Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

Marla Feldman
Executive Director Emerita
Women of Reform Judaism
http://wrj.org

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman was the Executive Director of WRJ from 2012 tp June of 2023, having previously served as the Director of Development for the URJ and Director of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism. Feldman is a Reform rabbi (HUC-JIR, New York) and lawyer (JD, Univ. of Fla). Previously, Rabbi Feldman worked in the Jewish community relations field in Detroit and Delaware and served Reform congregations in Sarasota and Orlando, Florida. Feldman has authored Reform Movement action manuals and published modern midrash, and her articles have appeared in numerous publications and newspapers. She is the author of “Biblical Women Speak: Hearing Their Voices through New and Ancient Midrash” (JPS, 2023).

A Debt of Gratitude for the Women Who Opened the Doors

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

When I was ordained in 1985, women rabbis were still rather rare. I was the first woman rabbi in every congregation I served in the 1980s, and in most cases I was the first and only woman rabbi in that city. I looked to the women who preceded me as my role models and gave them credit for opening the doors to full equality in congregational life through which I was honored to enter. Now that I am working with Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ), the affiliate of lay-women of the Reform Movement, I realize that much of that credit was misplaced. To be sure, the women who were ordained in the 70s crossed that rabbinic threshold with a great deal of difficulty and, in doing so, they made it easier for me to succeed. But long before there were women rabbis, there were women in congregational life who unlocked the doors and opened them just wide enough for us to walk through.

Press

Building a Movement: A Survey of 100 years of Sisterhood Support

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

In 2008, Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) was honored by the World Union for Progressive Judaism with its International Humanitarian Award. In his introductory tribute remarks, Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, URJ President at the time, said: There are too many people in our Movement who do not know the story of WRJ. The major reason, it seems to me, is that WRJ is not engaged in a continual campaign of self-promotion – which tends to be the norm in the Jewish world. They are simply too busy encouraging the grassroots efforts of their members, and in doing the everyday, nitty-gritty work that sustains our synagogues and strengthens the Jewish people. WRJ’s Centennial year is an opportunity to change this pattern and to tell our amazing story to all who will listen. Through these weekly Ten Minutes of Torah messages, exhibits, and several new and upcoming publications and videos, WRJ has endeavored to raise awareness of what our matriarchs have done to enhance Jewish life in North America and around the world.

Recent activity at the Kotel

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

As you may have seen in the news, there has been recent activity regarding plans to provide space at the Kotel (Western Wall) where non-Orthodox Jews can worship according to their own customs.

Press

Reform Family Supports Hurricane Sandy Victims

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

It’s that time of year again: Hurricane season. From my years living in Florida I know well that June-November is the official season. Living now in New York, one cannot escape the constant reminder of last year’s ‘Super Storm Sandy.' The news is filled with updates, as one-by-one the Jersey Shore boardwalks reopen for the ‘season’ and shops at South Street Seaport struggle to rebuild. Recovery after the second costliest storm in U.S. history (Hurricane Katrina was the most costly) will take many years. It will be a long time until every community affected by the storm will be back on its feet. For the individuals affected, it may take even longer. So many families have been displaced and so much housing stock has been destroyed that it is hard to comprehend the magnitude of the impact. Our friends in the Gulf Coast certainly understand, as do the families in Oklahoma after the recent devastating tornadoes.

WRJ Centennial Trip: A WRJ Tabernacle in the Desert

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

As I write this a cool wind is blowing across the Negev and the sun is shining over the beautiful ‘crater’ at Mitzpe Ramon. I now know that the ‘crater’ is not really a crater, but rather a unique and breath-taking geological formation. Having visited David and Paula Ben Gurion’s graves near their home at Sde Boker not far from Mitzpa Ramon, I can understand why he chose this region of all places in Israel for his inspiration and his eternal rest.