Deane H. Shapiro, Jr., Ph. D.
This dialogue on gay and heterosexual relations occurred between 1997-2000, and was prompted by a column and sermon on sexual orientation given by our Temple Rabbi. Allen Krause. A fellow congregant, who was also a friend with whom our families shared a havurah* group for several years publicly expressed concern about the Rabbi’s perspective. I wasn’t aware of this friend’s views in all the years we’d been friends, so I invited her to begin a dialogue– which is included here. I found this material recently (2023) in going through notes for an article/monograph my son, Josh, and I had been working on for the past decade. on inclusivity and co-existence. The intro letter to him summarizes the background to the dialogue. Johanna also shared (2023) her comments on the dialogue.
*A havurah group is a small group of like-minded Jews who assemble to facilitate Shabbat and holiday prayer services and share communal experiences.