The men’s campus of Yeshiva University in New York City on August 30, 2022. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Re “YU can block LGBTQ club for now, Supreme Court rules” by Louis Keene

To the editor:

Last Friday, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued an order in Yeshiva University v. YU Pride Alliance allowing Yeshiva University to (at least temporarily) refuse to recognize the university’s LGBTQ student club. While “wrong” in a moral sense, at least Justice Sotomayor’s stay of the state court injunction seems in line with past Supreme Court precedents.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Rather, what outrages me is the President of Yeshiva University’s understanding of “Torah values.” While Dr. Rabbi Ari Berman claims YU is committed to a welcoming environment for LGBTQ people, the university’s position in the case reflects his belief that an LGBTQ student club is not “in accordance with our Torah values.”

My understanding of Torah values could not be more different.

Pikuach nefesh, literally “watching over a soul,” is the halachic principle that the preservation of human life overrides nearly any other commandment. Professor Eugene Walls has found that the presence of a gay-straight alliance at a school is correlated with fewer suicides among members of the LGBTQ community. Certainly, pikuach nefesh overrides Dr. Berman’s Torah values.

B’tzelem Elohim, literally “in the image of G-d,” refers to the Jewish belief that every human is divinely created and hence worthy of dignity and respect. Refusing to allow an LGBTQ student organization on campus denies queer students the dignity and respect inherent in defining their own lives on campus.

But these aren’t just Jewish values. They are Jewish duties. Tikkun olam encompasses the idea that Jews do not just have a responsibility to their own Torah values, but to the betterment of society as a whole. Exclusion is antithetical to this and to justice itself. After all, the Torah commands “tzedek tzedek tirdof,” justice, justice you shall pursue.

— Henry Raffel

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount