Sara Hurwitz
Rabba Sara Hurwitz | |
---|---|
Position | Rabba |
Synagogue | Hebrew Institute of Riverdale |
Position | Dean |
Yeshiva | Yeshivat Maharat |
Personal details | |
Born | Johannesburg, South Africa[1] |
Denomination | Open Orthodox |
Spouse | Josh Abraham[1] |
Children | Yonah, Zacharya and David[1] |
Semicha | Rabbi Avi Weiss |
Sara Hurwitz is a Open Orthodox Jewish spiritual leader who received ordination from Rabbi Avi Weiss. She is the "Rabba" at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in Riverdale, Bronx, New York[2] and the dean of Yeshivat Maharat in Riverdale, Bronx, New York.[3]
She is the curricular researcher and writer for JOFA's Gender and Orthodoxy Curriculum Project.[4]
Early life and education
Hurwitz was born in South Africa.[5] In 1989, Hurwitz moved with her family to Boca Raton, Florida. That year, she was in the eighth grade. [6]
Hurwitz graduated from Barnard College in New York City with a Bachelor of Arts.[1][7]
She was a student at Midreshet Lindenbaum in Talpiot, Israel, a post-high school religious seminary, not degree-granting.[1]
Sara is married to Joshua Abraham and lives in Riverdale, NY with their three sons.
She went to the Drisha Institute in New York City as part of the Scholar Circle Program. Drisha is a women's religious studies institution. She has a certificate from Drisha.[1][7][8]
Hurwitz has a rabbinic degree issued by Rabbi Avi Weiss in a private 5-year study program.[7][8]
Controversy regarding honorific Rabba
In June 2009, Weiss ordained Sara Hurwitz with the title "maharat" (an acronym of manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit Toranit[9]) rather than "Rabbi".[5][10] In February 2010, Weiss announced that he was changing Maharat to a more familiar-sounding title "Rabba".[11] The goal of this shift was to clarify Hurwitz's position as a full member of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale rabbinic staff. The change was criticised by both Agudath Yisrael and the Rabbinical Council of America, who called the move "beyond the pale of Orthodox Judaism".[12] Weiss announced amidst criticism that the term "Rabba" would not be used anymore for his future students. However, in 2015 Yaffa Epstein was ordained as Rabba by the Yeshivat Maharat, which Weiss founded.[13] Also in 2015, Lila Kagedan was ordained as Rabbi by that same organization, making her their first graduate to take the title Rabbi.[14] Hurwitz continues to use the title Rabba and is considered by some to be the first female Orthodox rabbi.[15] [16][17][18]
Interdenominational meetings
On December 6, 2010, Hurwitz met for the first time with Sally Priesand, the first Reform female rabbi, Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, the first Reconstructionist female rabbi, and Amy Eilberg, the first Conservative female rabbi, at Temple Reyim in Newton, Massachusetts. With a group of about 30 other women rabbis, they lit Hanukkah candles and spoke about their experiences in an open forum.[19]
Priesand, Sasso, Eilberg, and Hurwitz met again on June 3, 2012 at Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls, New Jersey for a celebration honoring the four first women Jewish spiritual leaders to be ordained in their respective denominations, and the 40th anniversary of Priesand's ordination.[20]
Awards
In 2014 Hurwitz received the annual Myrtle Wreath Award from the Southern New Jersey Region of Hadassah.[21]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Sara's Story". Yeshivat Maharat. Yeshivat Maharat. 6 July 2010. Archived from the original on 2012-01-24.
- ↑ "Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Contact Page". Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ↑ "Rabba Sara Hurwitz, Dean - Yeshivat Maharat". Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ↑ "Speaker's Bureau - Sara Hurwitz". JOFA. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
- 1 2 Eisner, Jane (2009-11-14). "Forward 50, 2009". The Forward. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
- ↑ Woman Orthodox "Rabbi" Sara Hurwitz, interview on Shalom TV, Mar 8, 2011, http://videos.shalomtv.com/video/woman-orthodox-rabbi-sara-hurwitz-mar-8-2011
- 1 2 3 "Faculty and Staff". Yeshivat Maharat. Retrieved 2013-08-26.
