Female rabbi at Shira
MELBOURNE will have its first Orthodox female rabbi this year when Rabbi Lila Kagedan joins Shira Hadasha in May.
MELBOURNE will have its first Orthodox female rabbi this year when Rabbi Lila Kagedan joins Shira Hadasha in May.
Rabbi Kagedan, who is a graduate of the Maharat program, established in 2009 by Rabbi Avi Weiss of Yeshivat Chovevi Torah to ordain women within an Orthodox framework, will join the congregation as a Rabbi in Residence for five weeks. She will be the first female graduate ordained as a Maharat to work with a Jewish community in Australia.
The US-born rabbi is a consultant, activist and educator in the areas of global health, ethics, religion and education. She is a clinical ethicist and chaplain and sits on ethics committees of major hospitals, hospices and academic institutions.
Rabbi Kagedan has created curricula and taught courses on a variety of topics in the field of bioethics, and is a seasoned teacher who has also taught Talmud, ethics and Jewish studies in formal and non-formal settings.
She has also written and lectured on the topics of medicine and Jewish law, as well as on topics relating to women and Jewish practice. More recently, she accepted a part-time role as a member of the spiritual leadership team of the Mount Freedom Jewish Centre in New Jersey, which is Modern Orthodox.
Shira Hadasha president Mandi Katz said the congregation has become the natural spiritual home for people looking for deeply traditional services but which expand the role of women within the framework of an emerging stream in Modern orthodoxy.
“We are thrilled that Rabbi Kagedan will be part of this on-going growth and development.”
Rabbi Kagedan will run shiurim, contribute to educational and community building events at Shira Hadasha and also present at Limmud Oz in Melbourne from June 25-27.
JOSHUA LEVI
For more information, contact Mandi Katz on 0438 510 882 or visit www.shira.org.au
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