Lena Aronsohn (b. 1870) was reported to be an early figure in the

American Jewish community American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora Je ...

's transition to accept

women rabbis 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. Al ...

. Aronsohn was described in the American press as potentially becoming the first woman rabbi. She was a candidate the rabbinate at the same time as

Ray Frank Rachel ("Ray") Frank (April 10, 1861 in San Francisco – October 10, 1948) was a Jewish religious leader in the United States. Frank was an early figure in the acceptance of women rabbis and was reported as a prospective candidate for the first ...

, however, neither Aronshon nor Frank completed their studies or received ordination. Aronsohn was born in 1870 in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and her family soon moved to

Marshall, Texas Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population of M ...

. In 1888 Aronsohn moved to

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

where she worked as a music teacher in the local public schools. Aronsohn's mother died a few years later.''The Galveston Daily News'' (Galveston, Texas), 11 May 1893, Thursday. Page 6.''The Times'' (Shreveport, Louisiana), 22 Dec 1892, Thursday. Page 4. In 1892 and 1893, Lena Aronsohn became the subject of several news stories concerning her intention to study to become a rabbi. The American press speculated that it was the death of Aronsohn's mother as well as financial hardship that led to the decision to pursue a rabbinical career. In early 1893, ''

The American Israelite ''The American Israelite'' is an English-language Jewish newspaper published weekly in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1854 as ''The Israelite'' and assuming its present name in 1874, it is the longest-running English-language Jewish newspaper stil ...

'' rejected the report as unfounded. Aronsohn was also reported to deliver public lectures on Judaism to various Jewish congregations.''Weekly Town Talk'' (Alexandria, Louisiana), 1 Jul 1893, Sat. Page 2.

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{{Judaism-stub People from Marshall, Texas People from Louisiana People from Hot Springs, Arkansas 1870 births Year of death missing

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