zr

Cantor Lori Corrsin

j. rtabbi Michele Faudem

Rabbi Marla Feldman

Rabbi Lauren Berkun

A cantor and seven

rabbis share how they
fulfill their obligations as
clergy who just happen
to be women.

Conservative, Humanistic and Reform movements,
include three who are homegrown, five who are par-
ents and two rabbis married to other rabbis.
"I don't think the women in our community who
are clergy went into their fields because we are
women," Rabbi Faudem says. "We went into it
because we love Judaism. But I think we bring dif-
ferent things to our professions, as women."
Says Rabbi Feldman: "What I bring to the rab-
binate is a totality of what I am. Being a woman is a
characteristic of who I an — part of what has
molded me and created my opinions and priorities.
It's part of the package — and what you get —
when you get me. Being a woman affects what I do,
like being a twin or being from Toledo, affect what I
bring to the rabbinate."
Rabbi Amy Ruth Bolton, chaplain for the Jewish
Hospice Chaplaincy Network in Southfield, says,
"My role as a rabbi goes beyond the fact that I'm a

woman. Being a woman is definitely a key factor in
shaping my rabbinate, but not the only one.
"Being a woman didn't have anything to do with
my choice of chaplaincy work, but it did shape it,",
she says. "My life experiences as a woman and a
mother play a role in everything I do. In terms of
healing, there are so many challenges in life unique
to women. I have dealt with issues like infertility
and with women wanting extra strength during
pregnancy. Not that men can't address these issues,
but because I am a woman I've been approached."

Managing Family Life

"Time for family is indeed very difficult to juggle,"
says Cantor Lori Corrsin of Temple Israel, the
Detroit area's only woman cantor.
Cantor Corrsin, who grew up in Southfield,
admits to having a grueling, demanding schedule. In

trying to balance career with her family responsibili-
ties, she says, "the most important person in a
female clergyperson's life is her husband." Cantor
Corrsin is a mother and married to Dr. Stephen
Corrsin. She says, "I often end up working late at
night so I can give some earlier times to my family."
The cantor received her 1992 investiture from
HUC-JIR School of Sacred Music in New York City
just two weeks after the birth of daughter,
Alexandra, now 10. Her husband took a year off
from his job to be their child's main caregiver.
"As you can imagine, Steve and Alexandra have a
very close, loving relationship," Cantor Corrsin says.
Engaged to marry Sheldon Stern in August, Rabbi
Marla Hornsten of Temple Israel says, "My life is
only enhanced by my upcoming marriage." Rabbi
Hornsten describes her fiance, whom she met
through Temple Israel's Synagogue 2000 group, as
an "active part of my temple life.

"

Jig
6/7

2002

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