Dr. Aaron Koller, Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Chair of the Robert M. Beren Department of Jewish Studies at Yeshiva University
There is a conflict at once simple and profound at play in the question of homosexuality within traditional Judaism. It is simple in that it is easy to articulate. It is profound in its import both for our community and for our attitude towards halakha. The conflict is, in short: halakha is unforgiving in its condemnation of homosexual relationships for both men (biblically) and women (rabbinically). But respect for each human being’s right to love whom they wish, live with whom they wish, and build stable relationships built on mutual love and respect with whomever they wish, is equally unforgiving in demanding that the community not discriminate among sexualities. In even shorter form: the clash is between halakha and humanity.
What is the authority behind each side? On the side of halakha, it is halakha itself, which demands (tautologically) that it be respected, and traces that authority to the ancient rabbis and, in turn, to the Sinai revelation itself. A halakhic community, it would seem, has no choice. On the side of LGBT rights is something no less profound: the most deeply held values of the modern world – personal autonomy and individualism, especially in the realm of love and relationships. A modern community, it would seem, has no choice.
The effects of raising children with these two sources of authority are still to be studied, but we see them playing out all around us. For anyone raised to root for Romeo and Juliet against their parents or to cheer the Loving decision and deplore racism in marriage laws it will not be simple to put those values aside and discriminate against some other type of loving relationship – which is, bluntly, what the halakhic side is currently asking us all to do. Read more via YU Observer
Responding to Dr. Aaron Koller (link to his article is below) who calls for violating the Torah and placing a competing concern above halakha. Is this what Modern Orthodoxy has come to?
Rabbi Avraham Gordimer. Chairman of the “Rabbinic Circle of the Coalition for Jewish Values," a public policy institute reflecting traditional Jewish thought. He serves on the editorial board of Jewish Action magazine, is a staff writer for the Cross-Currents website, and is a frequent contributor to Israel National News and a host of other publications.
“In the absence of the authority to change the law (halakha), I have no choice but to choose against (following) it.”
“In a clash between humanity and halakha, opt for humanity, and have enough faith in halakha that the problem will be solved. And if somehow the conflict remains intractable, I would rather suffer for being a good person than sacrifice someone else’s life on the altar of my religiosity.”
These words were not uttered by a Reform rabbi, even though they express outright rejection of halakha. These are the words of Dr. Aaron Koller, who serves as Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Chair of the Robert M. Beren Department of Jewish Studies at Yeshiva University, in a new article, On halakha and LGBT, just published in YU’s Observer newspaper.
Although Dr. Koller has previously penned essays that clash with normative Orthodox Judaism (to which I responded on a few occasions – please see here and here), Dr. Koller’s new article is shocking and goes to a new level, for it unequivocally calls for violating the Torah and placing a competing concern above halakha.
'On Halakha and LGBT' immediately sparked controversy, eliciting extremely well-reasoned and eloquent responses from Rabbi Gil Student and Rabbi Harry Maryles. While I certainly agree with Rabbi Student and Rabbi Maryles, I would like to take a step back in assessing Dr. Koller’s article. Although I wrote last month that I would henceforth avoid addressing such issues, due to people who disagree with my writings about controversial topics and have attempted to harm my livelihood, I cannot be silent in the face of this chillul Hashem (desecration of God’s Name). Read more via Israel National News