The Ayelet Cohen controversy
January 17, 2005
Dan Rosan alerted me to this story about Rabbi Ayelet Cohen, a Conservative rabbi who may lose her standing within her movement. Depending on who one asks, that's either because she didn't jump through some beaurocratic hoops, or it's because she's too outspoken an advocate for GLBT Jews. The New York Times just ran a pretty informative piece about it, which begins:
A rabbi who has officiated at the marriage of gay and lesbian couples has been threatened with expulsion from the Conservative movement's rabbinical association, though movement officials say it is not her activism that is at issue but her repeated defiance of the movement's rules.
(Read the whole thing here. Registration required; if you're not a subscriber, you can also read it here.)
Rabbi Cohen serves a denominationally-unaffiliated gay and lesbian congregation, which she has called her dream job. As this piece notes, GLBT shuls can't technically join the Conservative movement, so Rabbi Cohen had to get a special waiver to work there. She didn't get it renewed in time, and that may be coming back to bite her now. The question is, is her standing in jeopardy because she didn't dot her i's and cross her t's, or is it her radicalism that's gotten her in trouble?
The Rabbinical Assembly says she neglected to abide by organizational standards when she failed to apply to renew the waiver required for her to keep her current position. Rabbi Cohen's supporters are crying foul, implying that the waiver is a pretext and that she's actually being ostracized for her outspoken support of GLBT Jews. Rabbi Cohen wants to make use of the takkanah, the right of rabbinic authorities to "uproot" a law, in order to change how traditional Judaism regards queerness. She has been active in creating liturgies and rituals for GLBT Jews, and has spoken freely about her desire to see the movement change its policies.
In 2003, Rabbi Cohen delivered the keynote address at Tse Ulemad ("Come Out and Learn"), a "day of learning about sexual orientation and halakha in the Conservative Movement". In that address, she argued that gay and lesbian Jews must no longer be relegated to second-class status:
We are turning Jews away from our institutions and that is turning them away from the Conservative Movement and from Jewish life. We all know that we cannot afford to lose people in this day and age. We cannot afford to close the doors of our synagogues and schools on Jews who want access.
And it doesn't have to be like this. We are the Conservative Movement. Who understands better than we that halakhah is vital--in both of its meanings: absolutely essential and completely alive. We do not fear approaching text with hard questions and innovative readings. We are uniquely placed to read both our sacred texts and the world around us with a sophistication, a critical eye and a reverence that does not inhibit our minds but deepens our thirst for understanding. If we feel in our hearts that this situation is unconscionable, if we wonder about the gap between our civic values and our religious laws, there is no one more qualified then we to meet that challenge.
I'm not a part of the Conservative movement, and I don't know what the "real" story is behind her RA standing (or lack thereof). But from what I've gathered, Ayelet Cohen sounds like a remarkable woman, a dedicated Jew, and an admirable rabbi. I think excluding her would be a loss for the Conservative movement.
If any of my readers can shed more light on what's going on, I'd appreciate that.