Are You My Rabbi? Yitz Greenberg’s Intellectual Biography in Kuhnian Terms

Abstract This article considers Rabbi Yitz Greenberg’s version of open orthodoxy and its development. Greenberg initially framed his theological journey as a “paradigm shift.” Archival materials from “before” and “during” this theological breakdown are discussed, and a fine-tuning of Greenberg’s narrative is suggested. The article demonstrates how overemphasizing what changed in Greenberg’s views misses the structural continuities in his writings across the decades. Finally, three shifts or “transgressions” are discussed: religious feminism, openness towards world religions, and denominational pluralism. The reception of these shifts is described as a function of a Kuhnian-inspired linguistic incommensurability. However, the Kuhn model, which describes winning and losing camps, is called into question.