Rabba Sara Hurwitz
President and Co-Founder
Rabba Sara Hurwitz is the first woman to be publicly ordained as an Orthodox rabbi. She is the Co-founder and President of Yeshivat Maharat and, since 2003, has served on the Rabbinic staff at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale - The Bayit.
Rabba Sara was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved with her family to Boca Raton, Florida at the age of twelve. Since she was a child, she enjoyed being part of the Jewish community. Her ultimate goal became amusingly clear when, as a high school student, she was advised by a vocational counselor, based on a test, that she was best suited to be a member of the clergy.
After attending Midreshet Lindenbaum in Israel, she entered Barnard College, majoring in Psychology in New York and quickly became involved in a student run organization called Lights in Action, connecting other Jewish students to Judaism by teaching topics relevant to their lives. Subsequently, she assumed leadership positions in various Jewish organizations, including Lights in Action, which she directed for several years. She also began to lecture and teach in different venues such as CLAL, JCC, and various synagogues around the country.
After graduating from Drisha Institute’s Scholar Circle Program, she began to work as an intern with Rabbi Avi Weiss at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale - The Bayit. Over the seven years that she worked with Rabbi Weiss, she studied under his auspices, eventually gaining the necessary training to serve as a spiritual and halachic leader and was officially conferred in a public ceremony at The Bayit in March 2009. She and Rabbi Weiss co-founded Yeshivat Maharat in October 2009, when it opened with three students.
Rabba Sara finds joy in helping other people realize their dreams. She sees herself as an enabler -- providing a credentialed pathway for women to pursue a career that for so many years was not open to them.
Rabba Sara lives in Riverdale, New York with her husband, Josh Abraham, and her sons Yonah, Zacharya, Davidi and Natan.
publications and media
Title | Type | Category | Topic | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
Perspective | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Passover | 2024/5784 |
How to lead in times of terror | Multimedia | In the News | October 17, 2023 | |
How do we forge ahead after calamity? The Jewish way of mourning offers a roadmap.
| Multimedia | In the News | October 11, 2023 | |
Change is hard and threatening. That’s why we need Rosh Hashanah | In the News | September 13, 2023 | ||
Rabba Sara Hurwitz at HUC-JIR/New York Graduation 2023 | Multimedia | Graduations | May 4, 2023 | |
Golden Age of Women’s Gemara Learning or the End of an Era? | Dvar Torah | Center for Lived Torah | May 24, 2023 | |
Rabbi Sara Hurwitz | The Rev and the Rabbi | Multimedia; In the News | March 19, 2023 | ||
Abundance of Torah - Rabba Sara Hurwitz | Dvar Torah; Multimedia | January 15, 2019 | ||
Introduction to Nashim Mesolelot | Dvar Torah | Teshuvah | 5783/2023 | |
Vashti and the Systematic Abuse of Power | Dvar Torah | Holidays | Purim | 5783/2023 |
My Teacher, Rabbi Moshe Kahn z”l | Dvar Torah | January 26, 2023 | ||
The Changing Face of the Orthodox Rabbinate | Dvar Torah | Center for Lived Torah | January 10, 2023 | |
Rabba Sara Hurwitz - Seventh Annual Yeshivat Maharat Semikha Ceremony | Multimedia | Graduations | Seventh Semikha Ceremony | June 20, 2019 |
Graduation 2022 Rabba Sara Hurwitz | Multimedia; Dvar Torah | Graduations | Tenth Semikha Ceremony | June 16, 2022 |
Eight Days of Light - Day 6 | Dvar Torah | Holidays | Chanukah | 5783/2022 |
Britney Griner and Yosef: From the Pit They Shall Emerge | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Miketz | 5783/2022 |
Defending Dina | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Vayishlach | 5783/2022 |
How Yeshivat Maharat is Building a Field of Women Orthodox Rabbis | In the News | November 7, 2022 | ||
Overturning Roe Would be an Unconscionable Infringement on the Religious Freedom of Orthodox Jews | In the News; Article | Abortion | May 19, 2022 | |
