In honor of the LGBT Pride season, topics are springing up in my head left and right. I chose to talk about a topic that is very relevant not just in our daily life but in our religious one as well; homophobia. Many religious sects use a verse in the bible to aim their disapproval towards gay men and women:
Vayikra (Leviticus) 18:22 which reads in Hebrew is:
וְאֶת-זָכָר--לֹא תִשְׁכַּב, מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה: תּוֹעֵבָה, הִוא
{Ve-et zachar lo tishcav mishkevei isha to'evah hi}
Translated means 'A man shall not lie with another man as he would lie with a woman, it is a to'evah'. The word to'evah has been misunderstood and incorrectly translated to 'abomination' when it does not mean abomination at all. To'evah means basically 'foreign'. The term to'evah is used almost a hundred and three times in the Tanach (bible) in regards to foreign practices. This is why there is no Hebrew word for homosexual, homosexuality or gay (in the meaning of the latter). The acts of gay sex were foreign and believed to be apart of idol worship. I mean, how many times have you told your kids not to watch something on TV until you researched the show yourself and made sure it was okay for a child? But as time progressed, so did the laws. Homosexuality was seen as a work of Ha'Shem as was heterosexuality. There became a word for gay men and women. Judaism itself does not prohibit or in any way look down upon homosexual love. And in the eyes of Judaism the love between two men or two women can be as natural as the love between a man and a woman.
In other parts of the Tanach was the word
to'evah used:
Bereshit (Genesis) 43:32 states that eating with Israelites is
to'evah for Egyptians.
Bereshit 43:34 states that shepherds are
to'evah to Egyptians—the sons of Israel are themselves shepherds. In
Shemot (Exodus) 8:22, Moses describes Israelite sacrifices as being
to'evat mitzrayim (foreign to Egypt), although obviously Israelite ritual is not an objective abomination. If
to'evah means abomination, then eating with shepherds, eating with Israelites, and Israelite sacrifices themselves must be abominable! Since this clearly is not the case,
to'evah cannot mean abomination. But this has been the case since King James translated Hebrew to
his liking and homosexuals at that time were seen as demons and serious sinners who should be obliterated from the earth (or at the very least 'saved'). Many religions now use the King James Version of the bible as the solid truth and no other but G-d could have translated this. This lack of knowledge has birth the rise of homophobia and the unacceptance of gay men and women in religion today.
What is troubling to me are the many preachers and ministers saying Adonai is a being that is all loving and only hates a certain group of people. This is an oxymoron. Something that G-d is not. As stated in my last blog-drash, we are all created in the Divine image and according to
Bereshit 1:27, G-d saw what G-d had made and it was good. Human beings, human nature and human sexuality were apart of this goodly sight. So why is homophobia and the unacceptance of homosexuality so relavant in religious life?
Answer: The uneducated opinions of people who feel they may be raped by a three hundred pound gay "demon". This is even more sadly growing in the black community where being a homosexual is seen as being less of a man. This is why the 'down low' life is so shockingly alive and gay men and women are subject to abuse that may end in homicide or suicide.
People need to wake up and stop throwing their hateful opinions in with their religious views. G-d cannot dwell where hate (to anything and anyone, including self) resides. So this Pride season, whether gay or not, embrace love and enjoy each breath you take. Stop hating yourself and the people around you because you don’t understand. Don't let something that is
to'evah become an abomination. Educate yourself, love yourself and enjoy the peace that was handed to all of us.
Baruch shebara ahavah v'achavah v'shalom v'rei'ut: Blessed is the One who creates love, harmony, peace and companionship. Ken yehi ratzon, may it be G-d's will.
