Sexual Misconduct: End the silence, institute transparency and create and implement a plan
Thoughts by Rabbi Arthur Waskow posted here:
This kind of behavior did not start with Mordechai Gafni and will probably not end with him. We need to do a series of deep trainings, not only the fullest ethical teaching at the intellectual level but also serious emotional and spiritual training of (a) our teachers & (b) our entire community to make sure that no one claims the spiritual authority to act in this way, that no one succumbs to such a claim, & especially that a demand for silence about such behavior be taken as a signal not of spiritual height and special protection but an alarm bell that something is wrong.
ALL our institutions — not only Jewish progressive and Jewish renewal, not only Jewish, but for sure all our communities of spiritual life — should be planning such workshops. They go to the heart of empowering our WHOLE community not only to act in a more authentically spiritual way in regard to sex but to have fuller intimate knowing (grokking) of ourselves as integral beings in the life and light of the Holy ONE.
I echo this call to action whole-heartedly. Transparency is key here. Silence by leaders in spiritual/religious communities on these matters, given what we've learned about the pervasive nature of this problem in our sexually repressed cultures, should NEVER be permitted. Let both the healing and the action-planning commence...
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