which modern branch of judaism was the first to ordain a female rabbi
Rabbi


circumstances, as a valid claim towards Judaism, whereas Conservative and Orthodox maintain the position expressed in the Talmud and Codes that one can be a Jew only through matrilineality (born of a Jewish mother) or through conversion to Judaism. With some rare exceptions (see below), women historically have generally not served as rabbis until the 1970s and the influence of second-wave feminism, when the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion first ordained women rabbis. Today, female rabbis are ordained within all branches of Progressive Judaism
6232966
Rabbi


known as the Maiden of Ludmir, was a 19th-century Hasidic rebbe, the only female rebbe in the history of Hasidism. The first formally ordained female rabbi was Regina Jonas, ordained in Germany in 1935. Since 1972, when Sally Priesand became the first female rabbi in Reform Judaism, Reform Judaism's Hebrew Union College has ordained 552 women rabbis (as of 2008). Sandy Eisenberg Sasso became the first female rabbi in Reconstructionist Judaism in 1974 (one of 110 by 2006); and Amy Eilberg became the first
6232969
Jewish feminism


with Conservative Judaism, did not allow women to join until 1990. In 1997 Gail Billig became the first female president of a major Orthodox synagogue, at Congregation Ahavath Torah in Englewood, N.J. In 1999 Tamara Kolton became the very first rabbi (and therefore, since she was female, the first female rabbi) ordained in Humanistic Judaism. In 2001 Deborah Davis became the first cantor of either sex (and therefore, since she was female, the first female cantor) ordained in Humanistic Judaism; however, Humanistic Judaism has since
4273389
Jewish feminism


special commission appointed by the Conservative movement to study the issue of ordaining women as rabbis, which met between 1977 and 1978, and consisted of 11 men and three women; the women were Marian Siner Gordon, an attorney, Rivkah Harris, an Assyriologist, and Francine Klagsbrun, a writer. Amy Eilberg became the first female rabbi ordained in Conservative Judaism in 1985. In 1987 Erica Lippitz and Marla Rosenfeld Barugel became the first female cantors ordained in Conservative Judaism. However, the Cantors Assembly, a professional organization of cantors associated
4273388
Reform Judaism


, who served as a driving force behind British Liberal Judaism and WUPJ, was the first woman in recorded history to deliver a sermon at a synagogue in 1918, and set another precedent when she conducted a prayer two years later. Regina Jonas, ordained in 1935 by later chairman of the Vereinigung der liberalen Rabbiner Max Dienemann, was the earliest known female rabbi to officially be granted the title. In 1972, Sally Priesand was ordained by Hebrew Union College, which made her America's first female rabbi ordained by a rabbinical seminary
6452869
Rabbi


female rabbi in Conservative Judaism in 1985 (one of 177 by 2006). Lynn Gottlieb became the first female rabbi in Jewish Renewal in 1981, and Tamara Kolton became the very first rabbi (and therefore, since she was female, the first female rabbi) in Humanistic Judaism in 1999. In 2009 Alysa Stanton became the world's first African-American female rabbi. The Conservative movement appointed a special commission to study the issue of ordaining women as rabbis, The commission met between 1977 and 1978, and consisted of eleven
6232970
Women in Judaism


Judaism with Kabbalistic, Hasidic, musical and meditative practices; it describes itself as "a worldwide, transdenominational movement grounded in Judaism's prophetic and mystical traditions". The Jewish Renewal movement ordains women as well as men as rabbis and cantors. Lynn Gottlieb became the first female rabbi in Jewish Renewal in 1981, and Avitall Gerstetter, who lives in Germany, became the first female cantor in Jewish Renewal (and the first female cantor in Germany) in 2002. In 2009 and 2012 respectively, OHALAH (Association of Rabbis for
6598573
Women in Judaism


ordained as Rabbi by that same organization, making her their first graduate to take the title "Rabbi". In 2013, Malka Schaps became the first female Haredi dean at an Israeli university when she was appointed dean of Bar Ilan University's Faculty of Exact Sciences. Also in 2013, the first class of female halachic advisers trained to practice in the US graduated; they graduated from the North American branch of Nishmat's yoetzet halacha program in a ceremony at Congregation Sheartith Israel, Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in Manhattan, and SAR
6598527
Sally Priesand


, a project which videotapes interviews with women rabbis from all streams of Judaism and archives their stories online. Priesand together with Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, the first Reconstructionist female rabbi ordained in 1974, Amy Eilberg, the first Conservative female rabbi ordained in 1985, and Sara Hurwitz (see below), lit Chanuka candles together with some 30 other women rabbis, and then spoke about their experiences. Priesand was honored in several events on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of her ordination in 2012. In March 2012, the Annual Convention
1448205
Women in Judaism


, Lila Kagedan was ordained by Yeshivat Maharat and in keeping with newer policies, was given the freedom to choose her own title, and she chose to be addressed as "Rabbi". She officially became the first female Modern Orthodox rabbi in the United States of America when the Modern Orthodox Mount Freedom Jewish Center in Randolph, New Jersey hired her as a spiritual leader in January 2016. As of 2019, Kagedan is working as the rabbi at Walnut Street Synagogue. In the fall of 2015, the Agudath Israel of America
6598530
LGBT clergy in Judaism


the rabbi for congregation P'nai Or of Portland, Oregon. Also in 2011, Sandra Lawson became the first openly gay African-American and the first African-American admitted to the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She was ordained and thus became the first openly gay, female, black rabbi in the world in 2018. Emily Aviva Kapor, who had been ordained privately by a "Conservadox" rabbi in 2005, began living as a woman in 2012, thus becoming the first openly transgender female rabbi. In 2013, Rabbi Deborah Waxman
1978158
Women in Judaism


High School in Riverdale, New York, began allowing girls to wrap tefillin during Shacharit-morning prayer in an all-female prayer group; it is probably the first Modern Orthodox high school in the U.S. to do so. In 2014, the first-ever book of halachic decisions written by women who were ordained to serve as poskot (Idit Bartov and Anat Novoselsky) was published. The women were ordained by the municipal chief rabbi of Efrat, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, after completing Midreshet Lindenbaum women’s college’s five-
6598528
Tamara Kolton


