This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/ for our full Jewish learning programme & find something that suits you.

Dr Rachel Levmore has spent decades bridging the world of Jewish Law, academia and social activism to help people from all walks of life negotiate the difficult process of Jewish divorce. That makes her one of my real mentors professionally and my inspiration for the work that I’ve done in Get refusal. She’s a veteran who has dedicated her life to this issue.

Rachel is a Rabbinical Court Advocate, and the director of the Aguna Prevention Project. She lives in Efrat and has a PHD in Talmud and Jewish Law from Bar Ilan University.

For more information on these topics, listen to our episode with Keshet Starr on Get refusal, our episode with Shoshanna Keats-Jaskoll on social activism, and read Rachel’s article, [article title].

If you’re a woman who wants to improve her own halachic knowledge, you can join our Iyun Women’s Halacha Programme.

To read Rachel Levmore's article, "Agunot, Follow These Instructions," click here.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/ for our full Jewish learning programme & find something that suits you.

Shoshana Keats-Jaskoll is a warrior with a pen and she fights, she really fights, for a better Judaism. Raised in Lakewood, she moved to Israel with her family, where she witnessed the damaging effects of extremism on the community. She co-founded Chochmat Nashim, which enables her to write, speak, and campaign to change policy and communal behaviour to create a healthier, more balanced society, highlighting where things go wrong and working on change on the ground. We’ve worked together on Get refusal, systemic change and teaching, so I know what a fearless advocate Shoshana is and I totally admire her fierce intellect and unique methods, tackling issues head-on from within the system which I think is what makes her so powerful. We discuss regulating Batei Din (ratemybeitdin.com) the unique perspective of coming from a non-observant home, the problem of outsourcing knowledge in the Jewish community and practical tips for social activism.

We’re meeting Dr Yardaena Osband in this episode, who’s quite challenging to
introduce because she wears so many hats! She’s a founding member of the Orthodox
Leadership Project, which empowers Orthodox Jewish women’s leadership as a way
of strengthening Jewish communities through professional development, education and
partnerships. She’s also a paediatrician, teacher, co-host of the Daf Yomi podcast Talking
Talmud, and board member of ORA and the Eden Center.

With so much to choose from, we spoke about women’s leadership in the Orthodox world,
touching on the education of our girls and whether that helps us to grow female leaders, and
the issue of recognition, and whether or not women need a professional title.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

Visit the International Halacha Scholars Programme at https://ots.org.il/program/international-halakha-scholars-program/

Rabbanit Surale Rosen is a graduate of Matan’s 5 year halacha programme and she
founded their Women’s Online Halachic Responsa Project. For the past 2 years she’s led a
new programme here at LSJS called Iyun, our highest level women’s learning programme,
teaching women hilchot kashrut and now hilchot brachot. She’s really bringing opportunities
to women in the UK that didn’t exist before, and it’s been a real privilege for me personally to
have been able to connect our LSJS community to her.

Surale’s also a certified Rabbinical Arbitrator, and she teaches Midrash, Talmud and
Halacha. She’s invested in communal service on both local and national levels, and
participates in the joint project of the UK Foreign Ministry and Search for Common Ground,
in which leading Muslim and Jewish figures create a basis for religious dialogue in the
Arab-Israeli conflict.

We discuss access to Torah scholarship for women, and also what October 7 has meant for
Surale’s ongoing relationships with Muslim leaders and the different, more fundamental
questions she now feels she needs to ask.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

Elana Stein Hain and I talk about why finding legal loopholes in Jewish law isn’t cheating the
system but rather completely in line with what Jewish law is designed for. She is Rosh Beit
Midrash and Senior Research fellow at the Shalom Hartman institute of North America and
author of a book on halachic loopholes entitled Circumventing the Law: Rabbinic Perspectives on Loopholes and Legal Integrity.

Passionate about bringing Rabbinic thought into the conversation with contemporary life,
Elana hosts the TEXTing podcast where she brings to light issues relevant to Jewish life
through classical and modern textual sources. She's also a regular contributor to the For
Heaven’s Sake podcast, which recently became the most listened to Jewish podcast
internationally.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

We're meeting Tal Bassali in this episode, a passionate, ambitious individual whose vision
was to create something “so beautiful that it united people together but enabled them to
remain individuals.” Enter the Zehud school, a Jewish online school teaching Hebrew
and Judaic Studies to Jewish children. Living in Venice, Tal quickly realized that the type of
Jewish education she wanted for her children wasn't available locally. In creating what she
needed for her children, she's enabled hundreds of other Jewish children in far flung
communities to join her community and receive a powerful, joyous Jewish education
wherever they are in the world.

In addition to education, Tal and I discuss the weight of our collective European memory, being
a reluctant public speaker, and how to grow into your role - all in this episode of Women's Gallery.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators. You can access a women's high level learning course at LSJS at https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/courses-and-events.php?category=33

Let me introduce you to Keshet Starr. Keshet leads ORA, a non profit organisation addressing domestic abuse in the Jewish divorce process worldwide. She’s also a prolific writer, reader and Jewish educator as well as being a lawyer like me, and I had the privilege of working very closely with Keshet and getting to know her while I was managing get (Jewish divorce) cases at the London Beit Din, and I still turn to Keshet for advice.

Keshet and I had a great chat about showing up as a female in a very male-dominated space, how to give control and autonomy to others, picking your battles, and sustainable female leadership - having it all (but not necessarily at the same time).

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

I think of Mijal Bitton as a spiritual entrepreneur - she's the Rosh Kehilla, spiritual leader, of
the Downtown Minyan in New York City, where she's building vibrant traditional Jewish life.
She's also a Torah teacher, a thought leader, and a sociologist with a current research focus
on Sefardic Jews.

Mijal has really pivoted her energies lately to leading at this time of need in the Jewish world,
speaking at the huge Stand with Israel Washington rally, working in the interfaith world and
dealing with antisemitism on campus. I have so much respect for her, and I can't wait to
introduce you to her.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

Link: Wandering Jews Podcast

Link Downtown Minyan NYC