Women’s Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/ for our full Jewish learning programme & find something that suits you. Dr Rachel Levmore has spent decades bridging the world of Jewish Law, academia and social activism to help people from all walks of life negotiate the difficult process of Jewish divorce. That makes her one of my real mentors professionally and my inspiration for the work that I’ve done in Get refusal. She’s a veteran who has dedicated her life to this issue.  Rachel is a Rabbinical Court Advocate, and the director of the Aguna Prevention Project. She lives in Efrat and has a PHD in Talmud and Jewish Law from Bar Ilan University. For more information on these topics, listen to our episode with Keshet Starr on Get refusal, our episode with Shoshanna Keats-Jaskoll on social activism, and read Rachel’s article, [article title]. If you’re a woman who wants to improve her own halachic knowledge, you can join our Iyun Women’s Halacha Programme. To read Rachel Levmore's article, "Agunot, Follow These Instructions," click here.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/ for our full Jewish learning programme & find something that suits you. Shoshana Keats-Jaskoll is a warrior with a pen and she fights, she really fights, for a better Judaism. Raised in Lakewood, she moved to Israel with her family, where she witnessed the damaging effects of extremism on the community. She co-founded Chochmat Nashim, which enables her to write, speak, and campaign to change policy and communal behaviour to create a healthier, more balanced society, highlighting where things go wrong and working on change on the ground. We’ve worked together on Get refusal, systemic change and teaching, so I know what a fearless advocate Shoshana is and I totally admire her fierce intellect and unique methods, tackling issues head-on from within the system which I think is what makes her so powerful. We discuss regulating Batei Din (ratemybeitdin.com) the unique perspective of coming from a non-observant home, the problem of outsourcing knowledge in the Jewish community and practical tips for social activism.  

We’re meeting Dr Yardaena Osband in this episode, who’s quite challenging to introduce because she wears so many hats! She’s a founding member of the Orthodox Leadership Project, which empowers Orthodox Jewish women’s leadership as a way of strengthening Jewish communities through professional development, education and partnerships. She’s also a paediatrician, teacher, co-host of the Daf Yomi podcast Talking Talmud, and board member of ORA and the Eden Center. With so much to choose from, we spoke about women’s leadership in the Orthodox world, touching on the education of our girls and whether that helps us to grow female leaders, and the issue of recognition, and whether or not women need a professional title. Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators. Visit the International Halacha Scholars Programme at https://ots.org.il/program/international-halakha-scholars-program/

Rabbanit Surale Rosen is a graduate of Matan’s 5 year halacha programme and she founded their Women’s Online Halachic Responsa Project. For the past 2 years she’s led a new programme here at LSJS called Iyun, our highest level women’s learning programme, teaching women hilchot kashrut and now hilchot brachot. She’s really bringing opportunities to women in the UK that didn’t exist before, and it’s been a real privilege for me personally to have been able to connect our LSJS community to her. Surale’s also a certified Rabbinical Arbitrator, and she teaches Midrash, Talmud and Halacha. She’s invested in communal service on both local and national levels, and participates in the joint project of the UK Foreign Ministry and Search for Common Ground, in which leading Muslim and Jewish figures create a basis for religious dialogue in the Arab-Israeli conflict. We discuss access to Torah scholarship for women, and also what October 7 has meant for Surale’s ongoing relationships with Muslim leaders and the different, more fundamental questions she now feels she needs to ask. Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.