Today, the leadership of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America issued the following statement:
“In response to the decisions announced today by the United States Supreme Court with reference to the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, we reiterate the historical position of the Jewish faith, enunciated unequivocally in our Bible, Talmud and Codes, which forbids homosexual relationships and condemns the institutionalization of such relationships as marriages. Our religion is emphatic in defining marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman. Our beliefs in this regard are unalterable. At the same time, we note that Judaism teaches respect for others and we condemn discrimination against individuals.
We are grateful that we live in a democratic society, in which all religions are free to express their opinions about social issues and to advocate vigorously for those opinions. The reason we opt to express our viewpoint in a public forum is because we believe that our Divine system of law not only dictates our beliefs and behaviors, but also represents a system of universal morality, and therefore can stake a claim in the national discourse. That morality, expressed in what has broadly been labeled Judeo-Christian ethics, has long had a place in American law and jurisprudence.
We also recognize that no religion has the right to dictate its beliefs to the entire body politic and we do not expect that secular law will always align with our viewpoint. Ultimately, decisions on social policy remain with the democratic process, and today the process has spoken and we accord the process and its result the utmost respect.
The Orthodox Union is proud to assert its beliefs and principles in the public forum, and will continue to do so in a manner that is tolerant and respectful of all of our nation’s citizens, but which is also authentically based upon our sacred ancient texts and time-honored traditions.”
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
20 Responses
We know what will come next: no religious exemption for rabbis who refuse to marry these people…
How sad – that we must respect such opinions
Hiddush here? They didn’t realize that goyim (and frei Jews) are a bit on the deviant side? WHO would have imagined?
Judeo-Christian ethics
What in heaven’s name is “Judeo-Christian ethics”??? Judaism and Christianity do not share ethics. This is almost a heretical statement.
today the process has spoken and we accord the process and its result the utmost respect.
This is absurd. I “the democratic process” had “spoken” to legalize killing your neighbor would the OU be announcing it has “the utmost respect” for it??
Who decides these decidedly UnJewish statements at the OU???
The OU should wait for a bigger issue to open their mouths on.
So if the democrat way is to kill then the OU would respect that?
If its morally wrong it’s wrong period, it doesn’t matter how many ppl want it, it’s wrong
“We accord the process and its result the utmost respect.”
The OU accords the result – the Federal recognition of Toeivah “marriage” – the utmost respect?
I would urge commenters 1 through 5 to read the penultimate paragraph of the OU statement. The OU wisely recognizes that the freedom and security that Jews (frum and frei alike) enjoy in the United States is unprecedented since the destruction of the Second Temple. The OU statement recognizes that if and when a single religion dictates social policy to the body politic of the United States, that religion will very likely not be the Jewish one. It therefore behooves all Jews to recognize that the Supreme Court’s decisions on the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8 are a key part of the protection that we Jews enjoy in the US.
to the previous commemts maybe we should ban driving on shabbos
Chanifah at its worst.
Siyag lechochemah shesikah.
‘What in heaven’s name is “Judeo-Christian ethics”??? Judaism and Christianity do not share ethics. This is almost a heretical statement.’
There is no such thing as “Judeo-Christian” anything! I can’t believe that the OU would say this, either. Many Christian groups support same sex marriage and the OU is implicitly taking sides in an intra-Christian theological dispute. Rov Soloveitchik z’tz’l would not be happy.
If you don’t like the decision, you can always make aliyah.
The problem is that people always refer to the government to impose their views on others. Orthodox Jews would love the government to intervene and end this sickness, bit guess what, it comes back to haunt us, with MBP and other issues.
the position of grim Jews should be to have the government stand away from moral and religious issues, and let God take care of Evil people.
“the process has spoken and we accord the process and its result the utmost respect.”
This phrase is a shame upon Klal Yisroel. We are tolerant, but we have ZERO RESPECT for people who engage in such despicable acts, who according to our Torah kills and destroys society and mankind.
#1 Why should there be religious exemptions?
Maybe the government should get out of the business of regulating religion directly or indirectly.
OU? Liberal? These are the same people who produced a Bennett, Piron, Lipman, Stav, etc… Did you expect any better?
As I told my family, Gay Marriage impacts our lives in a small way. What does impact our lives (the lives of Jewish people) is continuing to maintain happy marriages (divorce rate continues to climb) and bringing more people in the shul for davening, especially among youth. I witness in far too many shuls the average age being around 50. The youth is our future. Teach them about positive relationships in marriage/family, and the importance in shul. The nations of the world live the way they want regardless of this court decision.
This is years too late, society has already decided. They should rather make a statement now for.the upcoming attractions like the condoning of sodomy and worse.
I am puzzled that some commenters find there is no such thing as “Judeo-Christian” ethics. Christianity has borrowed heavily from Torah, e.g., the Ten Commandments, do unto others …. Any Christian teaching that has roots in or overlaps with a Torah teaching would be “Judeo-Christian.” This is not to say that there are no differences. It is merely a recognition that many Christian ideas come, in part, from Torah.
No. 15: The United States government, under the terms of Amendment No. 1 of its Constitution, is not in the business of regulating religion.
No. 1: Your fear that religious leaders – Rabbis, priests, et al., will be forced to perform marriages contrary to their religious teachings is straw-man nonsense. No one is proposing it – if I am wrong, name names.
#19:
The Christians have twisted and tortured anything they’ve stolen from us into something completely unrecognizable and foreign to us.
Please do NOT in any way, shape or form compare or approximate anything Christian to anything Jewish.
Thank You