Scouts, Trailblazers, Pathfinders, Explorers:

A History of Women Rabbis

A Four-Session Adult Education Series (Zoom-friendly) created by Rabbi Lisa Levenberg for the Women’s Rabbinic Network in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of Women in the Rabbinate

2022 marked the 50th anniversary of the ordination of Sally J. Priesand, the first woman publicly ordained as a rabbi. Yet, her groundbreaking ordination, which opened the door for subsequent generations of women, was preceded by the impactful lives of other, lesser-known female scholars and community leaders. In this four-session adult education series, we will spotlight a few of the significant women from the 1500s to the early modern period who held quasi-rabbinic status in their communities; compare and contrast the ordinations of Rabbis Sally Priesand and Regina Jonas (Who? Come find out!); explore the challenges faced by the first generation of women in the rabbinate; and reflect on how women's leadership has changed the rabbinate and the Jewish community as a whole.