Is it true that Judaism is accepting of Homosexuality?

Question

Firstly:What the hell is wrong with Yahoo Customer Care?
I asked this question for 5 times, and it did not appear!

Secondly: I found this on Wikipedia:
Orthodox Judaism teaches that sodomy is homosexual anal sex, and so, a sin and toevah, based on the Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. The Hebrew Bible injunction "Do not lie with a man the lyings of a woman; it is abhorrent." has led rabbinical scholars to conclude "these verses to prohibit anal sex between men without any exception."[49] However Judaism permits heterosexual anal sex, and the Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist branches of Judaism are accepting of homosexuality, but less so of sodomy.[50]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anal_sex

Answer 1

The article is 90% correct- sexual orientation is not a sin- a specific sexual act is. However, whoever wrote that hasn't studied much about Judaism- heterosexual anal sex IS forbidden, the hebrew uses the masculine as gender neutral when necessary- and in this case, through the laws of biblical exegesis (there are 13 of them)- the fact that this law comes straight after the forbidden heterosexual relationships- it can be transposed to them and understood to apply to both heterosexual and homosexual anal sex. A good resource on understanding sex and sexuality within the Jewish religion is the book "Kosher Sex" by Rabbi Shmuelly Boteach.

Edit: On Lesbianism
Not only is there Rambam's forbidding it as an act of the Egyptians, but some Rishonim (the first generation of Rabbis after the gemorrah was closed and includes rashi, Ranbam, Ramban etc) rule that any act which mimics the heterosexual penetrative sex act is forbidden under the law against anal sex, since they understand this law as referring to the mimicking of the heterosexual sex act by two people of the same sex- rather than specifically referring to anal sex. Under that understanding- any lesbian sex using penetrative objects is forbidden.

Also, women were never allowed to be Kohanim- the discussion on lesbian sex is whether a lesbian who lives in the house of a Kohem could eat kedoshim and terumos- specific categories of meat from sacrifices that only the Kohen and his household could eat- and the decision there is that lesbian sex is mot a factor which renders them unfit for terumos (though it is unclear on the ruling regarding kedoshim). As for divorce- a man does not need a reason to give a divorce, and he can force a reluctant wife to accept a get- the classical example given is that if his wife burnt his food he could divorce her (though it was definitely frowned on and discouraged fior such minor contrivances)- thus a wife in a homosexual relationship would definitely be open to being divorced!

Answer 2

I have my own opinion on the matter which is not in agreement with the Orthodox view...

Here is a copy/paste form the Jewish FAQ site that may be of more help to you.
*****
Homosexuality
Sexual relations between men are clearly forbidden by the Torah. (Lev. 18:22). Such acts are condemned in the strongest possible terms, as abhorrent. The only other sexual sin that is described in such strong terms is the sin of remarrying a woman you had divorced after she had been married to another man. (See Deut. 24:4). The sin of sexual relations between men is punishable by death (Lev. 20:13), as are the sins of adultery and incest.

It is important to note, however, that it is homosexual acts that are forbidden, not homosexual orientation. Judaism focuses on a person's actions rather than a person's desires. A man's desire to have sex with another man is not a sin, so long as he does not act upon that desire. In fact, it could be said that a man who feels such desires but does not act upon them is worthy of more merit in that regard than a man who does not feel such desires at all, just as one who refrains from pork because it is forbidden deserves more merit than one who refrains from pork because he doesn't like the taste.

I have seen some modern Orthodox sources suggest that if homosexuality is truly something hardwired in the brain, as most gay activists suggest, then a man who acts upon that desire is not morally responsible for his actions, but I am not sure how wide-spread that opinion is. In any case, it is not quite as liberal a position as some would have you believe: essentially, it is equivalent to saying that a kleptomaniac would not be held morally responsible for stealing.

Interestingly, female homosexual relations are not forbidden by the Torah. There is very little discussion of female homosexuality in the Talmud. The few sources that mention lesbian relations say that they do not disqualify a woman from certain privileges of the priesthood, because it is "merely licentiousness." There is a surprising lack of discussion of such issues as whether lesbianism would be grounds for divorcing a woman without her consent or without ketubah. Rambam asserted that lesbian practices are forbidden because it was a "practice of Egypt" and because it constituted rebelliousness.

Answer 3

you will also find some denominations of Christianity that are accepting of male anal sex.

The same is true with Judaism, the more liberal denominations are have no problem with homosexually, some even embrace it in the form of gay and lesbian synagogues.


Orthodox Synagogues view it as you stated, a violation of a biblical commandment.