Soul-searching: Congregation's choice as 'best rabbi' happens to be a lesbian

There is a confidence and a sincerity that emanate from Rabbi Tracee Rosen when she anticipates how her life in Utah will play out as leader of the state's largest Jewish congregation.

Her honesty in "coming out with myself" as a lesbian in the past few years has given her a perspective on inner struggle and searching for peace. And it's clear that she views her gender as an asset in what has for centuries been a male vocation, reading Torah and preparing sermons that seek to imbue congregants with God's presence as something intimate and personal.

So she believes that the majority of Congregation Kol Ami is ready to embrace not only her gender and sexual orientation but the gifts of spirit she brings to the job.

"I think there are some people in the congregation that will need to be won over, but that's obviously not the majority," she said, anticipating the questions that come with her status as Utah's most visible Jewish leader.

Rabbi Rosen's recent selection comes at a time when the national spotlight has been focused on the place of gays and lesbians in most major denominations, and what role, if any, a candidate's homosexuality should play in selecting church leadership.

Utah's Episcopal Bishop, Carolyn Tanner Irish, has come out strongly in favor of the controversial ordination of New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson during that faith's General Convention earlier this month. While the move angered conservatives in the United States and abroad, it brought no visible negative reaction from local Episcopalians or any other faith group.

Rabbi Rosen said while there has been some measure of concern over her appointment, the openness of the congregation here made the decision to leave Southern California much easier.

"I was elected as rabbi with an 80 percent mandate. That's something most politicians never experience," she smiles. "Listen, it's normal for any rabbi to face opposition for a variety of reasons. Part of my task is to educate, and part of my task will be to be me.

"Some people will love that and others will be looking for a new synagogue. I hope it's the minority in the latter category."

In fact, she believes that's exactly the way it will be. Despite the state's conservative culture, she said she has felt at home here ever since she first became acquainted with the synagogue's 25-member search committee.