First Woman Rabbi Remembered at Terezin Event
On July 24th, the United States Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad held a dedication ceremony at the Terezin Memorial (the former Nazi concentration camp also known as Theresienstadt in the Czech Republic) in memory of Rabbi Regina Jonas – widely acknowledged as the first woman rabbi in Jewish history. During the ceremony, which took place in the Columbariusm of the Terezin Ghetto, a plaque in Rabbi Jonas’ honor was unveiled.
The four American women rabbis who were the first ordinees of their denominations, Rabbi Sally Priesand (Hebrew Union College, 1972), Rabbi Sandy Sasso (Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, 1974), Rabbi Amy Eilberg (Jewish Theological Seminary, 1985) and Rabba Sara Hurwitz (ordained by Rabbi Avi Weiss in 2009) participated in the ceremony.
Funding for the plaque was provided by Hebrew Union College.
The article was updated to include Rabba Hurwitz’s participation.