Steven Greenberg (rabbi)
Encyclopedia
Steven Greenberg is an American
rabbi
. He is generally described as the first openly gay Orthodox Jewish
rabbi. His being an Orthodox rabbi is disputed by some Orthodox Jews since he publicly disclosed he was gay in an article in the Israel
i newspaper Maariv in 1999 and participated in the 2001 documentary film about homosexual men and women raised in the Orthodox Jewish world “Trembling Before G-d
”.
Greenberg is a Senior Teaching Fellow and Director of Diversity Project at CLAL – the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
, and the author of the book “Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition” which received the prestigious Koret Jewish Book Award
for Philosophy and Thought in 2005.
. When he was about 15, he began studying with an Orthodox rabbi. He attended Yeshiva University
in New York
as an undergraduate and then as a rabbinical student. When he was 20, he went to study at the Yeshivat Har Etzion
, a hesder yeshiva
in the West Bank
near Jerusalem. He received his BA
in philosophy
from Yeshiva University, and his rabbinic ordination from the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (RIETS) in 1983.
While at Yeshivat Har Etzion, he was attracted to a fellow student and concluded that he was bisexual. He went to consult with rabbi Yosef Sholom Eliashiv
, a respected old rabbi in Jerusalem, telling him: “Master, I am attracted to both men and women. What shall I do?” And the rabbi replied according to Greenberg: “My dear one, my friend, then you have twice the power of love. Use it carefully.” Greenberg remembers that he left with the trust that it would all work out. However, he realised that the rabbi wasn't permitting him to have sex with men, but was telling him that his desire was not ugly in and of itself.
Greenberg did not admit he was gay until he was 28, and even afterwards continued to date women for another seven years. In 1993 he wrote the article “Gayness and God”, admitting he was gay, and published it under the pseudonym
“Yaakov Levado” (meaning Jacob alone) in Tikkun magazine, but only came out six years later in an article titled “In the name of partnership” published in the Israeli daily newspaper Maariv on March 5, 1999.
on Roosevelt Island
. Since 1985, he is a Senior Teaching Fellow and Director of Diversity Project at CLAL – the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
, an interdenominational Jewish think tank
, leadership training institute, and resource center. He is the director of Orthodox programs for Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture & Spirituality, an organization which builds community for GLBT Jews, partners, and allies, and serves on the board of Eshel, an organization that works to build community for gays and lesbians in the Orthodox world. From 1996 to 1998 he spent two years in Jerusalem on a fellowship from the Mandel Institute
, studying educational policy issues and researching rabbinic attitudes toward homosexuality.
Greenberg is a frequent commentator for the media and has published several articles on Jewish law and church and state issues. His book “Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition” published in 2004, received the 2005 Koret Jewish Book Award for Philosophy and Thought, considered one of the highest honors for authors writing prose on Jewish themes, and was a finalist for the 17th Annual Lambda Literary Awards.
... [It is] the exact same as if he said, ‘I'm an Orthodox rabbi and I eat ham sandwiches
on Yom Kippur
’. In Tendler′s opinion “it is very sad that an individual who attended our yeshiva sunk to the depths of what we consider a depraved society” and called Greenberg “a reform
rabbi”.
Greenberg participated in the critically acclaimed 2001 documentary film “Trembling Before G-d
”, featured at the Sundance Festival. The film about gay men and women raised in the Orthodox Jewish world helped break the silence around homosexuality in religious Jewish circles, and ignited protests among ultra-Orthodox Jews. Rabbi Avi Shafran
, a leader of Agudath Israel of America
who scolded the movie for not showing Orthodox Jews who have undergone therapy to change their sexual inclinations, wrote: “Rabbi Steve Greenberg, billed as ‘the first openly gay Orthodox rabbi’[, a]ddressing the Torah's strong prohibition of male homosexual acts, ... suggests to the camera, without elaboration: ‘There are other ways of reading the Torah’. What Rabbi Greenberg apparently believes is that elements of the Jewish religious tradition are negotiable, that the Torah
, like a Hollywood script, can be sent back for a rewrite. That approach can be called many things, but ‘Orthodox’ is not among them.”
