From the Rabbi's Desk...
 
Rabbi Irwin Huberman
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April 21, 2010
Pat Workman Tribute Evening
This Sunday at 7:30pm, CTI and the City of Glen Cove will pay tribute to Patricia Workman, who passed away on February 9.
Pat was a tireless worker for the city, the YMCA, and the synagogue. She was a person who survived many personal setbacks but always managing to come back smiling and embracing life.
Sunday’s program will include tributes from her friends and from dignitaries such as Mayor Suozzi. There will also be a sale of some of her toy collection, art objects, and other items to help establish a fund to promote projects in support of those in need.
Pat’s family consisted of CTI and the City of Glen Cove. We ask you to help make her memory a continued blessing by honoring her life, and helping sustain her spirit of optimism through the establishment of this fund.
For more information, please contact Patte Jordan Huberman.
Young Family Barbecue
Families with pre-school children are invited to a Young Family Shabbat Barbecue on Friday, April 30 at 5:30 pm.
This will be a lively program aimed at the pre-schoolers and will include songs, stories, crafts, and games. Members and non-members are welcome.
Cost is $10 per family.
Echoes Of Vancouver Olympics
There’s a fun social program on the horizon for those who were captivated by one of the most mysterious sports of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
A date is currently being worked out with the Long Island Curling Club to hold a group lesson and game sometime in May.
Interest in curling is “sweeping the country,” and this will make for a great evening of fun and fitness. Please stay tuned.
Hebrew Lessons
CTI’s Hebrew lessons continue this Thursday at 6:30 pm.
Lessons take place with our Hebrew School (Limud) teacher Liliana Halac and will run into early May. There is a minimal charge.
Liliana shows great results even with those who have been frustrated by previous attempts to learn Hebrew.
Senior in Need
An organization that assists seniors in Glen Cove has approached our congregation looking for a donation of sneakers for a woman who will shortly undergo cancer surgery.
She would appreciate sneakers which have already been “broken in.” Please contact me if you can assist.
Upcoming Events
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Tickets are still available for the Wednesday, May 12 Neshamah Carlebach Concert at the B’Nai Jeshurun synagogue in Manhattan. Tickets are $36. Neshamah’s father, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, wrote many of the melodies we sing on Friday nights. Neshamah will be accompanied by the Green Pastures Baptist Church Choir. One of my Orthodox mentors has often told me that we can learn lots from our Christian friends about how to express ourselves to God. The May 12 concert will help us cross that bridge. Please contact me if you wish to attend. You can read more about the concert by clicking www.ajrsem.org.
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Rabbi Molly Karp will join us on Tuesday, May 18 as we welcome the giving of the Torah on Shavuot. Rabbi Molly and I will lead a tradition evening of Torah and Talmud study known as Tikkun Leil Shavuot (Preparation for Shavuot). More on this program in the weeks to come.
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The Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County will hold a “Walk to Remember” this Sunday at noon. You can walk or help sponsor a walker by calling 571-8040.
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Homosexuality and the Torah
This week’s Torah reading is perhaps one of the most frequently quoted, and perhaps most misinterpreted in our scriptures.
Within this double parashah, Acharei Mot/Kedoshim, we are guided by God on issues relating to sexual practices. In particular, on numerous occasions we are warned against uncovering “nakedness” which is code in the Torah for unnatural sexual acts.
The Torah takes a firm stand against incest and other inappropriate sexual practices but, most significantly, seems to make a statement against homosexuality.
And perhaps the word used to describe homosexuality, to’evah, has been one of the most damaging and hurtful within our history.
Within the Christian tradition in particular, the word to’evah has been translated to mean “abomination.” Jewish translations have often used this same English word. But in reality, scholars are in disagreement regarding what this word actually means.
They base this on other uses of the word within the Torah.
For example, in Genesis 43:32 the Egyptians don’t eat with the Hebrews because it is a to’evah for the Egyptians. Similarly, “every shepherd” is a to’evah to the Egyptians according to Genesis 46:34. Deuteronomy 14:3 tells us “Do not eat any to’evah” in the context of not eating unkosher animals. Proverbs 21:27 teaches that the sacrifice of the wicked is a to’evah. In a moving lament in Psalm 88:9, the author woefully mentions that God has made him a to’evah to his acquaintances.
All of this evidence — and more — points to a meaning of to’evah as “undesirable thing.” That is a far cry from being an abomination.
For centuries within the Judeo-Christian tradition, gays and lesbians have been ostracized, minimalized, and tormented based on the translation of to’evah when, in truth, the word has many meanings.
Indeed, as we study Torah and try to interpret what these sacred words mean, it is very important that we do not impose our own biases and prejudices.
Judaism is a religion founded on inclusion. We believe that every soul, every spark of life, is connected to the divine. Indeed, God does not make junk. It is estimated that between five and ten per cent of Americans are gay or bisexual, and it is vital that institutions such as synagogues and churches not filter out human beings in search of God by virtue of how they express themselves intimately.
As the great Rabbi Ben Azzai taught, the most important line in the Torah is Genesis 5:1 when we are reminded that “we are all descendents of Adam.”
Homosexuality within society and its institutions has always inspired a variety of viewpoints. Issues such as gay marriage or gays in the military are debated daily in the media. However, it is important that discussion about these personal topics not be based on faulty or incomplete translations of the Torah.
To’evah, as mentined in Leviticus 18:22, can have’ many meanings. Are we so sure we know what God had in mind that we are prepared to perpetuate the humiliation of millions of fellow human beings?
In 1967, soon to be Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau declared that “the state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation.” For that matter, neither do religious institutions.
Before referring to any fellow human being as being “abominable” let us be sure that we fully understand the source. Those who turn sacred words of Torah into hurtful arrows should be challenged and denounced.
It is a sin to exclude any human being from religious expression based on the manner in which they love. To do so, I would argue, is in itself the true abomination.
Best wishes for a Shabbat shalom.
Kol tuv (with all goodness).
Rabbi Irwin Huberman
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