Robyn is the principal rabbi at Manchester Reform Synagogue. Robyn studied at Newnham College, Cambridge for a degree in Theology & Religious Studies before working as Human Rights lawyer. Robyn is a fellow of the Jewish Justice Centre/Tzelem’s 2022 social justice fellowship and is on the leadership team for Greater Manchester Citizens (a broad-based alliance). Robyn has published journal articles and other works, including a chapter in the recently published book – ‘What Makes Us Angry’. Robyn also regularly appears on BBC Radio Manchester and is a Pause for Thought contributor. Robyn is interested in creating relational, textured, activist communities built by individuals who are enabled to step into their own power and collectively organise for a more just world.
Publications/Writing
Rabbi Robyn’s blog – https://www.wandering-rabbi.com
‘Lilith’ by Robyn Ashworth-Steen, in Feeding Women of the Talmud, Feeding Ourselves: Uplifting the Voices of Talmudic Heroines and Honoring Them with Simple, Vegan Recipes, edited by Kenden Alfond, 2022, Turner.
‘The Power of Language’ by Robyn Ashworth-Steen, in What Makes me Angry: Howls of Rabbinic Rage…and Solutions, edited by R. Jonathan Romain, 2022, The Movement for Reform Judaism.
‘Wandering Jews: Using our Exilic Condition to Create Communities and Change’ by Robyn Ashworth-Steen, in Mapping Faith: Theologies of Migration and Community, edited by Lia D. Shimada, 2020, Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
‘If not with others, how?: Creating Rabbinic Activists Through Study’ by Robyn Ashworth-Steen and Deborah Kahn-Harris, Journal for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies, Vol. 2.1 (Autumn 2020).
‘How Satisfactory is Maimonides’ Solution to the Problem of Evil’, Robyn Ashworth-Steen, European Judaism, Vol. 50, No.1, Spring 2017:113-122.