A new home

I used to run the Orthodykes website. The problem is, I haven't updated it in years. I never seem to get around to it. And I get e-mails pretty regularly asking me when there are going to be updates.

The subject of lesbianism and halakha has been raised time and again on my blog Lamrot Hakol, and it really doesn't belong there. So I thought creating this blog would have the dual function of providing a place for people to comment on the subject and a place where I can update the content more easily and more frequently.

One of the things I would like to do here is discuss the actually halakhic issues involved. Far too much is said about the subject without sources. And while public policy might be a legitimate realm of discussion for community leaders, it really isn't the business of the average frum Jew. What I mean by this is simple: no one has a right, based on his or her own reasoning, to treat a fellow frum Jew like a pariah.

I will be doing more than merely citing sources. I will show you the sources, in full. And if you think I've misinterpreted something, and can show me that this is the case, I'll post your point in a blog entry as a clarification.

The important thing is to have the Torah inform our judgements, rather than using the Torah to support our judgements. I'll be open and honest about the fact that it would make my life a lot simpler if the Torah didn't say what it says. But then, there are many ways in which my life would be simpler if the Torah was different than it is. And I'm sure that's true for most people. And there are those whose response to this is to try and make the Torah say something other than what it does. So as to make their lives easier. This is the wrong way to deal with the Torah. As inconvenient as the halakha may be to someone, it is what it is.

In Pirkei Avot 2:4, we learn:

"He [Rabban Gamliel] used to say, do His will as your will, in order that He will do your will as His will. Cancel your will before His will, in order that He will cancel the will of others before your will."

That's a pretty intense concept, but a relatively simple one, as well. If you work on yourself and try and want what Hashem wants, then by definition, what He does will be what you want. It's the polar opposite of "making God in your own image," which is such a common failing among people these days.

In addition to addressing the basic halakhic issues involved, I'm going to try and answer the obvious question: Why say anything? Why not just shut up and live our lives privately? Why raise this issue publically? That's a legitimate question (even if it's often asked for reasons that aren't all that legitimate), and it's one that I intend to address.

I may add other women to this blog as well, if they have material to offer on the subject. We'll see how it goes.