NY Orthodox synagogue openly welcomes LGBT community
“LGBT Jews who are Orthodox want a place in Orthodox Judaism.”
By BART JONES/NEWSDAY
(TNS) - An Orthodox synagogue in West Hempstead, NY is openly welcoming LGBT Jews, a rare public embrace that religious experts see as groundbreaking.Kehilat Ahavat Yisrael opened in December and is holding services once a month that have drawn as many as 100 from both the LGBT and straight communities, said Shlomit Metz-Poolat, a lesbian who is the synagogue's president and a co-founder.Orthodox Judaism doesn't condone homosexual relationships, which Metz-Poolat said keeps many LGBT Jews away from services. And those who do go to a synagogue, she said, usually stay silent about their sexual orientation because they fear either losing their membership or not getting an offer to join."You're welcome," she said, "just be quiet about it."Metz-Poolat lost her own membership at a synagogue she had attended for nearly two decades after her marriage to another woman became public. Without a place to worship, she pushed ahead with a plan to establish a synagogue where everyone would be welcome. The congregation meets at Wing Wan, a glatt kosher Chinese restaurant, while it looks for a permanent location. “LGBT Jews who are Orthodox want a place in Orthodox Judaism,” Metz-Poolat said. “Because this is the only Judaism we know, and it is beautiful to us.”A top official of the Rabbincal Council of America, an organization of orthodox rabbis nationwide, believes Kehilat Ahavat Yisrael stands out because it is more vocal about its acceptance of LGBT Jews but doesn't see it as unusual.“There are many synagogues around Long Island and even in West Hempstead that have members who are gay and welcome them and where members who are gay feel comfortable,” said Rabbi Mark Dratch.But to others also knowledgeable about Orthodox Judaism, Kehilat Ahavat Yisrael is extraordinary.Rabbi Tuvia Teldon of Commack compares the synagogue with the Orthodox Chabad movement, which reaches out to a wide variety of Jews including those who aren't observant, have left Jewish life altogether or are in interfaith marriages.