Michal Mendelsohn (born Michal Bernstein) became the first presiding female rabbi in a North American congregation when she was hired by Temple Beth El Shalom in San Jose, California, in 1976.[1][2]
Michal Mendelsohn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michal Bernstein |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Rabbi |
She was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1975, the second Reform Jewish woman to be ordained.[3] She then became the head of the University Programs department of the United Jewish Appeal.[4] She served as rabbi of Temple Beth El Shalom from 1976 until 1978, when she left to attend the University of Santa Clara law school.[1] In 1999 she became the rabbi for the Joliet Jewish Congregation, a non-denominational congregation in Illinois.[5][6] In 2000 she left that congregation and became one of the founders of Congregation Ohr Chadash (New Light), also in Illinois.[7] As of 2013 she is working on a memoir tentatively titled Rabbi, Your Cleavage is Showing.[2] The title comes from 1977, when San Jose Mayor Janet Gray Hayes presented Mendelsohn with a key to the city, and someone attending the ceremony criticized the “clinginess" of Mendelsohn's dress.[2]
She has also worked as an executive in a Fortune 500 company, as a university professor, as a manager for non-profit organizations, and as the executive director of an arts center.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "22 Women Now Ordained As Rabbis Most of Them Do Not Have Pulpits". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. August 23, 1979. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
- ^ a b c Silvers, Emma (February 14, 2013). "The little shul that could: With just seven members, San Jose congregation keeps chugging along". Jweekly.com. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
- ^ Friedman, Dick (April 12, 1976). "No, It Isn't the Rabbi's Wife—It's the Rabbi, and She's a Doctor's Wife—Meet Michal Bernstein". People. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
- ^ Spencer, Jean E. (September 1975). "Academic Alchemy". Cincinnati: 74. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
- ^ "RIGHT CHEMISTRY AND PERFECT MATCH MICHAL MENDELSOHN TAKES OVER PULPIT IN JOLIET SYNAGOGUE". HighBeam Research. March 8, 1999. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
- ^ a b Szremski, Kristin (March 5, 1999). "Joliet's Unique Congregation". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
- ^ "NEW JEWISH CONGREGATION IS LED BY FAMILIAR FACE". HighBeam Research. December 29, 2000. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
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