Women’s Voices in the Month of May

It’s hard to believe we’re already two weeks into the month of June, but I’d like to rewind for a bit and reflect on the beautiful guest posts we were able to feature here last month. Each month, the Reform Movement spotlights a theme across its online presence, and May’s theme was “40 Years of Women on the Bimah,” leading up to the 40th anniversary of Rabbi Sally Priesand’s historic ordination as the first female rabbi in the United States. Throughout May, we joined RJ.org in highlighting the voices of rabbis, cantors, educators, community leaders and congregants talking about what the role of women in Reform Judaism and North American life means to them.

The voices on RACblog came from all over the Movement and the RAC family, including Commission on Social Action (CSA) members, former Eisendrath Legislative Assistants and NFTYites. The authors paid tribute to their mentors and reflected on what we can do to honor their memories; they told stories of inspiring women who lived down the street—or in their own families—and stories of inspiring women from the other side of the world. I encourage you to read through the posts:

• In “The First Woman Rabbi,” former CSA member Rabbi Bonnie Margulis reminded us of Rabbi Regina Jonas, who was privately ordained in 1935, seven years before Rabbi Sally Priesand became the first woman to be ordained and acknowledged as rabbi by a movement of Judaism.
• In “My Debt to Rabbi Sally Priesand,” former Eisendrath Legislative Assistant Allison Grossman turned the focus to the millions of women around the world who lack access to health, education and economic opportunity and recommitted herself to fighting for the rights she is able to enjoy because of those who fought before her.
• In “Women, the Driving Force,” CSA member Barbara Lerman-Golomb paid tribute to the strong women in her family and reflected on how she views her responsibility to her daughters.
• In “Because of the Women Who Came Before Me,” CSA and URJ Board member Honey Heller recounted her journey from being one of the first female international banking officers to becoming a Jewish social justice advocate and co-chair of Reform Jewish Voice of New York State.
• In “What Being a Jewish Woman Means to Me,” NFTY’s immediate past Social Action Vice President Avra Bossov explored the opportunities available to today’s Reform Jewish women to define what it means to be a young Jewish woman and create their own history.

The month of May is over, but the conversation on RACblog never stops! The Eisendrath Legislative Assistants are blogging every day, and they are frequently joined by our Brickner fellows and soon our Machon Kaplan college interns as well. Let me know if you want to write a guest post, and please join the conversation by commenting on the posts, on the RAC’s Facebook page and on Twitter @TheRAC.