Wrestling with God & Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition (review)

This interesting and unusual book, written by Steven Greenberg, an openly gay modern Orthodox rabbi known previously for his writing in Tikkun Magazine under the pseudonym Yaakov Levado and for his brief appearance in the documentary Trembling Before G-d, combines autobiographical narrative with exegesis of biblical and traditional Jewish texts which deal with, or allegedly deal with, homoeroticism. Its bold purpose: to fashion an "Orthodox argument" for the "inclusion of gay and lesbian Jews in the Orthodox community" (pp. 10, 29). Through his analysis, the author seeks "to clarify how both identities, gay and Orthodox, can engage each other in conversation in new and productive ways" (p. 16). He predicts that just as feminism has begun to have a concrete impact on modern Orthodoxy, so one day will internal debates about sexuality: "Just as with women, gay people's presence in Orthodox environments, as faithful committed members, will move the system in its own time and its own way" (p. 15). Ultimately, the focus of the book is the proscriptions of Lev. 18:22 and 20:13. Greenberg believes that the present halakhic understanding of these pivotal texts "is in error" (p. 13). Observing that Halakhah has changed over time and will continue to change, he offers a counter-reading that he hopes will be adopted within Orthodox circles: that the biblical prohibitions refer not to the consensual sexual acts of loving couples, but to sex based on domination: "Sex for the conquest, for shoring up the ego, for self-aggrandizement, or worse, for the perverse pleasure of demeaning another man is prohibited. This is an abomination" (p. 206). Such a reading, for Greenberg, "offers gay people a way to reconnect to God, Torah, and the Jewish people" (p. 206). The book is divided into four parts: a survey of relevant Torah passages ("Sacred Texts"); an examination of other texts that concern homoeroticism, including biblical texts outside of the Torah, rabbinic materials, medieval poetry, and responsa literature ("Evidence"); a discussion of four possible explanations for the proscriptions of Lev. 18:22 and 20:13 ("Rationales"); and a final section ("Conversations") in which the author seeks to develop a practical methodology for Orthodox rabbis and their gay and lesbian congregants "to begin talking about policy despite their sharply differing subjective experiences" (p. 38). These are preceded by a helpful introduction that includes a brief overview of classical Jewish texts for the uninitiated.

Intended for a mixed audience of Orthodox rabbis, Orthodox lay people (both heterosexual and gay and lesbian), and others who might be interested (e.g., conservative Christians), the book is clearly written and should appeal to anyone who follows contemporary debate about homosexuality in Judaism. For those outside of the Orthodox community, it will provide an entry to texts and traditional arguments that are not otherwise easily accessible. In fact, one of the strengths of this book is its collection of disparate and often recondite material. Another is the nicely imagined final section addressed to rabbis and their congregants. There are problems, however. Greenberg tends to consult academic scholarship only sporadically, particularly when it suits his argument, ignoring it when it does not (e.g., regarding the love language in the David and Jonathan prose narratives, which scholars have long understood in a covenant framework, a point unacknowledged by the author). The book's subtitle, Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition, is misleading, given the author's exclusive focus on Orthodoxy. Though much of Greenberg's presentation and analysis of Lev. 18:22 and 20:13 is dependent on my own published work (Journal of the History of Sexuality 5 [1994]: 179–206), this fact is not sufficiently acknowledged. Finally, the author's central argument that Lev. 18:22 and 20:13 ought to be read as prohibiting only sex that demonstrates power and lacks a love motive is problematic. There is no evidence for this interpretation in the Leviticus passages themselves (no language of coercion is used, e.g...