The following are excerpts from a commentary on Leviticus 19:1–20:27 by Dr. Judith Hauptman:
“…Later in the same chapter, we find a ban on giving one’s seed to Molekh (verse 21), an act that would be against the child’s will. It therefore stands to reason that the very next verse—”do not make a man lie with you as one lies with a woman”—is yet another instance of forced submission (verse 22). It speaks of one man using another for his own sexual pleasure. Such a scenario is reminiscent of the men of Sodom who wanted to have their way with Lot’s male visitors (Gen. 19:5). Lot offered the men his daughters instead, which suggests that the rape of a woman by a man is less offensive than the rape of a man by a man. The same sequence of events appears in Judges 19, where the men of the town seek to rape a male visitor but are given a woman instead. Unlike Genesis 19, no angel intervened to stop this horrific act from taking place (verse 25). We can now understand the use of the word to’evah, abomination, in Leviticus 18:22, when referring to sex between men. It is especially abhorrent for a man to force himself sexually on a man, more so than if he forces himself on a woman. To generalize: the acts listed in Leviticus 18 are hateful because many of them, by their very nature, involve sex against the partner’s will.” …
“It therefore seems to me that when people ask “How can we sanction sex between men if the Torah forbids it?” the answer is that the Torah bans forced sex of all kinds, but does not forbid consensual homosexual sex. There is thus no Torah basis for discrimination against gay people. But there is a very clear Torah commandment to act lovingly and without prejudice toward all human beings.” … (more)
EDITOR: How people understand religious teachings affects public policy. Please consider the above as you would an op-ed in the New York Times.
