num_pages: 312
description: Wrestling with God and Men is the product of Rabbi Steven Greenberg's ten-year struggle to reconcile his homosexuality with Orthodox Judaism. Employing traditional rabbinic resources, Greenberg presents readers with surprising biblical interpretations of the creation story, the love of David and Jonathan, the destruction of Sodom, and the condemning verses of Leviticus. But Greenberg goes beyond the question of whether homosexuality is biblically acceptable to ask how such relationships can be sacred. In so doing, he draws on a wide array of nonscriptural texts to introduce 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 Orthodox communities must open up debate, dialogue, and discussion-precisely the foundation upon which Jewish law rests-to truly deal with the issue of homosexual love. This book will appeal to all people of faith struggling to merge their belief in the scriptures with a desire to make their communities more open and accepting to gay and lesbian members.
language: English
title: Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition
titlecomplete: Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition
genres: LGBT, Gay, History, Judaism, Religion, Theology, Jewish, Judaica, Nonfiction, Queer
ratings_count: 187
awards: awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: Lambda Literary Award
category: Spirituality, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Koret Jewish Book Award
category: Philosophy and Thought
publisher: University of Wisconsin Press