. In his review of the book for the Edah
Journal, Lopatin criticises Greenberg's methods and his commitment to Orthodoxy:
While some of Lopatin's criticisms were directed at the book in general, he also made reference to these specific passages:
Intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews is a phenomenon which is considered anathema by Orthodox Judaism. While intermarriage occurs primarily outside of the Orthodox community—and indeed, Orthodox Jews who intermarry almost invariably leave the Orthodox fold when they do—it is an issue of concern for many Orthodox thinkers. Greenberg wrote an article in which he attempts to apply the category of Ger Toshav
to non-Jews who are married to Jews. He proposed that when a Jew marries a non-Jew who is an ethical monotheist (one who believes in God as understood by Judaism, and rejects non-Jewish ideas) the non-Jewish partner be considered a Ger Toshav, a biblical term for resident alien, denoting someone who is not Jewish, but who lives within the Land of Israel and renounces idolatry. This is controversial because historically the concept of Ger Toshav, as defined by Maimonides
, merely refers to a non-Jew who has accepted the seven Noachide laws without implying any membership in the Jewish community. Greenberg's attempt to "reinvent" the category as a de facto framework for intermarriage has caused even many gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews to distance themselves from him.
in Washington, D.C. The event, considered both unique and controversial, was described as "for the first time in history an openly-gay American rabbi ordained by the Orthodox movement has officiated at a same-sex wedding ceremony." The ceremony performed by Greenberg took the traditional statement of kiddushin (consecration of a bride to a groom): "Behold you are consecrated to me", and changed the gender so as to imply that kiddushin was taking place between the two men.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
. He is generally described as the first openly gay Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
rabbi. His being an Orthodox rabbi is disputed by some Orthodox Jews since he publicly disclosed he was gay in an article in the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i newspaper Maariv in 1999 and participated in the 2001 documentary film about homosexual men and women raised in the Orthodox Jewish world “Trembling Before G-d
Trembling Before G-d
Trembling Before G-d is an 2001 American documentary film about gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews trying to reconcile their sexuality with their faith. It was directed by Sandi Simcha DuBowski, an American who wanted to compare orthodox attitudes to homosexuality with his own upbringing as a gay...
”.
Greenberg is a Senior Teaching Fellow and Director of Diversity Project at CLAL – the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership is a leadership training institute, think tank, and resource center. It is an inter-disciplinary and inter-denominational movement, in which rabbis from all of the major Jewish denominations in North America are participants...
, and the author of the book “Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition” which received the prestigious Koret Jewish Book Award
Koret Jewish Book Award
The Koret Jewish Book Award is an annual award that recognizes "recently published books on any aspect of Jewish life in the categories of biography/autobiography and literary studies, fiction, history and philosophy/thought published in, or translated into, English." The award was established in...
for Philosophy and Thought in 2005.
Early life and education
Greenberg, the son of Conservative Jewish parents, was raised in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. When he was about 15, he began studying with an Orthodox rabbi. He attended Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
as an undergraduate and then as a rabbinical student. When he was 20, he went to study at the Yeshivat Har Etzion
Yeshivat Har Etzion
Yeshivat Har Etzion, ', commonly known as "Gush," is a hesder yeshiva located in Alon Shvut, a community in Gush Etzion in the West Bank, near Jerusalem, Israel. With a student body of 484, it is one of the largest hesder yeshivas in Israel...
, a hesder yeshiva
Hesder
Hesder is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework...
in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
near Jerusalem. He received his BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
from Yeshiva University, and his rabbinic ordination from the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (RIETS) in 1983.
While at Yeshivat Har Etzion, he was attracted to a fellow student and concluded that he was bisexual. He went to consult with rabbi Yosef Sholom Eliashiv
Yosef Sholom Eliashiv
Yosef Shalom Elyashiv is a Haredi rabbi and posek who lives in Jerusalem, Israel.At the age of , Elyashiv is active and remains the paramount leader of both Israel and the Diaspora Lithuanian-Haredi community, and many Ashkenazi Jews regard him as the posek ha-dor, the contemporary leading...
, a respected old rabbi in Jerusalem, telling him: “Master, I am attracted to both men and women. What shall I do?” And the rabbi replied according to Greenberg: “My dear one, my friend, then you have twice the power of love. Use it carefully.” Greenberg remembers that he left with the trust that it would all work out. However, he realised that the rabbi wasn't permitting him to have sex with men, but was telling him that his desire was not ugly in and of itself.
