Orthodox Rabbi Lives By Leviticus

Anonymous Rabbi R loves his faith – and men. Quite a conundrum for an Orthodox Jew living in Israel, where R hopes to change conservative minds about the gays. Even if he does succeed, R still promises to follow Jewish religious law and abstain from same-sex sex. “He lives with another observant Jewish man in what he describes as a romantic but celibate relationship, and one that is not flaunted in public. Even so, R says “we are part of the religious world and we plan to stay there.” He reiterates his own celibacy and says that a group he has co-founded — HOD — toes the line on that… HOD is the Hebrew acronym for religiously observant homosexuals; ironically, it is also a Hebrew word meaning “splendor”.” [AFP]