Miri Gold

Last updated

Miri Gold is the first non-Orthodox rabbi in Israel to have her salary paid by the government. [1] She was born in Detroit, but in 1977 she immigrated to Kibbutz Gezer along with other North Americans. [2] When the founder of the kibbutz's congregation (Kehilat Birkat Shalom) left, Gold began leading High Holidays services and preparing children for bat mitzvahs and bar mitzvahs. [3] Gold entered the Reform movement's Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in 1994, and was ordained in 1999. [4] At the time she was paid by the congregation, since the Israeli government did not recognize non-Orthodox rabbis. [5] Gold petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court in 2005 to change this, and in 2012 a ruling by the Israeli attorney general granted her request. [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Judaism</span> Role of women in Judaism

The role of women in Judaism is determined by the Hebrew Bible, the Oral Law, by custom, and by cultural factors. Although the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic literature mention various female role models, religious law treats women differently in various circumstances.

A rabbi is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as semikha – following a course of study of Jewish texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic eras, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. The title "rabbi" was first used in the first century CE. In more recent centuries, the duties of a rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th-century Germany and the United States rabbinic activities including sermons, pastoral counseling, and representing the community to the outside, all increased in importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bar and bat mitzvah</span> Jewish coming of age rituals

Bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah refer to the Jewish coming of age ritual. The plural is b'nei mitzvah for both boys and mixed gender groups, or b'not mitzvah for girls. B'mitzvah, Simchat Mitzvah, or other non-gendered terms are used for nonbinary teens, materials intended to be inclusive of all genders, and those who wish to minimize gendered language in their service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beit Shemesh</span> City in Israel

Beit Shemesh is a city located approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of 124,957 in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conversion to Judaism</span> Religious conversion of non-Jews

Conversion to Judaism is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. The procedure and requirements for conversion depend on the sponsoring denomination. Furthermore, a conversion done in accordance with one Jewish denomination is not a guarantee of recognition by another denomination. Normally, though not always, the conversions performed by more stringent denominations are recognized by less stringent ones, but not the other way around. A formal conversion is also sometimes undertaken by individuals whose Jewish ancestry is questioned or uncertain, even if they were raised Jewish, but may not actually be considered Jews according to traditional Jewish law.

"Who is a Jew?" is a basic question about Jewish identity and considerations of Jewish self-identification. The question pertains to ideas about Jewish personhood, which have cultural, ethnic, religious, political, genealogical, and personal dimensions. Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism follow Jewish law (Halakha), deeming people to be Jewish if their mothers are Jewish or if they underwent a halakhic conversion. Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism accept both matrilineal and patrilineal descent as well as conversion. Karaite Judaism predominantly follows patrilineal descent as well as conversion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism</span>

The Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism is the organizational branch of Progressive Judaism in Israel, and a member organization of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. It currently has 40 communities and congregations around the state of Israel, 13 of which are new congregations, referred to as "U'faratztah" communities, and two kibbutzim, Yahel and Lotan.

Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to make the religious, legal, and social status of Jewish women equal to that of Jewish men in Judaism. Feminist movements, with varying approaches and successes, have opened up within all major branches of the Jewish religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shlomo Aviner</span> Israeli Orthodox rabbi, born in France

Shlomo Chaim Hacohen Aviner is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi. He is the rosh yeshiva (dean) of Ateret Yerushalayim and the rabbi of Beit El, an Israeli settlement. He is considered one of the spiritual leaders of the Religious Zionist movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women of the Wall</span> Organization

Women of the Wall is a multi-denominational Jewish feminist organization based in Israel whose goal is to secure the rights of women to pray at the Western Wall, also called the Kotel, in a fashion that includes singing, reading aloud from the Torah and wearing religious garments. Pew Research Center has identified Israel as one of the countries that place "high" restrictions on religion, and there have been limits placed on non-Orthodox streams of Judaism. One of those restrictions is that the Rabbi of the Western Wall has enforced gender segregation and limitations on religious garb worn by women. When the "Women of the Wall" hold monthly prayer services for women on Rosh Hodesh, they observe gender segregation so that Orthodox members may fully participate. But their use of religious garb, singing and reading from a Torah have upset many members of the Orthodox Jewish community, sparking protests and arrests. In May 2013 a judge ruled that a 2003 Israeli Supreme Court ruling prohibiting women from carrying a Torah or wearing prayer shawls had been misinterpreted and that Women of the Wall prayer gatherings at the wall should not be deemed illegal.

Shlomo Erez Helbrans was an Israeli-born anti-Zionist religious leader. He was the founder and Rebbe of the Lev Tahor Jewish sect.

The Israel Religious Action Center also known as IRAC, was established in 1987 as the public and legal advocacy arm of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism. It is located in Jerusalem, Israel. IRAC aims to defend equality, social justice, and religious pluralism within Israel, through the Israeli legal system, lobbying and publications. Author Elana Maryles Sztokman calls IRAC "the preeminent civil and human rights organization in Israel," advocating for a broadly inclusive democracy and promoting social justice. Recent campaigns include an effort to ban gender segregation on Israeli public buses, a successful public campaign for the abolition of income guarantees to kollel students, and a lobbying campaign in defense of human rights organizations operating in Israel. Anat Hoffman, currently the executive director of IRAC, is also the director and a founding member of Neshot HaKotel, also known as "Women of the Wall" or WoW, an organization of women who pray at the Western Wall in an egalitarian manner. Rabbi Noa Sattath is director of IRAC. She has completed five years in that role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shmuel Eliyahu</span>

Shmuel Eliyahu is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi. He is the Chief Rabbi of Safed and a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council.

Nancy Morris is a Reform rabbi, who was appointed to Glasgow Reform Synagogue, formerly known as Glasgow New Synagogue, in October 2003, making her the first female rabbi in Scotland. She was Rabbi of South West Essex and Settlement Reform Synagogue in London from 2012 until 2014.

In Judaism, especially in Orthodox Judaism, there are a number of settings in which men and women are kept separate in order to conform with various elements of halakha and to prevent men and women from mingling. Other streams of Judaism rarely separate genders any more than secular western society.

The first openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender clergy in Judaism were ordained as rabbis and/or cantors in the second half of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuval Cherlow</span>

Yuval Cherlow is a Modern Orthodox rabbi and posek. He is Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Hesder Amit Orot Shaul in Tel Aviv, Israel. Cherlow was one of the founders of Tzohar, an organization of religious Zionist Orthodox rabbis in Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of women rabbis</span>

This is a timeline of women rabbis.

This is a timeline of LGBT Jewish history, which consists of events at the intersection of Judaism and queer people.

References

  1. "Historic Decision in Israel: Rabbi Miri Gold Recognized by State - URJ". Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
  2. Parallelus. "Rabbi Miri Gold". Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  3. "Rabbi Miri Gold, the 'poster girl' of the battle to recognize non-Orthodox rabbis". Haaretz.com. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  4. "Rabbi Miri Gold, the 'poster girl' of the battle to recognize non-Orthodox rabbis". Haaretz.com. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2012-07-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Administrator. "Historic Decision in Israel: Rabbi Miri Gold Recognized by State" . Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  7. "Non-Orthodox Jews start making inroads in Israel". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 29 October 2014.