Rabbi Staub explores the challenge of the “black and white” nature of the text – “I set before you a blessing and a curse.” He observes that the text also states that our ancestors were given the land to possess conditionally, along with the commandment to destroy all places of worship of the people whom we would dispossess. Rabbi Staub points out that the parashah provides a basis for intolerant self-righteousness. The queer perspective actually questions all norms, because they subvert any assumption that some values are timeless and true Read the article