The chosen rabbi: out rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum has led New York's largest LGBT synagogue through AIDS and 9/11--and now she's planning World Pride in Jerusalem. Her new book shares her loving message.

On a recent weekend Sharon Kleinbaum performed a dual bat mitzvah for a pair of twins born on the same day she was named the first rabbi of the New York City-based Congregation Beth Simchat Torah. The twins are part of a rare and wonderful congregation that boasts over 800 households, making it the largest LGBT synagogue in the world. The clergy comprises the out lesbian Kleinbaum as senior rabbi, a heterosexual female associate rabbi, a gay male cantor, and a male transgender rabbinical student. "This is who is up on the bimah [a synagogue's raised platforin where the Torah is read]. What does it mean for a kid to see clergy up there, all of us being totally out and visible?" says Kleinbaum. "That's the revolution. It's a very exciting community to be a part of."

Growing up in a Conservative home and attending an Orthodox yeshiva in Paramus, N.J., Kleinbaum never imagined she'd one day become a rabbi--after all, the United States's first female rabbi wasn't ordained until 1972. Even when she entered rabbinical college in 1985, Kleinbaum wasn't sure she would ever lead a congregation. "If I was going to become a leader in the Jewish community and in the religious community, it had to be on my terms," she says. "I had to not silence a part of me."

Even so, Kleinbaum was daunted in 1992 when Beth Simchat offered her the job. In the 19 years since its founding, the congregation had never had a rabbi, and nearly everyone she knew had warned against accepting the position. "This congregation was re puted to be pretty contentious and very opinionated," Kleinbaum explains. "No one could imagine them accepting leadership."

She has not only endured but thrived, leading Beth Simchat through some of New York City's most difficult times the AIDS epidemic and the events of September 11, 2001. With the West Village synagogue being a mile north of the World Trade Center, "we literally watched it happen--we could smell it for weeks afterward. Our community was profoundly affected," Kleinbaum says. "The question is, Where do we get the strength to persevere? We are mortal. We will die. But we can still have the strength to survive collectively. That's what Jews have been able to do throughout the centuries, and that's what gay people have learned to do through the AIDS crisis. We have to be spiritually prepared and have hope in the future."

It is this wise, cautious optimism that largely informs the 12 drashot--sermons--Kleinbaum has collected (along with two speeches) in a self-published book titled Listening for the Oboe to commemorate her first 10 years at Beth Simchat. "Part of my job is being an interpreter of the Talmud, to make sure that our community understands that these traditions can speak to our community and make a difference in our lives. People should feel comfortable embracing sexuality as part of their spirituality."

In the current climate it appears that religion has been "hi-jacked by the homophobes," says Kleinbaum, which is why she is serving as the North American cochairperson of World Pride 2006, an interfaith LGBT festival and conference to be held in Jerusalem August 6-12. The holy city has had four gay pride parades but saw violence erupt this past summer when an ultra-Orthodox man stabbed three paradegoers. Originally scheduled for August 2005, World Pride had already generated opposition among religious officials when Israel announced the Gaza Strip pullout. Amid the resulting political tensions, World Pride was deferred until 2006.

"Homophobes don't have a monopoly on morality or God, and their bigotry is not going to define us or tell us where or when we can gather," says Kleinbaum. The six-day event will include an academic conference, a film festival, the first-ever interfaith LGBT Clergy Conference, historical lectures, and tours, among many other activities. "It's not like a big pride party at all," she notes.

"They're saying, 'You wanna be gay? Go to Tel Aviv or go to San Francisco, but don't do it here.' Well, guess what? We have to do it in Jerusalem, because that's exactly where they need us. We are not going to allow their bigotry to determine who belongs to Jerusalem. Jerusalem belongs to all of us. Tolerance is holy."

Bolonik is coauthor of Frugal Indulgents: How to Cultivate Decadence When Your Age and Salary Are Under 30.