Exactly 50 years ago today, on June 3, 1972, Sally Priesand broke ground as the first-ever female rabbi ordained in North America. But even half a century later, rabbis who happen to be women still face different expectations, treatment and discrimination than their male counterparts.
To talk about what’s changed, what hasn’t and what life is like as a female rabbi, we’ve assembled a panel for a special hour-long discussion the subject. What’s changed in the last 50 years? What hasn’t? How do congregations of different denominations react? What work still needs to be done?
To examine these issues, we assembled a panel for Bonjour Chai comprising three experts from across the country: Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, Canada’s first and longest-serving female Rabbi in Canada, who was ordained in 1983; Rabba Rachel Kohl Finegold, the first Orthodox Jewish woman to serve as synagogue clergy in Canada; and Rabbi Ilana Krygier Lapides, an independent, non-denominational rabbi in Calgary.
Related links
- Rabbi Goldstein is the founding rabbi of City Shul in Toronto
- Rabba Kohl Finegold is a clergy member at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal
- Learn about Rabbi Krygier Lapides’s services at rockymountainrabbi.com
Credits
Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Ilana Zackon and David Sklar. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andre Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.
