ABSTRACT
Dratch believes that many in the orthodox community and the orthodox rabbinate today are in a different place in terms of sensitivities and understandings of the religious nuances and human complexities related to issues around homosexuality than were some of the families and therapists described in “Does God make referrals?”
Suffice it to say that, for advocates of greater inclusion and acceptance of LGBTQ of the orthodox community, so that they can achieve the success in the orthodox community they seek, they need to work within and respect these assumptions.
As the conversation over acceptance and accommodation of LGBTQ orthodox Jews evolves—and for all intents and purposes it is still a rather new conversation for this traditional, conservative, religious community (it is only a few decades old in the general community despite seismic changes in law, policy, and attitudes)—these and other issues will be weighed and balanced.
Many rabbis sincerely and sensitively struggle with the need to understand and provide pastoral support to LGBTQ, and with their own sense of fidelity to Jewish law and their responsibility to maintain community standards as they understand them. They are concerned about their local needs and accommodations, as well as the policies and opinions of the larger orthodox and Jewish communities with which they identify.
