Thursday, September 22, 2005

Me and morality

I'd like deal with the morality issue one last time, for the purpose of reframing my position.

Obviously, when I said "immoral isn't a category in Orthodox Judaism you am haaretz. It's either osur or mutar," it was my own "I invented the Internet" moment.

You see, I was trying to say something important, and instead of taking the time to do it right I lapsed into a glib shorthand. Obviously the Torah presents a system of right and wrong, good and bad, acceptable and not acceptable.

But at the same time, a great deal of Jewish thinking about issues of morality is informed by outside sources, sources that we superimpose on to the Torah.

I still think homosexuality is the best example of this. It's just a lav like any other (or, if you insist a toeyavha like quite a few others) but we've allowed ourselves to become convinced that sodomy is the very worst thing two people can do, and that therefore sodomists _must_ be treated as less than full members of the Jewish community, and furthermore, that all good Jews must support initiatives that would make them less than full citizens of this country. That's ludicorus. It is our prejudice plus a Chirsitian idea of sin superimposed on the Torah.