Yeshivat Chovevei Torah has ordained Tadhg Cleary, an out gay man, as a rabbi. This marks the first time an Orthodox rabbinical school in the U.S. has ordained an openly gay individual. “The idea that I wanted to be a rabbi has been with me for a long time,” Cleary, 32, said in an interview. “The thing that I came to realize was that it was not a binary choice — I did not have to distinguish between my life as a frum (observant) person and my life as a gay man. In fact, to live my life fully as a frum person meant to live my life as a gay man, because if the Torah is to speak to us and uplift us and sanctify us, then it must speak to the real us.” Rabbi Tadhg Cleary was ordained in a June 12 ceremony alongside three other graduates at an all-male seminary in Riverdale. #Rabbi #LGBTQNews #LGBTQPositivity #GayRabbi #USNews