Is there any hip ethical movement in Modern Orthdooxy that Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld is not a leader of?
WASHINGTON (JTA) — An Orthodox rabbi spoke out against anti-gay rhetoric in the Orthodox community at a Washington vigil mourning two Jews slain at a gay center in Tel Aviv.
"It’s time to do some internal accounting" as to whether such "rhetoric has created this climate" that allows for violence and "vilification" of gays and lesbians, Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld of Ohev Sholom — The National Synagogue said Monday night at the candlelight vigil.
Herzfeld called for the Orthodox community to create a "communal pledge" that "we will not create a climate of gay bashing" and "enforce it."
In an interview after his speech, Herzfeld did note that homosexuality was "prohibited by the Torah," but said at the same time that crimes like the murders Saturday evening in Israel were "a desecration of God’s name."
