An Orthodox rabbi, Steve Greenberg, officiated at a same-sex wedding.
Greenberg, who is gay, married Yoni Bock and Ron Kaplan at the Sixth & I Synagogue in Washington, D.C. last week, Roee Ruttenberg reported in +972 Magazine, a web publication run by Israeli journalists and bloggers.
It is believed to be the first time an ordained Orthodox rabbi has officiated at a same-sex marriage in the United States.
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.” — jta