LBC Principal attends a special International Women’s Day Shabbat

LBC Principal, Rabbi Professor Deborah Kahn-Harris was a guest at Sha’arei Tsedek Synagogue’s special International Women’s Day Shabbat service, celebrating the contributions of women to Jewish life, both within the community and across the Progressive Jewish world.

The morning featured a conversation between Rabbi Shulamit Ambalu, an LBC Alumna, and Rabbi Professor Deborah Kahn-Harris.

Reflecting on this occasion, Rabbi Professor Kahn-Harris said: “I was delighted to be able to attend services at my old pulpit, Sha’arei Tsedek, this past shabbat, as they celebrated International Women’s Day. Rabbi Shulamit Ambalu has recently discovered a treasure trove of archival materials relating to the synagogue’s foundational involvement in the movement for gender equality in our communities. These materials will, in due course, be donated to the Leo Baeck College Library. 

I was honoured to be at Sha’arei Tsedek with a generation of women, including Dee Eimer, Michelle Charkham-Gold, and so many others, who helped transform our communities. They set up the first regular Rosh Chodesh group, worked on the original Half-Empty Bookcase conference (showcasing feminist scholarship in Judaism) in the UK, developed new liturgies (both for regular synagogue use and for important life cycle events previously unrepresented in our liturgies), and spoke at a foundational LBC lecture series on women’s roles in Judaism in 1988. I was humbled to be in their presence. 

I look forward to safeguarding this archival material for study and for future generations to hear the story of where the fight for equality in our communities came from and some portion of how it was won.”

A member of the community, and an attendee of this special morning, LBC’s Academic Coordinator, Isi Genn-Bash recounted: “It was a pleasure having Rabbi Professor Deborah back in our shul. The conversation with Rabbi Shulamit was very interesting. I reflected with great love and sadness during the discussion about women wearing tallitot, that the tallit I was wearing was the last gift given to me by my mother in honour of my bat mitzvah, which she unfortunately did not live to see.

Honouring the women of our community was incredibly special and being called up to the Torah with Rabbi Deborah was very lovely. Deborah is a big part of the history of women at Sh’arei Tsedek and we were grateful for her insights and reflections on Shabbat.”