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Maharat
Yeshivat Maharat is a Jewish educational institution in The Bronx, New York, which was the first Open Orthodox yeshiva in North America to ordain women. The word ''Maharat'' () is a Hebrew acronym for phrase ''manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit Toranit'' (), denoting a female "leader of Jewish law spirituality and Torah". Semikha and the title of Maharat are awarded to graduates after a 3- or 4-year-long program composed of intensive studies of Jewish law, Talmud, Torah, Jewish thought, leadership training, and pastoral counseling. The ordination functions as a credentialed pathway for women in the Jewish community to serve as clergy members. History In 2009, Rabbi Avi Weiss and Rabbi Daniel Sperber ordained Rabba Sara Hurwitz. She was the first woman to receive Open Orthodox semikha. That same year, Hurwitz and Weiss founded Yeshivat Maharat as an Open Orthodox yeshiva (religious school) for women in New York, with Hurwitz as President. Four years later, the first three gradates ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Women Rabbis And Torah Scholars
Women rabbis are individual Jewish women who have studied Jewish Law and received rabbinical ordination. Women rabbis are prominent in Progressive Jewish denominations, however, the subject of women rabbis in Orthodox Judaism is more complex. Although Orthodox women have been ordained as rabbis, many major Orthodox Jewish communities and institutions do not accept the change. In an alternative approach, other Orthodox Jewish institutions train women as Torah scholars for various Jewish religious leadership roles. These roles typically involve training women as religious authorities in Jewish Law but without formal rabbinic ordination, instead, alternate titles are used. Yet, despite this alteration in title, these women are often perceived as equivalent to ordained rabbis.Auman, K. (2016). Feminism, Egalitarianism, Judaism: Where Are We Headed?. ''Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought'', ''49''(1), 43-48. Since the 1970s, over 1,200 Jewish women have been ordained as rab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Open Orthodoxy
Open Orthodoxy is a Jewish religious movement with increased emphasis on intellectual openness and a more expansive role for women. The term was coined in 1997 by Avi Weiss, who views ''halakha'' (Jewish law) as permitting more flexibility than the traditional practices of Orthodox Judaism. Weiss opened Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (a rabbinical school for men) in 1999 and later also Yeshivat Maharat for training women clergy. In 2007, Weiss co-founded the International Rabbinic Fellowship for Open Orthodox rabbis, and in 2015 he and Asher Lopatin, YCT's president, resigned from the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA). The movement's ordination of women is a source of friction. Overview Weiss's desire for a Judaism that is more inclusive and open-minded than the prevailing norms led him to found new learning institutions to train clergy who would be able to employ this new vision: Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School (YCT) to train new rabbis who will be "open, non-judgmental ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lila Kagedan
Lila Kagedan ( years old) is a Canadian-born Jewish rabbi who in 2016 became the first woman with the title rabbi to be hired by an Orthodox synagogue. This occurred when Mount Freedom Jewish Center in New Jersey, which is open Modern Orthodox, hired Kagedan to join their "spiritual leadership team." She is currently the rabbi at Walnut Street Synagogue, an Orthodox synagogue in Massachusetts. Background Lila Kagedan is the first woman with the title rabbi to be hired by an American Orthodox Jewish congregation. Ordination Prior to her ordination as rabbi, Kagedan studied at Midreshet Lindenbaum, an Israeli institution of higher learning for Orthodox women. Kagedan trained and received ordination in the summer of 2015 from ''Yeshivat Maharat'', the Orthodox women's religious training program founded by Rabbi Avi Weiss in the Bronx, New York. Unlike other ''Maharat'' graduates, who assumed titles such as ''rabba'' (feminine version of "rabbi") or ''maharat'' (''manhiga hilc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avi Weiss
Avraham Haim Yosef (Avi) haCohen Weiss ( he, אברהם חיים יוסף הכהן ווייס; born June 24, 1944) is an American Open Orthodox ordained rabbi, author, teacher, lecturer, and activist who led the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in The Bronx, New York until 2015. He is the founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah for men and Yeshivat Maharat for women, rabbinical seminaries that are tied to Open Orthodoxy, a breakaway movement that Weiss originated, which is to the left of Modern Orthodox Judaism and to the right of Conservative Judaism. He is co-founder of the International Rabbinic Fellowship, a rabbinical association that is a liberal alternative to the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America, and founder of the grassroots organization Coalition for Jewish Concerns – Amcha. ''Semikhah'' (rabbinical ordination) of women by Weiss' movement has been a source of friction within Orthodox Judaism. Early life and career Avi Weiss received his ''semikhah'' (rabbinical ordi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agudath Israel Of America
Agudath Israel of America ( he, אגודת ישראל באמריקה) (also called Agudah) is an American organization that represents Haredi Orthodox Jews. It is loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel. Agudah seeks to meet the needs of the Haredi community, advocates for its religious and civil rights, and services its constituents through charitable, educational, and social service projects across North America. Functions Agudah serves as a leadership and policy umbrella organization for Haredi Jews in the United States, representing the vast majority of members of the yeshiva world, sometimes known by the old label of '' misnagdim'', as well as a large number of Hasidic groups. However, not all Hasidic groups are affiliated with Agudath Israel. For example, the Hasidic group Satmar, which is vehemently anti-Zionist, dislikes Agudah's relatively moderate stance towards the State of Israel. Jonathan Rosenblum, "Reb Elimelech Gavriel (Mike) Tress", i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sara Hurwitz
