ok i know in the bible it says being gay is sin blah blah blah
but whats the jewish perspective
2007-12-11 08:13:40 · 9 answers · asked by lizie 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Being Gay is not a sin- having penetrative sex with a person of the same gender is, and sodomy is forbidden for both homsexual and heterosexual couples.
How do we know that the verse in leviticus comes to mean all this? Well, what sex act between males would mimic the sex act between a male and female? It would be the penetrative sex act- which in the case of two men would be anal sex.
We know that it is referring to a specific act since that chapter is talking about illicit sexual relationships- not relationships between people. So you are forbidden to have sex with a sibling/parent etc- but you are expected to have a non-sexual relationship with them!
We also know that it is speaking about anal sex in general and not just homosexual anal sex since one of the rules of biblical exegessis used by use Jews is to look at the context and contents of the preceeding verses. here, they are all talking about heterosexual relaitonships- thus by this comparison we know that this verse would be in regards to a heterosexual relationship as well. Why use the masculine then? 1) It is needed to bring out the forbidden act (anal sex) which would not be brough out by putting it in the feminine 2) In hebrew, there is no gender neutral. Where the gender neutral is needed the masculine is used.
We know it forbids lesbian penetrative sex (in that case the use of foreign objects) since 1) The usage of objects mimics the heterosexual sex act as does sodomy, 2) a)there is a prohibition against performing acts of the idolators and b) we are told that the Egyptians were involved in sexual licentiousness and the Ramban brings that lesbianism is one of the acts they did as part of their idoltarous practices- thus these kinds of lesbian acts would be forbidden for a second reason.
So, if someone is attracted to member sof the same sex, they need to live an abstinent life. If possible, they should find ways to channel this to the good- two cases to illustrate the point (for obvious reasons details as to locations and names are ommitted):
1) A community with very few religious support structures wanted an Orthodox Rabbi. but since there was no jewish day school they were unable to get any to agree to come since there would be nowhere for their children to go to school in an appropriate environment. In the end, a Rabbi did come, one who was not going to get married due to his attraction to men, but at the same time finding a way to channel this in such a manner as to make it positive (he was not going to have children and thus could help a community that needed a Rabbi without children)
2) Yeshivahs in Israel often send out people to collectmney for them from overseas donors. In many cases, they would like these people to be away for long stretches of time, but it is not feasible since they have families and children they do not want to be parted from for too long. Once again- the fact that the individual involved did not have children and a wife waiting for him became a positive and it enable him to stay away for longer and to raise further funds to aid in the furthering of torah education.
2007-12-13 18:51:29 · answer #1 · answered by allonyoav 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The first five books of the Christian Bible are the Torah, the Holy Scripture of the Jewish faith.
Therefore, the Book of Leviticus, which condemns homosexuality, was written for the Jews and has since been adopted by the Christians.
2007-12-11 08:25:16 · answer #2 · answered by behrmark 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Sodomy is sodomy, you call it by any name, it will remain the act pertinent to sodomy!
Your INTENTIOS behind an act are accounted for, not the APPARENT values; so those who are finding an excuse that they are gay & are not into the act of sodomy is only fooling themselves.
I refer you to the nation of Prophet LOT, which saw God's wroth for being indulged in sodomy - hopefully religious Jews will agree.
2007-12-13 02:21:47 · answer #3 · answered by Habib 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Jewish perspective is that the act of sodomy is a sin.
While being gay (attracted to the same sex) is not.
2007-12-11 13:16:26 · answer #4 · answered by Gamla Joe 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I know alot of Gay and Lesbian Jews.
How about.... What do Jews who practice Judaism think about this issue ?
Did you know that Yahweh burned Sodom and Gomorrah because of gay lesbians and other things? (sodomy wasn't the only thing going on in these two towns) That is in the Jewish History. Abraham's cousin Lot lived there and Abraham is the forefather of Israel (Jacob) who is father of the whole Jewish Nation... including the Arabs.
Wonder what Abraham would think of Homosexuals.....
2007-12-11 08:19:40 · answer #5 · answered by CC 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
In a nutshell--it varies and we tend to be less condemning that what I've heard from other religions. For some nice answers, see the link below.
2007-12-11 09:18:25 · answer #6 · answered by Mark S, JPAA 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
i read :"The prevalent view among Jews had been to regard homosexual intercourse as sinful, arguing that it is categorically forbidden by the Torah."
ps:im catholic not jewish(and bi)
heres a link for more:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_Judaism
2007-12-11 08:20:48 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
According to Judaism, male homosexual acts is forbidden, but being a homosexual is not.
2007-12-11 19:28:03 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
R&S will probably help you out more... you should ask your question there.
2007-12-11 08:18:21 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