Teh Gayz are taking over the synagogues now too

[desh]

Homosexuals are in.

A follow up to my last post: Three of the 5 papers on the table passed with at least 6 votes, one of which was on the pro-ordination side. This means that Conservative seminaries are now permitted to admit gays and lesbians to their rabbinical and cantorial programs. Starting immediately, UJ will. JTS may follow suit.

Interestingly, all of the 3 papers that passed still forbid anal sex.

(h/t The 'school)

Update 6:46pm EST The Jewish Telegraphic Agency posted a longer article.

Comments

[alanscottevil.livejournal.com]

WOOT WOOT WOOOT SUPER WOOT WOOT!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you, Conservative Movement, for NO LONGER being the ONLY Jewish sect with both (a) the theological self-authority to do something about the status of gays & lesbians, and (b) the distinction of having done nothing at all.

[arctic-alpine.livejournal.com]

that theological self-authority seems to be what they were arguing about and why roth and a few others just quit.
that being said I'm somewhat less of a fan of Roth, strong support of ordaining women non-withstanding, since I found out that he was removed from being dean of JTW for making sexual comments to female students.

[desh]

I don't get Roth's point. Orthodoxy has the self-authority too (albeit in a much less hierarchical way). Orthodox Jews make halachic rulings to change the status of things all the time.

Anyone who thinks that the halachic process is just about further clarifying the exact decisions we've always had is deluding themselves, and I disagree with anyone who thinks it should be that.

[rivka-m.livejournal.com]

yeah, but when you're ortho, it's a lot easier to go stricter than to go more lenient, so that's the direction they tend to change things.

not that that lenient never happens too, just more rarely (like "prozbul" centuries ago). and because it's harder, it tends to happen in areas that won't make waves.

ex: israeli rabbinate declared that plastic CAN be kashered (apparantly that psak had the express purpose of making things easier on the army)

a friend's response: you can kasher plastic and there are still agunot? that's fucked up!"

so true.