Rabba Sara Hurwitz – the first publicly-ordained female rabba in the Orthodox Jewish community – recently spoke to students in Midreshet Rockland’s “Famous & Infamous Jewish Personalities” class. Instructor Leslie Goldress invited the “Famous” guest to talk about her history-making journey to becoming a female Orthodox Jewish spiritual leader.

Hurwitz, a 36-year-old mother of three, is the dean of Yeshivat Maharat, an institution dedicated to training women Orthodox clergy, and also serves as rabba at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, NY. Her title is “Marahat” (an acronym of manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit Toranit) which means Religious, spiritual, Torah leader.

“Rabba Sara is a very courageous woman who is breaking barriers in a male-oriented Orthodox system,” says Goldress. “She’s also a wonderful teacher, and listening to her speak to my class was an amazing experience.”