"At the same time" or " while involved with". It's getting really exhausting everyone trying to make "pity parties" for gays. Yes it is suffering to be gay ( not only as an observant person but many gays suffer.. For many different reasons) Where does it say anywhere in the world to sugarcoat life so that one doesn't have to suffer? All humanity suffers in one way or another. PEOPLE NEED TO LEARN TO COPE and not be emotionally and spiritually lazy.

the problem with Orthodoxy, which I wouldn't term as "traditional" as it is too vague a term, is that unlike Conservative Judaism, it refuses to consider modern science as a factor in its version of Halakha. That is why Orthodox Judaism is having such a hard time understanding and digesting the fact that gay - as well as transgender and bisexual people, are BORN that way, i.e. God made them that way! Orthodoxy should simply accept gay people as they are, period. There is no need to over analyze this, acknowledging that the Orthodox love to nit-pick when it comes to so called" Oral Law", it eventually needs to make room for SCIENCE or it will be relegated to the same Medieval tomfoolery and superstition for which it has been known. NOTE that I say science and not culture because gay people are NOT at all a modern cultural phenomenon, but rather have existed since the beginning of time in all civilizations, nations, religions, and cultures. Only since the chrisitanization of Europe and the Islamification of the Mideast have homosexual people suffered persecution as those religions spread through forced conversions. We Jews should NOT follow their lead on this!

as homosexuality in Leviticus, why aren't shrimp & lobster [and clams and abalone and scallop, etc.] -eating Jews and non Jews being punished for their transgressions against G-d? We Jews no longer burn animal sacrifices at the alter and we Jews are ALLOWED to dress in clothing made out of more than one type of fabric (another abomination against G-d in Leviticus) - why is it that ONLY the scriptures dealing with homosexuality are HIGHLIGHTED, FOLLOWED & DISCUSSED while dozens of other abominations are TOTALLY ignored?

I thought that the Torah was very clear about homosexual acts. One has to stretch its imagination to understand it otherwise.

The Torah EXPRESSLY FORBIDS homosexual sex ,in other words sex between tow men. Nothing more to be said.

Torah clearly states : DO NOT MURDER , so we must not murder. Torah clearly states " MAN SHALL NOT LIE WITH MAN , so men must not have sex with other men. Torah clearly states : JONATHAN LOVED DAVID , so a man may love another man ,but without the sex.

To be religious and homosexual ,or not to be ? The answer lies in how one says AMEN (ah........MEN ) .

Homosexuality is a test .But homosexuality and religion i.e. Torah are incompatible...and always will be.

This was a deeply though out, sensitive and reasonable halachic solution to a problem of those who have same sex orientations and identify as traditional Jews. We are all part of the same family. Bravo!

Is there space for a sensitive understanding of Leviticus that paves the way for same-sex monogamy to be tolerated by Torah-observant Judaism? NO! Don't add to it; don't take away from it. Next topic please.

wow! i like it! that's a nice, new take! very creative.

You conveniently left out Leviticus 20:13-"And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them". The same God Who came up with all the wonderful precepts in The Ten Commandments that the entire civilized world recognizes as valid also commands the death penalty for male homosexuals! How do you reconcile that????????

This article is good if you are totally ignorant of the religious value system and beliefs. To make such suggestions is either total stupidity or Kerry-like perception of reality. Come on Ynet, how could you publish rubbish like this?

Not only upsetting Gd with their immorality but hurting themselves and killing others. These dumb immoral asses should start learning where their brains will open up to the murders they cause.

This is rank bigotry against bisexuals. Disgusting.

Perhaps, the 'literal' definition stated in Torah is a metaphor warning against the degradation of the nephesh caused by bi or homosexual activity. Look at how the people of Sodom and Gomorrah acted toward 'guests' in their city. It appears they wanted to force the guests to 'party' their way by engaging in acts they would not have ever participated in. What would cause a whole city to act this way? Politically one may say a liberal or progressive society that lives for only self gratification at the expense of others. Torah teaches self control and order. People need to see the positives of Torah rather than always looking at what is called the negatives of Torah. A brit is a contract, it has benefits for keeping that contract as well as things that happen if you do not keep the contract. Keep this in mind when you criticize ha-Shem and His Torah. Also, keep in mind that eating forbidden foods are easier to overcome than an internal conflict. Gain the bigger victory and conquer the little ones too. Torah shows you how.

What is true and what is not true?

Homosexuality poses NO ethical challenge to religious Jews. Like pork, like driving on the Shabbat, homosexuality is forbidden: PERIOD ! There is no challenge, there is nothing to talk about, it is forbidden: PERIOD ! It is only those who are not committed to Torah observance who and wish to balance that which is forbidden to make it permissible who have problems.

People in a modern society have civil as well as religious rights. Two men who want to share their lives should have a civil partnership to protect their civil rights. There is no Halachic objection to civil partnership and there is no possibility of two men entering an Halachic marriage. The Torah prohibitions in Leviticus say we must not copy the customs of the Egyptians and the Canaanites, to wit a man may not lie with another man's wife, a close female relative, another man or an animal. These are the sins for which the Canaanites were vomited forth out of the Holy Land.

Jews who observe Judaism do not eat shrimp or lobsters, do not wear a mixture of linen and wool, do not eat chometz on Pesach or eat on Yom Kippur . . . or commit other abominations such as adultery, incest, sodomy . . .

Food prohibitions are there for the protection of your health, welfare and well-being. They could even result in your death. The morality laws are there to protect the innocent. This day and age, only the ultra-Orthodox have it consolidated in their wedding vows. The predators punishment would be death. The ultra-Orthodox have the holiest of holy communities. Take a lesson everybody.

Our traditional synagogues welcome Jews of all levels of observance. We welcome Jews who do not fully keep Shabbos, or kashrus or taharas mishpacha. We welcome those with various orientations, BUT we do not change the Torah to suit them. No one is perfect and we accept people as we find them on their Jewish spiritual journey.

He will judge with perfect balance of justice and mercy. He didn't create man for lust, but to fill the Earth (justice). There are all kinds of influences in the Earth (hormone treatments, abuse etc) which may have a part in man's decision making. Let us not forget the mercy aspect with justice.

Of course there is a need to alleviate “the unnecessary pain of gays and lesbians within the orthodox world”. But whatever you want, you will never be able to change what Torah ordered you to do. The fact that Homosexuality is prohibited by Judaism is simply obvious and it has been accepted by Jews all around the world for millennia. The interpretation you give is ridiculous. Using such a method, you would be able to permit everything. Anyway, anal sex and other form of intercourse between two men have been explicitly banned by torah scholars. By accepting it, you override 2000 years of Halakhah. All the laws which are based on rabbis teaching should therefore be rejected. You must understand that the struggle to have Homosexuality accepted by the orthodox world is useless. If you want to give up to your desire, do it. You will be judged in Heaven and sentenced for what Torah has called an abomination and what is even punishable by death penalty.

In point of fact, Mr. Castro, the commandment in Lev. 18:22 is mentioning the relations with women to illustrate the forbidden nature of the sexual act between man and man. NOT as a compound, as you are suggesting (relations with man AND relations with women).