Open Orthodoxy’s New Sanction of Lesbian Relationships

Open Orthodoxy has just endorsed lesbian marriage and intimate relations. No, this is not a typo or exaggeration.

Rabbi Jeffrey Fox, who was the first graduate of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT) and now serves as rosh yeshiva at Maharat, the Open Orthodox school housed in Hebrew Institute of Riverdale that ordains women for the rabbinate, penned Nashim Mesolelot: A Teshuva, in which he ruled that lesbian marriage and intimate relations are permissible. This responsum was recently published as a book, and the book was formally launched just last night by way of a special symposium entitled Nashim Mesolelot: Lesbian Women & Halacha sponsored by Maharat and Eshel.

Even though the Rambam (Hil. Issurei Bi’ah 21:8), Semag (Lo Ta’aseh 126), Tur (Even Ha-Ezer 20) and Shulchan Aruch (ibid. s’if 2) all unequivocally prohibit lesbian conduct, Rabbi Fox rules otherwise. And even though the Gemara (Yevamos 76a) terms lesbian relations as “p’ritzusa” – licentiousness – Rabbi Fox concludes his responsum:

When two women seek to build a Jewish home together, with love and commitment, this can no longer be called (even) pritzuta. Rather, given the vacuum left to be filled, this should be understood as tzniuta (modesty) and perhaps even kedushata (holiness).

Rabbi Fox arrives at this mind-blowing ruling by way of extremely unconvincing and implausible arguments; even if one were to overlook the fact that these arguments completely contradict codified and unanimously-accepted Halacha and effectively cancel halachic authority, the arguments on their own merit are full of holes and unsupported assumptions that totally fail to prove their endpoints.

Although Rabbi Fox’ position is of course radical and overturns Halacha and Torah values, this development did not occur in a vacuum.

For over a decade, Open Orthodox clergy has advocated for gay marriage. Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz was among the first to do so, followed by Rabbi Avram Mlotek and then a host of others. Around the same time, a forthrightly gay Open Orthodox rabbinical student at YCT, which declined to ordain him once he became publicly engaged to his boyfriend on the stage of a rock concert, was instead ordained at a different Open Orthodox rabbinical institution; in light of the backlash against the former Open Orthodox rabbinical school, the school launched its LGBTQ+ Initiatives Project, directed by a member of the gay community.

For its part, Maharat is not new to this matter. Maharat’s website includes this profile of a student in its Core Semicha program:

… Sara prepares students from a wide array of backgrounds for their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and is particularly sought after as a tutor for students with learning disabilities.

A member of Anshe Sholom Bnai Israel, Sara serves her community in a variety of ways, including checking the eruv and as a mikvah attendant. She also recently served on the Rabbinic Search Committee and as the shul’s Vice President of Education. Sara lives in Chicago with her wife, Isabel.

Yes, Maharat plans to ordain a woman whom the school’s own website describes as married to another woman. (This Maharat student was one of the speakers at last night’s symposium and book launch, cited above.)

Maharat’s website even features a dvar Torah which seeks to identify Pesach Sheni as a day of gay inclusion and/or gay pride (!).

Rabbi Fox’ responsum is the next step in Open Orthodoxy’s departure from Torah. Almost identical to the development of the contemporary Conservative movement, in which senior faculty at Jewish Theological Seminary and ranking members of the movement’s Rabbinical Assembly penned responsa to permit driving on Shabbos, the marriage of Kohanim to divorcees and other halachic prohibitions, concocting spurious and unfounded rationales to reject and overturn Halacha, the Open Orthodox movement has adopted an approach of “psak” which utilizes specious arguments that yield preconceived conclusions and ultimately reform and negate Halacha.

The halachic system legitimately allows for differing opinions, novel insights and new applications; however, one can tap into this system only by submission to halachic precedent and authority and by working within the system’s axioms and hierarchal structures, rather than introducing and imposing one’s own mechanisms, contrivances and values, which ultimately end up deviating from Halacha and nullifying it.

Postscript: Due to my extremely tight schedule, and moreover, due to the Yemei Ha-Din (Days of Judgement) approaching, it was quite difficult for me to take out the time to focus and write on this topic. But since Rabbi Fox’ book was launched literally just last night at a very public and widely-advertised event, and the matter calls for an immediate response, im lo achshav, eimasai – if not now, when?