"To be a teacher in the right sense is to be a learner.  I am not a teacher, only a fellow student."  (Soren Kierkegaard)

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A FEW PRE-SHABBAT WORDS FROM RABBI AARON

The Politics of Sodom and Gomorrah

NOTE: This drash is overtly political. If you feel uncomfortable when Torah and other sacred texts are brought into conversation with contemporary politics, this drash is NOT for you. If however, if you believe that our sacred texts continue to speak to us as we live in this contemporary moment, I invite you to check out the Vayera pdf's below.

Gay-baiting has been the staple of  GOP politics for quite a while. As much as I find the rhetoric to be abusive, I'm aware that it effectively pushes just the right buttons: "We must protect our children from the perverts and predators!" "The institution of marriage is under attack!"

Never mind that most Americans have figured that the flamboyant antics of the gay parades do not reflect the real lives of the gay friends and family we all know. Never mind that high divorce rates have absolutely nothing to do with gay rights. Never mind that predatory gay people pose no more danger to the children than predatory heterosexuals. The politics of fear is a tried and true product. The New York Times carried a telling piece about the intersecting agendas of Brooklyn's right-wing Hasidic community and candidate Paladino. 

Click here for the article -  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/nyregion/12rabbis.html?ref=nyregion

Paladino and many others claim that their remarks about the unacceptable and disgusting nature of homosexuality do not make them bigots. 
Some of their best friends or associates are gay. 
Love the sinner and hate the sin. 

Enough. 
For gay people, the insistence upon characterizing gay sex as a  תועבה (to'eva) – an abomination is the same thing as calling gay people abominations or vermin. Those of us whose world-views take in modern psychology understand that people don't wake up one fine day and pick their sexual orientation the way someone decides their favorite flavor of ice cream or their most preferred clothing style. 
Funny - well almost funny - how Ken Mehlman, one of the leading GOP operatives got in touch his own homosexuality well after his party rather effectively pushed the fear buttons in recent election cycles. Interesting how various GOP friends of Mehlman  are wonderfully supportive of his personal journey while the politics of marginalizing homosexuality remains a standard staple.

Why is it important to bring this up? Because far too many young gay people are bullied and brutalized. When we witnesses a rash of gay suicides it is incumbent that we stock of what is going on in the larger culture. The rabbis who wave candidate Paladino's banner are further marginalizing gay Orthodox Jews. Oh my God! There's such a thing? Really?? Read this - http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/news/young-queer-and-orthodox-in-america-1.316937

What did Abraham learn in parashat Vayera? When he challenged God about the Sodom and Gomoorah decision, it would seem that he was holding the line with regard to individual accountability. But Abraham had a long way to go. Witness his readiness to slaughter Isaac because God asked him to. I know: the High Holiday machzor speaks of Abraham's conquering his compassion in order to serve God. This, for me, is not a noble achievement. Witness Abraham's willingness to banish Hagar and Ishmael to an almost certain-death in the wilderness because Sarah demanded this of him. I know: God told Abraham to listen to his wife; that she knew better. Bad answer. A father banished the mother of his oldest son along with that boy. We, his descendants, continue to reap a bitter harvest.

צלם אלהים (Tzelem Elohim) – The divine image. All earthlings share this. They all are entitled to human dignity. Americans , in larger numbers, are figuring this out. How do Jews manage to make political alliances with people who cynically marginalize others? Has the crushing boot heel of Egypt taught us nothing?

Click any of the images below to view as (larger) pdf

Please click image above to view as separate pdf