Regina Jonas (1902-1944) asked a short, but important question: Can women serve as rabbis? She dedicated her life to proving that the answer to that question was 'Yes.'
Regina Jonas (1902-1944) asked a short, but important question: Can women serve as rabbis? She dedicated her life to proving that the answer to that question was 'Yes.'
You’re probably familiar with rebels without a cause, but what about rebels with a cause? This month on Womanica, we’re talking about women who broke rules that were meant to be broken. From the “Godmother of Title IX” Bernice Sandler, to the most prominent figure of the People Power Revolution, Corazon Aquino, to the “Queen of Civil Rights” Ruby Hurley, these women took major risks to upend the status quo and create meaningful change.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan. And this is Womanica.
This month, we’re talking about Rebels WITH a cause: women who broke rules that were meant to be broken. These women took major risks to upend the status quo and create meaningful change.
In 1930, today’s rebel published her seminary thesis, and asked a short, but important question: Can women serve as rabbis? She dedicated her life to proving that the answer to that question was, Yes.
Let’s talk about Regina Jonas.
Regina was born in Berlin, in 1902. Her family lived in a poor, crowded district in the shadow of a big synagogue. When Regina was 11, her father, Wolf, died from tuberculosis. Her mother, Sara, had to raise Regina and her brother, Abraham, alone.
Both Regina and Abraham were studious, and they often worked together. Eventually, Abraham became a religious teacher.
The moment Regina was born came at the end of a creative, experimental era for German Judaism.
Both the Reform and Modern Orthodox Jewish movements emerged during this period of Jewish enlightenment. In keeping with the spirit of invention, Regina headed to the Academy for the Science of Judaism.
At that point, women certainly played important roles with the Jewish faith, but only men were allowed to become rabbis, in a process called smicha To be a rabbi was to reach the highest status. It meant being a spiritual leader, teacher, and scholar. Regina knew this was her calling. She later said:
“God planted in our heart skills and a vocation without asking about gender. Therefore it is the duty of men and women alike to work and create according to the skills given by God.”
So Regina set out to make her case. She published her 88-page seminary thesis in 1930. In it, Regina argued that women were kept from being rabbis because of culture and tradition – not because of anything that could be found in Halacha, or Jewish law.
Regina’s argument was sound. She got a passing grade and could become a rabbi!
But bad luck struck. The rabbi in charge of ordination died suddenly, before he could ordain Regina. And for the next five years, no one would agree to grant her the title of rabbi.
Finally, in 1935, Regina received her smicha. She became the first woman in Judaic history to be ordained as a rabbi. The first woman in 2,000 years.
Though Regina didn’t receive a congregation, like many of her male peers, she set out to educate and inspire. But trouble was on the horizon. The Nazis had come to power in Germany. In 1935, the year Regina was ordained, the Nazis enacted the Nuremberg Race Laws, which isolated Jews from the rest of German society. It also stripped Jews of their German citizenship. People started fleeing the country. And Regina began traveling around to communities whose rabbis had left.
Regina’s supporters urged her to leave Germany. But Regina refused to go. How could she abandon other Jews who were suffering, who needed comfort, and guidance? She spent time caring for the elderly and visiting sick patients in the hospital. And her own mother needed her, too.
In 1942, Regina and her mother were deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Her deportation file included her 88-page thesis. And she identified herself as “rabbinerin” – a female rabbi.
At Theresienstadt, where the Nazis had sent those they considered cultural leaders, Regina continued to serve those around her. Trains full of Jews from all over Europe were pouring into the camp. And when these people stepped off the train, terrified, and heartbroken, Regina was there. She would greet them, orient them, comfort them, promise that despite the hell they were in, she would be there to help.
We don’t know a lot of details about Regina’s time at the camp. But we know that Regina gave at least 24 lectures, on topics from the history of Jewish women to an introduction on Jewish ethics. We know that she delivered powerful sermons, urging people to continue to find meaning in their lives.
Regina continued this life for two years. On October 12, 1944, she was deported to Auschwitz. It’s believed that she was murdered on arrival, on October 14th. She was just 42 years old.
For almost 50 years, many of Regina’s documents, which she’d archived before her deportation, sat unread, in Germany. Few remembered her name.
It wouldn’t be until 1972 that another woman, Sally Priesand, was ordained as a rabbi. For a long time, she was believed to be the first woman rabbi. Then, in 1994, the historian Katharina von Kellenbach published an article that revealed Regina’s pioneering work. Reflecting on Regina, Rabbi Priesand later said, “We really cannot help but stand in awe of her courage. All female rabbis stand on her shoulders.”
All month, we’re talking about rebels with a cause. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!