Paula Ackerman (; December 7, 1893 – January 12, 1989) is thought to have been the first woman to perform

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

nical functions in the

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, leading the Beth Israel congregation in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...

, from 1951 to 1953—making her the first woman to assume spiritual leadership of a mainstream American Jewish congregation—and the Temple Beth-El in

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, briefly in the 1960s. She led the National Committee on Religious Schools for the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods.

Early life

She was born as Paula Herskovitz in

to Joseph Herskovitz (also ''Herschkovitz'' and ''Herskovitch''), an immigrant from Romania, and Debora (), an immigrant from Germany. She had two brothers; both later changed their surnames to Hertz. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she served as the secretary for the Pensacola branch of the

National Jewish Welfare Board The National Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) was formed on April 9, 1917, three days after the United States declared war on Germany, in order to support Jewish soldiers in the U.S. military during World War I. The impetus for creating the organization ...

. She married Rabbi William Ackerman in 1919, and the two of them lived in the same household in Pensacola with her parents and brothers per the

1920 United States census The 1920 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau during one month from January 5, 1920, determined the resident population of the United States to be 106,021,537, an increase of 15.0 percent over the 92,228,496 persons enumerated ...

In the mid-1930s, she served as the Mississippi president of the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods (NFTS), a nationwide group for Jewish women affiliated with synagogues. NFTS is now known as

Women of Reform Judaism A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

(WRJ) and a major arm of

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

. From 1939 to 1945, she served on the organization's executive board. As early as the 1930s, she was occasionally leading services at Temple Beth Israel in

, where her husband was the rabbi. After his death from a heart attack, she became their leader and de facto rabbi from 1951 to 1953. She continued to lead the congregation at Beth Israel until a replacement was found in September 1953, although she was never formally ordained. The rabbinic functions undertaken by Ackerman that were publicly reported in the press include the offication of a wedding in Meridian in 1953 and a funeral in 1961."Harry Wagenheim". ''Pensacola News Journal''. 18 Jun 1961, Sun · Page 10.
/ref> Because her work included performing marriages and funerals, the state legally recognized her status as a religious leader. Regarding her chances of being selected for the job, Ackerman wrote to a friend, "I also know how revolutionary the idea is—therefore it seems to be a challenge that I pray I can meet. If I can just plant a seed for the Jewish woman's larger participation—if perhaps it will open a way for women students to train for congregational leadership—then my life would have some meaning." A woman would not be ordained in

until 1972, when Sally Priesand was formally made a rabbi. Ackerman later performed services at her home temple, Temple Beth-El in Pensacola, from 1962 until a replacement was found nine months later.

Later life and death

In 1981, Ackerman moved from Pensacola to

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. She died in Thomaston, Georgia on January 12, 1989, aged 95.

Legacy

In 1986 the

Union of American Hebrew Congregations The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms establ ...

held a ceremony at The Temple in Atlanta to recognize Ackerman's contribution to Jewish communal life. Some of Ackerman's papers are held in the American Jewish Archives, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The novel ''The Rabbi Is a Lady'' (1987) by Alex J. Goldman, was likely inspired by Ackerman's life story. In the novel, the widow of a conservative rabbi who is appointed to her late husband's pulpit. The work is also one of the earliest inclusions of women rabbis as literary figures to appear in American Jewish literature.Zierler, W. (2006). A dignitary in the land? Literary representations of the American rabbi. ''AJS Review'', 30(2), 255-275.

References

External links

* Shuly Rubin Schwartz
From Rebbetzin to Rabbi: The Journey of Paula Ackerman
''American Jewish Archives Journal'', 2007. * Ellen M. Umansky
Paula Ackerman 1893 – 1989
an entry in ''Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ackerman, Paula American Reform rabbis 1893 births 1989 deaths People from Pensacola, Florida People from Meridian, Mississippi Reform women rabbis 1951 in Judaism 20th-century American rabbis Women rabbis and Torah scholars

Early life

Later life and death

Legacy

See also

Further reading

References

External links