Gays,
Lesbians and Synagogue Life
by
Senior Rabbi, Alan Green (00-Present)
Published in the Shaarey Zedek Shofar in January 2008
It is now some four months
since the High Holy Days, when I first raised the subject of same
sex relationships in the context of Jewish law, and asked for
feedback. That feedback has been abundantly clear: consistently, and
overwhelmingly supportive of the idea of full inclusion of gays and
lesbians into Jewish life. On that basis, I feel that the time for
action vis a vis our own community has arrived. I want to emphasize
that I am still open to hearing your reactions—particularly as I
will use this space to announce a staged plan for gays and lesbians
to become full members of Shaarey Zedek, with all the rights and
privileges of Shaarey Zedek membership. I also want to emphasize the
importance of examining the articles written by the members of the
Committee on Laws and Standards of the Conservative Movement which
appear on our website. It’s difficult to have an intelligent
discussion on this complex issue without referring to them.
This staged plan was
endorsed both by the Shaarey Zedek Board of Directors, as well as
the Shaarey Zedek Ritual Committee. The strength of this plan is
that it allows for a gradual but deliberate transition. It also
allows for the possibility of unforeseen consequences—though I
certainly don’t anticipate any drastic obstacle to reaching the goal
of full integration of gays and lesbians into the life of our
synagogue by 2010.
Stage 1, which begins as
of January 1, 2008, provides for burial of openly gay and lesbian
couples in the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery. While there certainly are
gays and lesbians already interred in our cemetery, none have been
buried as couples. None have shared a plot or headstone as a couple.
Naturally, the rule that both halves of a couple must be Jewish in
order to be buried in our cemetery still remains. I feel that this
is a small, but significant step forward.
Stage 2, which should
begin as of January 1, 2009, will see gays and lesbians accepted as
members of Shaarey Zedek, with the right to vote, sit on committees,
participate in lifecycle events, and purchase High Holy Day seats
and cemetery plots at member rates. The only exception to the rights
of full membership during this transitional stage will be the right
to Jewish same sex union ceremonies conducted under Shaarey Zedek
auspices.
That final step will
constitute Stage 3, which will go into effect as of January 1, 2010.
Again, both halves of a gay or lesbian couple must be Jewish to be
eligible to participate in a Jewish same sex union conducted by
Shaarey Zedek clergy. From that time forward, all things being
equal, gays and lesbians will be full participants in the life of
our synagogue.
I was fortunate enough to
be aided in reaching this difficult decision by many individuals -
chief among them, the great Rabbi Harold Schulweis - along with my
teachers Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Rabbi Elliot Dorff, and
Rabbi Neal Rose as well as my Associate Rabbi, Larry Pinsker, and my
Chazzan, Aníbal Mass. My deepest gratitude to all of them!
I also want to thank all
of you for being the learned, liberal, highly progressive
individuals that you are. None of this would have been possible
without the strong support expressed by the Executive, Board of
Directors, and Ritual Committee of Shaarey Zedek. The rabbis say,
“Much have I learned from my teachers; even more have I learned from
my colleagues; but most of all have I learned from my students.”
Thank you for allowing me the privilege of being your teacher, and
your student.
I am very grateful for the
seven years that we have spent together so far, and look forward to
the coming years with a sense of excitement and anticipation. I
believe that having passed this very significant milestone, Shaarey
Zedek is on its way to becoming the leading Conservative synagogue
in Western Canada.
With all best wishes for a
winter of fulfillment.
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