Being Gay, Jewish: A Lot In Common -- Mostly-Homosexual Congregation Has `Different Perspective'

David and Jonathan. Naomi and Ruth. Gay and lesbian couples in the Bible? Maybe.

In Seattle, Jeff Moses is not a maybe. Now in the 10th year of a relationship with another man, he is vice president of Congregation Tikvah Chadashah, a gay and lesbian Jewish congregation where all are welcome.

"It's a bunch of people with sometimes a wicked sense of humor," said Moses, 51. "Being gay and being Jewish have a lot of things in common."

For example, both groups are outsiders in a larger community, he said.

"Being Jewish in a Christian community lets us (Jews) see things that Christians don't see because they are in the middle of it. We contribute to their understanding of what's going on," Moses said.

"I think likewise, gay people in the Jewish community - which is overwhelmingly heterosexual - see things from a slightly different perspective."

Tikvah Chadashah's Friday night services, held twice a month at Prospect United Church of Christ on Capitol Hill, would be recognized by any Jew raised in the Conservative movement. Hebrew songs welcome the Friday Sabbath.

Prayers also are offered in the ancient language, with readings interspersed in English.

Soon though, differences start to come to light.

Unlike most Jewish congregations, Tikvah Chadashah has no rabbi or regular cantor. And there is no formal seating; the 14 members at one recent service pushed chairs and couches into a circle in the parlor of the church, chosen over area synagogues because there were no Friday-night conflicts.

But the biggest difference is demonstrated when Norm Schwab and his partner, Joe Burke, put their arms around each other. That act would be considered an abomination by Orthodox Jews, though more accepted by less conservative Jewish groups.

Schwab, who grew up in a Conservative household in Denver, moved to Seattle 22 years ago and works as a legislative analyst for the Seattle City Council.

His potato pancakes helped cement Tikvah Chadashah's formation in December 1980, when a group met in a Capitol Hill apartment to plan a Hanukkah party - and to consider the need for a gay and lesbian congregation.

"At this point I had been feeling disconnected from the Jewish community," recalled Schwab, who acknowledged his homosexuality in 1976. "There was also the issue of being out of the closet. So we wanted a place away from the Jewish community."

Others felt the same way.

The first services were held in private homes. As the attitudes of outsiders changed, the group grew. "Now people are much more open about being gay," Schwab said.

There are 52 addresses on the Tikvah Chadashah mailing list. The membership is mainly gay and lesbian, although some heterosexuals and one family attend the congregation's services.

"The decision is that we are a place that serves gay and lesbian Jews," Schwab said. "But we are a place where all are welcome."

"Part of the groundwork in this community was set by David Serkin-Poole," said Jack, 47, who sometimes acts as the cantor, or musical leader, during Tikvah Chadashah services. Jack - a public school teacher - asked that his last name not be published.

Serkin-Poole "was kind of a pioneer in this area, getting everyone's initial shocks over with," he said.

Serkin-Poole, 43, thinks he is the first leader in a U.S. synagogue to publicly acknowledge his sexual preference and stay in his job.

The turning point came in 1986 at the annual meeting for Mercer Island's Temple B'nai Torah, a Reform synagogue. Serkin-Poole had worked there for about five years as a cantor and sometimes as a fill-in rabbi.

"I said, `First I have an apology to a congregation that has meant so much to me, where I have not been fully truthful with you. I have come to tell you about my loving, committed relationship to a man,' " he said, recalling his two-minute explanation.

"There was a standing ovation," he said. But some people left the congregation after his disclosure.

Schwab hopes Tikvah Chadashah will fade into oblivion as homosexuality becomes more accepted, but Serkin-Poole expects the need for such a group to continue.

"The fact of the matter is, there will always be the next generation of gay kids," he says. "In an ideal world everybody loves each other and everyone gets along. And when the Messiah comes, it will all happen."

As for rumors about the sexual preferences of biblical figures David and Jonathan and Naomi and Ruth, Serkin-Poole explains:

"There's so little for gay and lesbians to hold onto in the traditional texts. . . . People are trying to find something that reflects them. You see the story of David and Jonathan and say, `I can relate to that.' So, when I read the David and Jonathan story, there is a little bit of me."

The Seattle group is one of dozens worldwide. The World Congress of Gay and Lesbian Jewish Organizations now has more than 65 members. It was formed in 1980, after gay and lesbian groups were established in London, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, San Francisco and Miami.

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Jewish movements and homosexuality

The four main Jewish movements differ significantly in their perspective on homosexuality.

-- The nation's 400,000 Orthodox Jews consider homosexual behavior an abomination forbidden by the Torah.

-- The Conservative movement, followed by 2 million U.S. Jews, holds that people are entitled to their own sexuality, though there are no openly gay or lesbian Conservative rabbis or cantors.

-- Reform Judaism, representing about 1.4 million U.S. Jews, has accepted gay and lesbian rabbis since 1990. Last year, its Central Conference of American Rabbis voted to support same-sex civil marriages and to oppose state government efforts to ban such unions. Many reform rabbis perform commitment ceremonies.

-- The most liberal group, Reconstructionists, is also one of the smallest, at 40,000 members. They don't consider homosexuality an issue, saying equality - in every aspect - is part of their philosophy.

Associated Press