Our Stephen Wise Temple Shabbat evening services on June 3 will have a historical flavor, as we commemorate and celebrate the 50th anniversary of women in the rabbinate.
On June 3, 1972, Sally J. Priesand walked across the bimah of the Plum Street Temple in Cincinnati, Ohio, becoming the first woman in America (and second in the world) to be ordained by a rabbinical seminary.
Rabbi Priesand’s impact has been felt across the American Jewish world ever since, including right here at Stephen Wise Temple, where Rabbis Melissa Buyer, Leah Kroll, and Sari Laufer have helped shape our community.
On June 3, we will celebrate them and all women rabbis in a one-of-a-kind Shabbat, “70 Faces of Torah,” as we honor the legacy and future of women in the rabbinate through their teachings, songs, and voices.
“In Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Orthodox synagogues across the United States (and the world), women are rabbis (and cantors!); they are teachers of Torah, guides through life’s blessings and challenges, and models of what is possible in living an authentic Jewish life,” said Rabbi Sari. “As we here at Wise mark this milestone in American Jewish history, I hope you will join us in celebrating the moment we’ve reached, along with what it took to get here, and where we might still go.”
Joining Rabbi Sari and Cantor Emma Lutz will be women rabbis from congregations all across Los Angeles, including Rabbi Kroll, Rabbi Jaclyn Fromer Cohen of Temple Isaiah, Rabbi Jillian Cameron of Beth Chayim Chadashim, Rabbi Heather Miller of Keeping It Sacred, Rabbi Denise Eger of Congregation Kol Ami, and Rabbi Michele Lenke of Yesh Makom L.A.
Like all Stephen Wise Temple Shabbat Evening services, this celebration will begin at 6:15 p.m. If you cannot be here in person, be sure to watch online.