12 | NOVEMBER 28 • 2019 

F

emale rabbis are noth-
ing new in Reform, 
Reconstructionist and 
Conservative Judaism. Now 
Detroit has one of a few dozen 
ordained Orthodox women 
clergy. Just don’
t call her a rabbi.
Rabbanit Jenna Englander 
graduated in June from the 
smicha (ordination) program 
of Yeshivat Maharat in Bronx, 
N.Y., founded in 2009 to edu-
cate, ordain and invest in pas-
sionate, committed Orthodox 
women who model a dynamic 
Judaism to inspire and support 
individuals and communities.
Twenty-six of its graduates 
are serving as clergy in schools, 
hospitals, communal organiza-
tions and congregations around 
the country, and another 30 are 
enrolled in the program. 
 Only one uses the title 
“rabbi.
” The others call them-
selves rabba, rabbanit (which 
traditionally meant a rabbi’
s 
wife) or maharat, a Hebrew 

acronym for manhiga hilchatit 
ruchanit Toranit, meaning a 
female leader in Jewish law, 
spirituality and Torah.
Before starting Yeshivat 
Maharat, co-founder and presi-
dent Sara Hurwitz was ordained 
as a “rabba” by Orthodox rabbis 
Avi Weiss and Daniel Sperber.
Englander, 30, has come 
a long way from her San 
Francisco-area youth, where 
she had a strong Jewish identity 
but no formal affiliations. Her 
family was not part of a congre-
gation, and she did not have any 
religious education.
She says she discovered the 
joys of Judaism at New York 
University, where she studied 
Middle Easter studies and inter-
ational relations. “I didn’
t even 
realize what Hillel was; I sort 
of stumbled across it. A friend 
invited me to a Shabbat dinner 
at Hillel and I went,
” she said.
There she learned about a 
class in Jewish basics for stu-

dents who had never had a bar 
or bat mitzvah. “So, I started 
learning and suddenly discov-
ered the wealth of Jewish life,
” 
she said. “I just started sucking 
it up!”
She began to observe more 
traditional Jewish practices, and 
by the time she graduated in 
2009, she solidly identified as 
Modern Orthodox. But some-
thing was still missing.
“I felt comfortable with my 
Jewish lifestyle, but I didn’
t feel 
ownership of it,
” she said. “I 
had no foundation in textual 
education. I felt my practices 
were meaningful, but I wanted 
to know why they were mean-
ingful.
”
She had been to Israel for 
a summer to study Arabic at 
Hebrew University. A year 
after graduating from NYU she 
returned, enrolling at Pardes 
Institute of Jewish Studies for a 
year-long program of text study.
“
After a week or two, I knew 

a year wasn’
t going to cut it,
” 
she said, and began to think 
about how she could continue 
to learn.
During that year, she met her 
husband, Sam Englander. He 
had come to Israel intending 
to stay but missed his family in 
suburban Detroit. As newly-
weds, the Englanders moved to 
New York, where Sam enrolled 
in Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, a 
Modern Orthodox rabbinical 
school founded by Avi Weiss, 
and Jenna worked as a recruiter 
for the Pardes Institute.

THIRST FOR MORE
Englander knew she needed 
more time with Jewish texts. 
Her Pardes experience had 
enlightened her to what she 
felt Jewish education could 
and should be. She wanted to 
be able to impart that sense of 
excitement and energy to oth-
ers. At Yeshivat Maharat, she 
could learn Torah intensively 

continued on page 14

Jews in the D

“I felt comfortable with my Jewish lifestyle, but I didn’t feel 
ownership of it. I felt my practices were meaningful, but I wanted
to know why they were meaningful.”

— RABBANIT JENNA ENGLENDER

l
bb
h
f
h
h l h
d
h h d
h

Jenna Englender’
s quest for Jewish learning 
led her to become a Modern Orthodox 
rabbanit bent on sharing her passion.

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

LIZZ CARDWELL/JCC

Rabbanit Jenna 
Englender teaches 
a Melton adult 
education class.

Jenna Englender’
s quest for Jewish le

Joys

ofJudaism

on the cover

