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EST 1917

Orthodox rabbi officiates at same sex-wedding in D.C.

An Orthodox rabbi, Steve Greenberg, officiated at a same-sex wedding.

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(JTA) — An Orthodox rabbi, Steve Greenberg, officiated at a same-sex wedding.

Greenberg, who is openly gay, married Yoni Bock and Ron Kaplan at the 6th & I Synagogue in Washington last week, Roee Ruttenberg reported in +972 Magazine.

The ceremony was held under a chuppah and included the breaking of a glass and the exchanging of rings. The ketubah, or marriage contract, was replaced with a Shtar Shetufim, or partnership contract.

"We were encouraged by the legislation of same-sex marriage in our home ‘state’ of Washington, D.C.,” Bock and Kaplan wrote in a guide to the ceremony, according to Ruttenberg. “At the same time, both of us wanted a ceremony that would be meaningful halachically (in terms of religious Jewish law) and create a set of Jewish legal obligations between us."

It is believed to be the first time that an ordained Orthodox rabbi has officiated at a same-sex marriage in the United States.
 

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