Author

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  Rabbi Deborah Waxman

  The first woman rabbi to head a Jewish congregational union and a Jewish seminary, Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., became president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and Reconstructing Judaism in 2014. Since then, she has drawn on her training as a rabbi and historian to be the Reconstructionist movement’s leading voice in the public sphere. Through visiting numerous congregations (more than 50 at last count), making public appearances in person and online, and in writing for regional and national publications, Rabbi Waxman is projecting a vision of Judaism that embraces all peoples and inspires Jews to be strong allies to the most vulnerable among us. Since Rabbi Waxman has assumed her leadership role, RRC/Reconstructing Judaism has undertaken a number of major initiatives, including revising the rabbinical college’s curriculum, building even stronger relationships with congregational leadership, innovating Judaism for the 21st century, bolstering Reconstructionist Judaism’s ties to Israel and opening a second summer camp. Rabbi Waxman has taught courses on Reconstructionist Judaism and practical rabbinics since 2002 at the college, where she is the Aaron and Marjorie Ziegelman Presidential Professor. Waxman is a cum laude graduate of Columbia College, Columbia University, and a recipient of a rabbinical ordination and a master’s degree in Hebrew letters from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1999. She earned a Ph.D. in American Jewish history from Temple University in May 2010.