Sheila Shulman (18 October 1936 – 25 October 2014) was a rabbi in London, England. She was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, and earned a master's degree in English and Comparative Literature in the 1960s at the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

. She first travelled to England on a fellowship in 1967. Along with

Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah (also known as Rabbi Elli Sarah) is a British rabbi and author. Sarah graduated from the London School of Economics in 1977 and was ordained in 1989. Sarah (who took her middle name as her surname) and Rabbi Sheila Shulma ...

, she was one of the first openly lesbian graduates of the

Leo Baeck College Leo Baeck College is a privately funded rabbinical seminary and centre for the training of teachers in Jewish education. Based now at the Sternberg Centre, East End Road, Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet, it was founded by Werner va ...

. Shulman was ordained in 1989. In 1990, Shulman and a group of lesbian

radical feminists Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a Political radicalism, radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are al ...

founded London's inclusive synagogue, Beit Klal Yisrael, of which she became rabbi. In addition to her work there, after her ordination she worked at

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

Reform Synagogue, initially part-time, then for some years as half-time Associate Rabbi, then part-time again. She also taught at

-Centre for Jewish Education as a part-time Lecturer in Jewish Thought. A collection of Shulman's sermons, ''Watching for the Morning'', spanning ten years of congregational work was published in 2007.

Publications

* ''The Impact of Women in the Rabbinate,'' Partners in Leadership Series Pamphlet 5 (Leo Baeck College, 1992). * ''Watching for the Morning: Selected Sermons'' (BKY Liberal Jewish Community, 2007).

References

1936 births 2014 deaths American emigrants to England Lesbian feminists LGBTQ rabbis Women rabbis Alumni of Leo Baeck College Jewish LGBTQ women {{LGBT-bio-stub