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When I was fifteen years old, I joined the Boy Scouts of America for a brief time. I remember raising my fingers and reciting the Scout Oath:
On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty
To God and my country
And to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.
And I remember learning the Scout Law:
Nine years ago, James Dale, an assistant scout master, was removed from his troop after organizational leaders discovered that he was gay. Mr. Dale sued the BSA and in 1999 the New Jersey State Supreme Court ruled in his favor. The court perceived the BSA as "a place of public accommodation" because it has broad-based membership and forms partnerships with public entities like the police and fire departments. Therefore, the Court decided, the scouts were subject to State laws and cannot deny any person "advantages, facilities and privileges" on account of sexual orientation.
The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and the final ruling was issued in favor of BSA based on the scouts' argument that homosexuality was in direct conflict with its own guiding principles. The vote on the Supreme Court was 5-4. This ruling allowed the BSA to continue to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
In late January of this year, the UAHC Commission on Social Action urged all Reform congregations to withhold sponsorship of scout troops, or packs. In addition, parents with children in non-Reform affiliated troops were encouraged to withdraw their children from these troops.
In my absence, Rabbi Dubowe and Cantor Halpern took the lead in bringing this issue to the attention of our congregation. It is a credit to their leadership that they took on this responsibility with such professionalism and sensitivity. They created dialogues with scouting families within our congregation. The response from the ranks of TAE ranged from one family removing their son from his scout troop to at least two families resigning from the congregation proclaiming our position to be "politically correct."
When it came time to plan for this year's High Holidays, the Social Action Committee leadership took a very clear position which I strongly support; that we would not invite the Boy Scouts to collect our bags of food for MANNA as we have in years past. And so this year we have invited the Girl Scouts to collect the bags of food, since their national organization has no such discriminatory policy.
Why is this such a difficult subject? I will tell you why. It is difficult because, in general, there is no finer organization than the Boy Scouts of America. I have witnessed over the years how it has molded young boys to become excellent citizens of this country, by which I mean people with good values, with a good work ethic, people who actively participate in the democratic process. They create wonderful life experiences, bringing these boys closer to nature, helping them to become more respectful of others and more positive about life! We are not talking about an organization that is rife with problems. Not at all. We are talking about an organization that builds leadership. We have had in the past and we have currently, dedicated members of our own congregation who have devoted themselves to the Boy Scouts of America. I have seen the quality of their programming. I have seen some of the results of their leadership. I have over the years worked with numerous young men working for one of the several Jewish scouting awards including the Maccabee award, the Aleph award, the Ner Tamid award and the Etz Chaim award. I have seen so many benefits of the work of this organization. So why attack this organization because of a singular flaw — after all, most every organization is flawed in some way.
You know that I lived in Tennessee for four years. What a fabulous part of the country. I lived in the tri-state corner of the state which borders with Arkansas and Mississippi — tied together by the great Mississippi River. There are people with economic vision in that community. Holiday Inn was born in Memphis. Federal Express began there with its central hub adjacent to the Memphis Airport. You cannot find nicer people than those in Memphis, Tennessee! Southern hospitality is alive and well and southern cooking is not to be believed! There was just this one problem there which is both historic and current related to racism. And even though they have made great strides since the 1950's in the area of racial discrimination, there remains two segregated communities within a single community. I found the need to make my own personal statements, both from the pulpit and in my private life to indicate my disgust with, what was then, the status quo.
And I am vehemently opposed to the status quo in the Boy Scouts of America! Now how can I, as a rabbi — somebody who knows the Bible fairly well — how can I, of all people, "knowing" what the Torah says about homosexuality — how can I defend the rights of the Gays in our society? Surely I've read the book of Leviticus where it says, "If a man lies with a male as one lies with a woman, the two of them have done an abhorrent thing." So where do I get the chutzpah to defend homosexuals? There are many answers to this question:
The rabbis did not remain silent on this because their conscience dictated otherwise. Hence the rabbis created a midrash which has Moses saying to God, "This is not fair, Master of the universe. Amon was a wicked king, but his son, Josiah, was a righteous man. Achaz was a wicked king, but Hezekiah, his son, was righteous. Terach was an idol worshipper, but his son, Abraham, was the founder of monotheism." And how does the midrash have God responding to Moses? "You have taught Me, my son, by your life and I will cancel My words and confirm your words, as it is written in Deuteronomy (24:16), "The father shall not be put to death for the children; neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers."
Rabbi Abraham Kook, of blessed memory, was once the Chief Rabbi of Israel. He wrote (in his book Orot Ha-kodesh, 3:11),
What does that mean for you? It means that if your conscience balks at a scripture or rabbinic judgement, then stop, look at it even harder and search out its meaning, but do not stand idly by the literal reading of the verse.
In the days that the Bible was canonized, the rabbis knew little about the causes of homosexuality. Even today, in the words of Rabbi Harold Schulweis (who has addressed this issue from the pulpit), "we are still in the infant stages of darkness." And he is right. There is no consistency even on a definition. For example if a man ONLY entertains notions of being intimate with another man 10% of the time, does that make him gay? If he thinks about it 35% of the time, is he gay? What if he thinks about it 80% of the time and never acts on his thoughts, is he gay then? What about the man who chooses to have the experience one time, though he is not sensually drawn to men in general?
For men AND women, scientists are now telling us that there is an entire continuum along which we all find ourselves in regards to sexual attraction. So where is the line drawn? The fact is that we still do not fully understand homosexuality. What we do know is this: Homosexuals — gays and lesbians — exist — good people, bad people, people like you and me.
The Talmud (Baba Batra, 43a) addresses rabbis and says the following, "You have to judge according to that which you see with your own eyes." What do I see with my eyes? I see a group of people who continue to be marginalized by many in our society. I see that group being the scapegoat goat of society — just last week Jerry Falwell blamed the attack, in part, on the existence of homosexuals in our society. My eyes see people who are the targeted victims of homicide simply for what they are and who have among the highest rates of suicide. I see gays and lesbians still experiencing humiliation, rejection and denigration. Especially in the case of the Boy Scouts of America, I see a group of people, who are no threat to anybody else, young or old, experiencing that same humiliation, rejection and denigration. And who are these people? These are men and women. These are people who we know, people with whom we work, family members.
So it is with full authority and in fact responsibility on my part as a rabbi that I denounce the Boy Scouts of America for their treatment of gays. In my estimation, they betray their own code of conduct with this policy. In regards to the Scout Law that teaches about being morally straight, a person who is gay is not, therefore morally crooked. He is just another human being. And as for the Scout Law — when an organization discriminates against gays, it is neither trustworthy, nor is it helpful. It is not friendly, nor is it courteous. And most definitely, it is not kind.
Tomorrow, after the 2nd morning service, there will be a discussion on the subject of how we treat each other in society, with an emphasis on how Moslems and people of Moslem appearance are being treated as well as this subject of Gays and their treatment by the Boy Scouts of America. The discussion will be led by a member of our own congregation, Jerry Lasnik. And so I urge you to search your own soul on these issues, to inquire with your intellect, to discuss with others.
Amen
27 September 2001
Rabbi Greenbaum has been at Temple Adat Elohim (Thousand Oaks, CA) since 1984. This sermon was presented to his congregation at the evening services for the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), on 26 September 2001. It appears on this Web site with his permission.
In 2003, however, I noticed that the Boy Scouts were again participating in our Yom Kippur food drive. This prompted an exchange of E-mail between Rabbi Greenbaum and me.
