Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible

by Gregg Drinkwater

Inherent in rabbinic “homophobia” is a form of misogyny.15 To leave this homophobia unchallenged is to leave this brand of misogyny firmly rooted in the Jewish tradition. Whether we are liberal American Jews, evangelical Christians, or ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews, our sexual ethics have changed drastically from those of the Talmudic Period, and indeed most of us outright reject many of the rabbis’ sexual ethics. For example, few Jews or Christians would accept that rape is not a crime16 or that an unmarried girl should be married off to her rapist (Deut. 22:28–29). Those looking to the Bible for arguments in favor of the “sanctity of marriage” might be troubled by the rabbinic practice of “marriage for a day.”17 Whether liberal or traditional, modern sexual ethics diverge in many ways from Biblical (and rabbinic) standards. But for some reason, when it comes to the topic of “homosexuality,” some people pretend as if our modern sexual values must be completely congruent with those of the Rabbis.