A Common Bond

By Jen Kracoff
Syracuse University

I can honestly say that it never once occurred to me to not accept homosexuals. I did not realize how uncommon this was until very recently. Throughout my child and teen years, I knew a few people who were gay, certainly knew what being gay was, and definitely knew that not everyone thought being gay was "okay" or "acceptable". But I could not wrap my head around why it would be a problem. If people are happy, they're happy, right? If they are in love, who are we to tell them it's not legitimate? It never made sense to me.

I think that a lot of this stems from the fact that I am Jewish, and the Jewish upbringing that I had. I was taught in an incredible Hebrew School where diversity and tolerance were stressed. We were taught that we as Jews were a minority, but we were also taught that rather than it making us powerless or insignificant, it made us strong. I grew up loving other minorities, because I felt that we had something in common. As a Jew, I was a minority and that made me feel special. I loved sharing that with people I knew who were of other races, ethnicities or sexual orientations.

I have always been incredibly tolerant of everyone. Sadly, the great majority of people I interact with are not. Very few are outwardly racist or homophobic, but it is very easy to put up a façade of, "Yes, of course we would never judge you for being _____" but when it comes down to it, they do treat others differently. They do whisper and they do judge. But I don't. When I have thought about it, I have realized that it is mainly the Jewish people I know, or people of other races or ethnicities, that are more tolerant. Do we minorities have a common bond? Does it make it easier to accept others because we know what it is like to be persecuted?

A common argument is that in the Bible, it more or less states that homosexuality is a sin. But that argument never held much value in my mind, and again, this goes back to my Jewish upbringing. Jews hold their history and values in high regard. However, we are open to questioning, to flexibility, to amendments, to debates. This is something that is highly unique to our religion. Friends of mine who are Catholic cannot imagine a bunch of Jews sitting around a table, debating a historical law. This is something that makes Judaism very special to me; that there are far more questions than there are answers, and there is always more room for interpretation.

Judaism does not maintain perfection. There are laws, customs and beliefs that have been adapted, modified or thrown out all together. With each day, each year, things change and Judaism is ready to roll with that. We stopped doing animal sacrifices. We started ordaining women as rabbis. And we are starting to accept homosexuality. It makes it pretty awesome, don't you think? How special is this religion of ours, to be simultaneously strong in our customs and beliefs, yet flexible in adapting to the times? It makes me so proud and happy to be a part of Judaism.

Jen Kracoff is a native of Natick, Massachusetts and has just finished her junior year at Syracuse University, majoring in communication sciences and disorders.

[Posted 5/23/09]