Gather Round for the Global Women's Torah Circle!

Do you have an interest in Jewish spirituality, Torah study, and feminism? Are you interested in meeting and connecting with other Reform/Progressive women from around the world?

Women of Reform Judaism, in partnership with the World Union for Progressive Judaism, is excited to announce, “Voices & Viewpoints: A Global Women’s Torah Circle,” a unique online learning community centered around the study of Torah through a feminist perspective and lens. It will bring together a diverse group of women from Reform/Progressive communities around the world to study Torah, engage in dialogue, and share our stories. We hope to create a fun and meaningful space for inspired Jewish learning while offering an opportunity for women in different communities to cultivate friendships and build connections with each other across generations and geography.

So many of us turn to Torah to help make sense of our lives, to give voice to our deepest hopes, collective grief, and everyday experiences. For centuries, Torah scholarship was entirely male dominated. Women’s voices were not recognized and not welcome in study halls. Over the past several decades, this has changed. Women are discovering new meaning and understanding in stories where women’s voices previously were silent. As Jewish feminists, we are grappling with Torah interpretation and how it relates to the issues of our day. Women are writing powerful and thought-provoking midrash (reflections and expansions on Biblical stories).

There is magic in women learning together, finding strength in our shared learning and creating our own new midrash. In our chaotic world today, I believe women coming together in a safe space and learning together on a global scale is needed now more than ever. Using WRJ’s The Torah: A Women’s Commentary as our guide, we will look at our ancient text anew, asking questions that are relevant to our own lives, including the different ways we understand our Judaism. We will explore together and learn together, and we’ll celebrate the richness of experience that women bring to contemporary Torah study.

This project was inspired in part by my participation in the 2018 WRJ Wilkenfeld International Women’s Leadership Seminar. The women who attended came from very different places and led very different lives, and yet, we all found it easy to form bonds of support and friendship. Spending time learning together and sharing our personal stories enabled us to develop a real sense of connectivity in the short time we were together. We all left the seminar feeling inspired and empowered with a new sense of momentum towards our shared goal of a better world in which we can live out the values and vision embodied in our Judaism. My hope is that people participating in the Global Women’s Torah Circle will develop this same sense of connectivity and energy, weaving a web of community through Torah study and ultimately leading us to a better understanding of each other, our shared values, goals, and challenges in today’s world.

All who identify as female, nonbinary or genderfluid and support Reform/Progressive Jewish values are welcome to join the Women’s Torah Circle – whether you are new to Torah study or have been studying Torah for years. The sessions will be lay-led and conducted in English. We will convene the Circle once for each book of the Torah (for a total of five times in 2025-2026), beginning in November 2025. Rather than simply reading the Torah portion of the week, we are going to focus on a particular story for each book of the Torah. All sessions will be held on Sundays at 2:00 pm ET. We will also have a WhatsApp group to share materials, continue our conversations, and stay connected between Circle gatherings.

It takes a village, and I want to express my deep gratitude to the many people who helped my initial dream of a Global Women’s Torah Circle become a reality. Special thanks to: Rabbi Stacey Blank, Director of Education and Leadership for the World Union for Progressive Judaism; my colleagues who were part of the 2024 WUPJ Global Leadership Fellowship cohort for their suggestions and support; WRJ CEO Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch and WRJ President Karen Sim for their thoughtful input and for giving me the freedom to create; Laurel Fisher, Ally Karpel-Pomerantz, Madelyn Katz, Blair Marks, and fredi Bleeker Franks for saying YES to joining me on this journey and serving as our special Torah Circle teachers and facilitators; HUC Rabbinical student Jess Friedman for her perspectives and tech assistance; WRJ Communications Director Aly Rubin and WRJ Communications Associate Izzy Wellman for their amazing work on our logo and communications materials.

It's going to be quite the adventure. I hope you’ll join us! Learn more and register now: https://wrj.org/resources-events/resources-programs/voices-viewpoints-global-womens-torah-circle