Greenberg did not admit he was gay until he was 28, and even afterwards continued to date women for another seven years. In 1993 he wrote the article “Gayness and God”, admitting he was gay, and published it under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
“Yaakov Levado” (meaning Jacob alone) in Tikkun magazine, but only came out six years later in an article titled “In the name of partnership” published in the Israeli daily newspaper Maariv on March 5, 1999.
Personal Life
Greenberg currently lives in Cincinnati with his partner Steven Goldstein and their infant daughter, carried by a surrogate mother, born on November 11, 2010.Career
Early in his career, Greenberg held an Orthodox pulpitPulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
on Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island, known as Welfare Island from 1921 to 1973, and before that Blackwell's Island, is a narrow island in the East River of New York City. It lies between the island of Manhattan to its west and the borough of Queens to its east...
. Since 1985, he is a Senior Teaching Fellow and Director of Diversity Project at CLAL – the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership is a leadership training institute, think tank, and resource center. It is an inter-disciplinary and inter-denominational movement, in which rabbis from all of the major Jewish denominations in North America are participants...
, an interdenominational Jewish think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
, leadership training institute, and resource center. He is the director of Orthodox programs for Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture & Spirituality, an organization which builds community for GLBT Jews, partners, and allies, and serves on the board of Eshel, an organization that works to build community for gays and lesbians in the Orthodox world. From 1996 to 1998 he spent two years in Jerusalem on a fellowship from the Mandel Institute
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
, studying educational policy issues and researching rabbinic attitudes toward homosexuality.
Greenberg is a frequent commentator for the media and has published several articles on Jewish law and church and state issues. His book “Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition” published in 2004, received the 2005 Koret Jewish Book Award for Philosophy and Thought, considered one of the highest honors for authors writing prose on Jewish themes, and was a finalist for the 17th Annual Lambda Literary Awards.
Controversies
Many Orthodox Jews don't accept Greenberg as an Orthodox rabbi – or an Orthodox Jew – including some gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews, who object to Greenberg, feeling that his statements and actions are in conflict with Jewish law. After Greeenberg′s coming out, Rabbi Moshe Tendler, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University stated: “Being an Orthodox Rabbi and actively gay is an oxymoronOxymoron
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms...
... [It is] the exact same as if he said, ‘I'm an Orthodox rabbi and I eat ham sandwiches
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
on Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
’. In Tendler′s opinion “it is very sad that an individual who attended our yeshiva sunk to the depths of what we consider a depraved society” and called Greenberg “a reform
Reform Judaism (North America)
Reform Judaism is the largest denomination of American Jews today. With an estimated 1.5 million members, it also accounts for the largest number of Jews affiliated with Progressive Judaism worldwide.- Reform Jewish theology :Rabbi W...
rabbi”.
Greenberg participated in the critically acclaimed 2001 documentary film “Trembling Before G-d
Trembling Before G-d
Trembling Before G-d is an 2001 American documentary film about gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews trying to reconcile their sexuality with their faith. It was directed by Sandi Simcha DuBowski, an American who wanted to compare orthodox attitudes to homosexuality with his own upbringing as a gay...
”, featured at the Sundance Festival. The film about gay men and women raised in the Orthodox Jewish world helped break the silence around homosexuality in religious Jewish circles, and ignited protests among ultra-Orthodox Jews. Rabbi Avi Shafran
Avi Shafran
Abraham Shafran is a Haredi rabbi who serves as the Director of Public Affairs for Agudath Israel of America and who is Editor-at-Large of Ami . Agudath Israel was established to meet the needs and viewpoint of many Haredi Jews, while Ami, launched on November 24, 2010, promises to serve a broader...
, a leader of Agudath Israel of America
Agudath Israel of America
Agudath Israel of America , is a Haredi Jewish communal organization in the United States loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel.-Functions:...
who scolded the movie for not showing Orthodox Jews who have undergone therapy to change their sexual inclinations, wrote: “Rabbi Steve Greenberg, billed as ‘the first openly gay Orthodox rabbi’[, a]ddressing the Torah's strong prohibition of male homosexual acts, ... suggests to the camera, without elaboration: ‘There are other ways of reading the Torah’. What Rabbi Greenberg apparently believes is that elements of the Jewish religious tradition are negotiable, that the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
, like a Hollywood script, can be sent back for a rewrite. That approach can be called many things, but ‘Orthodox’ is not among them.”
