LGBTQ In Jewish Tradition & Today

Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition
By Rabbi Steven Greenberg
While the tradition refused to relegate scriptural passages into a distant and irrelevant past, it also refused to read the Torah as if it means and has always meant only one thing... If two opposing understandings of Scripture can both be the word of God, there must be no final reading of any verse. All verses in the Torah are pregnant with multiple meanings, some on the surface, some more deeply hidden, and some yet unborn. Traditional reading demands that one approach the verses in Leviticus as covenantal duty... even though they may have meant something particular in the past, they also speak today.

Judaism and the Gays: Part 1 - Dealing with Mishcav Zachar
Moriya Goldberger
DEFINE MISHKAVEI:
The only other time in Tanach where the construct "mishkavei [something]" appears is in the story of Reuven and Bilha. According to the pshat (simple meaning) of the text, Reuven rapes Bilha in an attempt to assert his dominance over his father and to take control as the head of the family. His act is called "mishkavei avicha." Similarly, it seems that here (Leviticus 18 & 20) the phrase "mishkavei isha" refers to violent sex whose express purpose is to increase the power of one of the partners. (There are those who say that Reuven did not go through with the act, but rather made it appear that he did; in any case, there is at the very least what appears to be sex whose only function is to increase the power of the active partner.) This is consistent with the Gemara in Kiddushin 22b that says anal sex is abnormal because there is only benefit for the man (and that creates a power dynamic).
Additionally, "mishkavei avicha" is usually translated as your father's bed which I believe is a misinterpretation... It should be interpreted as the lyings of your father as in when you mounted a woman who sleeps with your father. If we use this reading for Reuven we should be consistent and use it in the case of "mishkavei isha." "Ve'et zachar lo tishcav" - and a man should not lie, "mishcavei isha" - with a man who lies with women (heterosexuals) "toevah hi" - it is an abhorrence. Basically, we are saying that it is an abhorrence for gay men to sleep with heterosexual men. This also fits perfectly with the nature of the word "mishcavei" that is speaking about lying in the "atypical manner" and denotes rape, violence, and abuse of power that we get from the story of Reuven.

A Short History of LGBTQ Rights in Reform Judaism
Rabbi Denise L. Eger, Past President of the CCAR
“The Reform Movement has been an advocate of gay and lesbian rights since 1965, when the Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) passed a resolution calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality. In 1977, the then UAHC (Now URJ) and the CCAR passed their first resolutions dealing with this issue, calling for human rights for homosexuals. Since then, the URJ , CCAR, WRJ, CSA, RAC and NFTY have passed resolutions dealing with issues specific to Reform Judaism, such as inclusion of gays and lesbians in the rabbinate and cantorate, as well as national issues, such as support for civil marriage, elimination of discrimination within the Armed Forces and the Boy Scouts, and support for explicit workplace non-discrimination and civil rights legislation. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual and Transgender outreach and inclusion has been of great importance to the Reform Movement. The UAHC admitted its first special outreach congregation to gays and lesbians in 1973. In the year 2000 the CCAR issued a resolution of support on officiating at same gender marriage and created materials for rabbis. The URJ and CCAR and the RAC filed amici briefs for marriage equality in the Supreme Court and most recently has lobbied Congress on including sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in legislation at the federal level for protecting jobs and housing. The RAC currently is doing major work on protecting trangender rights in the military. And Reform congregations have gathered together in states to fight statewide anti-LGBTQ legislation”