Can orthodox jews be gay
Meet the rabbi who brings Orthodox lesbians together with queer men so they can have kids
Rabbi Arele Harel bids an unconventional fix for Orthodox Jewish gay men who want to hoist a conventional family: He fixes them up with Orthodox lesbians.
His matchmaking service, which has just gone online, has met criticism on opposing fronts.
Orthodox Jewish rabbis utter Harel should be doing more to encourage gays and lesbians to experiment to change their sexual orientation. Liberal religious gay groups see Harel's approach as a ploy to suppress homosexuality.
The matchmaking presents an array of challenges. The relationship may be loveless.
The partners may be tempted to try sexual satisfaction outside the marriage. And the couple may need assistance to get pregnant. But Harel insists he just wants to help people hold children, an crucial commandment of Jewish law.
"The main aspiration here is parenthood," said Harel, 36, from his house in the Jewish West Bank settlement of Shilo. "It allows them to become parents in a way that is permitted by religious Jewish rule and prevents a c
Yeshiva University, the storied current Orthodox Jewish university in New York City, is in the midst of a legal battle over its refusal to distinguish the YU Pride Alliance, an undergraduate club.
While YU does not dissent to LGBTQ students’ presence, it claims that the club is inconsistent with Jewish teachings. The Identity festival Alliance sued the university for discrimination in , and YU countered that being required to provide the club official status would violate religious freedom.
As the legal case drags on, YU made a move that outsiders may find puzzling. In October , it launched a university-sanctioned alternative LGBTQ club. Calling it Kol Yisrael Areivim, the administration touted this initiative as a compromise balancing Jewish regulation and YU’s values with students’ needs for a safe space.
The controversy showcases longstanding resistance to LGBTQ acceptance in many parts of the Orthodox Jewish world. Yet YU’s choice to found its possess club is, in and of itself, a indicate of slow change.
I am an ethnographer whose analyze focuses on gender, sexuality and religion, especially in Judaism
“Are there gay Jews?”
I’ve often been asked: do you have problems as a Jew in Germany? And I have to say: I’ve actually had more negative experiences related to my homosexuality. I always wear the Magen David, the Star of David, around my neck. In the summer at the pool, it’s clearly noticeable. And I’ve never had problems with it. In Germany today, I can live my homosexuality as well as my faith, my Jewishness. So as a Jew I’ve made my peace with Germany.
I come from a secular family: we’re believers, and we’re part of a congregation, but we’re not strictly pious. Especially when you’re young, when you spend time partying and enjoying life, and then you go to synagogue, you can have difficulties. When I came out of the closet and started to live my homosexuality openly, I noticed that it disturbed people that I wasn’t as much a part of the congregation anymore. I no longer felt at home in my parents’ community, so I left. I have always felt like a bit of an alien there – like I didn’t really
My secret life as a lgbtq+ ultra-Orthodox Jew
Once you are pregnant that child becomes both a hostage and your hostage taker. You are held hostage by your child. We are expected to have eight or nine children and I kept getting pregnant. My feelings built up inside me until one time I was walking down the street in a little cul-de-sac somewhere. There was so much noise in my head that I started saying "I'm male lover, I'm gay, I'm gay!" out loud.
It made me feel favor I had to do something about it. Eventually, I told my husband. I think he already knew I was queer but he'd convinced himself that it was just a latent desire rather than an integral part of my identity.
We still don't know what we are going to do. We have children together and a family set-up that works. If my husband and I separate we would lose all of that. I think we would all lose something if we broke apart so I may well stay married.
I desire my family can stay together, although I don't know what shape that would take. People have all kinds of arrangements. Rabbis have different