Women’s Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership (Joanne Greenaway)

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This week we’re meeting Hadassah Shemtov. Hadassah lives in LA where she teaches
Gemara and Chumash to high school girls, particularly within the Chabad community.

Hadassah noticed amongst the women in her community an underlying ‘estrangement from
the source of our tradition’. She saw that many high school students were unfamiliar with the
evolutionary process of halacha and thought it to be arbitrary rules. She found a low
expectation for rigorous scholarship within Torah study that led peers to seek intellectual
satisfaction elsewhere. So she co-founded the Batsheva Learning Center in 2015, and has
spearheaded numerous innovative learning opportunities for women there, primarily in the
New York area but also across the US.

Hadassah and I discuss standing on the shoulders of giants such as Sarah Schnierer, what
Chabad schools teach that others don’t, and the leadership advantage that Chabad
‘shluchot’ have over other female leaders.

Women's Gallery Episode 10 with Dr. Erica Brown

Women's Gallery Episode 4 with Dr. Elana Stein Hain

Listen to Hadassah's podcast Real Women, Real Torah, and read her Substack.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/ for our full Jewish learning programme & find something that suits you.

Dr Rachel Levmore has spent decades bridging the world of Jewish Law, academia and social activism to help people from all walks of life negotiate the difficult process of Jewish divorce. That makes her one of my real mentors professionally and my inspiration for the work that I’ve done in Get refusal. She’s a veteran who has dedicated her life to this issue. 

Rachel is a Rabbinical Court Advocate, and the director of the Aguna Prevention Project. She lives in Efrat and has a PHD in Talmud and Jewish Law from Bar Ilan University.

For more information on these topics, listen to our episode with Keshet Starr on Get refusal, our episode with Shoshanna Keats-Jaskoll on social activism, and read Rachel’s article, [article title].

If you’re a woman who wants to improve her own halachic knowledge, you can join our Iyun Women’s Halacha Programme.

To read Rachel Levmore's article, "Agunot, Follow These Instructions," click here.

We’re meeting Dr Yardaena Osband in this episode, who’s quite challenging to
introduce because she wears so many hats! She’s a founding member of the Orthodox
Leadership Project, which empowers Orthodox Jewish women’s leadership as a way
of strengthening Jewish communities through professional development, education and
partnerships. She’s also a paediatrician, teacher, co-host of the Daf Yomi podcast Talking
Talmud, and board member of ORA and the Eden Center.

With so much to choose from, we spoke about women’s leadership in the Orthodox world,
touching on the education of our girls and whether that helps us to grow female leaders, and
the issue of recognition, and whether or not women need a professional title.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

Visit the International Halacha Scholars Programme at https://ots.org.il/program/international-halakha-scholars-program/

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk for our full Jewish learning programme &
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This week I’m delighted and humbled to have with me Sarah-Jane Landsman of Kibbutz
Alumim. In 2022, when there was no-one else to step up, Sarah-Jane took on a second term
as Mazkirah (Director) of the kibbutz. That was how, on October 7th, she found herself in a
very pivotal role, a role that really no training can provide any preparation for, and since then
she’s relocated the whole kibbutz and cared for the different needs of that displaced
community.

Sarah-Jane and I met in July when I was privileged to visit Kibbutz Alumim and hear her
incredible story, which has really stayed with me over these difficult months. This is the story
of the last 400 days.

We're meeting Tal Bassali in this episode, a passionate, ambitious individual whose vision
was to create something “so beautiful that it united people together but enabled them to
remain individuals.” Enter the Zehud school, a Jewish online school teaching Hebrew
and Judaic Studies to Jewish children. Living in Venice, Tal quickly realized that the type of
Jewish education she wanted for her children wasn't available locally. In creating what she
needed for her children, she's enabled hundreds of other Jewish children in far flung
communities to join her community and receive a powerful, joyous Jewish education
wherever they are in the world.

In addition to education, Tal and I discuss the weight of our collective European memory, being
a reluctant public speaker, and how to grow into your role - all in this episode of Women's Gallery.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators. You can access a women's high level learning course at LSJS at https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/courses-and-events.php?category=33

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/ for our full Jewish learning programme & find something that suits you.

