Women of Reform Judaism

By Rabbi Marla Feldman I was blessed to have had the opportunity to become a rabbi and serve the Jewish community in a time when the doors to the rabbinate were open to women. As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sally Priesand’s ordination, I am acutely aware that this was not always the case. Rabbi [...]

From WRJ to the Rabbinate by Rabbi Jill Berkson Zimmerman If it weren’t for the Women of Reform Judaism, I wouldn’t be writing this piece today as a rabbi. Growing up in a Chicago suburb in the 60′s, every house on our block was Jewish, as was 70% of our high school. Schools were closed [...]

Editor’s Note: This piece is excerpted from Rabbi Abrahmson’s keynote address at the 2013 WRJ Fried Leadership Conference. by Rabbi B. Elka Abrahamson It has been a remarkable week for women. On Monday, the women’s restrooms in the United States Capitol happily boasted a line, thanks to the record-smashing 94 female House members needing to [...]

“Rosh HaShanah is coming.  It will be a good time to just turn the page, and start the new year fresh,” a friend said a few weeks ago.  “Then, you can focus on moving forward.  Leave all of the unpleasantness behind.”  Is it really that easy?  Is that what the High Holidays are about?  Turn [...]

By: Jessica Kirzane The history of Jewish women in America is important.  It’s not just important in some politically-correct way – I’m not saying we need to be thinking about and teaching about American Jewish women in order to prove that they ‘contributed’ to a male-dominated history, or just to make sure that everyone feels they [...]

Growing up in the 60’s and early 70’s, I became politically aware at a very young age. The news was filled with images of demonstrations and anti-war rallies, young people taking to the streets, and people of different faiths and races risking – and sometimes losing – their lives to oppose unfair government policies. One [...]

The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) today released a study on Rabbinic Compensation by Gender. The executive summary provided by the CCAR in many ways states the obvious: there is a salary discrepancy between men and women, and that discrepancy increases as congregational size increases. No great surprise there. What is exceptional about this [...]

By Rabbi Wendi Geffen “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I asked my four-year old recently. “Well, I’d like to be a rabbi, but I can’t because I’m a boy.” Given the fact that nearly every rabbi my son has met, including me, is female, his conclusion was not surprising. Contrast [...]

By Rabbi Daniel R. Allen Editor’s Note: The following post was issued as a press release by URJ/ARZA yesterday afternoon following the news today that Rabbi Miri Gold would become the first non-orthodox Rabbi to be paid by the State of Israel. Israeli Reform Rabbi Miri Gold will be the first non-orthodox Rabbi to be [...]

By Rabbi Brad Boxman Some things are just meant to be.  I guess it’s what we call “b’shert.” Thirty-two years ago, I made a fateful decision to apply to the Rabbinic School at The Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion.  Although I was raised in a Reform Congregation in Philadelphia, where my mom [...]