Mimi Feigelson
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Mimi Feigelson is an
Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...
rabbi, scholar, educator and spiritual leader.


Early life and education

Born in New York on March 7, 1963, she moved to Israel at age eight and began studying with Rabbi
Shlomo Carlebach Shlomo Carlebach (; January 14, 1925 – October 20, 1994), known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was an American rabbi and musician nicknamed "the Singing Rabbi". Although his roots lay in traditional Orthodox yeshivot, he branched out to c ...
at age sixteen. In 1985 she completed a BA degree in history at
Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...
. She says that in 1994, Carlebach granted her religious ordination (
smicha ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...
), normally reserved for men. Her ordination as well as that of Eveline Goodman-Thau was revealed in 2000 in an article by the
New York Jewish Week ''New York Jewish Week'' (formerly ''The Jewish Week'') is a weekly independent community newspaper targeted towards the Jewish community of the metropolitan New York City area. History In March 2016, ''The Jewish Week'' announced its partners ...
. Feigelson is also described as being ordained in 1996 by a panel of three rabbis after Carlebach's death. She earned a masters degree in Jewish philosophy at Hebrew University in 2000. Upon completion of her studies she had expertise not only in
Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
but also
Chasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those affi ...
literature and thought with a desire to teach all who wanted to learn. In 2016 she earned her doctorate from
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...
. Her doctoral dissertation explores Jewish funeral rituals and how individuals can reclaim their funerals as the final chapter of life, rather than the first chapter of death.


Rabbinic career

In 2001 she left her role as associate director and head of the women’s beit midrash a
Yakar
in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, an Orthodox synagogue she helped found in 1992, and moved to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
to teach in the
Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies is the graduate program of study leading to ordination as a Conservative rabbi at the American Jewish University (formerly known as the "University of Judaism"), offering a Masters in Rabbinic Studies (or ...
at
University of Judaism A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
where she was the students’ mashpiah ruchanit, or spiritual guide. She taught at the school until 2017, when she moved back to Israel to take a similar position at the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary in Jerusalem. She uses the title "Reb" rather than "Rabbi" and is universally known as "Reb Mimi". Feigelson was among the few Orthodox
women rabbis Women rabbis and Torah scholars are Jews, Jewish women who have received formal ''semikhah'' (rabbinic ordination) as rabbis or are recognized for their studies and contributions to Judaism, Jewish religious tradition, respectively. The ordination ...
to have received private ordination in the Orthodox Jewish context before the institutional change that resulted in the founding of
Yeshivat Maharat Yeshivat Maharat is a Jewish educational institution in The Bronx, New York, which is the first Orthodox-affiliated yeshiva in North America to ordain women. The word ''Maharat'' () is a Hebrew acronym for phrase ''manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit Tora ...
. Other women in her position include Haviva Ner-David and
Dina Najman Dina Najman (b.) is the rabbi of the Kehilah of Riverdale, a synagogue in Bronx, New York City, founded in 2014, which describes itself as "an Orthodox Jewish Congregation dedicated to creating a serious and meaningful tefilah for our kehilah, co ...
(both ordained in 2006). In 2010 she was recognized as one of the fifty most influential female Rabbis in the U.S by
The Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...
.


See also

*
Sara Hurwitz Sara Hurwitz is an Orthodox Jewish spiritual leader aligned with the " Open Orthodox" faction of Modern Orthodox Judaism in the United States. She is considered by some to be the first female Orthodox rabbi. She serves at the Hebrew Institute ...
*
Dina Brawer Dina Brawer (born Dina Elmaleh) is an Open Orthodox woman rabbi and the founder of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance division in the United Kingdom (JOFA UK). Brawer received her rabbinical ordination at Yeshivat Maharat in the United State ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feigelson, Mimi Living people 1963 births American Jewish University faculty American Orthodox Jews Women rabbis Year of birth missing (living people) Orthodox women rabbis