Congregation Shaarei Shamayim Shabbat Gathering

Shabbat Gathering: Rewriting out of date commandments.

Brian D. Johnson -

Dear Chevrei, as is our custom, we will gather tonight at 5.45p ct to welcome Shabbat. These are the coordinates:

Zoom
Meeting ID: 883 8469 4181
Password: 822665
Phone: +1 312 626 6799

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Here we go.

This week’s Torah portion has one of those problematic laws. Specifically, the portion contains the injunction against gay sex. This poses a problem for some of us. I know it’s a problem for me.

Liberal Jews are often accused of bending the Torah to fit our behavior rather than bending our behavior to fit the Torah. However, there’s a different way to look at this and it comes from probably the most famous story from Talmud, The Oven of Akhnai from Bava Metzia 59, a recent reading from the Daf Yomi.

The story goes like this.

The rabbis were debating whether or not a type of oven was kosher. All the rabbis agreed it wasn’t kosher except for Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Eliezer argued logically that his view was right. The other rabbis disagreed with him. Rabbi Eliezer decided that, since the rabbis would not listen to logic, maybe they would respond to miracles so he performed three miracles and each time the rabbis were not persuaded, so Rabbi Eliezer asked Hashem to intervene directly. Hashem spoke to those rabbis assembled and said Rabbi Eliezer was right. Rabbi Yehoshua shouted back at Hashem that the answer to their argument was not in heaven. Much later, Rabbi Natan had a chance to ask Elijah how Hashem reacted to Rabbi Yehoshua. Ellijah said that Hashem smiled and said “My children have triumphed over Me.”

The general idea here is that Hashem gave us Torah and surrendered His control of it. From Sinai onward, it is up to us to interpret it and the majority rules. Nowadays, many Jewish denominations believe that the law of Torah, as it describes the admonition against gay sex, is wrong. And this has become our new law. Thank goodness. It’s about time.

And may it be for all of us a blessing.

See you tonight!
Gut Shabbes!

All my love,
brian.

PS

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