What does the Hebrew 'Keshet' mean?

Home EventsSourcesLinksContact


Classical Jewish TextsTeshuvotThe Moral ImperativeDivrei Torah, Speeches, and LettersKeshet DocumentsBooks and Articles
Books and Articles on Judaism and Homosexuality

Articles on Ordination
"A Conservative Challenge: Gay and lesbian rabbis and their supporters question the movement's don't-ask-don’t-tell policy." January 17, 2003. Los Angeles Jewish Journal. By Julie Gruenbaum Fax.
"Conservative Judaism may review movement's view of gays". January 3, 2003. USA Today
"The Next Battle: The time has come to ordain openly gay Conservative rabbis." December 15, 2000. The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. By Jacob Neusner.
"Debates on Gays Link Anglicans, Conservative Jews". Forward. August 29, 2003. By Ami Eden.

Articles on Marriage
"Learning About Homosexuality and Taking a New Stand". By Elliot N. Dorff
"Gay Marriage: Is it a fight for equal rights or the end of a moral society?" May 14, 2004. The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. By Julie Gruenbaum Fax
"Jews are lining up to support gay marriages in U.S". January 30, 2004. By Matthew E. Berger in Washington. J., The Jewish newsweekly of Northern California.

Other Articles of Interest
A New Consensus For Gays? Wave of opposition to Conservative movement ban putting issue back on the agenda. Debra Nussbaum Cohen (NEW Apr 2005)
Susan Freeman, "Teaching Hot Topics," Chapter 14, published by ARE. This article contains material for teaching about gay/lesbian issues (NEW Jan 2005)
"Medical and Moral Reasons to Change the Law" Rabbi Elliot Dorff (NEW Dec 2004)
"We Can't Legitimate Homosexuality Halakhically" Rabbi Joel Roth (NEW Dec 2004)
"Lesbian Sexuality in Classical Judaism and Islam" by Rachel Melanie Smith
A comparison of the Muslim and Jewish treatments of lesbianism in the legal tradition. Even if you are not interested in the comparison to Islam, this paper has a very thorough analysis of all the Jewish sources addressing lesbian sex. (NEW Dec 2004)
"What Was God Thinking?", by Joe Hample (NEW Dec 2004)
"Judaism, Reform Judaism & Gay Judaism", by Joe Hample (NEW Dec 2004)
LA Times March 15, 2003
Ha-Aretz March 19, 2003

More Books and Articles on Gays and Lesbians in Judaism -- Not An Exhaustive List!
Wrestling with God and Men, Steven Greenberg

An Underground Life: Memoirs of a Gay Jew in Nazi Berlin (Living Out), Gad Beck, et al

Queer Jews, David Shneer, Caryn Aviv

Like Bread on the Seder Plate, Rebecca Alpert

Lesbian Rabbis: The First Generation, Rebecca T. Alpert, et al

Twice Blessed, edited by Balka and Rose

Engendering Judaism: An Inclusive Theology and Ethics, Rachel Adler.

Nathaniel S. Lehrman. 'The Laundering of Homosexuality," Midstream, April 1998.

Arthur Waskow, Down-to-Earth Judaism. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1995.

Daniel Boyarin, "Are There Any Jews in 'The History of Sexuality'?" Journal of the History of Sexuality, 5.3, 1995.

Saul Olyan, "'And with a Male You Shall Not Lie the Lying Down of a Woman": On the Meaning and Significance of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:1S," Journal of the History of Sexuality, 5.2, 1994.

Michael Satlow, "'They Abused Him Like a Woman': Homoeroticiam, Gender Blurring, and the Rabbis in Late Antiquity." Journal of the History of Sexuality, 5.1, 1994.

Martin Samuel Cohen. "The Biblical Prohibition of Homosexual Intercourse," Journal of the History of Sexuality, 19.1, 1990.

If you would like to suggest additional sources or make other comments, please click here.