The modern Orthodox rabbi Irving Greenberg embodies vulnerability at a level not often seen in public discourse. His article, “What Would Roy and Alice Do?: A Reflection on How I came to Be a Failure through Dialogue, Thank God,” is a powerful yet humble statement on the importance of self-reflection, critical engagement with others and with God, and the willingness to be vulnerable as we travel along our spiritual journeys in life.

Rabbi Greenberg has spent much of his time as an advocate for building constructive relationships across lines of religious difference, including within his own tradition of Judaism. However, this is not the stereotypical interfaith dialogue that has often been reduced to a joke of inter-religious engagement. No, the type of engagement that he seeks to nurture is that which demands that the participants truly consider how they are living out the foundational beliefs of their respective traditions (e.g., “Love your neighbor as yourself,” tikkun olam, etc.). In addition, this engagement calls for its participants to be willing to admit the missteps they have made in their efforts to live by these teachings. Read more here.