14 Facts About Deborah Waxman

Deborah Waxman is an American rabbi and the president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism.

Deborah Waxman is believed to be the first woman rabbi and first lesbian to lead a Jewish congregational union, and the first lesbian to lead a Jewish seminary; the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College is both a congregational union and a seminary.

Deborah Waxman previously served as the vice-president for governance for the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

Deborah Waxman has focused her scholarly work on American Jewish history.

Deborah Waxman is a member of the Academic Council of the American Jewish Historical Society.

Deborah Waxman has published articles in academic and Jewish journals and presented at conferences.

Deborah Waxman earned a Master of Hebrew Letters from and was ordained as a rabbi by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1999.

Deborah Waxman completed a PhD in American Jewish History at Temple University.

Deborah Waxman earned a certificate in Jewish Women's Studies from RRC in conjunction with Temple University.

Deborah Waxman has held a leadership role in the Reconstructionist movement since 2003, when she became the Vice President for Governance of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

Deborah Waxman is believed to be the first woman rabbi to head a joint Jewish congregational union and Jewish seminary.

Deborah Waxman served as High Holy Days rabbi at Congregation Bet Havarim in Syracuse, New York, for 11 years.

Deborah Waxman was raised a Conservative Jew and was one of the first girls in Connecticut to have a Conservative Bat Mitzvah on a Saturday morning.

Deborah Waxman's father was a traveling salesman and her mother was president of the sisterhood of their synagogue in Bloomfield, Connecticut.