Rachel Isaacs

Rachel Isaacs is the first openly lesbian rabbi ordained by the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary ("JTS"), which occurred in May 2011.[1] She transferred to JTS from the Reform movement’s Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in her third year of rabbinical school.[2] Isaacs previously earned her B.A. from Wellesley College in 2005, where she was the Hillel Co-President.[3] [4] She is now the rabbi of Beth Israel Congregation in Waterville, Maine.[3]

Isaacs was mentored at JTS by Rabbi Carie Carter, who placed the tallit across Isaacs' shoulders at her ordination.[2] Rabbi Carter was a closeted lesbian during her own time at JTS, and wrote the originally-anonymous chapter "In Hiding" about lesbian Conservative rabbis in the 2001 book Lesbian Rabbis: The First Generation.[1] Rabbi Carter is now openly lesbian, and works at Brooklyn's Park Slope Jewish Center, which Rachel Isaacs interned at.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Amy Stone (Summer 2011). "Out and Ordained". Lilith. http://www.lilith.org/pdfs/LILSu11_FINAL_Outandordained.pdf. Retrieved 2011-11-19. 
  2. ^ a b May 25, 2011, 7:29pm (2011-05-25). "JTS Ordains Its First Openly Gay Rabbi – The Sisterhood – Forward.com". Blogs.forward.com. http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/138141/. Retrieved 2011-11-19. 
  3. ^ a b "Beth Israel Congregation". Beth Israel Congregation, Waterville, ME. http://www.bethisraelwaterville.org/#!bio. Retrieved 19 November 2011. 
  4. ^ "Jewish Studies at Colby College » Blog Archive » Welcome, Rachel Isaacs and Linda Maizels!". Jewish Studies at Colby College. Colby College. 2011-08-19. http://web.colby.edu/jewishstudies/2011/08/19/welcome-isaacs-maizels/. Retrieved 2011-11-19.