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D.C. Rabbi To Congregation: 'I Am A Gay Man,' Divorcing Wife Of 20 Years

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The leader of a prominent Washington synagogue is telling thousands of congregants that he is gay and that he and his wife of 20 years are divorcing.

The Washington Post reports Rabbi Gil Steinlauf sent a personal email Monday to the 1,400 households of Adas Israel Congregation saying he would no longer deny his sexuality.

Steinlauf wrote that the dissonance between his inside and outside became intolerable. He says he and his wife, who is also a rabbi, spent three years trying to hold onto their marriage. The father of three teenagers concluded he is gay and that reality wasn't going away.

Steinlauf made news in 2012 when he officiated at the synagogue's first same-sex marriage. He has been at the forefront of Conservative Judaism on embracing same-sex couples.
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(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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