Homosexuality

Answer

Male homosexuality is explicitly forbidden in Lev. 18:22. The sources that forbid sexual intimacy between women are Talmud Yevamos 76a and the Midrashim on Lev. 18:3 (which forbids “the deeds of Egypt”); these sources say that in Egypt, men married men and women married women.

Here’s an article from a site called “Jerusalem Letter” that seems to no longer be available online.

A LETTER TO A HOMOSEXUAL BAAL TESHUVA
by Aharon Feldman Dear _________:I received your letter a few days ago and was very pained by the anguish you have undergone for so many years because of your homosexuality and which is especially tortuous to you now that you have become a baal teshuvah. You have asked me for a Torah view on your problem. I hasten to answer you with the hope that what I write you will help you in some way.I believe that the course you have taken is correct: you must refuse to deny your nature as a homosexual while at the same time refuse to deny your Jewishness. There is no contradiction between the two if they are viewed in their proper perspective.Judaism looks negatively at homosexual activity, but not at the homosexual nature. Whatever the source of this nature, whether it is genetic or acquired (the Torah does not express any view on the matter), is immaterial. This nature in no way diminishes or affects the Jewishness of a homosexual. He is as beloved in God’s eyes as any other Jew, and is as responsible as any Jew in all the mitzvos. He is obligated to achieve life’s goals by directing his life towards spiritual growth, sanctity and perfection of his character — no less than is any other Jew. He will merit the same share in the world to come which every Jew merits, minimally by being the descendant of Avraham Avinu and maximally by totally devoting his life towards the service of God.Past homosexual activity has no bearing on one’s Jewishness. Although it is a serious sin, all humans by nature have spiritual shortcomings and this is why teshuva was given to them. Teshuva has the capacity to return a person to a state even higher that which he had before the sin.Accordingly, a Jewish homosexual has to make a commitment to embark on a course where he will ultimately rid himself of homosexual activity. It is not necessary that he change his sexual orientation (if this is at all possible), but that he cease this activity. It is obvious that for many people this will be difficult, and will have to be accomplished over a period of time. But it must be done and it can be done.Family and children are important in Jewish society but one who does not have these need not feel that he is not a full-fledged member of the community. The verse in Isaiah 58, which is read by Jews all over the world on every public fast-day, is addressed to the homosexual:
Let not the saris (who is physically unable to have children) say `I am a dried up tree.’ For so saith G-d to the sarisim who keep my Sabbath, who choose what I desire, and who keep my covenant: I shall make them in My house and within My walls a monument, a shrine, superior to sons and daughters. I shall render their (lit., his) name everlasting, one which will never be forgotten.

Can a homosexual be expected to live as a celibate? I believe a Jewish homosexual can accomplish this if he decides that the Jewish people is his “wife and children.” It is possible to do this if he throws his every spare moment into devotion to the welfare of his people. There are many areas where he can do this.

Because he does not have a family, a homosexual can make serious contributions to Judaism which others cannot. For example, bringing Judaism to smaller communities where there are no facilities for raising a Jewish family.

I know of a case where a rabbi successfully inspired the Jews of an entire city for over forty years because, for various reasons, he never married. Since there were no religious schools in town, the rabbis who had held his pulpit before him all moved away when their children had to start going to school. But this rabbi, because he had no family, stayed on and had a major impact on the entire city.

Activities involving much travel, such as fundraising, a vital aspect of Jewish survival, is best accomplished by someone who is not tied down to a family. I know of a homosexual who helped establish several important institutions through his fundraising and is grateful for the sexual orientation which freed him to make this contribution.

Even within one’s community devotion to public causes can be more easily done by someone who has no family obligations. Several individuals whom I know became respected, active members of their communities during their lifetimes even though it was well known that they had no interest in marriage.

It is no accident that homosexuals are generally more sensitive to the needs of others and to matters of the spirit (viz., the high percentage in the arts) than the rest of the population. This is because their function in society is meant to be one where their family is the Jewish people. Their sensitivity is an emotional tool which they were granted for devoting themselves to, and empathizing with, others.

Devotion of one’s life to others is generally not considered an option in our modern world since fulfillment of one’s own desires and appetites is considered the major goal of life. This has caused the homosexual community to publicly flaunt their homosexual activity, as if to say to the rest of the world, “See, we can have just as much fun as you!” This is an understandable response to a culture which believes that without sexual satisfaction life is a failure. But this belief is both a total falsehood as well as a perversion of the nature of humanity.

