Elana Stein Hain and I talk about why finding legal loopholes in Jewish law isn’t cheating the
system but rather completely in line with what Jewish law is designed for. She is Rosh Beit
Midrash and Senior Research fellow at the Shalom Hartman institute of North America and
author of a book on halachic loopholes entitled Circumventing the Law: Rabbinic Perspectives on Loopholes and Legal Integrity.

Passionate about bringing Rabbinic thought into the conversation with contemporary life,
Elana hosts the TEXTing podcast where she brings to light issues relevant to Jewish life
through classical and modern textual sources. She's also a regular contributor to the For
Heaven’s Sake podcast, which recently became the most listened to Jewish podcast
internationally.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

We're meeting Tal Bassali in this episode, a passionate, ambitious individual whose vision
was to create something “so beautiful that it united people together but enabled them to
remain individuals.” Enter the Zehud school, a Jewish online school teaching Hebrew
and Judaic Studies to Jewish children. Living in Venice, Tal quickly realized that the type of
Jewish education she wanted for her children wasn't available locally. In creating what she
needed for her children, she's enabled hundreds of other Jewish children in far flung
communities to join her community and receive a powerful, joyous Jewish education
wherever they are in the world.

In addition to education, Tal and I discuss the weight of our collective European memory, being
a reluctant public speaker, and how to grow into your role - all in this episode of Women's Gallery.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators. You can access a women's high level learning course at LSJS at https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/courses-and-events.php?category=33

Let me introduce you to Keshet Starr. Keshet leads ORA, a non profit organisation addressing domestic abuse in the Jewish divorce process worldwide. She’s also a prolific writer, reader and Jewish educator as well as being a lawyer like me, and I had the privilege of working very closely with Keshet and getting to know her while I was managing get (Jewish divorce) cases at the London Beit Din, and I still turn to Keshet for advice.

Keshet and I had a great chat about showing up as a female in a very male-dominated space, how to give control and autonomy to others, picking your battles, and sustainable female leadership - having it all (but not necessarily at the same time).

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

I think of Mijal Bitton as a spiritual entrepreneur - she's the Rosh Kehilla, spiritual leader, of
the Downtown Minyan in New York City, where she's building vibrant traditional Jewish life.
She's also a Torah teacher, a thought leader, and a sociologist with a current research focus
on Sefardic Jews.

Mijal has really pivoted her energies lately to leading at this time of need in the Jewish world,
speaking at the huge Stand with Israel Washington rally, working in the interfaith world and
dealing with antisemitism on campus. I have so much respect for her, and I can't wait to
introduce you to her.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

Link: Wandering Jews Podcast

Link Downtown Minyan NYC 

This podcast is powered by LSJS - the London School of Jewish Studies. Connect with our Jewish education courses, tours and events, online and in person, via lsjs.ac.uk/connect.

“I’ve seen the difference it makes when women’s voices and talents are included at all levels,” says Joanne Greenaway, CEO at the London School of Jewish Studies, who as well as being a communal leader and educator is also an international lawyer who spent 10 years developing expertise in resolving Jewish divorce cases individually and systemically.

For this reason, Women’s Gallery Podcast will spotlight incredible female leaders making a mark in the Jewish community. Interviewing a different woman leader in each episode, Women’s Gallery will explore different models of leadership in the context of schools, shuls, universities, batei din and every place where we can find incredible female leaders, showcasing the women defining Jewish leadership today.

Rabbanit Surale Rosen is a graduate of Matan’s 5 year halacha programme and she
founded their Women’s Online Halachic Responsa Project. For the past 2 years she’s led a
new programme here at LSJS called Iyun, our highest level women’s learning programme,
teaching women hilchot kashrut and now hilchot brachot. She’s really bringing opportunities
to women in the UK that didn’t exist before, and it’s been a real privilege for me personally to
have been able to connect our LSJS community to her.

Surale’s also a certified Rabbinical Arbitrator, and she teaches Midrash, Talmud and
Halacha. She’s invested in communal service on both local and national levels, and
participates in the joint project of the UK Foreign Ministry and Search for Common Ground,
in which leading Muslim and Jewish figures create a basis for religious dialogue in the
Arab-Israeli conflict.

We discuss access to Torah scholarship for women, and also what October 7 has meant for
Surale’s ongoing relationships with Muslim leaders and the different, more fundamental
questions she now feels she needs to ask.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

We’re meeting Dr Yardaena Osband in this episode, who’s quite challenging to
introduce because she wears so many hats! She’s a founding member of the Orthodox
Leadership Project, which empowers Orthodox Jewish women’s leadership as a way
of strengthening Jewish communities through professional development, education and
partnerships. She’s also a paediatrician, teacher, co-host of the Daf Yomi podcast Talking
Talmud, and board member of ORA and the Eden Center.

With so much to choose from, we spoke about women’s leadership in the Orthodox world,
touching on the education of our girls and whether that helps us to grow female leaders, and
the issue of recognition, and whether or not women need a professional title.

Visit lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.

Visit the International Halacha Scholars Programme at https://ots.org.il/program/international-halakha-scholars-program/

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/ for our full Jewish learning programme & find something that suits you.

Shoshana Keats-Jaskoll is a warrior with a pen and she fights, she really fights, for a better Judaism. Raised in Lakewood, she moved to Israel with her family, where she witnessed the damaging effects of extremism on the community. She co-founded Chochmat Nashim, which enables her to write, speak, and campaign to change policy and communal behaviour to create a healthier, more balanced society, highlighting where things go wrong and working on change on the ground. We’ve worked together on Get refusal, systemic change and teaching, so I know what a fearless advocate Shoshana is and I totally admire her fierce intellect and unique methods, tackling issues head-on from within the system which I think is what makes her so powerful. We discuss regulating Batei Din (ratemybeitdin.com) the unique perspective of coming from a non-observant home, the problem of outsourcing knowledge in the Jewish community and practical tips for social activism.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit https://www.lsjs.ac.uk/ for our full Jewish learning programme & find something that suits you.

Dr Rachel Levmore has spent decades bridging the world of Jewish Law, academia and social activism to help people from all walks of life negotiate the difficult process of Jewish divorce. That makes her one of my real mentors professionally and my inspiration for the work that I’ve done in Get refusal. She’s a veteran who has dedicated her life to this issue. 

Rachel is a Rabbinical Court Advocate, and the director of the Aguna Prevention Project. She lives in Efrat and has a PHD in Talmud and Jewish Law from Bar Ilan University.

For more information on these topics, listen to our episode with Keshet Starr on Get refusal, our episode with Shoshanna Keats-Jaskoll on social activism, and read Rachel’s article, [article title].

If you’re a woman who wants to improve her own halachic knowledge, you can join our Iyun Women’s Halacha Programme.

To read Rachel Levmore's article, "Agunot, Follow These Instructions," click here.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk for our full Jewish learning programme &
find something that suits you.

This week I’m delighted and humbled to have with me Sarah-Jane Landsman of Kibbutz
Alumim. In 2022, when there was no-one else to step up, Sarah-Jane took on a second term
as Mazkirah (Director) of the kibbutz. That was how, on October 7th, she found herself in a
very pivotal role, a role that really no training can provide any preparation for, and since then
she’s relocated the whole kibbutz and cared for the different needs of that displaced
community.

Sarah-Jane and I met in July when I was privileged to visit Kibbutz Alumim and hear her
incredible story, which has really stayed with me over these difficult months. This is the story
of the last 400 days.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk for our full Jewish learning programme &
find something that suits you.

Dr. Erica Brown is Vice Provost for Values and Leadership at Yeshiva University and Founding Director of its Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership. An award winning author who writes extremely widely on Jewish Ethics, Bible and leadership, Erica’s new book, Morning has Broken: Faith after October 7th is out now.

Previously she served as the director of the Mayberg Centre for Jewish Education and
Leadership and was Associate Professor of Curriculum Pedagogy at the George Washington
University. She’s a veteran of Jewish education and leadership who’s paved the way for so
many people and continues to be a role model to me and many others in the world of Jewish
education and leadership.

Erica and I discuss how to choose where and when to apply our creative energy in
leadership, an immersive approach to getting things done, getting women into writing, and
carrying ourselves and others across the historical and difficult times we’re experiencing.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk for our full Jewish learning programme &
find something that suits you.

This week we’re meeting Hadassah Shemtov. Hadassah lives in LA where she teaches
Gemara and Chumash to high school girls, particularly within the Chabad community.

Hadassah noticed amongst the women in her community an underlying ‘estrangement from
the source of our tradition’. She saw that many high school students were unfamiliar with the
evolutionary process of halacha and thought it to be arbitrary rules. She found a low
expectation for rigorous scholarship within Torah study that led peers to seek intellectual
satisfaction elsewhere. So she co-founded the Batsheva Learning Center in 2015, and has
spearheaded numerous innovative learning opportunities for women there, primarily in the
New York area but also across the US.

Hadassah and I discuss standing on the shoulders of giants such as Sarah Schnierer, what
Chabad schools teach that others don’t, and the leadership advantage that Chabad
‘shluchot’ have over other female leaders.

Women's Gallery Episode 10 with Dr. Erica Brown

Women's Gallery Episode 4 with Dr. Elana Stein Hain

Listen to Hadassah's podcast Real Women, Real Torah, and read her Substack.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk for our full Jewish learning programme &
find something that suits you.

Rabbanit Michelle Cohen Farber is the founder of Hadran, advancing Talmud study and Daf
Yomi for women. Michelle studied Talmud at Bar Ilan University and at Midreshet
Lindenbaum Scholars’ Programme. She’s taught gemara and halacha in Pelech Jerusalem,
Midreshset Lindenbaum and Matan Hasharon. Together with her husband, she founded and
leads Kehilat Netivot in Ra’anana where they live with their 5 children.

We discuss how the anchor of Daf Yomi kept her going through the traumas we’ve been
through as a people, why she focuses on women learning Talmud rather than Tanach, and
how, while peers left studying for teaching, she continued to invest in her own learning until
she judged the right time to move to teaching, and the difference that’s made for her and for
others.

Links:

Women's Gallery Episode with Dr. Rachel Levmore

LSJS Masters Degree in Jewish Education: lsjs.ac.uk/ma

The Iyun Programme: Advanced Halacha Learning for Women: lsjs.ac.uk/iyun

Unlocking Talmud: lsjs.ac.uk/talmud

Unpacking Parasha: In-depth, text based learning for women: lsjs.ac.uk/parasha

Hadran

Esty is a Chareidi Mizrachi social activist, entrepreneur and trailblazer. We met when she
was in London screening Woman of Valour, a documentary film about her life and activism,
and I was blown away by her bravery and her achievements.

In 2012, she launched No Voice, No Vote, a social media-based protest movement calling
on ultra orthodox Chareidi women not to vote for parties that barred women from their ranks,
and on the back of that she founded Nivcharot, which raises awareness on women’s rights in
Chareidi society. She’s a pioneer establishing all sorts of online forums promoting an honest
exchange of views on subjects like divorce, birth control, sexual harassment, abuse and
arranged marriages, all of which are to some extent still taboo in the Chareidi world.

Esty has a new podcast in Israel called Chareidit Meduberet (Spoken Chareidi) where she
interviews people who share this fresh approach and voice to discuss challenging issues in a
new, open way.

We speak about change management, using a pseudonym to write about politics as a
Chareidi woman, and shifting practises away from that, the potential dangers of the future of Israeli politics, how not to feed the monster of social media, and struggling with the F word -
feminism.

Click here to learn about Esty's film, Akara.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk for our full Jewish learning programme,
including Rabbanit Yafit Clymer, & find something that suits you.

How do we help our children cope with the emotional fallout of war? This is just one of
Rabbanit Yafit Clymer’s current roles, achieved as Rabbanit Beit Sefer of Midreshet Amit
Girls High School in Modiin where, through Yafit’s unique blend of pastoral and spiritual
guidance, she’s helping girls deal with loss caused by the war, anger with God, and how to
pray in these times. Having a school rabbanit, a role that doesn't exist all over the world, has
been vital and we discuss what the role means and why it’s needed.

Also a teacher of Tanach & Talmud at Matan and LSJS, Rabbanit Yafit is currently studying
for a doctorate in Jewish Philosophy at Bar Ilan University.

We consider how to find the right balance in a syllabus between factual knowledge and
spiritual awareness, and touch on Meshivat Nefesh, a responsa website where men and
women answer halachic questions in all areas. Then, in explaining how to see God talking to
us through history, Rabbanit Yafit delivers a powerfully real message that I think can uplift us
all in these incredibly testing times.

Catch Rabbanit Yafit on Covenant and Continuity: Rabbi Sacks’ wisdom, taught by his
students. Book at lsjs.ac.uk/shemot.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish
learning journeys & find something that suits you.

My dear friend Rebbetzen Dr Hadassah Fromson is rebbetzin of Golders Green United
Synagogue here in the UK. She is a counselling psychologist who works with individuals and
couples both privately and for Chana, a fertility charity in the UK. She’s also a yoetzet
halacha and a teacher here at LSJS.

We discuss the importance of strengthening your relationships, and what brings satisfaction
- in work, in relationships and yes, even in the bedroom, based on her research into sexual
satisfaction in long-term Jewish relationships,

Learn with Hadassah in Unpacking Parasha at lsjs.ac.uk/parasha.

Join us for Unlocking Talmud on Wednesday evenings at lsjs.ac.uk/talmud.

This podcast is powered by LSJS - the London School of Jewish Studies. Connect with our Jewish education courses, tours and events, online and in person, via lsjs.ac.uk/connect.

Hadassa and I met over Chanukah when she was in London promoting her new book - a book which has made a huge impression on both me and my daughter. Hadassah started this book project in the wake of October 7th to help parents talk about the trauma of that terrible day, and to cope with the trauma that developed in its wake. Hadassah has emerged as a genuine role model in that sense, and I'm very excited to talk with her more about the book and its impact, as well as about her life, her world, and particularly about parenting. She’s a mother of seven which, as a mother of four, sounds impressive!

We talk mother to mother about parenting in the digital age, setting digital boundaries, self
regulation, the power of stories, and resilience. We also focus on taking social responsibility
and connecting with your inner hero, and discover the surprising truth about when she
learned English!

The Heroes of October 7th may be purchased in the UK here, and in the US here.

Today, we’re live! I’m at the Orthodox Women’s Torah Leadership Convening with Ann
Pava and Elizabeth Walder, trailblazers of Jewish philanthropy, strategically growing the field
of Orthodox Jewish women’s Torah leadership.

As we sit onstage at the Convening that Ann and Elizabeth made happen, they reveal how
they choose where to invest, and how they go forward as partners with those organisations
lucky enough to receive their help. We marvel at how far this field has come - programmes in
learning and leadership that are now available for women and girls, and positions held by
women that were traditionally reserved for men. We discuss the challenges for Orthodox
women seeking a career in Torah leadership as well the hurdles we’ve overcome, and the
work still to do in this field.

Anne Pava is the president of Micah Philanthropies. An activist, philanthropist, thought
leader and community builder, she loves to mentor and empower women, especially to lead,
and to make the world a better place and has been pivotally to the Prizmah Centre for
Jewish Day Schools, the Jewish Federations of North America, the Hebrew High School of
New England and the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusets. She is involved in many
other boards and has won an award for outstanding women philanthropists.

Elizabeth Walder is president and executive director of the Walder Foundation and the board
chair of Walder Operations. She is a lawyer by training and led a multicultural immigration
law practise helping thousands of immigrants reach their full potential. Later she served as
the chief sustainability officer at IDT before establishing The Walder Foundation with her
husband. Through its Jewish Life pillar the Walder Foundation founds many initiatives to
empower Orthodox women’s Torah leadership and Elizabeth was awarded the Hinda
Institute’s Heroines of Hope award in 2022 given to a visionary broad-minded philanthropist
who personifies leadership and compassion.

Special thanks to Dr. Elana Stein Hain, who organized the convening. (You can hear Jo's Women's Gallery interview with her here.)

Listen to Jo's interview with Rabbanit Michelle Cohen Farber here.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish
learning journeys & find something that suits you.

Suzy Goldberg is a pillar of the London community who embodies humble leadership. She’s
a mother, grandmother, shadchanit (Jewish matchmaker) and Torah teacher of over 30
years. She’s also a graduate of the LSJS BA and MA degree programmes in Jewish
Education and she works today with an organisation called Shidduch.im, the UK’s
branch of the fabulously-named Saw You at Sinai Jewish dating app, and she’s
encouraged, counselled and guided many couples to the chuppah with incredible skill.

We discuss the common thread connecting Jewish education and matchmaking, what it
feels like to watch a couple you connected get married, our responsibility to help people find
their other halves and of course, how to know if this is the right match for you!

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish
learning journeys & find something that suits you.

Dr Tanya White is a much loved teacher at LSJS and Matan, and a lecturer in Jewish
Philosophy at Bar Ilan University. Tanya lives in Israel with her husband and four girls, and
she writes, teaches and lectures on Tanach and Jewish Philosophy. She has a very unique
style that is both inspiring and intellectually stimulating and our students here at lsjs.ac.uk
love her. I always learn so much from her approach and her take on ideas – really profound
and really personal and authentic.

We discuss bridging the gap between israel and the Diaspora, responding to October 7 as
an educator, what’s next on the horizon for Orthodox Jewish women, and bringing Pesach
Torah concepts to life.

For more Pesach learning and other learning journeys, connect with us at lsjs.ac.uk/connect.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. 

What’s it like to be part of the Jewish community in Hungary? Home to the second largest synagogue in the world yet a hidden Jewish population that no-one can count, how does it function and what will its future be?

Jewish educator, historian and tour guide Szonja Komoroczy is Vice Rector at the Jewish University of Budapest and has lectured and published extensively in English, Hungarian, Hebrew, and Yiddish. As an educator, her passion is to tell the story behind the facts, and, as a tour guide, to show the stories behind various layers of a city or region - historical, social, and architectural, alike. Behind the scenes, she’s something of an unofficial ambassador of the community.

With a PhD and two MA degrees from Oxford and Budapest, Szonja’s main field of research and interest is Hungarian Jewish history and cultural history, and she is especially intrigued by issues related to changes in national identity and language choice. I think Szonja’s story and that of Hungarian Jewry is not well enough known and I’m really happy for her to share it more widely on this podcast.

For more Jewish learning journeys, connect with us at lsjs.ac.uk/connect. 

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish
learning journeys & find something that suits you.

I learn every day with my chavruta in Israel using Sefaria sources. So I’m delighted to be
interviewing Rabbanit Sara Tillinger Wolkenfeld, Chief Learning Officer at Sefaria, the online
database and interface for Jewish texts.

Sara is passionate about Talmud education and about expanding Jewish textual knowledge
and its accessibility for all. She writes and teaches widely about Jewish texts and Jewish
law, and her current projects focus on applying Talmudic ideas to questions of
advancements in digital technology.

We discuss ways she uses AI to improve accessibility on Sefaria, her goals for women’s
learning in the future, and worrying trends in access to texts commonly cited by antisemites.

Sara is also a member of Class Six of the Wexner Field Fellowship and an alumna of the
David Hartman Center at the Hartman Institute of North America. She serves as
Scholar-in-Residence at Ohev Sholom Congregation in Washington, DC and her research
and writing focus on the intersection between Jewish ethics and advancements in
technology. Sara’s writing has been published in The Atlantic, First Things, and Religion
Dispatches, as well as numerous Jewish publications.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish
learning journeys & find something that suits you.

Rabbanit Nicole Duke is not an obvious leader, but her guidance behind the scenes at
crucial times and life cycle events helps countless people through both difficult
and wonderful times. First she is a shomeret, a kashrut supervisor enabling
kosher functions to take place. She is also responsible for the chevra kadisha -
the organisation dedicated to caring for the deceased and preparing them for
burial - at the main Orthodox cemetery in London, and she single-handedly runs
a hotline advising, guiding and arranging help for people who have just lost a
loved one.

We discuss the emergence of women into these roles and what women can bring
to the world of kashrut in particular, as well as revealing some of the little known
world of what happens when a person passes away.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish
learning journeys & find something that suits you.

Today I’m honoured to welcome Sharon Rosen, a leader in interfaith peace
building in Israel and around the world. Sharon served as Search for Common
Ground’s Global Director of Religious Engagement from 2017 until recently. She
also co-founded and directed Education for Life, an NGO that provides tools for
the development and wellbeing of children within state educational systems. She
was also a faculty member at the Jerusalem Center for Near East Studies,
teaching courses on Bible, gender, and contemporary relevance.

From her father’s survival as a prisoner of war and how that projected the family
into Israel as some of the first olim, to the challenge of seeking female leaders to
connect and build bridges with in the Muslim world, this conversation is really
wide-ranging.

Sharon is an expert on designing and implementing interreligious programming
that builds collaboration across religions and promotes peace. She is also an
experienced facilitator in conflict resolution and strategic planning. Her advice for
women and for the world, to amplify feminine traits of caring, compassion, mediation
and dialogue over dominance, strength, assertiveness and competition, demonstrates the
decades of experience it comes from.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish
learning journeys & find something that suits you.

Gila Pfeffer is an award winning author, breast cancer prevention advocate and mum of
four. Her recent book, Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other
Inconveniences, was the 2024 winner of the Gilda Women’s Book award and had me
laughing hysterically and sobbing in equal measure. She describes it as “about losing
both my parents to cancer, trying not to get cancer myself, then getting it anyway”.

We answer questions like: why would you choose humour as a vessel for discussing
breast cancer and loss? How do you navigate the publishing world as Jew in the current
climate? What do you say at a shivah? And, why are there so many photos online of you
holding up two large, round objects?

To find out more about breast cancer awareness, take a look at the resources below:
Cancer Research UK: cancerresearchuk.org
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation: bcrf.org
Jnetics - Improving the prevention and diagnosis of Jewish genetic disorders: jnetics.org
Sharsheret - the Jewish breast and ovarian cancer community: sharsheret.org
#FeelItOnTheFirst

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish
learning journeys & find something that suits you.

I’m delighted to welcome Rabbanit Chamutal Shoval, Director of the Susi Bradfield Women’s Institute of Halachic Leadership at Midreshet Lindenbaum, and a graduate of its rigorous five‑year program as a Morat Hora’a and Manhiga Ruchanit - empowering women with halachic authority and spiritual leadership and enabling female halachic leaders to claim their place in discourse, advisory roles, synagogues, schools, and more, both in Israel and abroad.

She spent two transformative years, alongside her husband and five daughters, at Ohr Torah Stone in Springfield, NJ teaching Talmud and Jewish law at Rae Kushner Hebrew Academy. A WIHL alumna, Chamutal follows in the footsteps of trailblazer Rabbanit Devora Evron. I also reflect on my own journey through the IHSP flagship program and the privilege of learning under Chamutal’s emerging mission.

We explore role models and trailblazing pathways, titles and recognition; how we create meaningful roles for women in the synagogue setting; and encouraging more women to write halacha, publish books, build communities and shape the next 20 years of Jewish life.

Gain rare insight into the mindset and mission of this influential female halachic leader today - her vision for the future, her personal journey, and her impact on Jewish leadership globally.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk to learn about our Jewish
learning journeys & find something that suits you.

This week I am delighted to be joined by Shana Aaronson, Executive Director of Magen, where she first began as Social Services Coordinator, supporting families where children had been physically and sexually abused.

Magen is dedicated to creating safer Jewish communities in Israel and around the world by developing and implementing programs that foster transparency, prioritizing the well-being of victims, holding perpetrators accountable, and eliminating the stigma surrounding sexual abuse. Their work spans advocacy, education, and direct support for survivors.

Shana also volunteers as a Jewish marital law coach and birth assistant for women with histories of sexual and physical abuse. She lives with her family in Mateh Yehuda, Israel.

We speak about the difficult but essential work of confronting abuse in religious communities, the role of communal silence, how to shift shame from victim to perpetrator, and what change could look like when survivors are believed and supported.

This is a wide-ranging and powerful conversation about truth telling, accountability, and building safer futures.

If you're affected by the issues discussed, please reach out for help. Some community resources are:

Jewish Women’s Aid – Supporting Jewish women affected by domestic or sexual abuse

Magen – Child protection and abuse prevention in religious communities

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you.

This week I am delighted to be joined by Dr. Haya Langerman. Haya is a medical advisor with a doctorate in diabetes who has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 30 years. For the last 21 months she has been on the frontlines of support for hostage families and fighting for their return (after 669 days now), as a lead volunteer for the Hostage and Missing Families Forum.

We discuss what prompted Haya to drop everything and take up this work when the war started, her decision not to go back to Israel at that time, how the Forum handles the rapidly changing situation, and what everyone can do to help the families of the hostages.

***1st Anniversary Edition!***

It’s our birthday! For this special anniversary edition the tables have been turned on me!

Joanne Greenaway is Chief Executive of LSJS. Experienced International Arbitration lawyer and formerly Director of Get cases for the London Beth Din, she is part of Ohr Torah Stone’s International Halakha Scholars Program and a Sacks Scholar. One year ago, she launched THIS podcast to inspire women to find what they uniquely bring to the world and create roles for themselves to do so - by showcasing other women in Jewish leadership who’ve done just that.

Dr. Erica Brown does a fantastic job of probing me and we discuss humanity, finding your north star, what it means to be role model, creating sisterhoods, career pivots, holding internal tensions and so much more. Many, many thanks to Erica for agreeing to interview me. 

Erica is Vice Provost for Values and Leadership at Yeshiva University and Founding Director of its Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership, as well as a prior guest on the podcast, friend and mentor. Erica’s book, Morning has Broken: Faith after October 7th is available at amazon.co.uk/Morning-Has-Broken-Faith-October/dp/1592646832.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you.

I’m delighted to be joined by Jo Grose, the first ever female CEO of the United Synagogue. Jo stepped into the position in 2023, after many years of senior leadership within the organisation, as well as leadership roles at PaJeS and PJ Library and an earlier career in educational publishing. She is also an active member of her local community, where her passion for community-building began, and serves as a trustee of her local Jewish school trust.

For those unfamiliar, the United Synagogue (US) is the main umbrella body of centrist Orthodoxy in the UK, an influential organisation with over 60 synagogues and responsibility for Jewish life “from cradle to grave.”

We discuss how a CEO can find honest feedback and people who will stretch them, the value of developing skills outside the Jewish community, rapidly responding to October 7th, the male-female dynamic at the US including the more challenging informal moments, successfully professionalising the role of rebbetzens, allowing for innovation in a traditional framework, and so much more.

Having had the privilege of working alongside Jo both at the US and in my role at LSJS, I know Jo as a consummate professional, an inspiring leader, and a wonderful person. It’s been eye opening to explore her journey, her vision for Jewish communal life, and her reflections on leadership.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you.

NEW! Talk to us at womensgallery@lsjs.ac.uk and tell us about amazing women who you’d like to hear interviewed.

This week, I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble to the podcast—turning the tables a bit, since Yosefa herself is an accomplished host of not one, but three podcasts in both Hebrew and English. Her mellifluous voice and natural storytelling draw you in, but it’s her deep Torah insights and thoughtful reflections on personal growth that make this episode truly special.

Yosefa teaches Tanach, Biblical Exegesis, and Jewish Thought at Migdal Oz Beit Midrash,  lectures at Herzog College and Herzog Global, and serves as a Yoetzet Halacha and madrichat kallot. She’s also a member of the second cohort of Sacks Scholars and hosts a widely acclaimed weekly Parsha podcast for Matan Women’s Institute for Torah Study, alongside a new show on women and mitzvot with Shayna Goldberg. In our conversation, we dive into her journey from Albany, NY to Efrat, the mentors who shaped her, and how she balances spiritual growth, leadership, and daily life.

We explore topics we’re all thinking about as we approach Rosh Hashana including personal growth, very practical methods for teshuva, habits that foster growth, differences between Israel and the diaspora regarding women's roles and leadership, and where we have and haven’t made progress in women’s learning.

To learn about the parasha in Yosefa’s unique style, visit the Matan Parsha Podcast.

Stretch your mind and soul through ideas based learning in free and paid classes, courses and events - visit the new LSJS website at www.lsjs.ac.uk.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you.

NEW! Talk to us at womensgallery@lsjs.ac.uk and tell us about amazing women who you’d like to hear interviewed.

Joanna Benarroch joined Rabbi Sacks’ Office of the Chief Rabbi in 1997 and worked for Rabbi Sacks for the next 24 years, first as his Executive Director and then running his private office. Since his passing, Joanna has played a key role in establishing the Rabbi Sacks Legacy to perpetuate his values and teachings.

We discuss what drove Rabbi Sacks to keep seeking and writing, the far-reaching plans he made and high standards he held himself to, as well as his relationship-first approach and genuine interest in people and what made them tick. 

Joanna Benarroch talks about her own trajectory as a behind-the-scenes leader and the privileged position she found herself in, as well the explosion in popularity of Rabbi Sacks right across Israeli society since his death and her mission now, post-aliyah

The Rabbi Sacks & the Scholars LSJS course begins this November with a free taster class, Judaism at the crossroads of tradition and modernity. Discover the beauty and clarity of his teachings. More info and book at: www.lsjs.ac.uk/sacksandscholars.

This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you.

NEW! Talk to us at womensgallery@lsjs.ac.uk and tell us about amazing women who you’d like to hear interviewed.

Joanne Greenaway is joined by Rabbanit Chana Henkin, founder of Nishmat: The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women in Jerusalem, and Head of its Research Institute.

One of the great pioneers of women's Orthodox Torah scholarship, Rabbanit Henkin has transformed the landscape of women's halachic and spiritual leadership. Together with her late husband, Rav Yehuda Henkin ztz"l, she founded the Yoatzot Halacha programme, training women experts in Jewish law and women's health, whose work has changed the way halachic guidance is sought and given across the Orthodox world.

A beloved teacher and visionary, Rabbanit Henkin has received honorary doctorates from
both Bar-Ilan and Yeshiva Universities and was awarded Israel’s prestigious Agrest Prize for
innovative religious education.

She reflects on resilience amid personal loss, explains the vacuum that prompted her to start
the Yoatzot Halacha programme, discusses continuing her late husband’s work on women in
halacha and demonstrates how halacha has given agency to women. We discuss the
difference between a yoetzet and a rabbi, and the changing relationships between women
and rabbis in the information age, and she inspires us with a message about serving the
community in the future.

To access our full LSJS programme of learning, visit lsjs.ac.uk/learning.

Our new women’s gemara course, A Taste of Talmud starts on Wed 22nd October. Book it
for free here.