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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
This book is an argument for why the orthodox community should be more welcoming to male homosexuality. It provides many valid arguments and theological discussions that I found fascinating. For example, traditional Jewish texts primarily interpret the sins of Sodom as a lack of hospitality and xenophobia, not the homophobic interpretation prevalent in our primarily Christian society.
Being published in 2005, it grapples with arguments of that time (such as conversion therapy), which are less applicable today. While it mentions acceptance of lesbians, the author doesn't give them the theological analysis he does for gay men. He also does not discuss bisexuality. As the book's blurb says: "Wrestling with God and Men is the product of Rabbi Steven Greenberg's ten-year struggle to reconcile his homosexuality with Orthodox Judaism." This book is very much his own story, but maybe you can get some insights from it.
SO MANY THOUGHTS HEAD FULL!!!!!!
This really took me back to my Yeshiva days and has made me question my perception of halacha and rabbinic authority in ways I hadn't fully realized as a high-schooler. I'm really intrigued by the ideas Rabbi Greenberg brings forward, but am still troubled by the sacrifices gay Jews are expected to make to remain part of Orthodox Jewish life. I'm sure I'll spend my entire life grappling with the notions put forth in this book, but I have such a deep love and appreciation for Rabbi Greenberg and his passionate advocacy for LGBT Jews. He gave my friend and I a lot of guidance and support in creating our own underground GSA at our Yeshiva, and I would love to speak to him further about Orthodox support of the LGBT community, and where we, as gay and/or gnc Jews can continue to create solidarity and celebration of our identities in the future.
This really took me back to my Yeshiva days and has made me question my perception of halacha and rabbinic authority in ways I hadn't fully realized as a high-schooler. I'm really intrigued by the ideas Rabbi Greenberg brings forward, but am still troubled by the sacrifices gay Jews are expected to make to remain part of Orthodox Jewish life. I'm sure I'll spend my entire life grappling with the notions put forth in this book, but I have such a deep love and appreciation for Rabbi Greenberg and his passionate advocacy for LGBT Jews. He gave my friend and I a lot of guidance and support in creating our own underground GSA at our Yeshiva, and I would love to speak to him further about Orthodox support of the LGBT community, and where we, as gay and/or gnc Jews can continue to create solidarity and celebration of our identities in the future.
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This is very much from a religious, orthodox standpoint, but that is a large part of why I think this is such a valuable work. It uses a lot of very narrative based reasoning that is also very deeply jewish and draws on talmudic stories and tales of rabbis arguing, and if you're not at least a little familiar with some of the biblical and talmudic stories you might get a little lost. It's also very focused on male homosexuality - that's his lane and also the most clear biblical issue - though he ties it very convincingly as part of a lot of the misogynist baggage of the tradition, and makes a moving argument that Judaism has to reckon with the misogyny for there to be progress on homosexuality. Its good, highly recommend reading it even if you're not Orthodox or even religious, since its valuable to hear the argument from within the religious ground.
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Really interesting look at the history of homosexuality throughout Judaism, and how to deal with the problem of gay Orthodox people wishing to come out and be accepted in their synagogues. The book is decidedly not aimed at gentiles, so there may be some googling needed to understand fully, but I loved how heartfelt and sincere it was, admitting just how biased the author was as the first out gay Orthodox rabbi. It is centered around cis male homosexualit
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Rape, Antisemitism
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
This has been on my to-read list for years, since I started attending shul, then it came into my hands last fall, then I…could not work up the courage to read it.
If you’re Jewish (or thinking about it) and queer, read this book. Rabbi Greenberg is an Orthodox gay man, and that is the specific audience he is targeting–Orthodox Jews and Orthodox (or Conservadox) gay men who are struggling with Leviticus 18:22 and themselves. It was not written for Reform Jews, queer women, aro/ace spectrum people, or trans people, but the text was not written for people like us. The text is used to attack people like him, and this is the structure he is most suited to unpacking. He breaks down different ways to read Leviticus 18:22, different ways to enact it in 21st century Judaism, and different ways to be an Orthodox gay Jew.
If you’re not Jewish, or you have no experience with Jewish textual interpretation, I recommend taking a Judaism 101 class first, because this is not a light read and while he’s trying to explain as he goes, this isn’t aimed at goyim. It’s just not.
In addition to the above qualifiers about the content, this book was published in 2004. A lot has changed for queer people in the last 18 years. A lot has changed in Judaism in the last 18 years. Read this book accordingly.