We Were Slaves — We Know What It Means to Not Fit In | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Pesach | 2022/5782 |
Time Under Tension | Dvar Torah | Devarim | Nitzavim | 2021/5781 |
Sudden Change Requires Slow Commitment | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Rosh Hashana | September 2, 2021 |
Rabba Sara Hurwitz - Maharat's 9th Annual Semikha Ceremony | Multimedia | Graduations | Ninth Semikha Ceremony | June 15, 2021 |
Letting Go and Holding on: Simone Biles and Moshe Rabbeinu | In the News | August 2, 2021 | ||
The Tide Has Turned | In the News | July 12, 2021 | ||
Shavuot Jews vs. Pesach Jews | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Shavuot | 2021/5781 |
Power Hour of Torah: The Purim Edition | Multimedia; Dvar Torah | Video Divrei Torah; Panels and Discussions; Holiday | Purim | February 24, 2021 |
Listening, Speaking, and Acting | Dvar Torah | Shemot | Tetzaveh | 2021/5781 |
Hitting The Unprecedented Plague With A Stick | Dvar Torah; Multimedia | Shemot; Video Divrei Torah | Va'era | 2021/5781 |
Breastfeeding Series Session 3 - Breastfeeding in Public, Synagogue and while Learning | Multimedia | Panels and Discussions | February 10, 2021 | |
We Are Our Own Worst Enemy | Dvar Torah | Shemot | Terumah | 2021/5781 |
Sustaining Creation Through Song | Dvar Torah | Shemot | B'Shalach | 2021/5781 |
Chanukah from Every Angle - A Webinar with Maharat Faculty | Multimedia; Dvar Torah | Video Divrei Torah; Panels and Discussions; Holiday; Chassidut | Chanukah | 2019/5780 |
Power Hour of Torah - The Chanukah Edition | Multimedia; Dvar Torah | Video Divrei Torah; Panels and Discussions; Holiday | Chanukah | December 10, 2020 |
On Not Knowing | Dvar Torah | Bamidbar | Beha'alotekha | 2015/5775 |
On Mob Mentality | Dvar Torah | Bamidbar | Shelach | 2015/5775 |
On Receiving Criticism | Dvar Torah | Bamidbar | Korach | 2015/5775 |
On Self Reliance | Dvar Torah | Bamidbar | Chukat | 2015/5775 |
On Foresight | Dvar Torah | Bamidbar | Balak | 2015/5775 |
On Being Counted | Dvar Torah | Bamidbar | Pinchas | 2015/5775 |
On Faith | Dvar Torah | Bamidbar | Mattot; Mase'i | 2015/5775 |
On Gumption | Dvar Torah | Devarim | Devarim | 2015/5775 |
On Loving the Convert | Dvar Torah | Devarim | Ekev | 2015/5775 |
On Yearning for Israel | Dvar Torah | Devarim | Re'eh | 2015/5775 |
“Doing What Is Right and Good”:
Nelson Mandela and Moral Courage | Dvar Torah | Devarim | Re'eh | 2013/5773 |
On Unintentionally Sinning | Dvar Torah | Devarim | Shoftim | 2015/5775 |
On Fitting In | Dvar Torah | Devarim | Ki Tetze | 2015/5775 |
On Praying for Redemption | Dvar Torah | Devarim | Ki Tavo | 2015/5775 |
On Nuance | Dvar Torah | Devarim | Vayelech | 2015/5775 |
On Diverse Voices | Dvar Torah | Devarim | Haazinu | 2015/5775 |
Change with Sacrifice | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Rosh Hashana | 2013/5774 |
Of Angels & Death: Women Wearing Kittels | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Yom Kippur | 2019/5780 |
Forgiving Others and Forgiving Ourselves | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Yom Kippur | 2012/5773 |
Imagining the Impossible (text) | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Sukkot / Simkhat Torah | 2020/5781 |
Finding Security Within Insecurity | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Sukkot / Simkhat Torah | 2013/5774 |
Yes! And... | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Purim | 2018/5778 |
A 2020 Message From Our President | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Pesach | 2020/5780 |
Chaos in Seder (text) | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Pesach | 2020/5780 |
Dayenu and the Anatomy of Gratitude | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Pesach | 2019/5779 |
Charoseth: Harshness and Hope | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Pesach | 2015/5775 |
Finding Nechama in the Seven Haftarot of Comfort | Dvar Torah | Holiday | The Three Weeks | 2014/5774 |
The Flawed Dream | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Tisha B'Av | 2013/5773 |
Finding Joy on Thanksgiving | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Thanksgiving | 2017/5778 |
Behind the Veil of Tzniyut: Using Religious Modesty to Block Women as Ritual Leaders | Dvar Torah | 2012/5772 | ||