Sara Hurwitz is an Open Orthodox Jewish spiritual leader. She is considered by some to be the first female Orthodox rabbi. She serves as "Rabba" at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, and the president and co-founder of Yeshivat Maharat, both in Riverdale, New York. Biography Hurwitz was born in South Africa, and moved to Boca Raton, Florida with her family in 1989. She earned a B.A. from Barnard College and a certificate from the Drisha Institute for Women. In June 2009, Sara Hurwitz was ordained by Rabbi Avi Weiss with the title " Maharat". In February 2010, Weiss announced that he was changing the title to "Rabba", a move criticised by both Agudath Yisrael and the Rabbinical Council of America. Within several years of Hurwitz's ordination, subsequent Orthodox women also received ordination as well as positions within Orthodox synagogues. This development indicated that Hurwitz was no longer an exception within Orthodox Judaism. On Dec. 6th, 2010, at Temple Reyim in Ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School (YCT) is an Open Orthodox yeshiva, founded in 1999 by Rabbi Avi Weiss. Currently located in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York, its mission is to educate and place rabbis who are "open, non-judgmental, knowledgeable, empathetic, and eager to transform Orthodoxy into a movement that meaningfully and respectfully interacts with all Jews, regardless of affiliation, commitment, or background." Its core values include a passionate commitment to the study of Torah and the tangential observance of halakha (Jewish law); intellectual openness and critical thinking in one's religious life; expanding the role of women; commitment to the broader Jewish community; and a responsibility to improve the world and to care for every human being in it regardless of faith. YCT's rabbinic education program combines a classical curriculum in Tanakh, Talmud, and the codes of Jewish law with a program in pastoral counseling, leadership retreats, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel Sperber
Daniel Sperber (Hebrew: דניאל שפרבר) is a British-born Israeli academic and centrist orthodox rabbi. He is a professor of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and an expert in classical philology, history of Jewish customs, Jewish art history, Jewish education, and Talmudic studies. Biography Daniel Sperber was born on 4 November 1940, in Gwrych Castle, Wales. He studied for rabbinical ordination at Yeshivat Kol Torah in Israel, earned a doctorate from University College, London, in the departments of Ancient History and Hebrew Studies. He is married to Phyllis (Hannah) Magnus, a couples therapist, originally of Highland Park, Illinois. They have ten children. One of their daughters, Abigail, is the founder of Bat Kol, an Israeli Jewish religious lesbian group. Academic and rabbinical career He is the Milan Roven professor of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, where he is also the President of the Ludwig and Erica Jesselson Institute for Advanced T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semikhah
Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Since then ''semikhah'' has continued in a less formal way. Throughout history there have been several attempts to reestablish the classical ''semikhah''. In recent times, some institutions grant ordination for the role of ''hazzan'' (cantor), extending the "investiture" granted there from the 1950s. Less commonly, since the 1990s, ordination is granted for the role of lay leader - sometimes titled '' darshan''. Ordination may then also be specifically termed , "rabbinical ordination", , "cantorial ordination", or , "maggidic ordination". The title of "rabbi" has "proliferated greatly over the last century". Nowadays ''Semikha'' is also granted for a limited form of ordination, focused on the application of Halakha in specific setti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pardes Institute Of Jewish Studies
Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies () is a Jewish educational institution based in Jerusalem with programs worldwide. History Pardes was launched by Rabbi Michael Swirsky in the fall of 1972 with the support of the World Zionist Organization, which provided the facility and covered overhead costs. The institute began with 25 students in 1972. Programs Pardes programs include: * The Pardes Year Program * The Pardes 2.5 and 3-week Summer Programs * The Pardes Community Education Program * The Pardes Center for Jewish Educators * The Pardes Center for Judaism and Conflict Resolution * The Pardes Executive Learning Seminar * The Pardes Kollel * Other Pardes Programs Partnerships Pardes partners include: * Avi Chai is a sponsor for the Pardes Educators Program * Hebrew College * Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life * Jewish Agency for Israel's Masa program See also *Education in Israel The education system in Israel consists of three tiers: primary education (grade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asher Lopatin
Asher Lopatin (born September 1, 1964) is the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC, a nonprofit Jewish community organization in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He is an American Modern Orthodox rabbi and leader of Kehillat Etz Chayim, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Huntington Woods, MI. He is also the founder and executive director of the Detroit National Center for Civil Discourse, which has run a Fellowship in Civil Discourse at Wayne State University since September 2019. Previously, he was the President of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (2013-2018) and the spiritual leader of Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Congregation in Chicago before that. He is a Rhodes Scholar and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Biographical information Rabbi Lopatin is a graduate of the Maimonides School, and received a B.A. in International Relations and Islamic Studies from Boston University. In 1989, he was awarded a Master of Philosophy from the University of Oxford ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blu Greenberg
Blu Greenberg (born January 21, 1936, in Seattle, with the name Bluma Genauer, later legally changing her first name to Blu) is an American writer specializing in modern Judaism and women's issues. Her most noted books are ''On Women and Judaism: A View from Tradition'' (1981), and ''Black Bread: Poems, After the Holocaust'' (1994). She has a B.A. in political science from Brooklyn College, an MA in clinical psychology from the City University of New York, and an MS in Jewish history from Yeshiva University. She is married to Irving Greenberg, who is also a well-known author and professor. Greenberg is active in the movement to bridge Judaism and feminism. In February 1973, she gave the opening address at the first National Jewish Women's Conference, which was held in New York City. In 1997 and 1998, she chaired the first and second International Conference on Feminism and Orthodoxy, and she is the founder and the first president of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance. She has a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
