Chapter 8
REFORM JUDAISM AND SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
A Halakhic Inquiry
Peter S. Knobel
This paper seeks to explore the question of whether same sex marriage would be permitted under a liberal understanding of halakhah.! Since the CCAR Responsa Committee has published a long and complex responsum on the topic and has concluded that rabbis should not perform ceremonies of commitment either under the rubric kiddushin or even under an alternative designation, this paper is in part a response to this conclusion. The analysis here, however, depends on the lengthy analysis of Reform Judaism and marriage.” To clarify the issues I wish to begin with some methodological considerations.
The current debate about same-gender marriages or commitment ceremonies is part of a broader discussion of the methodology of Reform Jewish decision making and its relation to or its lack of relation to halakhic process. Is there a difference between how we respond individually and how we respond collectively? Is there a place for sustained intellectual debate about crucial issues, that will have an influence on our personal deci
Notes for this section begin on page 180