Genesis 12:1-17:27
This Jewish year, we celebrate key anniversaries for two of the most important milestones in
Jewish Femenist history: the first Bat Mitzvah and the first woman rabbi in America.
On March 18, 1922, at the Society of Advancement of Judaism in New York City, Judith, the
oldest daughter of Mordecai and Lena Kaplan, read from the Torah, reciting the blessing before
and after, and, in doing so, became the very first Bat Mitzvah. Judith, who later married Ira
Eisenstein, was an author, musicologist, theologian and composer. A little know fact is that, at
82 years old, Judith was also the first woman to have a second Bat Mitzvah, marking the 70th
anniversary of her first one.
Almost exactly a half-century after the first Bat Mitzvah, on June 3, 1972 in Cincinnati, Ohio,
Sally Priesand became the first woman rabbi in America (Regina Jones had been ordained in
Germany in 1935). Three years later in 1975, our very own Barbara Ostfeld became the first
ordained Cantor. Priesand, who retired in 2006, continues to be active in the Reform
movement. There are currently over 700 female rabbis in the world.
This week’s Torah portion Lech Lecha celebrates the beginning of Abraham and Sarah’s
journey. They were the trailblazers that made Judaism possible. In 1989, Debbie Friedman
took the name of the portion Lech Lecha and transformed it into the feminine L’chi Lach. She,
like so many others, was a beneficiary of the courage of Judith Eisenstein and Sally Priesand.
How grateful we all are for the transformation to our faith they helped enable.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex