Testimonial by Jake Goodman, 2007 graduate of the Davidson School of Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City
This was landmark year for the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS). The Law Committee of the Conservative Jewish movement made the historic but contradictory decision to both permit and continue to prohibit gays and lesbians from receiving rabbinic ordination: the ultimate choice was left to each individual community and institution. JTS, then, engaged in a rigorous and extended period of reflection and debate, to determine whether or not the school would change its admission policies to admit openly gay and lesbian rabbinical students. In the Spring, the decision was made to allow openly gay and lesbian rabbinical students.
The point is that two historic decisions were
made in this academic year of which the student body had little effective
voice; decisions were made for us and we had to deal with them. The
issue was complicated, of course, by the fact that the Law Committee's
decision affirmed two contradictory responsa (which has much historical
precedent): students were in essence given "permission" to feel any
way they wanted. There was no "right" or "wrong." And students
were of diverse beliefs. On top of that, the various schools that make
up JTS (rabbinical, cantorial, education, graduate, undergraduate) all have
different admission policies--some have been truly pluralistic for many,
many years while others (obviously) have not. Some people felt this to
be the issue facing students; others felt it to be an issue
relatively irrelevant to their experience. Tensions were high and it felt
as if there were two "sides" to this issue--black and white--and that all of
our beliefs were intractable, our differences insurmountable. People
on both "sides" felt oppressed and marginalized by the other. To my
knowledge, dialogue, in the true sense of the word, between these two sides
was quite rare if not nonexistent.
So the Jewish Dialogue Group (JDG) was
invited in the Jewish Theological Seminary to help facilitate a dialogue
explicitly for students with diverse opinions and beliefs regarding gay and
lesbian ordination, and regarding the way gays and lesbians are perceived
within Jewish tradition and law. The dialogues facilitated by the JDG
were extraordinary and transformative. Although this particular topic
was uncharted territory for the JDG, they had the experience and expertise
to know to keep the groups intimate and highly structured. It became
clear to me, as a participant, that this was not simply a two-sided issue,
that there were many shades of grey in all of our opinions. Not only
were we given the space and the respect to be heard, but we also had to do
the same for other people. And that was the amazing part: it
became clearer than ever that although some of the other participants held
beliefs that I thought were heinous, it was obvious that they were
struggling to do what was right (just as I was). And we were able to
find some common ground and mutual respect for each other and our positions.
The goal was never to convince the other of our own opinions
(although that is a very tricky thing not to do), but to listen. So it
became a very reflective and reflexive process. I changed in these
dialogues and I know others' testimonies that they did too. It is
through these dialogues, explicitly, that I feel the climate at JTS will
become more open, honest and truly pluralistic. We may not agree with
each other, but we do not have to marginalize others' voices either.
At the same time, we were given the space to safely and respectfully respond
to other people's comments and even to challenge and, in turn, be
challenged. We all left feeling that the time was productive and
healthy. I only wish that more dialogues of this sort were held at
JTS--that they continue. I don't know how else real progress can be
made.
I also had the experience of helping to plan this dialogue. Mitch
Chanin was an incredibly responsible, reliable, passionate and objective
collaborator. I could not recommend him more highly. I could not
recommend the JDG more highly. The dialogue they facilitate is vitally
important.
--Jake Goodman, M.Ed
2007 graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary
