Women's Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership

For generations, men have been encouraged to spend years immersed in Torah study, with no expectation that they justify the time or explain what career it might lead to. Why, then, are women so often expected to approach Torah learning differently?

Rabbanit Yael Shimoni, co-Rosh Yeshiva of Drisha in Israel, believes it's time to rethink not only the opportunities available to women, but the very culture of women's Torah learning. Her vision is ambitious: a world in which women can devote years to serious, intensive Gemara study, not necessarily to become rabbis or teachers, but because learning Torah is itself a worthy pursuit.

In this fascinating conversation, Joanne Greenaway explores Yael's personal journey, from studying with Rav Aharon Lichtenstein to becoming a pioneering Torah educator and practicing artist. Together, they examine whether women's yeshivas should follow the models established by men, what female scholarship can contribute to halachic discourse, and why women's growing Torah expertise has yet to translate fully into recognition and authority.

Is the next stage of women's Torah learning simply about opening more doors, or about fundamentally changing our expectations of what women can become?

Join Joanne and Rabbanit Yael Shimoni for a thought-provoking conversation about Torah, feminism, scholarship, and the future of women's religious leadership.

Can a woman be both Haredi and feminist? And what happens when challenging the norms of your community is an expression of loyalty to that very community?

Fainy Sukenik is a Haredi feminist, social entrepreneur, and activist who has spent years challenging entrenched attitudes toward women in Israel's ultra-Orthodox society. After escaping an abusive marriage and experiencing the isolation and stigma faced by divorced women, she founded an organization to provide the support she herself had desperately needed. But her ambitions went further: she wanted to change the system itself.

In this powerful conversation, Joanne Greenaway speaks with Fainy about surviving domestic abuse, confronting communal resistance, and insisting that divorced women deserve justice and respect, not simply charity. They also explore her groundbreaking campaign for Haredi women's representation in the Knesset, the growing struggle between reform and religious extremism, and her hopes for the next generation of Haredi women.

Throughout it all, Fainy refuses to accept that feminism and Haredi identity are incompatible. Her message is both challenging and deeply hopeful: loving your community doesn't mean accepting everything about it. Sometimes, it means fighting to make it better.

In the years before October 7th, Shira Lankin Sheps built her career around helping Jewish women tell the stories that too often remained hidden. Since October 7th, that mission has taken on a new urgency.

In this deeply moving conversation, Joanne Greenaway speaks with Shira about the power of storytelling in a time of war, grief, division, and rising antisemitism. Shira reflects on telling the stories of hostages and soldiers, the extraordinary moment when former hostage Sasha Trufanov discovered just how deeply the Jewish people had cared about him, and the challenge of conveying the lived reality of Israel to Jews around the world.

They also explore female leadership, the remarkable story behind the Az Nashir anthologies, the dangers of social media, the growing divisions within Israeli society, and Shira's belief that women's voices, creativity, empathy, and spiritual power can help shape the Jewish future.

Released just before the anniversary of October 7th, this is ultimately a conversation about what stories can accomplish: helping us remember, helping us understand one another, and reminding us that behind every headline is a human being whose story matters.

For generations, mikvah has been one of the most central institutions of Jewish life. But for many women, it has also remained deeply private, rarely discussed openly and often understood primarily in terms of obligation. What might change if we thought about mikvah not only as a halachic practice, but as a source of spirituality, self-awareness, connection, and renewal?

In this episode of Women's Gallery, Joanne Greenaway speaks with Dr. Naomi Marmon Grumet, founder and director of the Eden Center in Jerusalem, about reimagining the place of mikvah in the lives of Jewish women. Beginning with the centuries-old custom of women immersing before Yom Kippur, they explore mikvah as an embodied form of spiritual preparation and a powerful opportunity to think about who we are and who we hope to become in the year ahead.

Their conversation moves into some of the most sensitive questions surrounding mikvah today: the role of mikvah attendants, autonomy and trauma, sexuality and relationships, women's halachic knowledge and authority, and whether our emphasis on privacy has sometimes created unnecessary secrecy and shame.

It's a wide-ranging conversation about tradition, women's bodies, spiritual renewal, and what it might mean for women to take greater ownership of one of Judaism's most intimate rituals.

Partake in the ancient custom of women's immersion on erev Yom Kippur. This helpful infographic from The Eden Center can guide you. It's also a wonderful time to introduce girls to mikveh in a spiritual context, without the overtones of relationship.

What does it mean to build a Jewish community where secular and religious, Sephardi and Ashkenazi, right and left can all find a place?

In this deeply moving conversation, Joanne Greenaway speaks with Tamar Elad-Appelbaum, founder of Kehilat Zion in Jerusalem and a leading voice for Jewish spiritual and communal renewal. Drawing on the faith of her Moroccan and Ashkenazi grandparents, Tamar describes a vision of Judaism that reaches beyond denominational labels and asks Jews to rediscover one another as a people.

Together, Jo and Tamar explore the challenge of creating new Jewish ritual after October 7, the spiritual needs of a younger generation, the tension between pluralism and extremism, and what Rosh Hashanah can teach us about judgment, happiness, responsibility, and hope. Tamar also reflects on her path as a female religious leader and her dream of a future in which women no longer need to justify why their voices belong in Jewish leadership.

At a moment of profound pain and division, this is a conversation about tradition that remains alive, leadership rooted in responsibility, and the possibility of rebuilding a Jewish people capable of seeing, hearing, and healing one another.

For years, women in Israel could study halakha at the highest levels, teach Torah, and answer complex religious questions, yet they were barred from taking the state rabbinical examinations open to men. Rabbi Sarah Segal-Katz helped lead the landmark legal battle that finally changed that.

In this episode of Women's Gallery, Joanne Greenaway speaks with Sarah about her journey into Torah scholarship, the long struggle to open Israel's rabbinical exams to women, and why access to religious knowledge and authority matters far beyond titles or recognition. They also explore the evolving place of women in Orthodox leadership, the relationship between feminism, halakha, and the State of Israel, Sarah's work creating religious language in response to October 7, and her hope for a future in which women serving as rabbis and religious authorities is no longer remarkable, but simply normal.

Conversion to Judaism is often misunderstood, both by those considering it and by the communities that receive them. In this episode, Netta Asner-Minster shares what she has learned from guiding hundreds of prospective converts, explains the realities of the Orthodox conversion process, and challenges common assumptions about "pushing converts away." Together with Joanne Greenaway, she explores how greater openness, education, and compassion can strengthen the Jewish future.

Dr. Guila Benchimol never expected to leave Jewish education for a career in criminology. Yet her journey led her to become one of the Jewish world's leading voices on abuse prevention, safeguarding, restorative justice, and institutional accountability. In this thoughtful and often challenging conversation, she reflects on what first drew her to this work, why abuse is never simply the result of one individual, and how communities can create cultures that are both safer and more compassionate. Joanne and Guila explore the lasting impact of the MeToo movement, the responsibilities of faith communities, the promise of restorative justice, and why genuine leadership requires the courage to confront uncomfortable truths while never losing love for the community itself.

Gvira Milworm has spent years helping transform economic opportunities for Haredi women in Israel, all while remaining firmly rooted in Torah values. As CEO of Temech, she has helped thousands of women build careers, launch businesses, and achieve financial stability without asking them to compromise their religious commitments.

In this episode of Women's Gallery, Joanne Greenaway speaks with Gvira about her own journey from the world of technology to nonprofit leadership, the remarkable economic transformation taking place within the Haredi community, and how meaningful work, entrepreneurship, family, and faith can reinforce rather than compete with one another. Their conversation explores leadership, self-care, the future of Haredi women in Israel's workforce, and the powerful question Gvira believes everyone should ask: What does Hashem want from me now?

What does the future of women's Torah scholarship look like?

Dr. Raizi Chechik, the inaugural director of the Pava Center for Women's Torah Scholarship at Yeshiva University, joins Joanne Greenaway to discuss an inspiring new vision for cultivating women as Torah scholars, educators, and teachers of Torah. Drawing on decades of experience as an educator, mentor, and head of school, she reflects on the mentors who shaped her, the philosophy that has guided her work, and why authentic Torah learning is resonating so deeply with today's young women.

Together, Joanne and Dr. Chechik explore how rigorous Torah scholarship, mentorship, and community engagement can prepare women to make meaningful contributions to Orthodox Jewish life while remaining deeply rooted in tradition. They discuss the remarkable response to the new program, the challenge of balancing innovation with continuity, and the importance of helping women see themselves not only as consumers of Torah, but also as producers and teachers of Torah. The conversation concludes with a moving reflection on hope, resilience, and the enduring wisdom of Torah in times of uncertainty.

