The Rabbi Sally J. Priesand WRJ Award has been established in honor of the 45th anniversary of the ordination of Rabbi Priesand. This award will be given annually to a graduating Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) Cincinnati campus woman. Each year, the student chosen will exemplify the mission and values of WRJ and embody the qualities that Rabbi Priesand has exhibited throughout her career, including her clarity of vision, her commitment to excellence, her professionalism, her dedication to the continuity of Reform Judaism, her passion, and her perseverance.
When notified of the creation of the award in her honor, Rabbi Priesand shared: “I remember with fondness Jane Evans and NFTS and how they were among the first to call for the right of women to serve as rabbis. Part of their legacy is that in our day and time we have fulfilled their dream, strengthening the Jewish community and bringing new life to the heritage of our people.”
This year, HUC-JIR Cincinnati has chosen student Allyson Resnik Jacobson as the recipient. Resnik Jacobson is a rising fifth-year student in HUC-JIR’s Rabbinical Education Program. She has taught in Jewish day schools and supplementary schools in St. Louis, Phoenix, and Cincinnati and considers Jewish Education, especially teaching Hebrew, to be one of her passions. She has served as a student rabbi at Temple Chai of Phoenix, Arizona, Temple Israel in Marion, Ohio, and Beth Boruk of Richmond, Indiana and a fellow and intern at Isaac M. Wise Temple in Cincinnati, Ohio.