Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

Marla Feldman
Executive Director Emerita
Women of Reform Judaism

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).

Ride, Sally Ride!

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

What an amazing moment it was when Sally Ride flew into outer space. Joining the Challenger crew in 1983, she was the first American female astronaut to break the atmospheric barrier. Her untimely death today is cause for reflection and celebration of a journey well traveled. As a third-year rabbinical student that year, I was acutely aware of the barriers that tumbled down to earth that day… as well as the barriers that still existed. We were thrilled and proud and confident that nothing was beyond our reach. And it seems we were right. One by one, barriers continue to come down. Women are heads of state and secretaries of state and Supreme Court justices. They are the heads of billion-dollar high tech companies. We are rabbis (thanks to “our” Sally!) and cantors and religious leaders of many faith traditions. Women are fighting – and dying – in the service of country. And, for the first time, women are representing their countries on boxing teams at the Olympics. All of these may not be the opportunities I would seek, but they are all important options for women nonetheless.

The Value of Challenging Authority

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

Growing up in the 60’s and early 70’s, I became politically aware at a very young age. The news was filled with images of demonstrations and anti-war rallies, young people taking to the streets, and people of different faiths and races risking – and sometimes losing – their lives to oppose unfair government policies. One particularly inspiring 6th grade religious school teacher insisted we apply Jewish values to the issues of the day. I found myself working on a project about police brutality with a classmate who was, and continues to be, an ardent feminist, activist, and outspoken change agent. We became lifelong friends and in my mind’s eye I will forever see her proudly sporting her motto: “Challenge Authority!”

Reform Rabbis and Pay Equity

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) today released a study on Rabbinic Compensation by Gender. The executive summary provided by the CCAR in many ways states the obvious: there is a salary discrepancy between men and women, and that discrepancy increases as congregational size increases. No great surprise there. What is exceptional about this study is the raw data that it provides to document that disparity and to highlight exactly where that disparity is most noticeable: “Differences in senior/solo base compensation by gender are markedly less among “A” category congregations, which can be served by newly ordained rabbis (female is equal to 93% of male), than among “B” congregations where rabbis must be ordained at least three years (90%) or “C” congregations, minimum ordained five or more years (80%), or even “D” congregations, minimum eight years since ordination (89%).”

In Praise of Uncompromising Women

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

Long before the ordination of Sally Priesand, there were men and women advocating for the right of women to be rabbis. None were more dogged than the leaders of Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ), formerly National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods (NFTS). Beginning with its inception in 1913, NFTS sought the equality of women in Jewish life. The founding president, Carrie O. Simon, from Washington Hebrew Congregation, was among the most outspoken advocates for the ordination of women. As she traveled around the country speaking in congregations and establishing sisterhoods, she not only raised funds for the Hebrew Union College but also spoke out to change the policy of the College.

Before the First: Celebrating the Women Who Banged on the Doors

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

I was blessed to have had the opportunity to become a rabbi and serve the Jewish community in a time when the doors to the rabbinate were open to women. As we celebration the 40th anniversary of Sally Priesand’s ordination, I am acutely aware that this was not always the case. Rabbi Priesand and the generation of pioneering women who came before me pushed through closed doors and laid out a welcome mat for women like me. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their perseverance. I am also reminded of the generations of women who came before them – women to banged on the doors, nudged them ever so slightly, and loosened the hinges of those closed doors. They may never be feted the way we mark the milestones of Rabbi Priesand’s ordination, but surely they deserve a nod from us at moments like this.