Rabbi Daniela Thau shares her story to celebrate 50 years of women rabbis in the UK

This year, as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Jackie Tabick’s ordination and 50 years of women in the UK rabbinate, Rabbi Daniela Thau talks about her experience as a woman rabbi. 

For the past five decades, Leo Baeck College has been at the forefront of progress, ordaining over 70 women rabbis and shaping the landscape of Progressive Judaism. To mark this milestone, we have curated an archive of inspiring stories that highlight their remarkable journeys. In this blog post, Rabbi Daniela Thau reflects on her journey since her ordination at Leo Baeck College in 1983.

As a child, growing up in post-war Germany, I knew of Rabbi Regina Jonas (first female rabbi, ordained in modern times in 1935 in Germany) from 2 independent sources. One was my uncle Leon Thau who was educated by her in the Jewish Day School, Oranienburger Strasse Synagogue, Berlin prior to his deportation by the Nazis to Poland in October 1938.

The other source was Dr Pnina Navé-Levinson, professor in Hebrew language literature at Hebrew University Jerusalem and Heidelberg, and her husband, Rabbi Dr Peter Nathan Levinson, who was rabbi in Heidelberg. Both were from Berlin and knew Regina Jonas, and Pnina, like my uncle, was also her student. Indeed I was one of the first to view her personal documents and letters in the Potsdam Archive on 11th September 1991 after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.

In the late 1960s to early 1970s I met, through various WUPJYS conferences in Europe and UK, LBC current and future students, and alumni/ae. Later in 1976, after another WUPJYS seminar this time at Pardes in Jerusalem, Rabbis Sybil Sheridan and Adi Assabi helped me make up my mind to pursue the rabbinate.

I particularly fondly remember Talmud classes with Rabbi Dr Louis Jacobs, modern Hebrew with Dr Leon Yudkin and rabbinical Hebrew Dr Joanna Weinberg as well as the support I received from Irene Bloomfield, Rabbi Dr Tony Bayfield and Rabbi Dr Albert Friedlander, who was the principal of LBC at that time. It was my great pleasure to have been supervised for my dissertation on ‘Toledot Yeshu’ by Dr Hyam Maccoby who was LBC’s librarian in those days.

At my ordination in 1983, I was the first post-war German female rabbi after Regina Jonas. Yet, Germany was not ready to employ a female rabbi. This has changed dramatically over the years.

Supporting LBC now is a no-brainer not only as a centre for training rabbis but also as an important source of intellectual stimulation for progressive Jewish thinking in our time for the UK, Europe and further afield.

We can only build the future of Progressive Judaism with the generosity of our supporters

Celebrate this foundational milestone with us and support the next generation of inspirational Progressive Jewish leaders by helping us raise £50,000 for 50 years of women in the UK rabbinate.

This year, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous supporter, we’re pleased to announce donation top-ups, so for every £4 you donate, they’ll add an extra £1 to celebrate this momentous occasion – find out more on the donation page

We also invite you to join us online on 14th May 2025 as we celebrate this extraordinary event with Rabbi Dr Jackie Tabick in conversation with Rabbi Professor Deborah Kahn-Harris.