For most Orthodox women, leadership does not begin with a microphone in a comedy club. But for award-winning comedian Rachel Creeger, humor has become a powerful way to represent Jewish life, challenge stereotypes, and create connection across communities. In this episode of Women's Gallery, Joanne Greenaway speaks with Rachel about forging a path where no roadmap existed, navigating life as an Orthodox woman in the performing arts, confronting antisemitism after October 7, and discovering that comedy can be a form of leadership. Rachel also reflects on being targeted and effectively canceled by venues because she is openly Jewish, and on her determination to respond not by retreating, but by speaking more boldly. Their conversation explores authenticity, resilience, public voice, and what happens when Jewish women refuse to be defined by other people's expectations.

What does it take to support the women who quietly sustain Jewish life?

In this inspiring conversation, Joanne Greenaway speaks with Aliza Bulow, founder of Core, a global organization that equips and connects women who serve as spiritual guides, community builders, educators, rebbetzins, mentors, and caregivers. From a handful of participants to a worldwide network spanning more than 100 cities across six continents, Core has become a movement dedicated to strengthening the women who strengthen everyone else.

Aliza shares her remarkable personal journey: from converting to Judaism as a teenager in Portland, Oregon, to studying in Israel, serving in the IDF, and ultimately creating an innovative model of leadership development rooted in connection, wisdom, and spiritual resilience. Along the way, she reflects on faith, loss, marriage, community responsibility, and why women's often-unseen leadership is indispensable to the future of Jewish life.

Together, Joanne and Aliza explore what it means to be a community pillar, how leaders can avoid burnout, why women need stronger support networks, and how trust, hope, and faith are transmitted from one generation to the next. This is a conversation about leadership, purpose, and the extraordinary impact of women whose influence ripples far beyond what most people ever see.

If you've ever wondered who supports the people everyone else turns to, this episode is for you.

This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/learning if you're looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.

On this episode of Women's Gallery, Dr. Ayelet Hoffmann-Libson joins Joanne Greenaway for a wide-ranging conversation about women, Talmud, academia, and the future of Jewish learning.

A senior lecturer in Talmud at Bar-Ilan University and a leading public-facing Torah scholar, Dr. Hoffmann-Libson reflects on her journey from studying at Pelech and Midreshet Lindenbaum to teaching at Harvard, Penn, and Yale. Together, she and Joanne explore how women entering the world of advanced Torah study are reshaping both the Beit Midrash and academia, why Talmud should not remain the domain of an elite few, and how learning Torah can become a profound framework for thinking about human existence, authority, individuality, and religious life.

The conversation also examines the tensions between traditional and academic approaches to Talmud, the challenge of imposter syndrome for women in leadership, and why Dr. Hoffmann-Libson believes the next generation of Jewish women will fundamentally transform religious communities.

This is a thoughtful and deeply personal discussion about Torah, truth, intellectual courage, and what it means to make the Talmud accessible to everyone.

What does an observant life look like for spiritually aspirational women? Join the Women and Mitzvot course at LSJS with Joanne Greenaway, Dr. Lindsay Simmonds, and Rabbanit Rachel Weber Leshaw by signing up here.

For full information about Hadran's #SukkahChallenge starting June 1st, click here: https://bit.ly/42LdZzK

To register for the masechet #SukkahChallenge, click here: https://bit.ly/4drIXli

Read Law and Self-Knowledge in the Talmud by Dr. Ayelet Hoffmann-Libson. Order your copy today.

This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/learning if you're looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.

What does it mean to hold pain that has no easy resolution?

In this deeply moving conversation, Joanne Greenaway speaks with Dr. Aimee Baron about the quiet heartbreak of infertility, pregnancy loss, and unrealized expectations. Moving from working as a medical doctor to establishing an organisation in order to fill an important need in the global Jewish community, Dr. Baron brings both professional insight and profound personal experience to her work. Drawing on her own story and her work supporting others, Dr. Baron explores how individuals and communities can respond with greater sensitivity, awareness, and compassion.

Together, they discuss the gap between medical care and emotional support, the unique challenges within Jewish communal life, and the power of simply being present for someone in pain. From the role of social media to the complexities of stigma and silence, this episode asks how we can better care for those whose lives have not unfolded as they had hoped.

Honest, thoughtful, and profoundly human, this is a conversation about listening, understanding, and learning how to hold space when words are not enough.

Visit https://iwassupposedtohaveababy.org/ and listen to Dr. Baron's podcast, Taking Away the Taboo.

This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/learning if you're looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.

This week Joanne meets Jacqueline Rose, an award-winning integrative menopause educator, coach and hormonal health specialist based in Israel. A mother of five with a background in environmental science and yoga, Jacqueline has built a second career helping women understand the full hormonal arc of their lives, with a particular focus on perimenopause, menopause and the too-rarely-discussed post-menopause. Her approach draws on functional medicine, yoga, and a deeply Jewish lens on what it means to thrive at every life stage.

They cover an enormous amount of ground: why HRT alone is never the whole answer, the five pillars Jacqueline uses to restore hormonal balance (stress, nutrition, sleep, movement and connection), and why "being symptomatic is not a prerequisite for being a menopausal woman." Jacqueline introduces a fourth, often invisible category of symptoms: spiritual ones. The identity shifts, the changing relationship to giving, to self, that so many women experience but have no language for. They also discuss what Jewish women specifically need to hear about their hormonal life cycle, the silence around post-menopause, and the quietly radical idea that menopause is not a decline but a bridge to a woman's most purposeful stage.

It's a wide-ranging, practically grounded and genuinely moving conversation about reclaiming the language of women's health from the inside out.

Find Jacqueline's podcast Things I Want My Daughters to Know at https://open.spotify.com/show/6mNNjO9khVStgtwkBqhxDw?si=586aa327e9e14c59.

This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/learning if you're looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.

This week Joanne meets Danielle Abraham: Oxford-educated, Woodford-raised, and now one of the most driven women rebuilding Israel from the ground up. As founder and CEO of Regrow Israel, Danielle mobilised emergency support for farming communities devastated in the Western Negev and northern Israel in the wake of October 7th, raising over $30 million and supporting more than 110 farms. She is also co-founder of Volcani International Partnerships, an Israeli NGO tackling global food and nutrition insecurity through Israel's world-leading agricultural expertise.

In this conversation, Danielle unpacks the systematic, premeditated agricultural terrorism of October 7th, in which 40 irrigation control boxes were targeted and destroyed on a single kibbutz alone. She explains why rebuilding the farms was the only possible foundation for rebuilding the communities, and why agriculture sits at the very heart of Israel's identity. Together they move from the pioneering spirit of Ben Gurion's Israel to today's border farmers, from tikkun olam and Israel's global agricultural leadership to whether the land can be a unifying force for a fractured nation.

A conversation brimming with hard-won hope and a powerful case for a part of Israel's story that is still largely untold.

This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit http://lsjs.ac.uk/learning if you're looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.

This LSJS podcast is powered by the Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous sponsor. Visit https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/learning to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. Talk to us at womensgallery@lsjs.ac.uk and tell us who you'd like to hear interviewed.

Joanne Greenaway sits down with Sarah Gordon, Vice President of Unpacked for Educators, to explore one of the most urgent challenges facing Jewish education today: how to teach Israel in a time of war, polarization, and digital misinformation.

Drawing on years in the classroom and her current work supporting thousands of educators worldwide, Sarah explains why traditional advocacy models are no longer enough, and why today's students need not just connection, but literacy and the courage to engage complexity.

Together they discuss how Israel education has evolved, the impact of social media on young Jews, and the delicate balance teachers must strike between nurturing love for Israel and encouraging honest questions.

They also explore practical strategies: teaching students how to navigate difficult conversations, helping schools define their values, and building resilience so that young people leave school not just with passion but with understanding.

The conversation touches on the emotional realities of teaching Israel during wartime, the power of culture and personal relationships in building connection, and what Jewish educators can learn from the Passover Seder about curiosity, storytelling, and shared journey.

This is a thoughtful and hopeful conversation about what it means to educate the next generation of Jewish leaders in complicated times.

This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit us at https://lsjs.ac.uk/learning if you're looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.

What can I do to hold a fractured people together in a time of grief, disagreement, and uncertainty?

Joanne Greenaway speaks with Jerusalem-based writer and educator Rachel Sharansky Danziger, exploring through her works how prayer, storytelling and leadership can create space for understanding and collaboration even amid deep disagreement.

Rachel's upbringing as the daughter of former Soviet refusenik and Israeli activist leader Natan Sharansky and Avital Sharansky shaped her belief that individual voices can make a difference. Rachel reflects on the emotional complexity of Israeli society since October 7 and discusses prayer as a language of hope that allows people with opposing views to stand together in yearning. She reflects on what's unique in women's leadership and how that is needed today. Rachel's central conviction shines throughout the conversation: even in moments of profound uncertainty, one person can effect change.

Az Nashir by Rachel Sharansky Danziger and Anne Gordon can be purchased from:

Amazon US at https://www.amazon.com/Az-Nashir-Will-Sing-Again/dp/B0DHHDL99J/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1MQ70EJVHTUAZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Ait7AEINcIWDqfQahZEJEXWPp4sy_7cbSbvw8yGEZXfGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.Kq7JKxbhQVm-ZKNq_VrLIzAH07N2aE0hUkzfg8l5Ltw&dib_tag=se&keywords=az+nashir&qid=1773674024&sprefix=az+nashir%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-1

Amazon UK at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Az-Nashir-Will-Sing-Again/dp/B0DHHDL99J/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RLIBTL9M2ZAJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rs3g2GbI2m_pwC6u9LZXFzvLrVcd2s-BNaV6v40I0UvGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.PUZySc6nLM2S7Bu3PInwBfuFMp18C-bDBopCsxph_is&dib_tag=se&keywords=az+nashir&qid=1773674097&sprefix=az+nash%2Caps%2C262&sr=8-1

This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit us at https://lsjs.ac.uk/learning if you're looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.

I'm honoured to introduce my long-time role model, Professor Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, a legal scholar and internationally recognized advocate for women's rights. We talk about her pioneering work documenting sexual violence during the October 7th attacks in Israel through the DINA Project, and how she has worked to ensure survivors' experiences are recognized and addressed on both a national and international level. We also delve into her decades-long efforts to advance women's rights in Israel, particularly through the Ruth and Emmanuel Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women. Ruth explains how the center combines legal aid, advocacy, and research to support women navigating family law and divorce, while pushing for broader systemic change. In spite of a system she feels is broken, Ruth is hopeful and persevering in her work from within legal and religious systems to create lasting impact. This episode is a fascinating look at courage, leadership, and the ongoing fight for gender justice in Israel and beyond. This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit https://lsjs.ac.uk/learning to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. NEW! Talk to us at womensgallery@lsjs.ac.uk and tell us who you'd like to hear interviewed.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit https://lsjs.ac.uk/learning to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. NEW! Talk to us at womensgallery@lsjs.ac.uk and tell us who you'd like to hear interviewed.

Meet Rabbanit Yaffa Setton - Yoetzet Halacha, rebbetzen, educator and community leader serving the Syrian Sephardic communities of Brooklyn and Deal, New Jersey. Between teaching high school by day and answering halachic questions at all hours, Yaffa occupies a unique and trusted space in the lives of the women she supports.

Follow her journey through advanced Torah learning — from Nishmat's Yoetzet Halacha training to the International Halacha Scholars Program and now Ematai's groundbreaking end-of-life care fellowship. We reflect on the kinds of sensitive, complex questions women bring her: mikvah, fertility, medical decisions, and moments of real vulnerability. We explore the delicate balance between guidance and psak, the importance of creating safe spaces to ask, and why sometimes simply having someone who understands makes all the difference.

We also talk about the strength and warmth of the Syrian community she serves, teaching Torah across generations of the same families, and the models of leadership that inspire her most - particularly Sarah's insight and Miriam's courage to step forward without being asked. It's a thoughtful, grounded conversation about leading with both knowledge and heart.

Hear from Chana Henkin, founder of the Yoetzet Halacha programme: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6NvpCAAjrpn1iL0mXgDb8k?si=w1082KvMQ0aQKNDSWxyBSQ

Book the course: Women & Mitzvot, featuring Joanne Greenaway: https://lsjs.ac.uk/women-mitzvot-2768