Rabbi Tamara Kolton is the first rabbi ordained in Humanistic Judaism. She was ordained in October 1999 at the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, having received her PhD in rabbinic studies in August 1999; her dissertation was written on the experience of female rabbis. Rabbi Kolton describes herself as a "Rabbi Beyond Denominations", drawing from best Jewish practices as well as great teachings from indigenous and Buddhist traditions. She is married to Isaac Kolton, an Israeli born in Petah Tikva. They have two children, Lior and Maya.
9951853
Sara Hurwitz


America, who called the move "beyond the pale of Orthodox Judaism". Weiss announced amidst criticism that the term "Rabba" would not be used anymore for his future students. However, in 2015 Yaffa Epstein was ordained as Rabba by the Yeshivat Maharat, which Weiss founded. Also in 2015, Lila Kagedan was ordained as Rabbi by that same organization, making her their first graduate to take the title Rabbi. Hurwitz continues to use the title Rabba and is considered by some to be the first female Orthodox rabbi.
16946472
Jewish feminism


the corollary of equality." In 1973, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of Conservative Judaism voted to count men and women equally as members of a minyan. In 1974 Sandy Eisenberg Sasso became the first female rabbi ordained in Reconstructionist Judaism. In 1975, Barbara Ostfeld-Horowitz became the first female cantor ordained in Reform Judaism. In 1976, the first women-only Passover seder was held in Esther M. Broner's New York City apartment and led by her, with 13 women attending, including Gloria Steinem, Letty
4273379
Women in Judaism


hallmark of Reconstructionist Judaism. From the beginning, Reconstructionist Jewish ritual allowed men and women to pray together—a decision based on egalitarian philosophy. It was on this basis that Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan called for the full equality of women and men, despite the obvious difficulties reconciling this stance with norms of traditional Jewish practice. The Reconstructionist Movement ordained women rabbis from the start. In 1968, women were accepted into the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, under the leadership of Ira Eisenstein. The first ordained female Reconstructionist rabbi, Sandy Eisenberg Sasso,
6598567
Leslie Alexander (rabbi)


Leslie Alexander became the first female rabbi of a major Conservative Jewish synagogue in the United States in 1986 at Adat Ari El synagogue in North Hollywood. She was chosen over five male candidates. Alexander was ordained by the Reform seminary Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1983, after studying at the Conservative movement's University of Judaism in Los Angeles; Conservative Judaism did not ordain women at the time. She wanted to be a rabbi since she was 17, and was encouraged in her ambitions by her parents. Her
14069008
Sivan Malkin Maas


Sivan Malkin Maas is the first Israeli to be ordained as a rabbi in Humanistic Judaism. She was ordained by the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism in 2003. Her thesis was "How to build and develop a Secular Humanistic Jewish community in Israel." She is the daughter of Professor Reuven Malchin, who is the editor of the journal "Free Judaism", which deals with the Israeli movement for secular humanistic Judaism. She founded the "Institute for Training Secular Humanistic Rabbis and Jewish Leadership" in Israel, which ordained
7643235
LGBT clergy in Judaism


The first openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender clergy in Judaism were ordained as rabbis and/or cantors in the second half of the 20th century. Allen Bennett became the first openly gay rabbi in the United States in 1978. Lionel Blue was the first British rabbi to publicly declare himself as gay, which he did in 1980. Admission to rabbinical seminary and ordination for openly LGBT people began in 1984, when the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, the seminary of Reconstructionist Judaism, voted to accept and ordain rabbis without regard to their
1978148
LGBT clergy in Judaism


was held in San Francisco. In March 2015, Rabbi Denise Eger became the first openly gay president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in North America. In November 2015 Abby Stein came out as transgender and thus became the first openly transgender woman to have been ordained by an Orthodox institution, having received her rabbinical degree in 2012, from an Ultra-Orthodox Hasidic school. To date, she is also thus the only female rabbi to have been ordained by an Ultra-
1978161
Women in Judaism


year ordination course in advanced studies in Jewish law, as well as passing examinations equivalent to the rabbinate’s requirement for men. In 2010, Sara Hurwitz became the first woman to ordained as a "Rabba", or female equivalent of a rabbi, when she started serving as an "Open Orthodox" spiritual leader at Riverdale, Bronx, New York On June 10, 2015, Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy and Rahel Berkovits became the first two women to be ordained as Modern Orthodox Jewish Rabbas in Israel. In June 2015
6598529
Ordination of women


Friday prayers. In 2014, Afra Jalabi, a Syrian Canadian journalist and peace advocate delivered "Eid ul-Adha" khutbah at Noor cultural centre in Toronto, Canada. There has been one female Hasidic rebbe, Hannah Rachel Verbermacher, also known as the Maiden of Ludmir, active in the 19th century. In 1935 Regina Jonas was ordained privately by a German rabbi and became the world's first female rabbi. Sally Priesand became the first female rabbi in Reform Judaism in 1972; Sandy Eisenberg Sasso became the first female rabbi
9809650
Rabbi


Reform and Liberal movements maintain Leo Baeck College for the training and ordination of rabbis, and in Germany the progressive Abraham Geiger College trains and ordains candidates for the rabbinate. Reconstructionist Judaism has the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, which is located in Pennsylvania and ordains women as well as men (and openly LGBT people) as rabbis and cantors. In 2015 the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College voted to accept rabbinical students in interfaith relationships, making Reconstructionist Judaism the first type of Judaism to officially allow rabbis in relationships with non-Jewish partners. There are
6232962
Stephen Wise Free Synagogue


Priesand. A portion of his papers (1920-1981) can be found in The Rabbi Edward Klein Memorial Library at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue. Rabbi Sally Priesand, America’s first ordained female rabbi, brought a timely change to this Reform Synagogue, which she began serving in 1972, the same year she was ordained. It was a courageous decision to seek her training and very demonstrative of Reform Judaism to include a woman on its pulpit. Her attention to the congregation extended far beyond her speeches. She was very active
18230386
Women in Judaism


to come, and supports equal rights regardless of gender, in recognition and allegiance to the view that we are all equally created in the Divine Image." Humanistic Judaism is a movement in Judaism that offers a non-theistic alternative in contemporary Jewish life. It ordains both men and women as rabbis, and its first rabbi was a woman, Tamara Kolton, who was ordained in 1999. Its first cantor was also a woman, Deborah Davis, ordained in 2001; however, Humanistic Judaism has since stopped ordaining cantors.
6598576
Alexandra Wright


Alexandra Wright was appointed as the first female senior rabbi in England in 2004, as rabbi of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St. John's Wood, London. She is a significant figure within British Liberal Judaism. Wright became the seventh woman to be ordained as a rabbi in the United Kingdom in 1986; she was ordained at Leo Baeck College, and has taught classical Hebrew there. She served as Associate Rabbi at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue from 1986 until 1989. She then served as rabbi at Radlett and Bushey Reform Synagogue in
8074336
Conservative Judaism


-ordained Rabbi Linda Joy Holtzman. Pressures to allow women to assume rabbinical positions was mounting from the congregational level, though the RA agreed to delay any action until the JTS scholars would concur. Female ordination was a matter of great friction until 1983, when Rabbi Joel Roth devised a solution that entailed women voluntarily accepting the obligation to pray regularly. The leadership passed it not by scholarly consensus but via a popular vote of all JTS faculty, including non-specialists. Two years later, the first JTS-ordained female rabbi
6660024
Open Orthodoxy


, born in Italy but living in Britain, was ordained by Yeshivat Maharat and thus became Britain's first female Orthodox rabbi; she chose the title Rabba. Many traditional rabbis within Orthodox Judaism opposed Weiss' new approach with Orthodox opposition to Weiss' views, community and institutions (both YCT and Yeshivat Maharat) growing over time. Open Orthodoxy and its proponents have met with harsh criticism and disapproval from within Orthodoxy. Prominent leaders from both the ultra-Orthodox and central or Modern Orthodox communities have levelled harsh critiques of actions and
16784990
Clergy


The office of Rebbe is generally a hereditary one, may also be passed from Rebbe to student, or recognized by a congregation conferring a sort of coronation to their new Rebbe. Although one does not need to be an ordained Rabbi to be a Rebbe, most Rebbes today are ordained Rabbis. Since one does not need to be an ordained rabbi to be a Rebbe, at some points in history there were female Rebbes as well, particularly the Maiden of Ludmir. In Conservative Judaism, both men and women are ordained as
5280259
Jewish feminism


following traditional practices as sinners. Also in 2002, Sharon Hordes became the first cantor of either sex (and therefore, since she was female, the first female cantor) ordained in Reconstructionist Judaism. Also in 2002, Avitall Gerstetter, who lived in Germany, became the first female cantor ordained in Jewish Renewal (and the first female cantor in Germany). In 2005, the Kohenet Institute was founded by Rabbi Jill Hammer and Holly Shere. The Kohenet Institute, based at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Connecticut,
4273392
Women in Judaism


a variety of fields, Modern Orthodox communities promote women's secular education. A few Modern Orthodox Synagogues have women serving as clergy, including Gilah Kletenik at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun. In 2013, Yeshivat Maharat, located in the United States, became the first Orthodox institution to consecrate female clergy. The graduates of Yeshivat Maharat did not call themselves "rabbis". The title they were given is "maharat". However, in 2015, Yaffa Epstein was ordained as Rabba by Yeshivat Maharat. Also in 2015, Lila Kagedan was
6598526
Barbara Borts


Barbara Marcy Borts is an American-born Movement for Reform Judaism rabbi in the United Kingdom. She was one of the first women in Europe to be ordained as a rabbi and the first woman to have her own pulpit in a UK Reform Judaism synagogue. Barbara Borts was born in Los Angeles in 1953 to Natalie and Abe Borts. After studying at Leo Baeck College in London, she was ordained as a rabbi in 1981, at the same time as Rabbi Sybil Sheridan; they were two of the first women rabbis in
6661239
Jewish feminism


read a portion of that week's Torah portion in Hebrew and English, and then intoned the closing blessing. Kaplan, who at that time claimed to be an Orthodox rabbi, joined Conservative Judaism and then became the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, and influenced Jews from all branches of non-Orthodox Judaism through his position at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Also in 1922, Martha Neumark and her father attended the Central Conference of American Rabbis Conference, where she succeeded in convincing the CCAR to ordain women rabbis. The CCAR
4273370
Transgender people and religion


person's sex status under Jewish law is changed by SRS. There have not yet been any openly transgender rabbis or rabbinical students affiliated with Conservative Judaism. But the Jewish Theological Seminary, one of three Conservative movement schools, openly admits students of all sexual orientations and gender identities for rabbinical training and ordination. Also, Emily Aviva Kapor, who had been ordained privately by a "Conservadox" rabbi in 2005, came out in 2012, thus becoming the first openly transgender female rabbi in all of Judaism. In 2016 the Rabbinical
20228506
Homosexuality and Judaism


Jewish Renewal movement ordains people of all sexual orientations as rabbis and cantors. In 2005, Eli Cohen became the first openly gay rabbi ordained by the Jewish Renewal Movement, followed by Chaya Gusfield and Rabbi Lori Klein in 2006, who became the two first openly lesbian rabbis ordained by the Jewish Renewal movement. In 2007, Jalda Rebling, born in Amsterdam and now living in Germany, became the first openly lesbian cantor ordained by the Jewish Renewal movement. In 2011, the bisexual rights activist Debra Kolodny was ordained as a rabbi
16336742
Alysa Stanton


Alysa Stanton (born c. 1964) is an American Reform rabbi, and the first African American female rabbi. Ordained on June 6, 2009, in August 2009 she began work as a rabbi at Congregation Bayt Shalom, a small majority-white synagogue in Greenville, North Carolina, making her the first African American rabbi to lead a majority-white congregation. Stanton converted to Judaism at age 24 and first studied and worked as a psychotherapist. Stanton was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Denver, Colorado,
2023104
Jewish feminism


quote Merle Feld, one of their members, "explore issues of spirituality, social change, and the feminist transformation of Judaism". Also in 1981, Lynn Gottlieb became the first female rabbi ordained in Jewish Renewal. In 1983, the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), the main educational institution of the Conservative movement, voted, without accompanying opinion, to ordain women as rabbis and as cantors. Paula Hyman, among others, took part in the vote as a member of the JTS faculty. There had been a
4273387
Reform Judaism


Judaism to other lands as well. In 1930, the first Liberal congregation, Temple Beth Israel Melbourne, was founded in Australia. In June 1931, the South African Jewish Religious Union for Liberal Judaism was organised, soon employing HUC-ordained Moses Cyrus Weiler. The Congregação Israelita Paulista of São Paulo, first branch in South America, was established in 1936. German refugees also founded a Liberal community named "Emet ve-Emuna" in Jerusalem, but it joined the Conservatives by 1949. Kohler retired in 1923. Rabbi
6452942
Ordination of women


in Reconstructionist Judaism in 1974; Lynn Gottlieb became the first female rabbi in Jewish Renewal in 1981; Amy Eilberg became the first female rabbi in Conservative Judaism in 1985; and Tamara Kolton became the very first rabbi of either sex (and therefore, since she was female, the first female rabbi) in Humanistic Judaism in 1999. Women in Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Renewal, and Humanistic Judaism are routinely granted semicha (meaning ordination) on an equal basis with men. This version of semicha is not valid according to
9809651
Amy Eilberg


Amy Eilberg (born October 12, 1954) is the first female rabbi ordained in Conservative Judaism. She was ordained in 1985 by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, one of the academic centers and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism. Eilberg was born October 12, 1954, in Philadelphia, USA. Her father, Joshua Eilberg, represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives, and her mother, Gladys, was a social worker. Her parents were proud but not observant Jews, but when Eilberg was fourteen, her newfound
9358322
Feminist Jewish ethics


In 1972, the Reform Movement in the United States ordained the first female rabbi. For many Jewish women, the Reform Movement provided an ideal setting for women's voices to be heard and their experiences to be central to Judaism rather than marginalized. The Reconstructionist Movement soon followed in similar footsteps to those of Reform Judaism. Mordecai Kaplan, founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, was a strong advocate for the equality of women in Judaism. He argued in his essays, The "Reconstructionist Papers", that Jewish law defines women as inferior
17889293
Homosexuality and Judaism


of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. As the President, she is believed to be the first woman and first lesbian to lead a Jewish congregational union, and the first female rabbi and first lesbian to lead a Jewish seminary; the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College is both a congregational union and a seminary. Jewish Renewal is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with Kabbalistic, Hasidic, musical and meditative practices; it describes itself as "a worldwide, transdenominational movement grounded in Judaism's prophetic and mystical traditions". The
16336741
Pauline Bebe


the Leo Baeck College. She stated "A liberal Rabbinical College in France does not exist, and I am attached to a Judaism based on the Enlightenment, to a religion which evolves according to periods and social circles." She completed her Hebrew cursus in Jerusalem at the Hebrew Union College. She was ordained in 1990, one of about 30 women rabbis ordained by the Leo Baeck College between 1975 and 2006. Though less numerous than in the United States, female rabbis exist in Europe, mostly in England, Germany and
9875224
Homosexuality and Judaism


United States. In 2011 Sandra Lawson became the first openly gay African-American and first African-American admitted to the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College; she was ordained in June 2018, whuch made her the first openly gay, female, black rabbi in the world. In 2013, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association elected as president Rabbi Jason Klein, the first openly gay man chosen to head a national rabbinical association of one of the major Jewish denominations in the United States. Also in 2013, Rabbi Deborah Waxman was elected as the president
16336740
Jewish feminism


men and women as rabbis, and its first rabbi was a woman, Tamara Kolton, who was ordained in 1999. Its first cantor was also a woman, Deborah Davis, ordained in 2001; however, Humanistic Judaism has since stopped ordaining cantors. The Society for Humanistic Judaism issued a statement in 1996 stating in part, "we affirm that a woman has the moral right and should have the continuing legal right to decide whether or not to terminate a pregnancy in accordance with her own ethical standards. Because a decision to
4273412
Gesa Ederberg


Gesa Ederberg (born 1968 in Tübingen) became the first female pulpit rabbi in Berlin in 2007 when she became the rabbi of the Oranienburger Strasse Synagogue in the former East Berlin. Her installation as such was opposed by Berlin’s senior Orthodox rabbi Yitzchak Ehrenberg. She converted to Judaism in 1995. She was ordained by the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem in 2003. She established a Conservative Jewish beit midrash in Berlin. She was part of the 2006 founding of the European Rabbinical Assembly of Masorti/Conservative Rabbis. As
8073521
Erica Lippitz


Erica Lippitz and Marla Rosenfeld Barugel were the first two female hazzans (also called cantors) ordained in Conservative Judaism. Their ordination was held in 1987, two years after the first woman was ordained a Conservative rabbi. Lippitz and Barugel were ordained at the same time by the Cantors Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Since her ordination, Lippitz has served as cantor at Oheb Shalom in South Orange, New Jersey. She is also the director and co-founder of the Kol Dodi choir, director of
12819851
Reform Judaism


references to God from its liturgy, was denied UAHC membership by a landslide vote of 113:15 in 1994. In 1972, the first Reform female rabbi, Sally Priesand, was ordained at HUC. In 1977, the CCAR declared that the biblical ban on male same-sex intercourse referred only to the pagan customs prevalent at the time it was composed, and gradually accepted openly LGBT constituents and clergy. The first LGBT rabbi, Stacy Offner, was instated in 1988, and full equality was declared in 1990. Same-sex
6452954
Judaism and Mormonism


its first woman rabbi in 1972, Reconstructionist Judaism in 1974, and Conservative Judaism in 1985. The Reform and Reconstructionist movements also accept openly gay and lesbian rabbis. Conservative Judaism (typically a more conservative branch than the Reform or Reconstructionist movements) moved to allow individual congregations to choose whether or not to accept both gay and lesbian rabbis and same-sex commitment ceremonies in December 2006. There are no restrictions in any branch of Judaism with regard to race or descent. The LDS Church allows "literal descendants of Aaron" the
5349348
Cantor in Reform Judaism


serve synagogues and communities in pastoral, worship, programming, and educational roles. The ACC sponsors an annual convention and publishes Koleinu, a regular newsletter. It also offers placement services to its members and URJ congregations through the Joint Cantorial Placement Commission. The American Conference of Cantors is an affiliate of the Union for Reform Judaism. In 1968, Sally Priesand became the first woman accepted for rabbinic training at Hebrew Union College. When Sally Priesand was ordained in 1972, she became the first female rabbi in America. By 1970,
1463659
Norman Lamm


the acquisition of secular knowledge and both demand adherence to halakha. Lamm is a well known voice of "Modern Orthodoxy" (which is also known as Centrist Orthodoxy), regarding itself as the "center" between the "left wing" branches of Orthodox Judaism, such as Rabbi Avi Weiss's "Open Orthodoxy," and the movements of the "right wing" such as Haredi Judaism. (Some writers have suggested a difference between the two terms "Modern" and "Centrist" Judaism—something Lamm dismisses as
8580013
Rabbi


of official rabbi of a community, "mara de'atra" ("master of the place"), has generally been treated in the responsa as such a position. This ruling is still followed in traditional and orthodox circles but has been relaxed in branches like Conservative and Reform Judaism that are less strict in their adherence to traditional Jewish law. Asenath Barzani of Iraq is considered the first female rabbi of Jewish history by some scholars; additionally, she is the oldest recorded female Kurdish leader in history. Hannah Rachel Verbermacher, also
6232968
LGBT clergy in Judaism


Orthodox institution. However, she was ordained before transitioning, and is not working as a rabbi as of 2016. In 2019, Daniel Atwood, a gay rabbinical student who was denied ordination by New York’s Yeshivat Chovevei Torah despite the school previously saying it would ordain him, was welcomed into the rabbinate in Jerusalem, breaking a longstanding taboo against homosexuality in the Orthodox community. He was the first openly gay Orthodox person to be ordained as a rabbi, and was ordained by the rabbi Daniel Landes. Atwood became engaged to
1978162
Ellen Weinberg Dreyfus


Ellen Weinberg Dreyfus is an American rabbi. She is a founder and former president of the Women's Rabbinic Network, which was founded in 1976 by fifteen female rabbinical students. She was ordained in 1979 at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, and is to her knowledge the first woman to be ordained as a rabbi while pregnant. In 1983 she moved back to Illinois, becoming the first female rabbi in that state. In 2001 she became the first female president of the Chicago Board of Rabbis
21630479
Jewish Theological Seminary of America


rabbis, which met between 1977 and 1978, and consisted of 11 men and three women; the women were Marian Siner Gordon, an attorney, Rivkah Harris, an Assyriologist, and Francine Klagsbrun, a writer. After years of discussion, the JTS faculty voted to ordain women as rabbis and as cantors in 1983. The first female rabbi to graduate from the school (and the first female Conservative Jewish rabbi in the world) was Amy Eilberg, who graduated and was ordained as a rabbi in 1985. The first class
18731200
Albert L. Lewis


," so that all could "take full advantage of...[his] presence." Throughout his career, he remained a strong supporter of JTS, voting against the admission of the first female applicant to the Rabbinical Assembly in 1984—despite his strong support for the ordination and equal rights of women in Judaism—because he ultimately decided to side with the rabbis who felt that the first woman rabbi to be admitted to the RA should be one who was ordained by JTS. While serving as President of the Rabbinical Assembly from 1988 to
7948722
Helene Ferris


Helene Ferris is the first second-career female rabbi in Judaism. Helene Ferris was ordained by the Reform Jewish seminary Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1981, and worked as an associate rabbi for Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York from 1981 until 1991 when she felt she had reached the limits of her work there. From 1991 until her retirement in 2006 Ferris was the chief rabbi at Temple Israel of Northern Westchester, a Reform synagogue in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. Among her most well
4251025
Feminist Jewish ethics


to men and concludes that Jewish law must change and rid itself of these gender inequalities. In 1922, the first Bat Mitzvah occurred in a Reconstructionist synagogue, but it was not until 1974 that the Reconstructionist Movement ordained its first female rabbi. Reconstructionism has allowed women to voice their concerns from social issues like domestic violence to religious inequalities such as the right for women to read from the Torah. The Reconstructionist Movement has moved beyond Kaplan's original vision of equality toward a reconceptualization of Judaism through a feminist lens." Conservative Judaism
17889294
Modern Orthodox Judaism


Eretz remains influential to this day in all branches of Orthodox Judaism. , the movement descended from Hirsch's Frankfurt community, regards itself as positioned, ideologically, outside of contemporary Modern Orthodoxy; see further below. Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer, along with Rabbi Hirsch, was insistent that Orthodox Jews living in the west should not segregate themselves behind ghetto walls. On the contrary, modern Jewish education must teach Jews how best to confront and deal with modernity in all of its aspects. His approach, "Cultured Orthodoxy", was defined
21131087
LGBT clergy in Judaism


openly transgender person accepted to the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he was ordained in 2010. Elliot Kukla, who came out as transgender six months before his ordination in 2006, was the first openly transgender person to be ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. In 2005, Eli Cohen became the first openly gay man to be ordained a rabbi by the Jewish Renewal Movement. In 2006, Chaya Gusfield and Rabbi Lori Klein, both ordained in America, became the first openly lesbian
1978152
Movement for Reform Judaism


and American Reform abridged theirs and introduced much English. Since the 1970s, formerly excised blessings (like those on phylacteries) were returned. Reform Judaism in the UK observes dietary laws and the Sabbath to a considerable degree in the public sphere. It has a "get"-like divorce document issued by its rabbinic court, and conversion requires circumcision by males and ablution by both sexes. Egalitarianism did not become prevalent in most synagogues until the 2000s, although the first female rabbi, Jackie Tabick, was ordained in 1975. Mixed seating was
20125919
Sherwin Wine


