Rabbi Steven Greenberg received his B.A. in philosophy from Yeshiva
University and his rabbinical ordination from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological
Seminary. He is a Senior Teaching Fellow at CLAL (National Jewish Center for
Learning and Leadership), a think tank, leadership training institute and
resource center in New York City. Steve is the first openly gay Orthodox Rabbi
and a founder of the Jerusalem Open House, the Holy City’s glbt community center
and home to World Pride 2005. After coming out publicly Rabbi Greenberg appeared
in the film, Trembling Before G-d, a documentary about gay and lesbian
Orthodox Jews. Following the film’s release in October 2001, Steve joined the
film maker, Sandi Simcha DuBowski, in an outreach project carrying the film
across the globe as a tool for spiritual renewal, social change and community
dialogue.
Recently Rabbi Greenberg finished a book, the product of his ten-year
struggle to reconcile his two “wrestling” identities, entitled Wrestling
with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition
(University of Wisconsin Press, February 2004). In
this book, Greenberg presents readers with surprising biblical interpretations of the creation story,
the love of David and Jonathan, the destruction of Sodom, and the condemnatory
verses of Leviticus. Drawing on a wide array of religious texts, Greenberg
introduces readers to occasions of same-sex love in Talmudic narratives,
medieval Jewish poetry and prose, and traditional Jewish case law literature.
Ultimately, Greenberg argues that the historical record is more diverse and the
law is more open to reconsideration than has ever been admitted and that
spiritual and moral integrity of religions, not to mention the well and often
the very lives of gay people are all at stake.
(This biographical statement provided by Steven
Greenberg.)