Chapter 7

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PROGRESSIVE HALAKHAH AND HoMO0SEXUAL MARRIAGE

Moshe Zemer

In 1997 the Responsa Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis decided by a majority of 80 percent that same­sex unions do not qualify as kiddushin, which is the only form of Jewish marriage. In a long and learned responsum published in full in the CCAR Journal, the committee decided that a Reform rabbi should not officiate at a ceremony of marriage or commit­ment between two persons of the same gender.! As a member of the committee, I voted with the majority, agreeing with its con­clusions and almost all its halakhic reasoning. Nevertheless, I decided to write a concurring decision to bring forth certain fac­tors that were not considered in the committee’s deliberations. This is neither a critique nor commentary of the responsum, but

rather a form of tosafot and hashlamot.’

K’vod Habriot-Human Dignity

We are considering very sensitive matters. They relate to persons who have suffered from discrimination and persecution. They

Notes for this section begin on page 168