Rabbi Elliot Dorff, vice chairman of the Law Committee and a widely respected scholar, supports ordaining gays, saying "it is simply not natural" to demand that gays and lesbians remain celibate.

"We have to interpret God's will in our time," Dorff said. He's confident that synagogues will realize that they share too much to let disputes over homosexuality divide them.

Dorff and Roth are traveling with Epstein to explain their differing interpretations of Jewish law. Along with presentations in Toronto and New York last month, the trio plan to speak in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

The debate focuses on the significance of Leviticus 18:22, which states "Do not lie with a male as one lies with a woman," and 20:13, which says such an act is punishable by death.

The last major Law Committee vote on gay relationships came in 1992, when the panel voted 19-3, with one abstention, that Jewish law barred openly gay students from enrolling in seminaries and prohibited rabbis from officiating at gay union ceremonies.

In the latest discussion, the 25-member committee is considering legal papers called "teshuvot," for and against change. Each policy needs six votes to be accepted by the movement. Although it occurs rarely, more than one opinion can be endorsed, leaving synagogues and seminaries to decide which to follow. That is the result Epstein expects.

Arnold Eisen, incoming chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, the flagship school for Conservative Judaism, personally supports ordaining gays. But he plans to discuss the issue with faculty and students before any admissions rules are changed.

The University of Judaism in Los Angeles, which also trains Conservative rabbis, says only that it will follow whatever policy the Law Committee adopts. However, Dorff serves as the school's rector and many expect the seminary will admit openly gay students if the panel allows it.

The conflict over homosexuality within Conservative Judaism mirrors the battles over ordaining gays that are dividing mainline Protestant groups including The Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Dozens of individual churches are leaving the Christian denominations because of the disputes.

Roth says many Conservative Jewish synagogues already know their position on the issue, but he says others will be confused and conflicted after the Law Committee votes.

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