Mimi Feigelson

American Orthodox Jewish rabbi

Mimi Feigelson is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, scholar and spiritual leader.^[1]^[2]

Born in the United States, she moved to Israel at age eight and began studying with Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach at age fifteen.^[3] She says that in 1994, he granted her religious ordination (smicha), normally reserved for men.^[1]^[4]^[5]^[6] This was revealed in 2000 in an article by the New York Jewish Week.^[7] Feigelson is also described as being ordained in 1994 by a panel of three rabbis after Carlebach's death.^[8]^[9] She is currently a lecturer in the rabbinic school at American Jewish University in Los Angeles, and the students’ mashpiah ruchanit, or spiritual guide.^[7] She uses the title "Reb" rather than "Rabbi."^[7]

Mimi Feigelsohn was among the few Orthodox women rabbis to have received private ordination in the Orthodox Jewish context before the institutional change that resulted in the founding of Yeshivat Maharat. Other women in her position include Haviva Ner-David and Dina Najman (both ordained in 2006).

References

^ ^a ^b "Outed as a rabbi, Orthodox woman to speak here". 8 March 2002. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
^ Horwitz, D. (2020). American Conservative Judaism and Kabbalah. In Kabbalah in America (pp. 254-265). Brill.
^ "Orthodox Women Rabbis". Retrieved 29 October 2014.
^ "A Different Standard: Mimi Feigelson faces obstacles as an Orthodox female with smicha". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
^ "Scholar in Residence - Reb Mimi (Miriam Sara) Feigelson". Retrieved 29 October 2014.
^ Sperber, D. (2010). On women in rabbinic leadership positions. Me'orot, 8, 2.
^ ^a ^b ^c "A Woman With the Title 'Reb'". The Jewish Daily Forward. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
^ Israel-Cohen, Y. (2012). Chapter Five: Orthodox Women Rabbis?“It’s Only a Matter of Time”. In Between Feminism and Orthodox Judaism (pp. 69-78). Brill.
^ Goodstein, Laurie (21 Dec 2000). "Ordained As Rabbis, Women Tell Secret". New York Times.

Women rabbis and Torah scholars

Timeline of women rabbis

Pre-modern
figures

Bible and Talmud	Deborah (1107–1067 BCE) Bruriah (2nd century)
Medieval and early modern era	Rashi's daughters (11th–12th century) Bat ha-Levi (12th century) Paula Dei Mansi (13th century) Miriam Shapira-Luria (14th century) Fioretta of Modena (1522–1580) Bayla Falk (16th century) Eva Bacharach (1580–1651) Asenath Barzani (1590–1670) Frehat Bat Avraham (d. 1756) Maiden of Ludmir (1805–1888)

Modern figures

Ray Frank (1861–1948)
Lily Montagu (1873–1963)
Regina Jonas (1902–1944)
Tehilla Lichtenstein (1893–1973)
Paula Ackerman (1893–1989)
Martha Neumark (1904–1981)
Avis Clamitz (1908-1991)
Helen Levinthal (1910–1989)
Sally Priesand (b. 1946)
Mimi Feigelson (b. 1963)

First ordination by denomination	Regina Jonas (Reform, 1935) Sandy Sasso (Reconstructionist, 1974) Lynn Gottlieb (Renewal, 1981) Amy Eilberg (Conservative, 1985) Tamara Kolton (Humanistic, 1999) Sara Hurwitz (Orthodox, 2009)

Alternate
rabbinical roles

Yoetzet halacha
Toanot Rabniyot

Organisations
and midrashot

Category: Women rabbis

Women in Judaism

General topics

History	Jewish Women's Congress (1893) 1902 Kosher Meat Boycott 1904 New York City Rent Strike 1906 Tonsil Riots 1907 New York City Rent Strike 1909 Shirtwaist Strike World Congress of Jewish Women (1923, 1929) Women's Torah Project (2003–2010) Women's Siyum HaShas (2020)