Blu Greenberg (born January 21, 1936, Seattle) is an American Open Orthodox[citation needed] writer specializing in modern Judaism and women's issues.
Her most noted books are On Women and Judaism: A View from Tradition (1981), and Black Bread: Poems, After the Holocaust (1994).
[2] Greenberg's feminist leanings arose gradually, through many small moments of realized gender inequality.
Such moments included when she was unable to extend her studies in Jerusalem with Nechama Leibowitz, and when only male relatives were allowed to attend her uncle's casket as it left the synagogue.
[1] Greenberg's first major feminist decision occurred in February 1973, when she gave the opening address at the first National Jewish Women's Conference, which was held in New York City.
[1] In 1981, Greenberg published her first book, On Women and Judaism: A View From Tradition, in which she coined the saying, "Where there's a rabbinic will, there's a halakhic way.
"[1][6] The quote, which argues that halakha is not objective, but interpreted based on social norms and needs, became a source of criticism from its first appearance.
[1] In 1997 and 1998, she chaired the first and second International Conference on Feminism and Orthodoxy, and she is the founder and the first president of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance.
[7] She received the Woman Who Made A Difference award on January 26, 2000, from the American Jewish Congress Commission for Women's Equality during a ceremony at the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem.