MEDIA CONTACT
Mitchell Slepian
mslepian@hadassah.org
On Thursday, March 10, at 7:00 pm EST, Hadassah Magazine will mark half a century of women in the rabbinate with “Celebrating 50 Years of Female Rabbis,” a panel discussion hosted on Zoom by Executive Editor Lisa Hostein. The program will bring together the first Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative and Orthodox women ordained by their movements for an examination of how women have transformed the rabbinate and the challenges female rabbis have faced and continue to face.
Hostein will be joined by Rabbi Sally J. Priesand, who became the first woman in the world to be ordained by a rabbinical seminary when she received ordination in 1972 from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (Reform Movement); Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, ordained in 1974 by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College; Rabbi Amy Eilberg, ordained in 1985 by The Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative Movement); and Rabba Sara Hurwitz who, in 2009, was ordained privately by Rabbi Avi Weiss of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale.
Individually and collectively, these four women changed the face of Judaism and Jewish life and paved the way for others. According to officials across the Jewish movements, more than 1,500 women have joined the rabbinate since Rabbi Priesand was ordained half a century ago.
In honor of the anniversary, the magazine’s March issue is devoted to the theme of women and the rabbinate and includes these stories: “Transforming the Rabbinate Over 50 Years,” “Then and Now: Challenges for the Jewish Community,” “Envisioning the Rabbinate Through a Different Lens,” “In Israel, Breaking Barriers in the Orthodox World,” “Holy Sparks” and “The Would-Be Rabbis.”
To cover the event, click here. For photos or if you have questions, contact Mitchell Slepian at mslepian@hadassah.org.
THE RABBIS
Rabbi Sally J. Priesand (Hebrew Union College-Jewish institute of Religion, 1972) was the first woman ordained by a rabbinical seminary and the first woman to be ordained by the Reform Movement. From 1981 until her retirement in 2006, she was the rabbi at the Monmouth Reform Temple in New Jersey. She is currently president of Monmouth County’s Interfaith Neighbors, a group of local faith-based communities that came together to address the growing problem of homelessness. For more information, click here.
Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso(Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, 1974) was the first woman to be ordained by the Reconstructionist Movement. She is Rabbi Emerita of Congregation Beth-El Zedeck in Indianapolis, where she served for 36 years alongside her husband, Rabbi Dennis C. Sasso. They were the first practicing rabbinical couple in Jewish history. A prolific author of children’s books, Rabbi Sasso currently serves as director of the Religion, Spirituality, and the Arts Initiative at Indiana University’s Arts and Humanities Institute. For more information, click here.
Rabbi Amy Eilberg (The Jewish Theological Seminary, 1985) was the first woman to be ordained by the Conservative Movement. She is a spiritual director, peace and justice educator and teacher of Mussar, and she holds leadership positions with the Rabbinical Assembly’s Social Justice Commission; the Anti-Racism Impact Team at Congregation Etz Chayim in Palo Alto, Calif.; the Islamic Networks Group; and the Sisterhood of Salaam/Shalom. For more information, click here.
Rabba/no ‘h’/ Sara Hurwitz was the first Orthodox woman to be ordained (by Rabbi Avi Weiss of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, 2009). She was given the title of MaHaRaT, an acronym for Manhiga Hilchatit Ruchanit Toranit, i.e., a leader possessing halachic, spiritual, and Torah-based values. Rabba Hurwitz is Co-Founder and Presidentof Maharat, the first Orthodox institution to ordain women and serves on the rabbinic staff of HIR. For more information, click here.