Shoshana Keats-Jaskoll is a warrior with a pen and she fights, she really fights, for a better Judaism. Raised in Lakewood, she moved to Israel with her family, where she witnessed the damaging effects of extremism on the community. She co-founded Chochmat Nashim, which enables her to write, speak, and campaign to change policy and communal behaviour to create a healthier, more balanced society, highlighting where things go wrong and working on change on the ground. We’ve worked together on Get refusal, systemic change and teaching, so I know what a fearless advocate Shoshana is and I totally admire her fierce intellect and unique methods, tackling issues head-on from within the system which I think is what makes her so powerful. We discuss regulating Batei Din (ratemybeitdin.com) the unique perspective of coming from a non-observant home, the problem of outsourcing knowledge in the Jewish community and practical tips for social activism.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk for our full Jewish learning programme &
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Dr. Erica Brown is Vice Provost for Values and Leadership at Yeshiva University and Founding Director of its Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership. An award winning author who writes extremely widely on Jewish Ethics, Bible and leadership, Erica’s new book, Morning has Broken: Faith after October 7th is out now.

Previously she served as the director of the Mayberg Centre for Jewish Education and
Leadership and was Associate Professor of Curriculum Pedagogy at the George Washington
University. She’s a veteran of Jewish education and leadership who’s paved the way for so
many people and continues to be a role model to me and many others in the world of Jewish
education and leadership.

Erica and I discuss how to choose where and when to apply our creative energy in
leadership, an immersive approach to getting things done, getting women into writing, and
carrying ourselves and others across the historical and difficult times we’re experiencing.

Today, we’re live! I’m at the Orthodox Women’s Torah Leadership Convening with Ann
Pava and Elizabeth Walder, trailblazers of Jewish philanthropy, strategically growing the field
of Orthodox Jewish women’s Torah leadership.

As we sit onstage at the Convening that Ann and Elizabeth made happen, they reveal how
they choose where to invest, and how they go forward as partners with those organisations
lucky enough to receive their help. We marvel at how far this field has come - programmes in
learning and leadership that are now available for women and girls, and positions held by
women that were traditionally reserved for men. We discuss the challenges for Orthodox
women seeking a career in Torah leadership as well the hurdles we’ve overcome, and the
work still to do in this field.

Anne Pava is the president of Micah Philanthropies. An activist, philanthropist, thought
leader and community builder, she loves to mentor and empower women, especially to lead,
and to make the world a better place and has been pivotally to the Prizmah Centre for
Jewish Day Schools, the Jewish Federations of North America, the Hebrew High School of
New England and the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusets. She is involved in many
other boards and has won an award for outstanding women philanthropists.

Elizabeth Walder is president and executive director of the Walder Foundation and the board
chair of Walder Operations. She is a lawyer by training and led a multicultural immigration
law practise helping thousands of immigrants reach their full potential. Later she served as
the chief sustainability officer at IDT before establishing The Walder Foundation with her
husband. Through its Jewish Life pillar the Walder Foundation founds many initiatives to
empower Orthodox women’s Torah leadership and Elizabeth was awarded the Hinda
Institute’s Heroines of Hope award in 2022 given to a visionary broad-minded philanthropist
who personifies leadership and compassion.

Special thanks to Dr. Elana Stein Hain, who organized the convening. (You can hear Jo's Women's Gallery interview with her here.)

Listen to Jo's interview with Rabbanit Michelle Cohen Farber here.

Let me introduce you to Keshet Starr. Keshet leads ORA, a non profit organisation addressing domestic abuse in the Jewish divorce process worldwide. She’s also a prolific writer, reader and Jewish educator as well as being a lawyer like me, and I had the privilege of working very closely with Keshet and getting to know her while I was managing get (Jewish divorce) cases at the London Beit Din, and I still turn to Keshet for advice.

Keshet and I had a great chat about showing up as a female in a very male-dominated space, how to give control and autonomy to others, picking your battles, and sustainable female leadership - having it all (but not necessarily at the same time).

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish
learning journeys & find something that suits you.

Dr Tanya White is a much loved teacher at LSJS and Matan, and a lecturer in Jewish
Philosophy at Bar Ilan University. Tanya lives in Israel with her husband and four girls, and
she writes, teaches and lectures on Tanach and Jewish Philosophy. She has a very unique
style that is both inspiring and intellectually stimulating and our students here at lsjs.ac.uk
love her. I always learn so much from her approach and her take on ideas – really profound
and really personal and authentic.

We discuss bridging the gap between israel and the Diaspora, responding to October 7 as
an educator, what’s next on the horizon for Orthodox Jewish women, and bringing Pesach
Torah concepts to life.

For more Pesach learning and other learning journeys, connect with us at lsjs.ac.uk/connect.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk for our full Jewish learning programme &
find something that suits you.

