The welcome of the other. My path of rabbi with LGBT people

Interview with Rabbi Stephen Berkowitz published on the Site The Accueil Radical - Resources for an inclusive church (France) on April 4, 2016, free translation by Marco Galvagno

Rabbi Stephen Berkowitz is rabbi in the community of reformed Jews of Strasbourg. Born in the United States has already officiated in various synagogues scattered around the world. For a year he has been a member of the collective of inclusive believers, whose meetings have been held for the moment in the parish of St Guillaume in Strasbourg. Stephen wanted this short article to explain his path for the reception of Glbt people.

"Rab Yehouda says in the name of RAV that the Mitzwà of the reception of the other is more important to receive the face of Shekkina (i.e. the divine presence), so it is written. And Abraham says "Lord I found grace in your eyes, do not pass in front of your servant" (Genesis 18- 3)»(Talmud of Babylon: Shabbat 127 °)

Shalom to you. I was sensitive to the theme of the different sexual guidelines right away in my career as a rabbi. In 1979 I began my rabbinic studies at the Recostrusionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia (USA), the liberal current of American Judaism, which is an issue of the Massorti Movement.

In my course there was a lesbian girl, who became, in 1985, the first declaredly gay rabbine. After knowing her better, I realized that there were no differences between her and me. It nourished my own passion for Judaism and was animated by a great desire to serve the Jewish people. Over the years we have become very close friends and when I lost my brother, in 1984, he was the only one of my companions to get up at dawn for the whole month of mourning, to accompany me in the synagogue to make the morning ritual prayer. In the 1980s, the struggle for civil rights of homosexuals was a very important issue in our movement. We have dedicated a number of meetings to the theme of homosexuality in Judaism, to the admission of gay students declared to the rabbed and the intake of gay rabbis.

From 1997 to 2004 I was rabbi at a German reformed synagogue in Manhattan. Most of my faithful were old German ladies, some even centenary, many of them who survived the Shoah; In the same neighborhood there was another reformed synagogue in which he officiated a lesbian rabbine that had many gay couples and homoparent families as faithful.
At one point our two communities decided to merge, so after numerous discussions, sometimes lit we adopted some of their customs for example the Gay Pride Shabbat, a inclusive Shabbat to be accomplished during the Gay Pride in New York.

I remember the speech of our rabbi emeritus Robert Lehman. He was born in Germany and had a rather conservative social vision, however he insisted on the importance of welcoming every person of any sexual orientation with open arms. He stressed that the children of homosexual parents had to be admitted to the Talmud Torah (religious education course) and that they could access the Mitzwà bar and that homosexual couples could go up to the Torah. However, he has abstained from pronouncing on the theme of religious marriage for homosexual couples.

Now in the United States we have entered a new era regarding the civil rights of transgender people. The American liberal movement, during its annual congress in Orlando in Florida, voted in favor of a new reception policy of transcentitarian and transgender people in favor of a new reception.

Some synagogues will begin with changing the writings in the bathrooms, they will remove the wording men and women by replacing it with gentlemen and ladies, they are details, but I think they are important.

To conclude I love to remember that Torah says that the first Adam was created in the image and likeness of God, this means that we believers should respect the dignity of every human being. I am a liberal and inclusive rabbi, this makes me happy.

Original text: The Accueil de l'Autre: there is the rabbin libéral et inclusion stephen berkowitch