Margaret Moers Wenig (born 1957) is an American

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 ...

known for advocating

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

within

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

. Margaret became spiritually aware at an early age. A seminal moment in her development occurred when she was in sixth grade and had a birthday party, to which she invited all her classmates except one boy, who was devastated as a result. She realized the degree to which she had hurt the boy, and this set her on a path of soul searching and religious awareness. In 1976, she and Naomi Janowitz published ''Siddur Nashim'', which was the first Jewish prayer book to refer to God using female pronouns and imagery. She graduated from Brown University in 1978, and was ordained in 1984. In 1990, she wrote the sermon “God is a Woman and She is Growing Older”, which has been widely published. In 1995, Wenig, Sharon Kleinbaum, and Russell Pearce sent a resolution asking for support for civil marriage for gay couples to the Reform movement's Commission on Social Action; when it was approved by them, Wenig submitted it to the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which approved it in 1996. Wenig married Sharon Kleinbaum in 2008; they later divorced. In 2015, Wenig became the first Jewish president of the Academy of Homiletics. Wenig now teaches liturgy and

homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( grc, ὁμιλητικός ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or ...

at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wenig, Margaret 1957 births 21st-century American rabbis 20th-century American rabbis American Reform rabbis Brown University alumni Reform Jewish feminists Lesbian feminists LGBT rabbis Living people Reform women rabbis