Rabbis and activists react to gay marriage vote

The month known for marriages will now include same-sex unions, following a closely watched June 24 vote by the New York State Senate recognizing gay marriage. Bitterly opposed by leading Orthodox organizations, the law makes New York the sixth and most populous state in the nation to recognize the unions.

“It’s been an extraordinary year in Albany,” said Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. “I voted against it, but members should be able to vote their own consciences. The law has very strong religious protections.”

In the end, four Republicans came out in favor, breaking the tie, but only after Governor Andrew Cuomo assured them that clergy and religious institutions would be exempt from performing the ceremonies. “I believe we managed to craft a product that met the ends that we sought,” Poughkeepsie Republican Stephen Saland said in a statement. “Not enough I’m sure to satisfy religious entities that wanted no such bill to pass, but to afford them greater protection nonetheless.”

Soon after the vote, Agudath Israel Executive Vice President Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel slammed the bill’s passage. “While the law permits religious groups to not recognize same-sex marriages with regard to their employment policies and employees’ benefits, it does nothing to protect such groups from being penalized for their position, for instance being denied government funding for their social service projects,” Rabbi Zwiebel said.

Advocates of same-sex unions disagreed, arguing that if a Jewish organization does not check an employee’s adherence to other mitzvoth, personal relations should also be overlooked. “Like taharas hamispacha, it’s a private issue. Harping on homosexuality is ridiculous,” said Queer Jewish Youth founder Mordechai Levovitz, who grew up in Lawrence. “The halachic issue should be making sure that they are not made fun of. Families suffer in silence and youths are at risk for suicide.”

Another self-identified “gay Orthodox Jew” is Rabbi Steve Greenberg, a Yeshiva University alum who publicly came out in 1999. Greenberg said that while he would perform ceremonies of commitment, he would avoid kiddushin, arguing that the ritual was designed for heterosexual couples. Prior to the vote, he wrote a letter to Saland, concluding with a note on Rabbi Shmuel Salanter’s “liberal sense of goodness and fairness.”

Greenberg concedes that it would be unlikely for Rabbi Salanter to endorse homosexuality. “I wanted Steve Saland to identify not with the Orthodoxy of his ancestor, but his sense as a leader in uniting the disparate elements of his community. This is a secular matter. After all, we wouldn’t want Catholic rules defining secular marriage law,” Greenberg said.

With gay marriage dominating headlines, Rabbi Kenneth Hain of Congregation Beth Sholom said that parents should discuss the issue when asked about it by their children. “At the appropriate age, it should be discussed with our children. Homosexuals should be included, even if we feel opposed to the legislation,” Rabbi Hain said. “Hopefully in time we will find that balance, continuing to be open while affirming our principles.”

Rabbinic leaders who lobbied the lawmakers understood that recent polls were tilting in support of gay marriage, but nevertheless felt a duty to speak out. “There is the halacha of rebuking even if someone won’t listen, you must rebuke them at least once,” said Rabbi Jonathan Muscat of Young Israel of Oceanside. “You need to express your opinion so that no one will say that you did not take a stand.”

Rabbi Muscat said that if a child were to ask him about gay marriage, he would strike a balance between tolerance and Torah. “You can have good people who hold different and incorrect perspectives, but the Torah is our fundamental value. You have to have sympathy for the individual without condoning their behavior.”