Tag: Rabbi Chaim Ingram

Submission to Senate on Marriage Equality by Rabbinical Council of NSW

[Senate link] [PDF]

RABBINICAL COUNCIL OF NSW INC

All correspondence to
The Hon. Secretary

President:
Rabbi Yoram Ulman

Vice-President:
Rabbi Eli Feldman

Honorary Secretary:
Rabbi Chaim Ingram

Honorary Treasurer:
Rabbi Paul Lewin

31 March 2012

STATEMENT FROM THE RABBINICAL COUNCIL OF NSW ON SAME SEX MARRIAGE

To the Honorable Members of the Senate Legal and constitutional Affairs Committee:-

The Rabbinical Council of NSW represents all Orthodox and mainstream synagogues in NSW

The Rabbinical Council of NSW Inc (RCNSW) states and affirms as follows:-

1)      The definition of marriage as stipulated in the Marriage Legislation Amendment Act 2004, namely that “marriage means the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others” is consistent with the traditional definition of marriage expressed in sacred Jewish texts and accepted through the ages by the other major world faiths.

2)      At Mount Sinai, the giving of the Torah included reiteration of a set of key universal laws and values binding and adopted by civilised societies throughout the world since time immemorial.

3)      Central to the key universal values expressed in the Torah are norms relating to human sexuality which endorse the stable sexual union of a man and a woman in a socially recognised relationship of mutual commitment whilst rejecting other sexual unions notably adultery, incest, bestiality and homosexuality.

4)      It has been proven and demonstrated globally throughout history that the institution of marriage is central to the formation of a healthy society and to the concept of family.  By virtue of their physical make-up, human beings are able to achieve self –actualisation through participation in the higher union of man and woman within marriage resulting in the production of offspring who are raised in a stable and moral home and who possess an innate and close connection with the mother and father who conceived and gave birth to the child.

5)      The Torah mandates that all human beings, created as they are in the image of G-D, are to be cherished and loved by their fellows.  The lifestyle choices made by individuals do not affect the precept that they be treated with respect and love.  Nevertheless it is our firm conviction that all humankind remains bound by the aforementioned universal moral code handed down by G-D at Mount Sinai 3,300 years ago.

6)      The RCNSW views with profound concern efforts to redefine marriage and thus legally sanction same-sex marriage.  It urges most earnestly that the integrity of marriage in its traditional and time-hallowed form will be preserved.

For further information please call RCNSW Honorary Secretary Rabbi Chaim Ingram.

AJN Letters: Gays & Celibacy + Purim & Mardi Gras – March 9 2012

9 Mar 2012
The Australian Jewish News Sydney edition

Letters to the editor should be no more than 250 words and may be edited for length and content. Only letters sent to letters@jewishnews.net.au will be considered for publication. Please supply an address and daytime phone number for verification.

Adapting the Torah to reflect values

SOME of our rabbis seem to expect celibacy from those who are gay. Is this the compassion we would like from spiritual leaders?

We now know that homosexuality has been found among animal species, so we cannot confidently state that it is a personal choice.

Gays are all part of creation. Can those of us who are not gay comfortably sit back and tell gays, it is forbidden for you to follow your instincts but we, who consider ourselves normal, can enjoy them? After all, is the Torah not full of death sentences for what we nowadays regard as not so serious?

Is it possible to mistake the meaning of the Torah? Perhaps it was constructed for its time, it being assumed that later generations would have the knowledge and skills to read it in a new light.

Or it might it be an inspired manmade work reflecting the values of its time, to be reassessed with every century. Should we be using the Torah to make life barely tolerable for a sub-stantial minority? I know I cannot.

PETER COHEN
Bentleigh East, Vic

Misrepresenting the meaning of Purim

PROFESSOR David Shneer (“Pride and prejudice ….and Purim” AJN 02/03) woefully distorts the Purim message.

Applying phrases to Judaism like “the holiness of transgression” (sic.) and “revelling in worldly pleasures” do nothing, in my opinion, to enhance his credibility as a serious writer on Jewish themes. Nor for that matter does his risible invocation of the name of the Rambam in spurious support of his views.

To quote the Rambam: “The Torah states (Lev. 18:2) ‘after the actions of Egypt … you shall in no way do’ Our sages commented ‘ what perversions did they do in Egypt? A man would marry a man and a woman a woman.…’”(rambam, Hilchot Isurei Bi’ah 21:8).

The reason for disguising ourselves on Purim is to hide our true identity. Just as Queen Esther was deemed by all to be part of the problem and ended up being part of the solution, so do we masquerade as the opposite of what we truly are. Nothing to do with any “redemptive potential of masquerade” or “see(ing) the infinite possibility … in each experience”. Disguises incidentally also help us carry out optimally the mitzvot of the day, namely gifts to the poor (which the Rambam says is best done anonymously) and giving token food gifts to one’s friends (which one might be embarassed to do ordinarily).

In the English language the word “pride” has two antonyms: “shame” and“modesty”.in Judaism,pride as the opposite of shame is a worthy virtue. However, as the reverse of modesty, pride is viewed negatively. Traditionally, Purim disguises will never leave large areas of body flesh exposed as in a certain other annual carnival.

There is indeed no point of connection between Purim and Mardi Gras.

One can only hope that Professor Shneer’s piece was intended as an early purimshpiel.

RABBI CHAIM INGRAM
Bondi Junction, NSW

Letters on Marriage Equality in the AJN

Two letters appear in the Australian Jewish News this week on the topic of Marriage Equality.  No surprises here from the good rabbi, Chaim Ingram.

Marriage must retain its value

ADRIENNE Schwartz ( AJN 17/06) asks why same-sex marriage cannot be legalised “without affronting the rest of us”.

Notwithstanding that there are many valid reasons for retaining the status quo on marriage other than the affront to others, I would like to offer her a topical analogy.

Imagine that, instead of the highly selective procedure for acceptance of nominees for Australian honours awards, as of 2012 any Australian who was nominated by any two people was awarded a titled honour. Come to think of it, why limit it to Australian citizens. Surely any resident ought to be eligible? And maybe even non-residents too.

The result, of course, would be that the country would be flooded with AMs and OAMs, and the award would be completely devalued. Those Australians who had been carefully singled out under the pre-2012 system would be highly affronted and could not be blamed if they handed back their awards in disgust.

Marriage too is a high distinction. It is a sacred bond. Allowing the definition of marriage to be transformed beyond recognition would devalue it totally. I deem that an affront.

RABBI CHAIM INGRAM Bondi Junction, NSW

 

Could God be behind such a ‘cruel joke’?

IT is the Orthodox not the Progressive rabbis who have a problem with the Torah over same-sex relationships. Modern research has found homosexual behaviour among many animal species including primates, therefore common sense tells us that such behaviour will be natural within some humans.

Why then would God create gay people and then outlaw their behaviour in such vicious terms? Is this a cruel joke of the Almighty? This is not the only part of the Torah which is seemingly at variance with modern knowledge. The Sabbatical fallow years would lead populations to die of starvation.

Clearly the Torah, if it is to survive in the long term, must be understood in a new light. The Progressives have made necessary adjustments to keep the Torah relevant in the modern age of discovery and reason, while much of Orthodoxy has failed.

Certainly research shows the Orthodox holding on to their congregations in the short term but with these attitudes how many more generations can it last in a thinking world?

We are very lucky in this country to have so many Progressive Rabbis showing modern people that the Torah, sensibly interpreted, is still very beautiful and very much alive.

PETER COHEN Ormond, Vic