Rabbanit Michelle Cohen Farber is the founder of Hadran, advancing Talmud study and Daf
Yomi for women. Michelle studied Talmud at Bar Ilan University and at Midreshet
Lindenbaum Scholars’ Programme. She’s taught gemara and halacha in Pelech Jerusalem,
Midreshset Lindenbaum and Matan Hasharon. Together with her husband, she founded and
leads Kehilat Netivot in Ra’anana where they live with their 5 children.

We discuss how the anchor of Daf Yomi kept her going through the traumas we’ve been
through as a people, why she focuses on women learning Talmud rather than Tanach, and
how, while peers left studying for teaching, she continued to invest in her own learning until
she judged the right time to move to teaching, and the difference that’s made for her and for
others.

Links:

Women's Gallery Episode with Dr. Rachel Levmore

LSJS Masters Degree in Jewish Education: lsjs.ac.uk/ma

The Iyun Programme: Advanced Halacha Learning for Women: lsjs.ac.uk/iyun

Unlocking Talmud: lsjs.ac.uk/talmud

Unpacking Parasha: In-depth, text based learning for women: lsjs.ac.uk/parasha

Hadran

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish
learning journeys & find something that suits you.

My dear friend Rebbetzen Dr Hadassah Fromson is rebbetzin of Golders Green United
Synagogue here in the UK. She is a counselling psychologist who works with individuals and
couples both privately and for Chana, a fertility charity in the UK. She’s also a yoetzet
halacha and a teacher here at LSJS.

We discuss the importance of strengthening your relationships, and what brings satisfaction
- in work, in relationships and yes, even in the bedroom, based on her research into sexual
satisfaction in long-term Jewish relationships,

Learn with Hadassah in Unpacking Parasha at lsjs.ac.uk/parasha.

Join us for Unlocking Talmud on Wednesday evenings at lsjs.ac.uk/talmud.

Esty is a Chareidi Mizrachi social activist, entrepreneur and trailblazer. We met when she
was in London screening Woman of Valour, a documentary film about her life and activism,
and I was blown away by her bravery and her achievements.

In 2012, she launched No Voice, No Vote, a social media-based protest movement calling
on ultra orthodox Chareidi women not to vote for parties that barred women from their ranks,
and on the back of that she founded Nivcharot, which raises awareness on women’s rights in
Chareidi society. She’s a pioneer establishing all sorts of online forums promoting an honest
exchange of views on subjects like divorce, birth control, sexual harassment, abuse and
arranged marriages, all of which are to some extent still taboo in the Chareidi world.

Esty has a new podcast in Israel called Chareidit Meduberet (Spoken Chareidi) where she
interviews people who share this fresh approach and voice to discuss challenging issues in a
new, open way.

We speak about change management, using a pseudonym to write about politics as a
Chareidi woman, and shifting practises away from that, the potential dangers of the future of Israeli politics, how not to feed the monster of social media, and struggling with the F word -
feminism.

Click here to learn about Esty's film, Akara.

Elana Stein Hain and I talk about why finding legal loopholes in Jewish law isn’t cheating the
system but rather completely in line with what Jewish law is designed for. She is Rosh Beit
Midrash and Senior Research fellow at the Shalom Hartman institute of North America and
author of a book on halachic loopholes entitled Circumventing the Law: Rabbinic Perspectives on Loopholes and Legal Integrity.

Passionate about bringing Rabbinic thought into the conversation with contemporary life,
Elana hosts the TEXTing podcast where she brings to light issues relevant to Jewish life
through classical and modern textual sources. She's also a regular contributor to the For
Heaven’s Sake podcast, which recently became the most listened to Jewish podcast
internationally.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk for our full Jewish learning programme,
including Rabbanit Yafit Clymer, & find something that suits you.

How do we help our children cope with the emotional fallout of war? This is just one of
Rabbanit Yafit Clymer’s current roles, achieved as Rabbanit Beit Sefer of Midreshet Amit
Girls High School in Modiin where, through Yafit’s unique blend of pastoral and spiritual
guidance, she’s helping girls deal with loss caused by the war, anger with God, and how to
pray in these times. Having a school rabbanit, a role that doesn't exist all over the world, has
been vital and we discuss what the role means and why it’s needed.

Also a teacher of Tanach & Talmud at Matan and LSJS, Rabbanit Yafit is currently studying
for a doctorate in Jewish Philosophy at Bar Ilan University.

