Compromise That Goes Too Far

The Reform rabbinate has gone too far. Their moral compasses no longer point heavenward. They have crashed and hit the bottom of the moral slippery slope.

Two-thirds of all Californians voted March 7 not to accept same-sex marriages. On March 29, the Central Conference of American Rabbis voted to approve same-sex marriages. What are we supposed to think when religion is led by the most permissive voices in the society it purports to lead? What do we do when religion merely rubber stamps human vice and desire? This is not a question of tolerance or homophobia. I am tolerant and I am not homophobic. It is a question of setting limits and defining values. It is a question of defining Judaism and the Jewish family for the future.

Orthodox Jews, Conservative Jews, and most Christians and Muslims believe that the Bible is a divine document spoken by God and transcribed by Moses. God did not speak in maybes or possibilities. God did not suggest that we follow the law. God mandated expectations, regulations and restrictions.

The Reform rabbinate disagrees. They do not believe that the Bible is divine. They believe that it was formulated by humans and can be reformulated by humans. There are many Reform rabbis who are non-theists, who do not even believe in the existence of God. Go ahead, ask your rabbi. Find out if he or she believes in God.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis claims to represent 1.5 million Reform Jews. I wonder how many of their constituency agree with their decision. I wonder how many of them understand the philosophical and social implications of this decision.

The decision to sanction same-sex “commitment ceremonies” is one more nail in the coffin of pluralistic Judaism. As it was, the Reform rabbinates’ formulation of Judaism and Jewish values was vastly different than traditional presentations. The Bible, the Old Testament, clearly demands a lifestyle of dietary laws and restrictions, Sabbath and holiday observances, and prohibits homosexuality.

The Reform rabbinate says, “Do as you wish. You want to follow tradition, that’s OK. You do not want to follow tradition, that’s also OK. Your lot in life is to struggle with God in an attempt to understand God’s will. However, regarding all the rules and regulations in the Bible, God, does not care.”

The truth is, the Reform leadership is consistent. If dietary laws and Sabbath are optional then the verse forbidding homosexuality must also be optional. It must be nice to be able to make up your own rules. It must be nice to not believe in anything except your own thoughts and desires.

To whom do the Reform rabbinate pray? They certainly do not pray to the same God that I pray to. My God created the universe, gave a set of rules, regulations, morals, values and consequences. My God demanded that I keep kosher, the Sabbath and prohibited homosexuality. Their God, if he or she exists, did none of the above. My God loves me enough to give me instructions and cares enough about me to tell me to do the right thing. Their God seems to want for them confusion, doubt and struggle.

Well, it started with driving on the Sabbath and it now ends with same-sex marriages. Their God does not seem to care; my God does. What a pity. What a tragedy.