There are lots of niche dating sites out there but this has to be the nichiest. Rabbi Arele Harel has set up an online service to fix up gay men and women who are religious so they can raise children together and thus comply with Orthodox tradition. Twelve couples he has paired have married and several have children.

The Associated Press reports that the Israeli rabbi started fixing gay men and lesbians up six years ago but recently a gay religious group, Kamoha, began getting inquiries about Harel’s method and started publicizing his services. The online service went up two weeks ago.

Harel believes that some gay people can change their sexual orientation but, if they can’t and they want to have children, this is a way that allows them to do it in accordance with their religious beliefs.

Jewish law forbids adultery but Harel says that as long as the couples are aware of each other’s activities that having partners outside the married relationship would not be considered adulterous. This wouldn’t be true for straight couples who would be considered sexually compatible.

Harel, for his part, is caught in the middle of two disparate sides on the issue. The AP says “Orthodox Jewish rabbis say Harel should be doing more to encourage gays and lesbians to try to change their sexual orientation. Liberal religious gay groups see Harel's approach as a ploy to suppress homosexuality.”