Sherwin Theodore Wine (January 25, 1928 – July 21, 2007) was a rabbi and a founding figure in Humanistic Judaism. Originally ordained a Reform rabbi, Wine founded the Birmingham Temple, the first congregation of Humanistic Judaism in 1963, in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan (the temple later relocated to its current location in Farmington Hills, Michigan). In 1969 Wine founded the Society for Humanistic Judaism. He later was a founder of several other organizations related to Humanistic Judaism, a humanist movement
4724073
Dario Hunter


Dario David Hunter (born April 21, 1983), also known as Yisroel Hunter, is an American lawyer, rabbi, educator, and politician. He is considered the first Muslim-born person to be ordained as a rabbi. Hunter is openly gay and was raised by his Iranian Muslim father and African American mother in Newark and Jersey City in New Jersey. Hunter converted to Judaism, first through the Reform movement and then through an Orthodox process. He was ordained as a rabbi in 2012 by the Jewish Spiritual Leaders
20342133
Rabbi


was ordained as Rabba by the Yeshivat Maharat. Also in 2015, Lila Kagedan was ordained as Rabbi by that same organization, making her their first graduate to take the title Rabbi. Hurwitz continues to use the title Rabba and is considered by some to be the first female Orthodox rabbi. However, in the fall of 2015 Rabbinical Council of America passed a resolution which states, "RCA members with positions in Orthodox institutions may not ordain women into the Orthodox rabbinate, regardless of the title used; or hire or ratify the
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Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism


The Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (or the IMPJ, ) is the organizational branch of Progressive Judaism in Israel, and a member organization of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. It currently has 40 communities and congregations around the state of Israel, 13 of which are new congregations, referred to as "U'faratztah" communities, and two kibbutzim, Yahel and Lotan, Israel. Some of the earliest Reform rabbis to settle in what would become Israel included Rabbi Judah Leon Magnes, who was the first Chancellor of the
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Clergy


, and still offer the priestly blessing during certain services in the synagogue and perform the "Pidyon haben" (redemption of the first-born son) ceremony. Since the time of the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, the religious leaders of Judaism have often been rabbis, who are technically scholars in Jewish law empowered to act as judges in a rabbinical court. All types of Judaism except Orthodox Judaism allow women as well as men to be ordained as rabbis and cantors. The leadership of a Jewish congregation is, in
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Jewish prayer


early age. Orthodox Judaism still follows this reasoning and excludes women from the minyan. Since 1973, Conservative congregations have overwhelmingly become egalitarian and count women in the "minyan". A very small number of congregations that identify themselves as Conservative have resisted these changes and continue to exclude women from the minyan. Those Reform and Reconstructionist congregations that consider a "minyan" mandatory for communal prayer, count both men and women for a "minyan". All denominations of Judaism except for Orthodox Judaism ordain female rabbis and cantors. In
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Reconstructionist Judaism


could be ordained under the Reconstructionist ideology and lead Reconstructionist congregations. By the fall of 1968, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College was opened in Philadelphia. Along with the establishment of the college, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association formed, which gave rabbis a strong network in the religious leadership of Reconstructionism. The founding of these institutions were great strides in its becoming the fourth movement in North American Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative and Reform being the other three). Reconstructionist Judaism is the first major movement of Judaism to originate in North America; the
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Maharat


change the landscape of Orthodox Judaism and the community at large. Maharat has impacted over 50 communities worldwide. Graduates of Maharat utilize titles such as "Maharat"," Rabba" (רבה, a neologism), "Rabbanit" (רבנית, traditionally denoting a rabbi's wife) and "Rabbi" (רבי). In 2015, Lila Kagedan was ordained as Rabbi by that same organization, making her their first graduate to take the title rabbi. In 2015, the Rabbinical Council of America passed a resolution which states
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Bar and bat mitzvah


an Orthodox rabbi who joined Conservative Judaism and then became the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, influenced Jews from all branches of non-Orthodox Judaism, through his position at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. At the time, most Orthodox rabbis strongly rejected the idea of a bat mitzvah ceremony. As the ceremony became accepted for females as well as males, many women chose to celebrate the ceremony even though they were much older, as a way of formalizing and celebrating their place in the adult Jewish community. Instead of reading from
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Rabbi


that is affiliated with one of the modern branches of Judaism, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, or modern Orthodox, will find employment—whether as a congregational rabbi, teacher, chaplain, Hillel director, camp director, social worker or administrator—through the placement office of his or her seminary. Like any modern professional, he or she will negotiate the terms of employment with potential employers and sign a contract specifying duties, duration of service, salary, benefits, pension and the like. A rabbi's salary and benefits
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Judaism and Mormonism


, visiting the sick, officiating at weddings and other life events, and so on—a rabbi's most important function in his or her congregation is interpreting and teaching Jewish law. Training to become a rabbi includes extensive education in Jewish law and practice, and may also include education in Jewish history and philosophy. In general, a congregation will hire a rabbi after reviewing applications and interviewing several candidates—there is no central body that assigns a rabbi to a congregation. Orthodox Judaism accepts only male rabbis. Reform Judaism ordained
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Rabbi


like these, just like these, ordain for us!" The ceremony where ordination is conferred is known as "Chag HaSemikhah," the festival of ordination. Today in most branches of Judaism, there is no laying on of hands; ordination is conferred as an academic degree with a diploma, signed by the officiating rabbis, often hand-written on parchment. An Orthodox "semikhah" requires the successful completion of a program encompassing Jewish law and responsa in keeping with longstanding tradition. Orthodox rabbinical students work to gain knowledge
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Gil Student


Gil Ofer Student (born August 8, 1972) is the Book Editor of the Orthodox Union's Jewish Action magazine, and former Managing Editor of OU Press, and an Orthodox Jewish blogger who writes about the interface between different facets of Judaism, specifically Orthodox Judaism and Modern Orthodox Judaism. He is an ordained non-pulpit serving Orthodox rabbi who serves as the Director of the Halacha Commission of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, a member of the Editorial Committee of the Orthodox Union's Jewish Action magazine, and a member of
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Hazzan


first American women to be ordained as cantors in Jewish Renewal after Susan Wehle's ordination were Michal Rubin and Abbe Lyons, both ordained on January 10, 2010. In 2001 Deborah Davis became the first cantor (female or otherwise) in Humanistic Judaism; however, Humanistic Judaism has since stopped graduating cantors. In 2009 Iran-born Tannoz Bahremand Foruzanfar was ordained as a cantor by the non-denominational Academy for Jewish Religion (California), becoming the first female Persian ordained cantor in the United States. As of 2011,
331174
Judith Kaplan Eisenstein


