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Rabba Sara Hurwitz

President and Co-Founder

Hurwitz

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

mentions

books

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