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Pro-family activism that makes a difference! | ||||
Orthodox rabbis tell it like it is on “gay marriage” issue outside Supreme Court hearing.Set an example for other pro-family clergy. Also: group of 850 Orthodox rabbis demand recusal of Ginsburg and Kagan.POSTED: May 1, 2015A contingent of Orthodox rabbis from New York and New Jersey came and “told it like it is” outside of the US Supreme Court on the day of the “gay marriage” hearing. A larger group of 850 Orthodox rabbis publicly demanded the recusal of Justices Ginsburg and Kagan from the case.
Although liberal Jews are known for their unwavering allegiance to radical anti-family agendas, the Orthodox community — especially the Hasidic, etc. — is the opposite. They are fiercely pro-family, passionate and unwavering in their Biblical principles, and not afraid to say so publicly. So when our friend Rabbi Leibish Iliovits of New York contacted us on Monday and informed us that he and a group of several other rabbis from New York and New Jersey were planning to be outside of the Supreme Court on the day of “gay marriage” hearing with signs — to make a statement — we knew they'd deliver some powerful messages.
We all saw lots of other pro-family signs that day saying “We support traditional marriage” and “Every child needs a mother and a father.” But these fellows get to the core of the problem, and aren’t afraid of what the liberal media thinks of them. They talk about the Bible and the dangers religious people face in an oppressive secular society.
And, yes, they got the media’s attention. The rabbis were included in news stories by the Washington Post, National Public Radio, Yahoo News, and several other outlets.
850 Rabbis call for recusal of Ginsburg and KaganLate last week we also got a call from Rabbi Yehuda Levin of Brooklyn, spokesman for the 75-year-old 850-member Rabbinical Alliance of America. Rabbi Levin wanted MassResistance to know that his organization was outraged that Justices Ginsburg and Kagan had refused to recuse themselves from this case, citing their publicly known biases on the “gay marriage” issue. The following day the organization’s statement was sent out to press across the country: We join many other who are appalled and deeply ashamed that less than a week before the Supreme Court hearing on same gender "Marriage," Justices Ginsberg and Kagan, both of whom have officiated at such events, have nevertheless still not had the grace, or decency to adhere to the US code which calls upon a justice to "Disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned” . . . The Almighty and societyToo many of us have allowed the intimidation of the secular left to cause us to forget or brush aside the huge religious aspects of this issue. Yesterday our friend Rabbi Noson Leiter of New York called MassResistance to point out the eerie coincidence of the “gay marriage” hearing being held this particular week. Throughout the year, Jews read the entire Torah in their synagogues, divided into weekly portions. This week’s portion happens to include the part of Leviticus that deals with the harsh prohibition against homosexual behavior, describing it as among those things that “will cause the [Holy] Land to vomit you out” (Lev. Ch. 20). For Orthodox Jews, at least, it is part of a bigger picture. As Rabbi Leiter emailed us this morning: It is significant that this Supreme Court hearing fell out this week, which is the week in which Jews read the portions of the Torah (Lev. 18) which include the prohibition against sodomy, as well as — according to our Sages — a reference to the prohibition against same-gender "marriages" (see Toras Kohanim 12, Yalkut Shimoni 587; Torah Shelaimah, citing Lekach Tov). What is perhaps even more noteworthy is the following: This same chapter - Lev. 18 — is read during one other time during the year: on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) - the holiest day of the Jewish year. As we approach the crescendo of that awesome day, millions of Jews in synagogues worldwide hear the public Torah-reading of this very chapter, the 18th chapter of Leviticus, which enumerates the forbidden relationships. One crucial lesson, pertaining to this issue at hand, derived from that chapter, is the abominable nature of sodomy in particular. Although all of those enumerated forbidden relationships are all referred to in general as "abominations" (in verses 26-7; 29-30) - the only prohibited relationship specifically branded "abomination" is the homosexual act (v.22). Thus, sodomy is an abomination even among abominations (see Maharal on Babylonian Talmud, tractate Chullin 92; She'arim Metzuyanim BaHalacha on Chullin 92; and Maharsha on Tractate Nedarim 51a). In fact, when the Torah uses the term "abomination" elsewhere (in Dvarim (Dt.) 32:16), the Sages of the "Sifri" identify that term as referring specifically to sodomy. One reason we read this chapter on the Day of Atonement is to encourage those who've stumbled in even the most serious transgressions that there is hope for change — for those who seek true repentance. Man can - and therefore must - control his actions, and, thereby, his destiny for spiritual greatness, the destiny beckoning him most — as one approaches the zenith of that most sacred day of Yom Kippur. This is clearly a time for us all to step up our public opposition, not tone it down! |
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