As the Massachusetts legislature debated a proposal to amend
the state constitution to ban the redefinition of marriage,
Agudath Israel of America released a statement stating
Judaism's unqualified and exclusive embrace of traditional
marriage. The statement stands in stark opposition to one
recently offered by a local group of Reform, Conservative and
Reconstructionist rabbis regarding the issue.
The non-Orthodox clerics published an advertisement
supporting the Massachusetts Supreme Court's declaration that
marriage may not be limited to its historical definition and
calling on the state legislature to support that ruling. The
non- Orthodox clergy went so far as to declare their support
for unconventional marriage as "a religious commitment," and
to condemn any abridgment of the right to such marriage as "a
violation of our religious freedom."
Agudath Israel felt it necessary to counter this wrong view
of the Jewish religious tradition with an unambiguous
statement regarding Judaism's prohibition against immoral
conduct, and to publicly oppose any governmental sanctioning
of unconventional marriage.
The statement reads as follows:
Some supporters of redefining marriage claim to speak in the
name of Judaism. They do not. They speak, in fact, against
it.
A group of non-Orthodox Massachusetts rabbis has publicly
asserted that they support unconventional marriage as "a
religious commitment," and that denying its proponents
marriage rights "would be a violation of our religious
freedom."
While we are pained by the need to take this public stance,
we cannot allow for the misperception that immoral unions are
in consonance with the Torah's prescription for humankind.
And so we hereby state, clearly and without qualification,
that the Torah forbids immoral acts, and sanctions only the
union of a man and a woman in matrimony.
To the good citizens of the State of Massachusetts, and to
all our fellow Americans, we say: It is up to us to affirm
the integrity and sanctity of marriage in our great
country.
And to our fellow Jews, we say: We are heirs to a timeless
and holy wisdom. Judaism is not a mirror of society's
shifting mores. Let us be a true light in an increasingly
darkening world.
The Agudath Israel spokesman noted that the need for a public
expression of the Jewish religion's attitude was twofold.
"First there is the essence of the statement itself, a
correction of the mistaken impression that Judaism in some
way considers immoral acts or unions morally acceptable.
"But there is also another concern here," he continued. "As
members of broader society, we have a great stake in
promoting the general public good, which we feel is best
served by maintaining marriage in the traditional form.
"The Massachusetts judiciary's decision to destroy that
tradition demands that we speak up and inform both Jews and
non-Jews alike that American society is at a crucial moral
crossroads."
