Jacqueline Hazel "Jackie" Tabick (born 1948, née Jacqueline Acker) is a British

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

. She became

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

's first female rabbi in 1975. She is convenor of the

Movement for Reform Judaism Reform Judaism (formally the Movement for Reform Judaism and known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain until 2005) is one of the two World Union for Progressive Judaism–affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom. Reform is relatively ...

Beit Din A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it ...

, the first woman in the role, and until its closure in 2022 was also Rabbi of

West Central Liberal Synagogue West Central Liberal Synagogue was a Liberal Judaism (United Kingdom), Liberal Judaism, Jewish community and synagogue, located in Bloomsbury in the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden, London, England, in the United Kingdom. The cong ...

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

, central London.

Early life and training

Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Tabick spent most of her early life in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and grew up in the community of South West Essex & Settlement Reform Synagogue. After reading

Medieval History In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

for her degree at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, she enrolled at the

Leo Baeck College Leo Baeck College is a privately funded rabbinical seminary and centre for the training of teachers in Jewish education. Based now at the Sternberg Centre, East End Road, Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet, it was founded by Werner van ...

where she completed her rabbinical training. She graduated to become Britain's first

female rabbi 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. A ...

in 1975.

Rabbinical life

Starting as the assistant rabbi at

West London Synagogue The West London Synagogue of British Jews, abbreviated WLS ( he, ק"ק שער ציון, ''Kahal Kadosh Sha'ar Tziyon'', "Holy Congregation Gate of Zion"), is a synagogue and congregation, affiliated to Reform Judaism, near Marble Arch in centr ...

under Rabbi

Hugo Gryn Hugo Gabriel Gryn (pronouned ''green'') (25 June 1930 – 18 August 1996) was a British Reform rabbi, a national broadcaster and a leading voice in interfaith dialogue. Hugo Gryn was born into a prosperous Jewish family in the market town of Be ...

, she left in 1998 to become the rabbi of

North West Surrey Synagogue North West Surrey Synagogue is a Reform Jewish community whose synagogue is on Oatlands Drive in Weybridge, Surrey, England. The community, which now consists of 300 families, was founded in 1956 and is affiliated to the Movement for Reform Juda ...

. She held this position until July 2013, combining it with her role, since 2012, as the first female convenor of the Reform Movement's

. She has previously been the Movement's vice-president and is patron of the

Jewish Council for Racial Equality The Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE) is a Jewish organisation that works to provide a Jewish voice on race and asylum issues in the UK. JCORE aims to deliver race-equality education for all ages, provides action to support refugees an ...

(JCORE). She currently leads services at London's

. Tabick has played a leading role in interfaith initiatives. She is an executive of The Inter Faith Network. She was, for many years, chair of the

World Congress of Faiths In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

and is now co-president.

Family life

She has been married to Rabbi Larry Tabick since 1975 and was the first female rabbi to marry a rabbi. Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

in 1947, Larry came to England to study at the

in the early 1970s and retired as rabbi of

Shir Hayim Shir Hayim ("A Song of Life") was a Reform Jewish synagogue and congregation in West Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It was established in 1975 and was known as Hampstead Reform Jewish Community until 1988. From about 1986, its servi ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

in 2017. He and Jackie have three children, one of whom, Roni Tabick, is rabbi of the Masorti synagogue

New Stoke Newington Shul New Stoke Newington Shul is a Masorti Jewish congregation, located in Stoke Newington in the Borough of Hackney, London, England, in the United Kingdom. The congregation is led by its inaugural rabbi, Roni Tabick, appointed in 2015. The com ...

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

, London.

Other

The art exhibit “Holy Sparks”, which opened in February 2022 at the Heller Museum and the Skirball Museum, featured 24 Jewish women artists, who had each created an artwork about a female rabbi who was a first in some way. Sandy Bleifer created the artwork about Tabick.

References

External links

North West Surrey Synagogue profile of Jackie Tabick
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tabick, Jackie 1948 births Living people 20th-century British rabbis 21st-century British rabbis Alumni of Leo Baeck College Alumni of University College London British Reform rabbis Irish emigrants to Great Britain People in interfaith dialogue West London Synagogue Reform women rabbis