Conservative Jewish Rabbis vote unanimously to sanction same-sex marriage ceremonies.
WASHINGTON — The Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards which sets halachic policy for the Conservative movement, voted unanimously to provide their aprx 1,600 Conservative rabbis with guidelines on performing same-sex marriages.
The move is an official sanction of the ceremonies by the movement.
The CJLS approved the documents Thursday by a 13-0 vote with one abstaining ballot. For years, the Conservative movement has debated how to approach same-sex unions. Traditionalists often opposed such relationships while urging respect as progressives — particularly some rabbinical students — pushed for full equality.
In 2006, the CJLS officially sanctioned gay relationships. At the time, it stressed that rabbis were not obligated to perform such ceremonies, but could do so and not be violating RA standards.
Rabbis Daniel Nevins, Avram Reisner and Elliot Dorff created the new ritual guidelines. They offer two types of gay weddings, as well as gay divorce.
“Both versions are egalitarian,” Nevins told the Forward. “They differ mostly in style — one hews closely to the traditional wedding ceremony while the other departs from it.”
The templates do not include kiddushin, the ceremony in which the groom presents his bride with a ring. However, they do detail a ring exchange that is based on Jewish partnership law, an established halachic concept, Nevins told the Forward.
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Some of my “Hebrew Roots” Fundamentalist Christians’ heads just exploded.
My question would be, how influential is this group in terms of Conservative Judaism in the US and abroad? There’s no way this will have any impact on Orthodox Judaism, and the Reform will do whatever they’ll do, but just in terms of Conservative, how big are these guys?
Conservative Judaism is the largest community of Jews in the US, almost one half of the Jewish population here. It is important to note that the term “Conservative” doesn’t refer to their political leanings, it is more in the sense of ‘Traditional’, conserving the faith.
If any group of people on earth should be more against prejudice, more for equal human rights, it should be the Jewish people.
Bravo to the Conservative Jewish Rabbis
In this logic a father can marry his daughter ot a mother can marry her son simply because the’re in “loving relations” .What is a pervert then.
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. – Leviticus 18:22
Just think of how all these additional weddings will increase Chinese food sales.
Conservative is a movement among Jewish people of faith. As Merkin mentioned, it does not mean the same as the political term conservative, although one could be both, theoretically. There are, as in most all religions, several groups within the larger group, all defining Judaism as they see fit and worshipping and taking care of their young and old, and often reaching far beyond their own group to help others too.
The decision to carefully interpret how to help others have holy unions does not even close, move into incestuous relationship which is clear taboo across most cultures and religious with the exception of some tribal groups and some renegade mormons. It is illogical to suggest that a pear is an apple because both have skins.
Joe, always thanks for the humor… and also increase very thinwalled goblet sales.