The Kedoshim T'hiyu conference, aimed at acquainting community rabbis with the issue of gender disorientation from a Torah perspective, took place today (Tuesday) at the initiative of the Association of Congregational Rabbis and the "b'Kedusha" Center.
Among the participants were Rabbi Ariel Harel, Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Dr. Eliyahu Ackerman, and Rabbi Nir Manusi, teacher of Hassidut, lecturer in theology, and son of Didi Manussi.
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu said at the conference that "same-sex relations are a tendency that one must not accept as one does not accept the tendency to obesity, etc. The rabbis who deal with opposite tendencies must be acquainted with as many studies and professionals as possible who know the origin of such negative inclination and know how to cure it.
"In recent years there has been an attempt to silence these professionals, and we must also strengthen the rabbis and professionals so that they will be able to express their professional and Torah views without fear."
Rabbi Araleh Harel referred to the professional position that rejects the conversion treatments, "The research literature is funded and coordinated. You have to know that there are many types of attractions, and not everyone who feels some slight attraction to his own sex is considered "gender confused" despite that research papers like to include them so as to produce more significant data.
"It is not clear how a religious person who is attracted to men and women can demand religious legitimization for his actions ... Many times, boys choose to shape their tendencies out of lack of understanding or other factors, until ultimately they have no choice," noted Rabbi Harel.
According to him, "there is no sexually-devoid relationship in the Torah, and therefore there is no legitimacy for relationship between men, according to the Torah. The Torah opposes not only male relations but also male relationships. There is absolute negation of this, and there is no rabbi who permits it. Rabbis refer people to secular psychologists and thereby commit a critical mistake; the secular psychologists consider this to be a good thing, and army psychologists actively convince young men that they are homosexual. They do not understand the religious language. They do not understand what a religious person is coping with.
"There are religious organizations that perpetrate terror. They are convinced that it is permitted and that it is okay and legitimate ... The rabbis must recognize this and know how to respond. On the other hand, there are positive organizations like Camocha which are committed to halakha and it is important that the rabbis recognize and cooperate with them. It is forbidden to use the word 'perverts'. The media and the public respect us if we use respectful terms; we have to remove humiliating words from the lexicon, and we have to speak the language of the Torah.
"The Torah opposes all sexual activism, but there is also a Torah commandment to help people ... We want to establish support groups for religious boys, but there is no funding, the Education Ministry does not want to hear about it," he added. "The rabbis themselves have to be attentive and sometimes to house boys who have been thrown out of their own homes because of their sexual orientation."
Dr. Eliahu Ackerman also addressed the conference on the professional polemic in the field, "I am against the concept of conversion treatments. But we can help people who turn to us, even though they try to portray it as illegal. There are men who suffer greatly, with no day life and no night life. They sit in yeshiva or youth movements, they look fine, but they are alone with themselves, and experience one big nightmare, a kind of split personality. We need good professionals, we need to learn a lot. There are people and leaders with incredible ignorance. The treatment requires skill, professionalism, love, and a lot of work.
"It is a matter of life and death. People open up to the community rabbi - with the right response he can lift him up and propel him forward; with the wrong response, he falls. The community, the rabbi of the community have power. The rabbi of the community has to accompany them, to be in touch with the patient and the caregivers. Encouragement, hope, trust in the ability to change and go forward," added Dr. Ackerman.