the time gay men don't have sex is usually a little after a meal... from what I garner. Gross; bizarre thinking.
how is the observant gay man to unlock the power of kosher Jewish sexuality, as traditionally understood? Beginning from the premise that if there is a wisdom in taharat hamishpachah for any Jew, there is a wisdom there for every Jew, the basic idea is that gay men would need to impose upon themselves a regular practice of abstinence within relationship, for a meaningful period of time. One approach to this might be lunar and calendrical. While a woman’s body clock is “internal,” men could select twelve fixed days of every (Jewish) month for sexual abstinence - via jewishmosaic.org
they do make some interesting arguments in legitimizing certain forms of gay male relationships by exploring the history of the wording: a distinction between the words 'abhorrence' and 'abomination', claiming the King James Bible of 1611 described male homosexuality with the latter term.
"The first published use of the word “abominable” occurred in 1366 in precisely this context, referring to “The abhomynable Synne of Sodomye.” “Abomination” first appears in 1395, in a use by John Purvey, an anti-Catholic follower of John Wycliffe, in the statement, “All reasonable men have greet [great] abhominacioun of bodily sodomie.” The Middle English spellings show the word’s origins in the Latin ab homine, “away from man,” with an implication of “inhuman,” or “beastly.”
What might be thought “inhuman” or “beastly” about male-to-male sexual conduct (which after all is not especially common in the animal kingdom)? Appetites for rest, for food, and for sex are part of the animal element of human nature. Animals do not know the difference between Shabbat and the weekdays; they do not know the difference between kosher and non-kosher food; and they do not regulate their sexual contact intentionally. They behave, instead, “instinctively.” Halakhic human beings, however, observe (in both senses) these differences, and can reflect them in distinctively Jewish practices of separation. "
What might be thought “inhuman” or “beastly” about male-to-male sexual conduct (which after all is not especially common in the animal kingdom)? Appetites for rest, for food, and for sex are part of the animal element of human nature. Animals do not know the difference between Shabbat and the weekdays; they do not know the difference between kosher and non-kosher food; and they do not regulate their sexual contact intentionally. They behave, instead, “instinctively.” Halakhic human beings, however, observe (in both senses) these differences, and can reflect them in distinctively Jewish practices of separation. "
via jewishmosaic.org
what makes the argument in this post most peculiar is the assumption that sex should not be carnal and involved completely in consumption or pleasure and that ritual somehow contains the sin of sex being a service. But what contradicts the argument is the writer then claims that the very same ritual preserves the spontaneity of sex and therefor she argues in both directions. What is it? should sex be a service that is tangible or not? I'm not condemning functionless sex, but I certainly don't see any consistency in the argument here.
the torah certainly seems to condemn masturbation and I'm not sure there is any distinction between the abuse of one sexual activity and another. the context of masturbation being a sin is certainly a lot more clear then the context of gay interactions. I certainly am not going to say that I believe that most humans can function without some kind of sexual stimulation, and I don't think it is healthy either, though there are some that seem to be happy without it. I am certain that most people would not be functioning people without sexual activity. We can not assume that all people will get married either. So as much as I relent that prohibited sexual activity in the torah is kosher as far as I'm concerned, I'm also very certain that to ritualize sexual activity doesn't make it any closer to something that would be endorsed by g-d. I'm also fairly certain that ritual is not bound by Judaism without a state religion that existed before the destruction of the temple.
I'd also like to point out that it is impossible... yes impossible to sleep with a man the same way one would with a woman. This is why I find it unnecessary to condemn Gay people in Judaism... and if it is truly impossible then why would we use the same rituals? The negative connotations from the Sodom story come from a context of prostitution and I see little in the old testament that is in conflict with a gay lifestyle.
...on the other hand. rituals and contracts should be different and reflective of our identity... but this is another issue I have dealt with concerning gay marriage... that I don't endorse. and I don't endorse it because it is reflective of this need to ritualize that which is not the same. it is pointless to compare two unalike concepts and brings no dignity to do so.
