Karen Soria is an American-born rabbi. She became the first female

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 ...

to serve in Australia when she joined the rabbinical team at Temple Beth Israel, a progressive Reform Jewish synagogue in Melbourne, in the 1980s. She later served as a chaplain for the U.S. Marines and the U.S. Navy; she was the first woman rabbi to serve in this capacity for the Marines, and the second in the Navy. After moving to Canada, she became the first woman rabbi to serve as a chaplain with the Canadian Forces.

Early life and education

Karen Soria was born and raised near

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois. Deciding to pursue rabbinical training, she attended the HUC-JIR Reform Jewish seminary, in Cincinnati, Ohio. After receiving her Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters in 1981, she became ordained as a rabbi. At the time, there were very few women rabbis in the United States.

Career

After her ordination, Soria moved to Australia, where she served as an assistant rabbi at Temple Beth Israel in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. In taking this post, she became the first woman rabbi in Australia. Soria remained in Australia from 1981 to 1989. During this time she was the Chair of the Progressive Council of Rabbi's of Australia and New Zealand. Soria's work as a rabbi in Australia helped open doors for other women to follow. One of her first activities was to launch a reading group for women interested in studying Jewish texts; she would create several such groups over the course of her career. The first Australian-born woman rabbi, Aviva Kipen, was ordained ten years after Soria, in 1991. When Soria left Australia, she moved to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the United States, where she served two congregations: Congregation Beth Shalom and Bat Yam/Temple of the Islands. She then decided to enlist as a chaplain in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

. Only the second woman rabbi ever to serve in the US Navy Chaplain Corps, she held this post from 1992 to 2003. She also became the first female rabbi to serve with the

U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...

, which she did from 1992 until 1996. Soria moved to Canada in 2003. In 2008, she began serving part-time as a rabbi at Temple Shalom in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Manitoba; she combined this with part-time work as a chaplain at the Health Sciences Center. The following year, in 2009, Soria became the first female rabbi in the Canadian Forces; she was assigned to 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Soria has also served as rabbi of Beth Israel Congregation in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

Awards and honors

Soria is a two-time recipient of the

Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to recei ...

, a military decoration, which was awarded to her in 1997 and 2001. In 2011 HUC-JIR awarded her an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

degree.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soria, Karen American Reform rabbis Australian Reform rabbis Canadian Reform rabbis Reform women rabbis Living people Women in the United States Marine Corps Canadian female military personnel Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis

Early life and education

Career

Awards and honors

See also

References