We consider how to find the right balance in a syllabus between factual knowledge and
spiritual awareness, and touch on Meshivat Nefesh, a responsa website where men and
women answer halachic questions in all areas. Then, in explaining how to see God talking to
us through history, Rabbanit Yafit delivers a powerfully real message that I think can uplift us
all in these incredibly testing times.

Catch Rabbanit Yafit on Covenant and Continuity: Rabbi Sacks’ wisdom, taught by his
students. Book at lsjs.ac.uk/shemot.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish
learning journeys & find something that suits you.

Suzy Goldberg is a pillar of the London community who embodies humble leadership. She’s
a mother, grandmother, shadchanit (Jewish matchmaker) and Torah teacher of over 30
years. She’s also a graduate of the LSJS BA and MA degree programmes in Jewish
Education and she works today with an organisation called Shidduch.im, the UK’s
branch of the fabulously-named Saw You at Sinai Jewish dating app, and she’s
encouraged, counselled and guided many couples to the chuppah with incredible skill.

We discuss the common thread connecting Jewish education and matchmaking, what it
feels like to watch a couple you connected get married, our responsibility to help people find
their other halves and of course, how to know if this is the right match for you!

This podcast is powered by LSJS - the London School of Jewish Studies. Connect with our Jewish education courses, tours and events, online and in person, via lsjs.ac.uk/connect.

“I’ve seen the difference it makes when women’s voices and talents are included at all levels,” says Joanne Greenaway, CEO at the London School of Jewish Studies, who as well as being a communal leader and educator is also an international lawyer who spent 10 years developing expertise in resolving Jewish divorce cases individually and systemically.

For this reason, Women’s Gallery Podcast will spotlight incredible female leaders making a mark in the Jewish community. Interviewing a different woman leader in each episode, Women’s Gallery will explore different models of leadership in the context of schools, shuls, universities, batei din and every place where we can find incredible female leaders, showcasing the women defining Jewish leadership today.

This podcast is powered by LSJS - the London School of Jewish Studies. Connect with our Jewish education courses, tours and events, online and in person, via lsjs.ac.uk/connect.

Hadassa and I met over Chanukah when she was in London promoting her new book - a book which has made a huge impression on both me and my daughter. Hadassah started this book project in the wake of October 7th to help parents talk about the trauma of that terrible day, and to cope with the trauma that developed in its wake. Hadassah has emerged as a genuine role model in that sense, and I'm very excited to talk with her more about the book and its impact, as well as about her life, her world, and particularly about parenting. She’s a mother of seven which, as a mother of four, sounds impressive!

We talk mother to mother about parenting in the digital age, setting digital boundaries, self
regulation, the power of stories, and resilience. We also focus on taking social responsibility
and connecting with your inner hero, and discover the surprising truth about when she
learned English!

The Heroes of October 7th may be purchased in the UK here, and in the US here.

Rabbanit Surale Rosen is a graduate of Matan’s 5 year halacha programme and she
founded their Women’s Online Halachic Responsa Project. For the past 2 years she’s led a
new programme here at LSJS called Iyun, our highest level women’s learning programme,
teaching women hilchot kashrut and now hilchot brachot. She’s really bringing opportunities
to women in the UK that didn’t exist before, and it’s been a real privilege for me personally to
have been able to connect our LSJS community to her.

Surale’s also a certified Rabbinical Arbitrator, and she teaches Midrash, Talmud and
Halacha. She’s invested in communal service on both local and national levels, and
participates in the joint project of the UK Foreign Ministry and Search for Common Ground,
in which leading Muslim and Jewish figures create a basis for religious dialogue in the
Arab-Israeli conflict.

We discuss access to Torah scholarship for women, and also what October 7 has meant for
Surale’s ongoing relationships with Muslim leaders and the different, more fundamental
questions she now feels she needs to ask.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

I think of Mijal Bitton as a spiritual entrepreneur - she's the Rosh Kehilla, spiritual leader, of
the Downtown Minyan in New York City, where she's building vibrant traditional Jewish life.
She's also a Torah teacher, a thought leader, and a sociologist with a current research focus
on Sefardic Jews.

Mijal has really pivoted her energies lately to leading at this time of need in the Jewish world,
speaking at the huge Stand with Israel Washington rally, working in the interfaith world and
dealing with antisemitism on campus. I have so much respect for her, and I can't wait to
introduce you to her.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

Link: Wandering Jews Podcast

Link Downtown Minyan NYC