Seeking Resilience | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Chanukah | 2020/5781 |
On Struggle and Productivity | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Bereishit | 2015/5776 |
Harmony, Not Conformity | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Noach | 2017/5778 |
Rabba Sara Hurwitz - Eighth Annual Semikha Ceremony | Graduation Speeches | 2020 | June 9, 2020 | |
Rabba Sara Hurwitz - 2018 Yeshivat Maharat Semikha Ceremony | Multimedia | Graduations | Sixth Semikha Ceremony | June 18, 2018 |
Rabba Sara Hurwitz - 2017 Yeshivat Maharat Semikha Ceremony | Multimedia | Graduations | Fifth Semikha Ceremony | June 18, 2017 |
Rabba Sara Hurwitz - Maharat's 8th Annual Semikha Ceremony 2020 | Multimedia | Graduations | Eighth Semikha Ceremony | June 9, 2020 |
Chaos in Seder (video) | Multimedia; Dvar Torah | Video Divrei Torah; Holiday | Pesach | 2020/5780 |
The Plague of Blindness (video) | Multimedia; Dvar Torah | Video Divrei Torah; Bereishit | Vayera | 2020/5781 |
Imagining the Impossible (video) | Multimedia; Dvar Torah | Video Divrei Torah; Holiday | Sukkot / Simkhat Torah | 2020/5781 |
Rabba Sara Hurwitz - Rosh Hashana Drasha 2020/5781 | Multimedia; Dvar Torah | Video Divrei Torah; Holiday | Sukkot / Simkhat Torah | 2020/5781 |
Bad News Amnesia: Wandering After Your Heart | Multimedia; Dvar Torah | Video Divrei Torah; Bamidbar | Shelach | 2020/5780 |
Aseret Yemei Teshuva 5779/2018 - Rabba Sara Hurwitz | Multimedia; Holiday | Video Divrei Torah; Holiday | Rosh Hashana; Yom Kippur | 2018/5779 |
Rabba Sara Hurwitz's Conferral Ceremony | Rabba Sara Hurwitz | March 22, 2009 | ||
Finding Joy In The Snow | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Miketz | 2020/5781 |
Power Hour of Torah: The High Holiday Edition | Multimedia; Dvar Torah | Video Divrei Torah; Panels and Discussions; Holiday | Rosh Hashana; Yom Kippur | 2020/5781 |
On Shattering Glass Ceilings | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Lech Lecha | 2016/5777 |
On Suffering | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Lech Lecha | 2014/5775 |
The Plague of Blindness | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Vayera | 2020/5781 |
On Laughter | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Vayera | 2014/5775 |
On Grieving | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Chayei Sarah | 2014/5775 |
On Love and Destiny | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Vayeitzei | 2014/5775 |
On Facing Fears | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Vayishlach | 2014/5775 |
On Wandering Towards Purpose | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Vayeshev | 2014/5775 |
On Forgetting and Remembering | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Miketz | 2014/5775 |
On Favoritism | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Vayigash | 2014/5775 |
On Denial and Hope | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Vayechi | 2015/5775 |
The Father that Never Died | Dvar Torah | Bereishit | Vayechi | 2013/5774 |
On Anxiety | Dvar Torah | Shemot | Shemot | 2015/5775 |
On Breathing | Dvar Torah | Shemot | Va'era | 2015/5775 |
On Managing Time | Dvar Torah | Shemot | Bo | 2015/5775 |
On Singing | Dvar Torah | Shemot | B'Shalach | 2015/5775 |
On Being Seen and Heard | Dvar Torah | Shemot | Yitro | 2015/5775 |
On Community | Dvar Torah | Shemot | Terumah | 2015/5775 |
On Making Mistakes | Dvar Torah | Shemot | Ki Tissa | 2015/5775 |
On Uncertainty | Dvar Torah | Shemot | Vayakhel; Pekudei | 2015/5775 |
On Body and Soul | Dvar Torah | Vayikra | Vayikra | 2015/5775 |
On Living With Loss | Dvar Torah | Vayikra | Shemini | 2015/5775 |
On Liminality | Dvar Torah | Vayikra | Tazria | 2015/5775 |
On Boundaries | Dvar Torah | Vayikra | Acharei Mot; Kedoshim | 2015/5775 |
On Embracing the Outsider | Dvar Torah | Vayikra | Emor | 2015/5775 |
On Theodicy | Dvar Torah | Vayikra | Behar; Bechukotai | 2015/5775 |
On Individuals and Community | Dvar Torah | Bamidbar | Bamidbar | 2015/5775 |
On Human Initiative | Dvar Torah | Bamidbar | Naso | 2015/5775 |
#Enough | In the News | June 3, 2020 | ||
Investing in Torah and Loyalty: The Future of Jewish Communal Professionals | In the News | July 8, 2020 |