“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time,” Rabbi Wolpe said. “I was doing it on my internal timetable in the synagogue, which was to try to bring people along slowly because I knew this would be very difficult for many people. I think it’s the most controversial thing I’ve ever done or will do.”

The decision by Rabbi Wolpe, who has been at this synagogue for 15 years and is one of the country’s best known rabbis, was very much in accordance with other Conservative congregations. Conservative Judaism is perched between the more liberal Reform and Reconstructionist movements, which have long accepted gay clergy members, and the Orthodox, which rejects it.

Some Conservative congregations have gay rabbis and cantors. But the announcement and its aftermath served as a reminder of one of the things that distinguish Sinai Temple and nearby Beverly Hills: a heavy and at times insular presence of Persians, as many call themselves, and many of them are fiercely protective of their past and religious beliefs.

At Saturday services last week, the roll call of deceased members read off during the memorial conclusion of the service, in preparation for the chanting of the mourners’ Kaddish, was rich with Persian names, a notable addition to the usual roster of names like Abramowitz and Schwartz. And the girl who read from the Torah to observe her bat mitzvah was the daughter of Persian immigrants.

The resistance Rabbi Wolpe is finding among Persian Jews is, like much of the country, generational. Rabbi Ed Feinstein of Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, which also has a significant Persian population, said that he has long performed same-sex ceremonies, without any pushback.

“In my experience, it’s all about generations,” Rabbi Feinstein said in an e-mail. “First-generation Persian Jews, immigrants who were raised in the Moslem culture of Iran, have very strong prejudices against gays and lesbians, along with other strong feelings about matters such as women’s roles in families and society, families’ control over the lives of kids, roles of husbands and wives, etc. Second-generation American Persian Jews, raised in the U.S. and generally college educated, have very different opinions.”

And the decision has backing among some Persian members of Sinai. “There are some people who are not yet ready to accept nontraditional views,” said Dora Kadisha, a member of the congregation. “But we cannot look the other way knowing that within our community we do have gays and lesbians. We have to embrace them not only in the families but in our congregations.”