THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS

A collection of short essays and poetry celebrating 50 years since the public ordination of the first female rabbi.

The ordination of Rabbi Sally Priesand in 1972 was a landmark moment in Jewish history. In short memoir, essays, and poetry, numerous authors celebrate her impact a half-century later in this anthology. Many of the writers are female rabbis themselves, and in these pieces, they speak here of the struggles of identity, of being interrupted and “mansplained” to, and of reshaping the patriarchal constructs and misogyny through religious teachings. As pointed out by Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg in “A New Paradigm and a New Era,” Jewish hierarchies were irrevocably changed, later welcoming LGBTQ+ voices, disabled people, and Black and brown Jewish people into positions of leadership; as she puts it, “Jews have always inhabited the margins of society.…now the margins of Jewish society are moving into a more central place.” The collection’s contributors come from a wide range of backgrounds, including Rabbi Richard F. Address, a classmate of Rabbi Priesand; Rabbi Suzanne Singer, an Emmy Award winner; Rabbi Elliot Kukla, the first openly transgender rabbi; and many more. Along with Rabbi Priesand, the collection highlights two of her fellow trailblazers: one who followed her, Rabbi Naamah Kelman, first female rabbi in Israel (and a contributor to this collection), and another who preceded her, the Rabbi Regina Jonas, who was privately ordained in 1935 in Nazi Germany and died at Auschwitz. Editors Elwell, Greenbaum, and Person effectively bring together more than 100 different voices for this compact collection, with each entry, whether poetry or prose, rarely exceeding two pages. Despite the book’s brevity, the importance of these pioneers and the significance of their impact never feel understated. These are often personal stories of inspiration, told with enthusiasm and sometimes with humor, but also an important look at feminism in recent history that readers outside of the Jewish faith will find approachable. A glossary of Hebrew, Yiddish, and other words related to Judaism and its history aids this accessibility.

A highly readable tribute to leaders in the Jewish faith.