Gay rabbi
Rabbi Steven Greenberg received his B.A. in philosophy from Yeshiva University and his rabbinical ordination from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He served as a Senior Teaching Fellow at CLAL (National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership), a think tank, direction training institute, and resource center in New York City for over twenty years from 1986 to 2010. Steve is the first openly gay Orthodox Rabbi and a founder of the Jerusalem Reveal House, the Holy City’s LGBTQ+ community center. After coming out publicly in 1999 Rabbi Greenberg appeared in the film, Trembling Before G-d, a documentary about gay and female homosexual Orthodox Jews. Following the film’s release in October 2001, Steve joined the filmmaker, Sandi Simcha DuBowski, in an outreach venture carrying the film across the globe in over 500 post-screening dialogues as a tool for spiritual renewal, social change, and communal engagement.
Steve is presently the Founding Director of Eshel, a North American back, education, and advocacy entity for LGBTQ+ Orthodox Jews and their families. He lives in Boston with his husband, Steven Goldstein, and his daughter Amalia. Contact Rabbi Steve Greenberg at s
This Pride Month, the Central Conference of American Rabbis is lifting up an important community within the Reform rabbinate: the groundbreaking LGTBQ+ rabbis who were amongst the first rabbis to state themselves openly, who paved the way—and often fought for—LGBTQ+ acceptance and inclusion in the Reform rabbinate and in the Jewish community.
Generations of LGBTQ+ Jews have lived closeted lives because of outright discrimination and more subtle forms of bias and rejection that possess dominated much of Jewish history, including the history of our Reform Movement and the CCAR itself. We are committed to continuing to learn how to rectify the erasures of the past and to embrace all of our colleagues.
While the Reform Movement has advocated for Diverse inclusion for decades, for many gender non-conforming rabbis, the personal experience of navigating sexuality in rabbinical school, or creature the first out rabbi at a synagogue, in an organization, or even in their urban area or community, was a fraught, sometimes painful experience, often marked with decision, shame, or even overt discrimination.
We contribute these moments of truth, and we also share significant moments of happiness and hard-won mi He loves history and baseball and couldn’t be more excited about moving to Dallas to be Temple Emanu-El’s newest rabbi. “There has been something exciting happening in the DFW area for a drawn-out time, especially its ability to harness energy in younger people,” says Rabbi Michael Lewis. “I’m also excited to be going to a Reform congregation that is so dedicated to Judaism.” When Rabbi Lewis begins work at Temple on June 28, his programmatic focus will be youth and teen engagement; young adults; conversion and interfaith families and LGBTQ+ outreach, in addition to his rabbinic roles of instruction, worship, preaching and pastoral care. Any initial thoughts about your arrival at Temple? Is there some aspect of Dallas that is proving to be different from what you expected? Posted by rabbidebra on Feb 25, 2021 RabbiDebra@asthespiritmovesus.com Lionel Blue, ordained as a rabbi in 1960, was the first British rabbi to publicly affirm himself a lgbtq+, in 1980. The Jewish Renewal movement emerged in 1960’s, never having a policy against ordaining LGBTQ people. It didn’t ordain its first LGBTQ clergy until 2006, however. 1984:Reconstructionist Rabbinical College changed policy to ordain LGBTQ rabbis. Late 1980s: the central seminary of the Reform movement, theHebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, changed its admission requirements to allow openly sapphic and gay people to join the student body. 1990: The Union for Reform Judaismannounced a national policy declaring lesbian and gay Jews to be full and equal members of the religious community. 1993:Susan Saxe becomes the Executive Director of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal and the first openly lesbian or queer executive of a national Jewish organizational headquarters. 1999:Steven Greenberg publicly came out as homosexual rabbinic ordination from the Orthodoxrabbinical sem
Welcome, Rabbi Michael Lewis
I’m looking forward to engaging 20s and 30s as they connect with their Jewish identity, and to helping teenagers and younger kids evolve and understand a sense of their place in the Jewish community.
Dallas is a male lover mecca, which was surprising to me. I think one thing that is so important, both in our country and as Jews, is breaking out of the bubbles we might l
RABBI DEBRA KOLODNY
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Rabbi Debra Kolodny