Woman Rabbi Marks History for Judaism

A rabbi once teased that a woman rabbi was like an orange on a ceremonial seder plate used during Passover. Neither belonged. Rabbi Deborah Waxman thinks otherwise. 

Recently inaugurated as head of the Reconstructionist movement and serves as president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, the movement's seminary, Waxman made history by becoming the first woman and the first lesbian to lead a major movement of Judaism.

Featured in a recent Philly.com article, Waxman gave us an inside look at the importance of connecting Jews within and outside of the Reconstructionist movement. 

"I think that the questions that we ask in Judaism and the way that we ask them are constantly evolving," said Waxman.

"As far as answers, I want to absorb them and reflect them, and I want it to be for the service of other people and of the Reconstructionist movement."

To read more about Rabbi Deborah Waxman and the Reconstructionist movement click here. 

Rabbi Deborah Waxman graduated from Columbia University with a degree in religion. She also served 11 years as High Holidays rabbi for a congregation outside of Syracuse, N.Y.