Irving Greenberg

Irving Yitzchak Greenberg (born May 16, 1933), also known as Yitz Greenberg, is an American scholar, author, and rabbi.^[1] Greenberg is known as a strong supporter of Israel,^[2] as well as a promoter of greater understanding between Judaism and Christianity.^[3]

Irving Greenberg
Born	Irving Yitzchak Greenberg (1933-05-16) May 16, 1933 (age 92) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Other names	Yitz Greenberg
Spouse	Blu Greenberg
Academic background
Education	Brooklyn College (BA) Harvard University (MA, PhD)
Academic work
Discipline	History Religious studies
Sub-discipline	Jewish studies
Institutions	Brandeis University Yeshiva University Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Yeshivat Hadar Riverdale Jewish Center

Early life and education

Greenberg was born and raised in Brooklyn.^[4] He attended Yeshiva Beis Yosef, where he was ordained in 1953. At the same time, he attended Brooklyn College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, summa cum laude. He later earned a Master of Arts and PhD in American history from Harvard University, having written his dissertation on Theodore Roosevelt and the American labor movement.^[5]

Career

He served as the Jewish chaplain of Brandeis University, the rabbi of the Riverdale Jewish Center, an associate professor of history at Yeshiva University, and as a founder, chairman, and professor in the department of Jewish studies of the City College of New York.^[6] He is currently on the faculty of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah.^[7] He has also served as the president of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership.

In 2020, Greenberg joined the faculty of the non-denominational, liberal-leaning Yeshivat Hadar as the senior scholar in residence.^[8]

Ideology

Greenberg's thought involves reading current Jewish history through traditional Jewish categories of thought. He has written extensively about the Holocaust and the historical and religious significance of the State of Israel.

He learned Jewish thought from Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. He has taught extensively, and a number of well-known scholars, including Rabbi Joseph Telushkin and Michael Berenbaum, consider him their mentor.^{[citation needed]}

Greenberg espouses the concept of "Tikkun Olam" (repairing the world) as humanity working—as co-creators—with God to improve the world. He sees the Jewish people's covenant with God as enjoining them to set an example for the moral edification of humanity. Greenberg also suggests that the inherent image of God in every human indicates that each person possesses "infinite value, equality, and uniqueness."^[9] According to Greenberg, this means that there is no absolute truth or 'correct' religion: "Part of every truth is the fact that an image of God is speaking it; that is to say, a being of infinite value, equality, and uniqueness is speaking it."^[10]

Only part of his post-Holocaust theology has been published.^[11] Greenberg argues that God has broken his covenant with the Jewish people, viewing the Holocaust as a pivotal event that represents this "breaking of the covenant." The breaking event is seen as part of God's ongoing process of tzimtzum (withdrawal) from the world. According to Greenberg, the Holocaust illustrates that the fate of the world lies in humanity's hands. If such profound evil can exist in the world, as demonstrated by the Holocaust, then it is also possible for immense good to be realized.

Greenberg's theological views have been criticized by historian David Berger.^[12]

In the 1980s, Greenberg was involved in a controversial debate with the radical right-wing rabbi Meir Kahane.^[13]

Personal life

He is married to the Orthodox Jewish feminist writer Blu Greenberg.

Works

• Cloud of Smoke, Pillar of Fire: Judaism, Christianity, Modernity After the Holocaust (1976)
• The Third Great Cycle of Jewish History (1981)
• Voluntary Covenant (1982)
• The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays (1988)
• The Ethics of Jewish Power (1990)
• Judaism and Christianity: Their Respective Roles in the Divine Strategy of Redemption (1996)
• Covenantal Pluralism (1997)
• Living in the Image of God: Jewish Teachings to Perfect the World (1998)
• For the Sake of Heaven and Earth: The New Encounter Between Judaism and Christianity (2004)
• Sage Advice - Commentary on Pirkei Avot (2016)
• Ohr Yisrael and Other Writings By Rabbi Israel Salanter (2024)
• The Triumph of Life: A Narrative Theology of Judaism (2024)