- 1 2 Pogrebin, Abigail (July 11, 2010). "The Rabbi and the Rabba". nymag.com. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ↑ "home - Yeshivat Maharat". Retrieved 1 February 2011.
- ↑ http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c52_a16167/Editorial__Opinion/Gary_Rosenblatt.html
- ↑ ""Rabba" Sara Hurwitz Rocks the Orthodox". Heeb Magazine. March 10, 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
- ↑ Staff. "Do 1 Rabba, 2 Rabbis and 1 Yeshiva = a New Denomination?". Moment Magazine. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Class of 2015". Yeshivat Maharat.
- ↑ Rabbi Lila Kagedan (25 November 2015). "Why Orthodox Judaism needs female rabbis". The Canadian Jewish News.
- ↑ Harris, Ben (March 9, 2010). "Amid Furor, Weiss Backs Away from 'Rabba' Title for Women". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
- ↑ https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:KCRr-i6GiWEJ:columbusjudaism.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Bulletin-for-website-May-2012.pdf+%22sally+priesand%22+%22first+reform+woman+rabbi%22&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiSpc6F3OkisK4Sn_iip26YBRs9D0CBa9i6tdy0Tu-VJRDyMnlg84qQL1dLCGZG6YPhXvUm4AjaDkZr86Nk2vaNNsCN2e_PvlILFbeJR0eckiOekxNRor3PReBXOo1SwYH4msFp&sig=AHIEtbRDDbGrmJUgRyB44ggo5-Ryvj3AAQ
- ↑ "The Jewish Chronicle - Classifieds, News, Business, and Events". Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ↑ "Celebrating the First Lights of Women Rabbis". Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ↑ Imber, Elizabeth (December 8, 2010). "Celebrating the First Lights of Women Rabbis". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
- ↑ "Four First Women Rabbis". Monmouth Reform Temple. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
- ↑ http://njjewishnews.com/article/25109/women-honor-orthodoxys-first-rabba#.VFl-J-l0weE
Further reading
- Barenblat, Rachel (March 10, 2010). "Sara Hurwitz’s 'Rabba' Title Sparks Orthodox Jewish Condemnation". Religion Dispatches. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
- Brown, Elicia; Rosenblatt, Gary (March 16, 2010). "'Rabba' Hurwitz Mulling Retracting New Title". The Jewish Week. Archived from the original on July 18, 2010. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
- Cohen, Debra Nussbaum (March 3, 2010). "Woman 'Rabba' Roils Orthodox World". The Forward. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
- Cohen, Debra Nussbaum (March 17, 2010). "The First 'Rabba' Is Given a Standing Ovation at Jewish Feminist Conference". The Forward. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
- Dresner, Stacey (March 4, 2010). "First Orthodox Woman Rabbi is ordained in NY". Jewish Ledger. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
- Freedman, Samuel G. (July 26, 2013). "A Jewish Pathbreaker Inspired by Her Countryman Mandela". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- Harris, Ben (March 3, 2009). "Orthodox Female Rabbi? False Alarm". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
- Harris, Ben (May 26, 2009). "Orthodox Program Aims to Give Women Rabbinic Training". The Jewish Tribune. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
- Harris, Ben (March 15, 2010). "Rabba Sara Speaks". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
- Mark, Jonathan (February 23, 2010). "Rabbis Set To Rumble Over Rabba?". The Jewish Week. Archived from the original on 2010-02-27. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
- Orbach, Michael (March 5, 2010). "RCA, Rabbi Weiss Agree: Todah, No Rabba". The Jewish Star. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
- Pastor, Kate (November 5, 2009). "Women in Judaism: Jewish Women Come to the Fore in Riverdale". Riverdale Press. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
- "Yeshiva to Train Women to 'Function as Rabbis'". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. May 21, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
- Sztokman, Elana (January 31, 2013). "The Rabba Revolution Continues". The Forward. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
External links
- "Rabba Sara Hurwitz addresses the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance conference in New York City" (Video). Jewish Telegraphic Agency. March 14, 2010. Retrieved March 22, 2010.