Deborah Kahn-Harris

Rabbi Professor ^[1] Deborah Kahn-Harris is the Principal of Leo Baeck College, a rabbinical seminary and centre for the training of teachers in Jewish education, based at the Sternberg Centre, Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet. She was appointed to the post in September 2011. ^[2] Kahn-Harris, a graduate of the college, is one of the first woman rabbis to lead a mainstream rabbinic seminary. ^{[3] [4]}

Early life and education

Kahn-Harris was brought up in Houston, Texas, United States. ^[5] She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts ^[5] and a doctorate in biblical studies from the University of Sheffield.

Career

Kahn-Harris was one of the members of the rabbinic staff at Sha'arei Tsedek North London Reform Synagogue and a lecturer at Leo Baeck College before her appointment as the college's principal. ^[6]

Personal life

She has both American and British citizenship ^[7] and is married to the writer, lecturer, and music critic Keith Kahn-Harris, with whom she has two children. ^[6]

Publications

• "Midrash for the Masses: The Uses (and Abuses) of the Term ‘Midrash’ in Contemporary Feminist Discourse" in Feminist Theology, May 2013, vol. 21 no. 3, pp. 295-308
• "Weaning: Personal and Biblical Reflections" in Grushcow, Lisa J (ed): The Sacred Encounter: Jewish Perspectives on Sexuality, Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2014
• Polyamory and Reading the Book of Ruth, Lexington Books 2023

References

1. "Leo Baeck head is made a professor - The Jewish Chronicle - The Jewish Chronicle". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
2. "History". Leo Baeck College. Archived from the original on 29 December 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
3. "Induction of New Principal of Leo Baeck College". Movement for Reform Judaism. 1 March 2012. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
4. Rocker, Simon (22 April 2020). "Leo Baeck picks its first woman head". The Jewish Chronicle . Retrieved 4 April 2013.
5. "Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris". Leo Baeck College . Retrieved 27 November 2020.
6. "Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris". Liberal Judaism. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
7. "Kabbalat Shabbat service: Shabbat Eve March 16, 2012". Drasha Rabbi Dr. Deborah Kahn-Harris. European Union for Progressive Judaism. 16 March 2012. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.

External links

• Leo Baeck College profile: Deborah Kahn-Harris Archived 3 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies: Deborah Kahn-Harris Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• Open University video interview: Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris, 2012
• Dresden lecture on Theodicy by Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris, Principal Leo Baeck College, London, European Union for Progressive Judaism (EUPJ) Biennial, 27 May 2014