Keshet, yay for justice

i am a bit conflicted on the big fight in the conservative movement on whether or not to ordain gay folks. Keshet is doing some great programing and sums up the situation thusly:

On December 5th and 6th, the Conservative movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) is poised to make a potentially historic decision about the equality of lesbian and gay Jews in Conservative Judaism. Because Jewish tradition teaches us to study, pray, and engage in healthy dialogue about issues that are dear to us, Keshet invites the whole community to a learning program designed to coincide with the CJLS deliberations. It is our hope that the conversations begun during this learning will create a strengthened, inclusive Conservative movement.

Given that their movement has the antiquated (deeply offensive, if you will) position of not ordaining openly gay students, attacking the position is the right thing to do. So why am I conflicted? Well, to start with I was two years old when the Recon movement did the right thing and opened it seminary to gay folks. It is hard for me to get incensed about a movement that is still having this fight several decades later.

For comparisons sake, other things which happened in 1985:

• March 11 - Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and de facto leader of the Soviet Union.
• April 15 - South Africa ends its ban on interracial marriages.
• November 18 - The first Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, drawn by Bill Watterson, is printed in a handful of newspapers.
• November 20 - Microsoft Corporation releases the first version of Windows, Windows 1.0.
• December 1 - The Ford Taurus is revealed to the public. It would become one of Ford's biggest successes ever.

To clarify, when the recons got this issue right, they were still using MS-DOS, if you mentioned Calvin and Hobbes they'd assume you meant John and Thomas, The USSR was a Going Concern, South Africa still had a ban on inter-racial marriage, and The Ford Taurus was still being designed. Production of the Taurus ended October 27, 2006. More Tauruses were sold than Model-Ts.

A part of me wonders why folks are still in a movement that has it wrong on so many progressive issues. I suppose you could argue that it has a unique position on merging halachah and modernity. I respect the discourse and the degree to which they stake out a claim on conventional jewish learning and language. What troubles me is that they tend to reach the same conclusions but several decades late and without moral voice. Even if they get this right, they will still be 20-some years behind. That said, 20-some years behind would certainly be better than 40-some. When the old guard go perhaps modernization will be rapid.

So, kudos to my comrades over in the big-c movement, insofar as i have a position, it is that of the Keshet crew. They are fighting the good fight. Many grew up in the movement and feel a loyalty and connection to it. To them, i say, amen, kick some ass. I understand we all have loyalties which defy rationality, lord know, i sure do. If this is a loyalty you hold, you ought to be on the front lines.

One of the e-mails i read implied that people were starting to talk about leaving JTS over this issue, leaving the synagogues, and leaving the movement. I wonder if this is their fish-or-cut-bait moment. When that moment comes, I will be happy to fight, i guess my reticence comes from my worry that this is just another incremental fight. Either way, kick some ass keshet! Let me know if i can help from afar.

--UPDATE

Following is breaking news from JTA — The Global News Service of the Jewish People. For in-depth coverage of the latest developments affecting Jews all over the world, click: www.jta.org

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Conservatives open to gays

The Conservative movement’s highest legal body moved to allow commitment ceremonies for gays and the ordination of gay rabbis.
The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards endorsed three opinions Wednesday on homosexuality.
Two opinions upheld earlier prohibitions on homosexual activity, but the third endorsed commitment ceremonies and the ordination of gay rabbis, while retaining the biblical ban on male sodomy.
Two other opinions that were under consideration, which would have removed all restrictions on gay activity, were declared takanot, or substantial breaks from tradition that would require an absolute majority of the committee members for adoption.
They were defeated.

An important fight has finally be won. Let's see if JTS will accept this decision. If it does not, i wonder what will happens to students of goodwill. Will they go to the UJ? HC? RRC? The Academy? Lastly, yay Keshet!