The fact is that neither homosexual or heterosexual activity has the capacity to grant happiness to humans, as even a cursory glance at our unhappy world will demonstrate. The only activity which can give us happiness is striving towards reaching the true goals of life. Life is not meant to be an arena for material satisfaction. It is to be used to carry out G-d’s will by coming closer to Him and serving Him by keeping His commandments.

Sexual activity, by which the family unit can be built, is only one of the activities with which a man can serve God. But someone who does not have this capacity still has a whole life and unlimited opportunities to serve God.

I have written at the outset that it is important for you to come to terms with your homosexuality. But to do so it is vital to change your orientation away from the manner in which Western culture views life and and instead see sexuality in its proper perspective.

How does Judaism look at the reason for someone having been born or turned into a homosexual? Life is meant to be a set of challenges by which we continuously grow spiritually. Any physical defect curtails the enjoyment of life, but, on the other hand, meeting the challenge inherent in such a defect can be the greatest source of joy and accomplishment. Challenges are what life is all about, and homosexuality is one of these challenges.

It is difficult for us to understand why certain people were given certain shortcomings as their challenge in life and other were not. We cannot fathom God’s ways but we can be sure that there is a beneficence behind these handicaps. When these shortcomings are met they will grant us a greater satisfaction from our lives and a deeper devotion to G-d than if we were not given them.

A homosexual has an admitted defect, namely that he cannot have a family, but one which need not hamper his development into the human which G-d would want him to be. When the challenge of the shortcoming is met, the reward will be that much greater.

I will add that I do not think that it is necessary for you to give up on the hope of someday having a family. The ways of Providence are manifold. For example, I was personally involved in a case of a woman who knowingly married a homosexual man in order to help him overcome his condition. They subsequently had a large family. It was only because they were both deeply religious Jews that they were successful. There is reason to hope that with your acceptance of living a life in the service of G-d, your problem as well will be overcome. Nothing is impossible if we merit Divine assistance; “Can the hand of G-d ever be inadequate?”

I hope that the ideas I have expressed here will be of help to you. In your struggle towards reaching the goals of your life, remember that you are not unique: all of humanity is engaged in the same struggle. You were just given a different set of circumstances within which to operate.

With my heartfelt blessings for your welfare and for your true success, I remain

Very truly yours,
Aharon Feldman

This letter, with a slight change, appeared in the Spring Issue of Jewish Action Magazine.

Here is a followup article

LETTERS FROM HOMOSEXUAL FRIENDS
by Aharon Feldman

The “Letter to a Homosexual Ba’al Teshuva” which was published in the March 24, 1998 edition of The Jerusalem Letter and subsequently published in Jewish Action Magazine was an extremely popular article. (It is can be accessed through “Archives.”) It offered encouragement to many readers and engendered numerous communications from Jews who sought guidance in coming to terms with their commitment to Torah and with their homosexuality.

On the other hand, many of these communications betrayed serious misunderstandings of points in the letter. Several readers who were not homosexuals assumed that the latter have the same heterosexual sex drive as others but that they deliberately seek out men for the perverse thrill of enjoying the forbidden. Thus, from a religious standpoint they could not understand my “unjustified” compassion towards those with a “deliberate” willingness to engage in activity forbidden by the Torah.

Although many such deliberate hedonists do exist, my letter was addressed to those homosexuals who completely lack an attraction for the opposite sex. (Most homosexuals lack this attraction; many have an attraction for men as well as for women.) These individuals are unable to marry and someone whose nature does not permit him a normal family life is in essence handicapped. They are obviously not evil and need to be advised as to how to live their lives according to Torah. My letter tried to point out that that they are the same before God as any other individual and that God does not look down on them – nor is it permitted for any human to do so. Their obligation is to refrain from homosexual activity and to find a way to give meaning to their lives.

At the other religious end of the spectrum, at least one contributor to an Internet discussion group for Torah-observant homosexuals used my letter as a source that overt homosexual activity is permitted. This was based on my comment that ceasing homosexual activity “will be difficult, and will have to be accomplished over a period of time.”

Of course, this statement is merely a recognition of the difficulty in ending activity which has become addictive and interpreting my comment to condone homosexual behavior is totally absurd.

Another contributor misconstrued my statement that someone not attracted to the opposite sex is not obligated in the Torah commandment of peru u-revu (“Be fruitful and multiply”). This statement simply means that one is not held responsible by God for failing to keep a commandment which one is physically incapable of performing. This quite obvious statement was used to imply that prohibitions stemming from this commandment are permitted, an inference completely unwarranted.