Leslie Alexander became the 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 ...

of a major

Conservative Jewish Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...

synagogue in the United States in 1986 at Adat Ari El synagogue in North Hollywood. She was chosen over five male candidates. Alexander was ordained by the Reform seminary

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

in 1983, after studying at the Conservative movement's

University of Judaism A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

in Los Angeles; Conservative Judaism did not ordain women at the time. She wanted to be a rabbi since she was 17, and was encouraged in her ambitions by her parents. Her first major job after being ordained was as director of adult activities and community education at the Jewish Community Centers in San Diego, where she also met her husband, Dr. Kenneth Atchison. She kept her maiden name upon marriage because most of her family was killed in the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, and as an only child she did not want to have her name end. Alexander is now the community chaplain for

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

, and sits on two ethics committees in local hospitals, as well as serving on the

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...

Child Abuse Council.how we help – community chaplain – Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley

References

American Conservative rabbis Conservative women rabbis Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) American Jewish University alumni Rabbis from California 21st-century American rabbis {{US-rabbi-stub