Emma (left) at Garden State Equality's office in Trenton, N.J., with colleagues Dani Bernstein and Gaël Johns

"Hi, there. My name is Emma Stein and I’m out here today talking about same-sex marriage. Is that something you support?"

“Absolutely not. It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve for a reason.”

This was the conversation I had again and again this past summer when I interned at a gay rights organization called Garden State Equality. It was one of the most difficult experiences of my life, but also one of the most rewarding. I was happy to be spending my summer standing up for something I believed in and even more grateful to know that I was making a difference in New Jersey marriage equality. However, I was not at all prepared for the criticism I faced daily, not just from random people I met in the streets, but from other Jews like me.

I attend a liberal synagogue within a liberal community. For the most part, the people with whom I spoke about my volunteer work seemed supportive and interested. However, when asked to show a gesture of support for gay marriage—by signing and sending a postcard to legislative representatives—many people seemed much more hesitant. I suppose because I live in a liberal community—I attend a synagogue in which civil unions are performed, gay couples are plentiful and the preschools are extremely tolerant—I did not fully understand Judaism's position on homosexuality.

One thing is for certain—Judaism's view on homosexuality is far from clear. In the Torah, there are many passages that can be interpreted as prohibitions against homosexuality. But there are also passages that permit certain practices which are illegal or taboo today, and others passages which prohibit behavior which is widespread and common—in other words, there are laws in the Torah which seem to have lost their significance and applicability to today’s world. Additionally, no explicit prohibition against lesbian sexual activity is evident in the Torah. Prohibitions against homosexuality are exclusive to men. The Torah’s position on homosexuality is thus unclear. The text alone does not enable us to derive a comprehensive understanding of Judaism’s position on the topic. So, we must turn to other sources.

Today, each movement of Judaism takes a different position on homosexuality—and even then, the movement’s constituents rarely present a unified front. In Hasidic Judaism, homosexuality is strictly prohibited. This prohibition generally extends to Modern Orthodoxy as well, although more gray area exists. Conservative Judaism tends to take a more liberal view towards homosexuality, performing civil unions where law allows clergy to do so and ordaining gay clergy members—although this is a very recent development. The Jewish Theological Seminary, the rabbinical ordination granting body of the Conservative movement, only recently (in 2006) decided to ordain openly gay Jews. Even then, each Conservative congregation uses its own discretion when deciding whether or not to hire a gay rabbi. Reform Judaism tends to be liberal in their approach, accepting homosexuality as a normative type of sexual expression.

Taking New Jersey as a cross-section, there is a wide range of reactions to the issue of homosexuality, especially the same-sex marriage debate that is currently raging. Though some congregations are very supportive, some also are blatantly against same-sex marriage. Some Hasidic Jews were so upset over the possibility that a marriage bill could be passed, that they stood outside the Statehouse protesting. The Star Ledger reported that they held signs with messages such as “Gay Marriage: A Threat to Religious Society.” An organization called Agudath of Israel was also very outspoken in its efforts to combat the bill. Its executive director Josh Pruzanzsky argued that legally permitting gay marriage would be “deeply offensive to many residents of the state of New Jersey and lead to further erosions in the traditional conception of family." Clearly then, homosexuality is still not accepted among all groups of Jewish people.

However, within my circle of Jewish friends, homosexuality seems to be accepted. After speaking with many of them, the general consensus of their synagogues and schools seems to fall between extremely accepting and tolerant.

Hannah Kupfer, a member of B’nai Israel, a Conservative synagogue in Basking Ridge, N.J., says, “I don’t think there are any gay couples at our temple; I’m not really sure though. I don’t know how Judaism really views homosexuality. However, personally, I am 100 percent supportive of homosexuality and gay marriage and I think it should be legalized. Gay couples should have the same rights as straight couples."

Another friend from a more conservative synagogue also said that he supported homosexuality. “I think that if people are sexually/emotionally attracted to someone, they should be allowed to harbor and express those feelings. The same societal rules should apply to homosexuals and heterosexuals. My temple is on the Orthodox side of Conservative, but we can easily be classified as Conservative. The community has not openly discussed homosexuality, so it's difficult to sum up the community perspective. I will say, however, that it might be looked at askance, but nothing worse.”

So, although Judaism’s standpoint on homosexuality is unclear, it is clear that many members of our community, especially teens like us, are beginning to accept homosexuality. It will take time to tell, but just as acceptance of homosexuality has crept into the Conservative movement, perhaps something similar will happen to Judaism as a whole.

Emma Stein is a senior who currently attends Newark Academy. She serves as editor-in-chief of the literary magazine, in addition to being on the editorial staff of the paper. Emma also works on the editorial board of the Jewish literary magazine Nu. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing and art.