The Rosh Yeshivat Har Etzion, Rabbi Yaakov Madan, has recently received many inquiries from teachers and rabbis from educational institutions of religious Zionism regarding educational dealings with homosexual students, and recently published a detailed letter explaining his approach to the issue divided into several topics: human treatment, homosexuality Conversion and the flag of pride. Rabbi Madan clarifies at the beginning of his letter that his position is as an individual, and not as one of the heads of the yeshiva in Alon Shvut.
“A person with homosexual tendencies, who avoids acts of incest that may result from these tendencies, is an ordinary person, one of us,” Rabbi Madan begins, emphasizing: Heaven. One must be careful in his honor and feelings and in the commandment “and love your neighbor as yourself” towards him. “
Rabbi Madan adds and clarifies that we must be more sensitive to homosexuals: “Today the laws of Hagar deception also apply to him, which were said in the Torah about those who ‘are not like everyone else’, and perhaps also the laws of ‘every widow and orphan will not be tortured’. To them we are also commanded to shed blood, to bring him and her like, and it is enough to be wise. “
Rabbi Madan’s letter to the educators. The proper treatment of homosexuals Photo: None
The flag of pride – good intention but it is a raising of the hand in the Torah
Rabbi Yaakov Madan continues to refer to the flag of pride, both physically but also as an essential thing that aims to identify and normalize with members of the LGBT community: All justice is due solely to their tendency and to call it their right to social equality. ”
At the same time, the head of the Har Etzion yeshiva emphasizes that, “The flag mentioned is not entirely innocent. The banner of pride is a raising of the hand in the Torah of Moses that forbids certain acts for the purpose of the prohibition and defines them as the abominations of Canaan, which are a reason why the land of God may vomit us out of it, God forbid. “
Male intercourse should be avoided even at the cost of being killed and not passing
“Our unconditional commitment to the Torah is important from our understanding of it and our identification with its commandments, which are also very important, of course,” continues Rabbi Madan in the section on male intercourse, emphasizing that ” , Even if they have claims about the Almighty God with this attraction.
However, because of the public struggle taking place in this field, one must act with thought and moderation, wisdom and consultation with those who understand the field. Our tendency is to fix, and not to spoil
Rabbi Madan adds that male intercourse is one of the most severe prohibitions in the Torah: “It must be avoided even at the heavy cost of being killed and not passing.” At the same time, Rabbi Madan points out that in some cases it is worth asking a halakhic figure: “Living in a circle is a bit far from the forbidden act in itself requires a wise question. Rabbis and halakhic judges do not openly rule for many. “And answer him with a personal answer that does not involve tapping and learning about another person who is ostensibly in the questioner’s situation.
Illustration Photo: Tomer Neuberg, Flash 90
“A person who has legs to speak, according to the examination of halakhah, to suspect him of incest and similar acts, should be treated as a criminal in these areas and according to the halakhic rules that result from it,” emphasizes the Rosh Yeshivat Har Etzion. And sometimes even for ideological reasons and to anger.Wor worse, he tries to persuade others to follow in his footsteps, especially teenagers, and raises his hand in the Torah of Moses in all that this prohibition entails.However, because of the public struggle in this area, “And not to spoil.”
In the fourth section of the letter to the educators, Rabbi Madan addresses the issue of the “continuum” of sexual attraction in humans, when he claims that many homosexuals are on the continuum and have a tendency towards women as well. “This requires consultation with experts in the field about the possibility of good treatment, which will allow the detainee as a homosexual to live a love life with a woman and start a family, provided that these experts do not have a husband.
Ideological agenda. “
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The head of the Har Etzion yeshiva went on to refer to Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz’s ban on conversion treatments and claimed that, “The Israeli government is currently banning this, but it is a political decision aimed at a certain agenda.”
The second part of Rabbi Madan’s letter to the educators. Photo: None
“In the past, behavioral therapies were sometimes converted to homosexuals who requested it. These conversion therapies included negative conditions, including physical ones, for homosexual tendencies. These therapies were bitter and involved great and unjustified risks to patients. I strongly oppose these therapies,” Rabbi Madan declared unequivocally. “I think they are almost non-existent today. But they should in no way be associated with psychodynamic therapies performed today by good and experienced professionals through conversations between therapist and patient, and there is no over-risk of psychotherapy in any other field.”
A person who can be suspected of incest – he should be treated as a criminal
“On the other hand, it should be remembered that someone who is dominated by the aforementioned tendency cannot try to start a family with a woman who is not aware of the depth of his inclination in the matter.
The last issue that Rabbi Madan touches on is the framing of the discourse by society today: “The fact that the media in its ranks sees those warning against male intercourse and objects like this to help those on the continuum the enemies of humanity and introduction must not deter us and silence us. There is currently a struggle over language, and especially over the new ban on mentioning father and mother and the declaration that they are repressive words, and should be replaced by ‘parent 1’ and ‘parent 2’. Language greatly affects consciousness, and for a few years it may create in the public thought patterns different from those of the Torah. We must not give in to this struggle either, “concluded Rabbi Madan.