Coming Out: It's the Jewish Thing to Do At Hanukkah
The Polymath
By Jay Michaelson
Wed. Dec 10, 2008
http://www.forward.com/articles/14690/This month marks the occasions of Christmas and Hanukkah — and the two-year anniversary of the decision by the Conservative movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards that homosexuality does not violate Jewish law. Although these three events may not seem related at first, I think that each one informs the other in meaningful ways.
Last things first. Two years after the CJLS decision, we can safely say that the sky has not fallen on the Conservative movement. On the contrary, with the enormous and energy-depleting distraction of the "gay issue" at last out of the way, the skies seem clearer than ever — or at least the clouds are more visible. With a new chancellor at the Jewish Theological Seminary and a new generation of young rabbis who are unafraid of voicing their views, the movement seems ready to address the more pressing issues it faces: declining affiliation, loss of meaning and a general lack of consensus about what the movement stands for. These are serious issues, but as anyone who has been around JTS lately can tell you, it's a breath of fresh air that at last they can be tackled head-on. And the school's first openly gay rabbinical student tells me he's doing just fine, thanks.
