By Rabbi Dovid Markel
I find it rather curious and pretty terrrible that rabbis that are self styled champions of Judaism’s ideals are praising the recent ruling of SCOTUS although the ruling is antithetical to various elements of Judaic ethics.
While perhaps one can debate whether or not Judaism recognizes the need for the institution of government and question what the legitimate actions of said government would be–there is no question that Judaism supports the ethical rulings of non-Jewish courts.
The Talmud (Sanhedrin 56a) unequivocally states: “Our Rabbis taught: seven precepts were the sons of Noah commanded: social laws; to refrain from blasphemy, idolatry; immoral sexual relationships; bloodshed; robbery; and eating flesh cut from a living animal.”
It is clear then that the moral duty expressed in Torah is that the very role of judges to not merely uphold the law of the land but a basic system of ethical imperatives–which include proper definitions of sexuality and marriage.
Indeed, on the verse (Bereishit 19:1) “and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.” Rashi comments “On that very day, they had appointed him judge over them.”
The Lubavitcher Rebbe comments on this (Likutei Sichot Vol. 29 Pg. 58) that Rashi was careful to express that he was only appointed that day to teach us that Lot cannot be at fault for the actions of Sodom.
Clearly, Lot was not expected to uphold the evil laws of Sodom but to protest them. The same can be said with the secular judges of today’s courts. Their job is not to sanction sodomite practices but protest them.
Torah understands that these seven laws protect the very fabric of society and only through them can civilization flourish. Included within them is the unambiguous prohibition that marriage is defined by a man marrying a woman.
Though with many commandments the Torah is sometimes unclear, here the verse (Bereishit 2:24) states concerning the definition of marriage: “Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
While it is indeed delusional to assume that secular courts would uphold Judaic law–it is a tremendous shame when “rabbis” jump on the bandwagon of the zeitgeist to support ruling that reflect the particular flavor of the month rather that the hallowed Judaic system of the ethics since time immemorial.
It’s a sad day when rabbis support some twisted idea of liberty rather than the ethos expressed in the Torah.
