**_A well-told love story, set against a background of religious orthodoxy_** > _An important point to make from the outset is that Jewish law does_ not _teach that it is forbidden to be a homosexual. On the contrary, Jewish law is concerned not with the source of a person's erotic urges nor with inner feelings, but with acts. The Torah forbids the homosexual_ act_, known as_ mishkav zakhar_, but has nothing to say about homosexuality as a state of being or a personal inclination._ > _In other words, traditionally, a person with a homosexual inclination can be an entirely observant Jew a...