Wrestling with God and Men
Greenberg's Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition, has been rejected as a valid Orthodox treatment of homosexuality by the Rabbi Asher LopatinAsher Lopatin
Asher Lopatin is an American rabbi. He is rabbi of congregation Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Chicago.Lopatin is a graduate of the Maimonides School, received a B.A. in International Relations and Islamic Studies from Boston University, and was awarded a Master of...
. In his review of the book for the Edah
Edah
Edah was a Modern Orthodox Jewish organization, generally associated with the liberal wing of Orthodox Judaism in the United States and with the Religious Zionism movement of Israel. Its headquarters are located in Manhattan, New York City....
Journal, Lopatin criticises Greenberg's methods and his commitment to Orthodoxy:
While some of Lopatin's criticisms were directed at the book in general, he also made reference to these specific passages:
Ger Toshav article
In 2001 CLAL published an article by Greenberg “Between Intermarriage and Conversion: Finding a Middle Way.”Intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews is a phenomenon which is considered anathema by Orthodox Judaism. While intermarriage occurs primarily outside of the Orthodox community—and indeed, Orthodox Jews who intermarry almost invariably leave the Orthodox fold when they do—it is an issue of concern for many Orthodox thinkers. Greenberg wrote an article in which he attempts to apply the category of Ger Toshav
Ger toshav
Ger toshav , is a term used in Judaism to refer to a gentile who is a "resident alien", that is, one who lives in a Jewish state and has certain protections under Jewish law, and is considered a righteous gentile .-Definition:...
to non-Jews who are married to Jews. He proposed that when a Jew marries a non-Jew who is an ethical monotheist (one who believes in God as understood by Judaism, and rejects non-Jewish ideas) the non-Jewish partner be considered a Ger Toshav, a biblical term for resident alien, denoting someone who is not Jewish, but who lives within the Land of Israel and renounces idolatry. This is controversial because historically the concept of Ger Toshav, as defined by Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
, merely refers to a non-Jew who has accepted the seven Noachide laws without implying any membership in the Jewish community. Greenberg's attempt to "reinvent" the category as a de facto framework for intermarriage has caused even many gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews to distance themselves from him.
Application of Kiddushin to a same-sex union
On November 10, 2011, Greenberg officiated at a same-sex wedding ceremony at the Sixth & I Historic SynagogueSixth & I Historic Synagogue
The Sixth & I Historic Synagogue is a non-denominational, non-membership, non-traditional Jewish synagogue located at the corner of Sixth Street and I Street, NW in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest synagogues in the city...
in Washington, D.C. The event, considered both unique and controversial, was described as "for the first time in history an openly-gay American rabbi ordained by the Orthodox movement has officiated at a same-sex wedding ceremony." The ceremony performed by Greenberg took the traditional statement of kiddushin (consecration of a bride to a groom): "Behold you are consecrated to me", and changed the gender so as to imply that kiddushin was taking place between the two men.
Selected publications
- Greenberg, Steven, Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition. University of Wisconsin PressUniversity of Wisconsin PressThe University of Wisconsin Press is a non-profit university press publishing peer-reviewed books and journals. It primarily publishes work by scholars from the global academic community but also serves the citizens of Wisconsin by publishing important books about Wisconsin, the Upper Midwest, and...
, 2004. ISBN 0-299-19090-0- “It Is Not Good for Man To Be Alone”. Review of the book in The Forward by Jay Michaelson, April 30, 2004.
- Levado, Yaakov, “Gayness and God”, Tikkun magazine, 1993.
- Greenberg, Steven, “The Roots of Secular Humanistic Judaism”. Shma magazine, September 2000.
- Greenberg, Steve, “Same-Sex Civil Marriage”. CLAL on Culture, 2000.
- Greenberg, Steve, “Between Intermarriage and Conversion: Finding a Middle Way”. CLAL Spirit and Story, 2001.
- Greenberg, Steve and Danny Wohl, “Prayer to accompany the Torah reading of Leviticus 18 on Yom Kippur Afternoon”.
Weblinks
- 'My truth isn't an ugly one'. Steven Greenberg tells Libby Brooks how he squares his sexuality with his faith. The Guardian, May 30, 2003