Gayness and God: Wrestlings of an Orthodox Rabbi

Steven Greenberg

1993

I am an Orthodox rabbi and I am gay. For a long while I denied, rejected, railed against this truth. The life story that I had wanted—wife, kids, and a family that modeled Torah and hesed—turned out to be an impossible fantasy. I have begun to shape a new life story. This essay is part of that life story, and thus remains unfinished, part of a…

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Creator Bio

Steven Greenberg

b. 1956

Brought up in Columbus, Ohio, Steven Greenberg, who has used the pseudonym Yaakov Levado, is a senior teaching fellow at CLAL (The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership) in New York, and was the first openly gay Orthodox rabbi. A speaker, author, and activist in the Orthodox community, he was also involved in the making of the award-winning film, Trembling Before G-d.

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