Judith Kaplan (September 10, 1909 – February 14, 1996) was an author, musicologist, composer, theologian and the first person to celebrate a Bat Mitzvah publicly in America (see below). The bat mitzvah was created to address Judaism's gender imbalance and is the female equivalent of a boy’s bar mitzvah, signifying entrance into religious majority. Judith, the oldest daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan (who was the founder of the Reconstructionist branch of Judaism), was the first person to celebrate a Bat Mitzvah publicly
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Lynn Gottlieb


Lynn Gottlieb (born April 12, 1949 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) is an American rabbi in the Jewish Renewal movement. In 1974, she founded the now-defunct feminist theater troupe Bat Kol. In 1981, she became the first woman ordained as a rabbi in the Jewish Renewal movement; she was ordained by rabbis Zalman Schachter, Everett Gendler, and Shlomo Carlebach. She authored "She Who Dwells Within: A Feminist Vision of a Renewed Judaism" (1995). In 2007 she was selected as one of The
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Sally Priesand


decided to give women a choice of wording beginning in 2016, including the option to have the same wording as men. Priesand was ordained on June 3, 1972, by Glueck's successor as HUC-JIR's president Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk at the Plum Street Temple in Cincinnati, making her the first woman to be ordained as a rabbi in the United States and believed to be only the second woman ever to be formally ordained in the history of Judaism. Gottschalk called the ordination of Priesand "historic", one that breaks
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LGBT clergy in Judaism


, Ontario, Canada. She serves The Glebe Minyan, a post-denominational Jewish Renewal community. In May 2011, Rachel Isaacs became the first openly lesbian rabbi ordained by the Conservative movement's Jewish Theological Seminary ("JTS"), which occurred in May 2011. She transferred to JTS from the Reform movement's Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in her third year of rabbinical school. Also in 2011, the bisexual rights activist Debra Kolodny was ordained as a rabbi by the Jewish Renewal movement and hired as
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Angela Warnick Buchdahl


ceremony". She attended Yale University, where she was one of the first female members of Skull and Bones, a secret society which counts former President George W. Bush and Secretary of State John Kerry as members. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies from Yale University in 1994, and began her cantorial and rabbinic studies at Hebrew Union College. In 1999 she was invested as a cantor and then ordained as a rabbi in 2001 by HUC-JIR, an American seminary for Reform Judaism. She became assistant
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Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion


students in all its programs, including rabbinic and cantorial studies. Since its founding, the College-Institute has ordained over 2,800 rabbis and over 400 cantors. As of 2007, 520 ordained rabbis and 179 invested cantors have been women. ("See" Women and the rabbinical credential). The first female rabbi to be ordained by HUC was Sally Priesand, ordained in 1972, the only woman in a class with 35 men. The first female cantor to be invested by HUC was Barbara Ostfeld-Horowitz in 1975.
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Reform Judaism


, and the second formally ordained female rabbi in Jewish history, after Regina Jonas. Reform also pioneered family seating, an arrangement that spread throughout American Jewry but was only applied in continental Europe after World War II. Egalitarianism in prayer became universally prevalent in the WUPJ by the end of the 20th Century. Tolerance for LGBT and ordination of LGBT rabbis were also pioneered by the movement. Intercourse between consenting adults was declared as legitimate by the Central Conference of American Rabbis in 1977, and openly gay clergy were admitted by the end
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LGBT clergy in Judaism


Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, started allowing openly LGBT students. Also in 2006, Chaya Gusfield and Rabbi Lori Klein became the two first openly lesbian rabbis ordained by the Jewish Renewal movement. They were both ordained at the same time in January 2006. In 2007 Rabbi Toba Spitzer became the first openly lesbian or gay person chosen to head a rabbinical association in the United States when she was elected president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association at the group's annual convention, held in Scottsdale, Arizona. Also in 2007, Jalda Rebling
1978154
Movement for Reform Judaism


only accepted just before and during World War II. Recognition of Jews by patrilineal descent was affirmed in 2015. Reform Judaism currently ordains female and LGBT clergy, conducts LGBT marriages and has egalitarian services, counting women for "minyan" and allowing them full participation. Girls have their bat mitzvah at 13, the same age as boys have their bar mitzvah. Reform Judaism is welcoming to non-Jewish spouses; while the Assembly maintains "clear opposition" to involvement in interfaith unions, since 2012 it allows rabbis to conduct celebratory
20125920
Humanistic Judaism


adversely affect Jewish continuity. Humanistic Judaism is egalitarian with respect to gender and gender identification, Jewish status, and sexual orientation. Brit shalom (baby-naming ceremonies), similar for boys and girls, are performed rather than the brit milah. Those who identify as Jews and those who do not, as well as LGBTI members, may participate in all ways in all Humanistic Jewish rituals and leadership roles. Humanistic Judaism ordains both men and women as rabbis, and its first rabbi was a woman, Tamara Kolton, who
10268379
Ira Eisenstein


bachelor's degree and a doctoral degree from Columbia University. In 1931, he was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he first met and married Judith Kaplan Eisenstein, daughter of founder Mordecai Kaplan. After his ordination, Rabbi Eisenstein became associate rabbi and then rabbi of the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, the first Reconstructionist congregation, which Kaplan founded in 1922. He also served as religious leader of the Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago, as well as the Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore on Long Island, N.Y.
12916007
Honorifics in Judaism


