "No one, NO ONE, touches our rebbetzen."
19. It is now generally frowned upon
Eliyahu Konn ,   Powell, OH   (05.26.11)
by orthodox but the Torah still forbids it. So which one needs to change?
20. Josh#4
Daniel ,   TA   (05.26.11)
When you opted to first have sexual relations, did you choose with which gender to share that experience? Or was it just what you knew was right for you? Anyone can choose to abstain but no one can choose which gender attracts them. Catholic priests are notorious for choosing to abstain, but actually having sex. The drive for sexual relations is a basic drive. One can choose to ignore it but it is very difficult. The gender with whom one shares consensual sexual relations is also a basic part of the genetic makeup. For some this is the same gender for others it is the opposite gender. If we are all created in G-d's image than gay people can not be considered differently. It is not a choice.
21. 15 Hi Michael,I am a religion-..
ORA ,   JERUSALEM   (05.26.11)
inspired Jewish mother . Who are you?
22. Tolerant San Francisco, Michael
ahad ha'amoratsim ,   columbusOH   (05.26.11)
Your tolerant friends in San Francisco, Michael, are trying to outlaw bris milah because it diminshes their sexual pleasure.
23. mirror mirror on the wall
perplexed   (05.26.11)
as Shakespeare once said," thou protest too much...." why not look at your own prejudice and hate towards people
24. ORA, Q:"Who are you?" A: I am human.
Michael ,   California, USA   (05.26.11)
I am completely uninspired by religion and I am not a mother. But I am a father. Now what?
25. O come on.......
Martin ,   Phoenix, AZ. USA   (05.27.11)
"Religious" ?"Orthodox" homosexuals? I don't think so. SHAME SHAME SHAME
26. seek acceptance?
chaim witz ,   brazil   (05.26.11)
Religious contract murderers battle for acceptance. Religious pig-eaters battle for acceptance. Religious pedophiles battle for acceptance. Religious gays battle for acceptance. Religious thieves battle for acceptance. Religious compulsive liers battle for acceptance. Religious adulterers battle for acceptance. Religious slenderes for acceptance.
27. the problem is simple, the solution also
Baruch ,   Boston, USA   (05.27.11)
the problem is that the GLBT wierd crowd doesn't want anyone to live a normal lifestyle. so, instead of hanging around with like-minded people, they have to horn in on everyone else's view of life, with the intention of devaluing it. no more Mothers' day because some kids may have two daddies. it's okay to have gay bars, but try to have a "straight bar". Homophobic hater!! the solution is to understand that GLBT people are motivated by hatred of and envy towards normal people, and to keep them away from normal groups, like normal Orthodox synagogues. It's not prejudice or bigotry or homophobia, but a desire for self-preservation and a clarity of normal values. You can do whatever you want among your screwed up friends. Just leave us alone.
28. so do religious
Ben ,   gush etzion   (05.27.11)
Pork & Lobster eaters, religious pedophiles, religious wife beaters, religious mechalelei shabbos, religious gamblers, religious drug addicts etc, They also want acceptance, How about religious pornographers and religious people who are into bestiality?
29. Gay Synogogue
Brucie ,   Fire Island   (05.27.11)
Temple Beth Znus Rabbi Ben Dover The gay Chevra Kadissha called Gay In Drerd
30. 24 Michael,Yes you are very human..
ORA ,   JERUSALEM   (05.27.11)
you are also smart,sensitive,and you have a strong sense of justice.These are typical Jewish traits.You should be proud of what you are. Also you can do better than writing stereotypes.There are good and bad husbands,mothers,fathers in all societies.And you know it. And now,be happy.
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