Rabbi Naima Hirsch Gelman

Naima Hirsch Gelman is a writer, educator, and life-long student. She was selected as a Va’tichtov fellow, where she hopes to publish about theology and abortion. In her role as Rabbinic Fellow at the National Council for Jewish Women, Naima designed educational materials about Judaism and reproductive justice and co-founded the Emerging Clergy for Repro Advisory Board, on which she now serves. She previously served as the Programming Director at the Beis Community, where she created a welcoming spiritual home for Jews of varying backgrounds through strategic programming and outreach. Naima completed an internship at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale and taught college students about Jewish approaches to sexuality at Hunter Hillel. She is an editor of Monologues from the Makom, a collection of women-written monologues, poems, and creative pieces related to sexuality, body image, gender, and Jewish identity. Naima’s poetry and prose have appeared in Lilith, Lehrhaus, and Minyan Magazine, among others. Naima earned her BA from Hunter College in English (Creative Writing) with a minor in Women and Gender Studies. She lives in Savannah, Georgia and considers herself a passionate advocate for eating ice cream year-round.