There are a number of honorifics in Judaism that vary depending on the status of, and the relationship to, the person to whom one is referring. The word "rabbi", which means a religious "teacher", is commonly used in English to refer to any ordained Jewish scholar. Literally, "Rabbi" means "my master". It is the same Hebrew word as "Rav", (see below) with the possessive suffix "i". Although it is technically a possessive form, it is
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Max Dienemann


of the Jews in Germany, but at the same time he also understood himself as a "German patriot". In 1935, Dienemann ordained Regina Jonas, the first female rabbi in the history of Judaism. During the National Socialist era, Dienemann was interned twice in concentration camps. First interred in a camp in Osthofen in 1933, he was later imprisoned in Buchenwald in 1938. Together with his family, he was forced to emigrate after Kristallnacht. In March 1939, the Dienemann family moved to Palestine. Dienemann died less
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Baal teshuva movement


has brought them to become involved with all the Jewish denominations, the most far-reaching stage being when they choose to follow Orthodox Judaism and its branches such as Haredi Judaism and Hasidic Judaism. This movement has continued unabated until the present time and has been noted by scholars who have written articles and books about its significance to modern Jewish history. This movement among the Jewish people has produced a corresponding response from the various Jewish denominations and rabbis, particularly from Orthodox Judaism, which calls its response "kiruv" or "kiruv
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Karen Soria


Karen Soria is the first female rabbi to serve in Australia, although she was born and ordained in the United States. She was originally from the Chicago area, and graduated from the HUC-JIR Reform Jewish seminary in 1981. She then became Australia's first female rabbi, serving with congregations in Melbourne from 1981 until 1989. Soria later became the first female rabbi to serve with the U.S. Marines, which she did from 1992 until 1996; she was also the second female rabbi to serve in the U.S. Navy, a
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Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies


The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, informally known as the "Ziegler School" or simply "Ziegler", is the graduate program of study leading to Ordination as Conservative Rabbis at the American Jewish University (formerly known as the University of Judaism). Founded in 1996 as a full-fledged program of Rabbinic ordination on the West Coast - the first independent rabbinical school on the West Coast - it ordained its first class in 1999. It is located in Los Angeles and has ordained about 100 rabbis, about half of them
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Conservative Judaism


rejected the Reconstructionist non-"halakhic" approach, insisting that the legalistic method be maintained. The "halakhic" commitment of Conservative Judaism has been subject to much criticism, from within and without. Right-wing discontents, including the Union for Traditional Judaism which seceded in protest of the 1983 resolution to ordain women rabbis—adopted at an open vote, where all JTS faculty regardless of qualification were counted—contested the validity of this description, as well as progressives like Rabbi Neil Gillman, who exhorted the movement to cease describing itself as
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Rabbi


in 19th-century Germany and the United States rabbinic activities including sermons, pastoral counseling, and representing the community to the outside, all increased in importance. Within the various Jewish denominations there are different requirements for rabbinic ordination, and differences in opinion regarding who is to be recognized as a rabbi. For example, Orthodox Judaism does not ordain women as rabbis. Non-Orthodox movements have chosen to do so for what they view as halakhic reasons (Conservative Judaism) as well as ethical reasons (Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism)
6232914
Open Orthodoxy


as such. In 2015 Yaffa Epstein was ordained as Rabba by Yeshivat Maharat, which Weiss founded. Also in 2015, Lila Kagedan was ordained as rabbi by that same organization, which made her their first graduate to take the title rabbi. In 2016 Lila Kagedan became the first female clergy member hired by an Orthodox synagogue while using the title "rabbi." This occurred when Mount Freedom Jewish Center in New Jersey, which is Open Orthodox, hired Kagedan to join their "spiritual leadership team." In 2018 Dina Brawer
16784989
Sally Priesand


Sally Jane Priesand (born June 27, 1946) is America's first female rabbi ordained by a rabbinical seminary, and the second formally ordained female rabbi in Jewish history, after Regina Jonas. Priesand was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion on June 3, 1972, at the Plum Street Temple in Cincinnati. After her ordination she served first as assistant and then as associate rabbi at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City, and later led Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls, New Jersey from
1448185
Amy Eilberg


Sandy Eisenberg Sasso in 1974, members of the Rabbinical Assembly, the central organization of Conservative rabbis, initiated exploratory studies about Jewish legal attitudes toward women's ordination. As of 2014, the seminaries of the Conservative Movement have ordained approximately 300 women rabbis. On May 12, 1985, at the age of thirty, Eilberg became the first woman ordained in Conservative Judaism. In 1986 she became the first woman appointed to serve on the Rabbinical Assembly's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. She started her career as a chaplain at
9358326
Irving Greenberg


Irving (Yitzchak) Greenberg (born 1933), also known as Yitz Greenberg, is an American scholar, author and Modern Orthodox rabbi. He is known as a strong supporter of Israel, and a promoter of greater understanding between Judaism and Christianity. In 1953, Greenberg was ordained at Yeshiva Beis Yosef. He earned a PhD. from Harvard University, and 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
7148990
Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism


for the establishment of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ). The IMPJ officially became an organization in Israel in 1971. The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, the rabbinical college of Reform Judaism, began its Rabbinical Studies program in Israel in 1974, and in 1980, the first Reform rabbi was ordained by the HUC. The headquarters of the World Union for Progressive Judaism was moved to Jerusalem in 1973. Today, there are 40 communities and congregations affiliated with Reform Judaism in Israel. The IMPJ runs
21263124
Conservative Judaism


positive time-bound commandments (from which they are exempted, and therefore unable to fulfill the obligation for others), especially citing the manner in which they assumed upon themselves the Counting of the Omer. He suggested that women voluntarily commit to pray thrice a day et cetera, and his responsa was adopted. Since then, female rabbis were ordained at JTS and other seminaries. In 1994, the movement accepted Judith Hauptman's principally egalitarian argument, according to which equal prayer obligations for women were never banned explicitly and it was
6659959
Women of Reform Judaism


Abraham Geiger College, the first seminary to ordain a Rabbi in Germany since World War II. "The Torah: A Women's Commentary" recently won the Everett Family Foundation Jewish Book of the Year award. This counterpart to "The Torah: A Modern Commentary" gives a new perspective on women in the Torah. "A Women's Commentary" is a scholarly work, written by Jewish women, that gives voices to the women in the Torah and gives a woman's perspective on these classical stories. The book began
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