So what did we decide in Mexico City vis-à-vis the Ordination of Homosexuals? Ultimately, after a good deal of debate, the Rabbis in attendance, some 350 of us, voted to back the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. It was the Law Committee, keeping with its history, that wanted a simple majority for a vote on a major issue like this one. True, they were upping the total needed from just 6, but they felt that a simple majority of 13 would reflect some consensus. It was the Executive Committee of the Rabbinical Assembly that had argued for the 80% threshold. We voted to support our Law Committee and its request for a simple majority when it came to approving the papers on this particular topic.
The issue is not settled by a long shot. First of all, as I mentioned earlier, the papers need to be reworked and resubmitted to the Law Committee as a whole. This will take some time. Second, there is the issue of the constitution of the Rabbinical Assembly itself. As I understand it, the Executive Committee made the 80% policy in spite of the fact that the constitution only requires 6 votes. Such a constitutional change cannot be taken lightly, as so many R.A. members have pointed out to them. In addition, I wonder whether we, the Rabbis in Mexico City, had the power to make a change in policy that contradicts the constitution, no matter how well intentioned we were!
My guess is that we will really have to wait for the final editions of the 4 papers to be made public before anything moves forward. In this issue, I find myself being a “constitutionalist”. I believe that the original intent of those who drafted the R.A. constitution was indeed to make a low threshold for accepted opinions. We should keep it that way. Let the individual Rabbis study the decisions, look inward, then look at the congregations they serve, and make decisions based on all these factors.
Besides, once this first hurdle is overcome we will get into the real, practical issues of implementing policies that will meet the needs of the caring, committed, gay Jewish community. Will we be sanctioning commitment ceremonies? How will they be understood from the standpoint of Jewish law? What aspects of a traditional wedding ceremony might apply? Can they be done in states that do not recognize gay marriage? Lots of issues to address, but we need to move forward.
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Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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