Barbara Borts

Rabbi Dr Barbara Borts
Personal life
Born	Barbara Marcy Borts 1953 Los Angeles, United States
Religious life
Religion	Judaism
Denomination	Reform Judaism (UK)
Synagogue	Darlington Hebrew Congregation
Semikhah	1981

Barbara Marcy Borts is an American-born Movement for Reform Judaism rabbi. She was one of the first women in Europe to be ordained as a rabbi ^{[1] [2]} and the first woman to have her own pulpit in a UK Reform Judaism synagogue. ^[3]

Early life

Barbara Borts was born in Los Angeles in 1953 to Natalie and Abe Borts. After graduating from University of California, Los Angeles, she moved to London, where she attended Leo Baeck College in London. ^[4] She was ordained as a rabbi in 1981, ^[5] at the same time as Rabbi Sybil Sheridan; they were two of the first women rabbis in Europe. ^[2]

Career

Barbara Borts took up posts as rabbi at Hampstead Reform Synagogue and at Mill Hill Reform Synagogue. ^[6] From 1984 to 1990 she was rabbi at Radlett Reform Synagogue, the first woman rabbi to have a pulpit of her own in a UK Reform Judaism synagogue. ^[3] After spending some time in North America, where she became the first female rabbi in Montreal ^[7] and was one of the first religious leaders to conduct same-sex marriages in Ontario. ^[8] While in Montreal, she earned an MA at McGill University in the field of Education, with a thesis on the education of converts to Judaism. Upon returning to England, she worked as part-time rabbi of Newcastle Reform Synagogue from 2008 to 2012 ^{[2] [5] [9]} and later became part-time rabbi of a small Jewish community in Basel, Switzerland. ^[10]

In 2014 she gained a doctorate in Jewish music from the University of Durham. ^[11] As of 2017 she is taking services at Darlington Hebrew Congregation, where she is also providing rabbinical advice, ^{[12] [13]} and is trained as a chazzan. ^[10]

Social justice

In 2010 she and 51 other rabbis called for action to end the killing in the Congo. ^[14]

In 2013, along with more than 200 Jews, she signed a statement drawn up by Jewish Socialist magazine, marking the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht and slamming "the toxic sentiments expressed by many politicians and much of the media against migrants, asylum seekers, Gypsies and Travellers". ^[15]

In December 2014, The Guardian published a letter signed by her and other UK rabbis, sharing the Archbishop of Canterbury's concerns about child poverty in Britain. ^[16]

In 2024, Borts was a signatory to a letter from 30 rabbis defending civilians in Israel and Palestine, and ain defence of Labour's backing of the International Criminal Court's request for arrest warrants against Israeli and Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes ^[17] .

Selected works

• "The Relationship Between Men and Women from a Jewish Perspective" in European Judaism , vol. 21, no. 1, Summer 1987, p. 3
• "Social Justice is God's Work" in The Jewish Quarterly , vols 35–36, 1988, p. 71
• "Lilith" in Sheridan, Sybil (ed.): Hear our voice: women rabbis tell their stories, London, SCM Press, 1994, p. 98
• "On Trespassing the Boundaries: A Reflection on Men, Women and Jewish Space" in Sheridan, Sybil (ed.): Hear our voice: women rabbis tell their stories, London, SCM Press, 1994, pp. 169–179
• "Repairing the World – a Task for Jews?" in Romain, Jonathan (ed.): Renewing The Vision – Rabbis Speak Out On Modern Jewish Issues, SCM Press, 1996, pp. 192–202 ISBN   0334026571
• "Haftarat Korach" in Goldstein, Elyse (ed.): The Women's Haftarah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Haftarah Portions, the 5 Megillot & Special Shabbatot, Jewish Lights Publishing, 2004, p. 180 ISBN   9781580231336
• "Parashat Shelach Lecha": a sermon on what does it mean to 'have faith'? 12 June 2014, London: Leo Baeck College
• Mouths Filled with Song: British Reform Judaism Through the Lens of Its Music, Durham theses, University of Durham, 2014, 334 pp
• with Sarah, Elli Tikvah (eds): Women Rabbis in the Pulpit – A collection of sermons, Kulmus Publications, 2015

See also

• Timeline of women rabbis

References

1. "I've always had to prove myself – Rabbi Barbara". Jewish Telegraph . 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
2. Shire, Michael (12 February 2009). "Induction of Rabbi Barbara Borts". News. Movement for Reform Judaism. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
3. "Our history". About. Radlett Reform Synagogue. Archived from the original on 27 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
4. Borts, Barbara. "Barbara Borts, Author at JewThink". JewThink. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
5. "Geordie welcome for Borts". The Jewish Chronicle . 3 October 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
6. Mill Hill Reform Synagogue (1981). Service for the induction of Rabbi Barbara Borts: 22nd November 1981. Mill Hill Reform Synagogue. p. 11. OCLC   77500322.
7. Waller, Harold M (1997). American Jewish Year Book, 1997, Volume 97. American Jewish Committee. p. 250. ISBN   978-0874-95111-0 . Retrieved 16 May 2017.
8. James, William Closson (2011). God's Plenty: Religious Diversity in Kingston. McGill-Queens University Press. p. 206. ISBN   978-07735-3925-9 . Retrieved 22 February 2015.
9. Forman, Cathy (29 March 2012). "Borts quits Newcastle Reform". The Jewish Chronicle . Retrieved 1 February 2015.
10. "Presenters' Biographies: Barbara Borts". Newcastle Day Limmud. Limmud. 2009. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
11. Pappworth-McAllister, Peninnah (28 August 2014). "Rabbi Dr Barbara Borts, Ph.D. Dunelm. Mazeltov!". News. Darlington Hebrew Congregation . Retrieved 1 February 2015.
12. "Services". About Us. Darlington Hebrew Congregation . Retrieved 17 May 2017.
13. "Forthcoming Services and Social Club Events". Darlington Hebrew Congregation. 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
14. "52 rabbis call for actions to end the killing in the Congo". UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes Region of Africa. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
15. "Kristallnacht statement condemns growing hostility to migrants in UK". Jewish Socialist . 8 November 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
16. Wright, Rabbi Alexandra; et al. (9 December 2014). "Looking beyond food banks to dig up the roots of hunger in Britain". The Guardian . Retrieved 1 February 2015.
17. Harpin, Lee. "Letter signed by 30 UK rabbis claims Labour's approach to Israel the 'correct' one" . Retrieved 4 August 2024.

External links

• Rabbi Barbara Borts on Purim