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Lynne Landsberg

July 21, 1951–February 26, 2018

by JWA Staff
Our work to expand the Encyclopedia is ongoing. We are providing this brief biography for Lynne Landsberg until we are able to commission a full entry.

Rabbi Lynne Landsberg and Rabbi David Saperstein at the 2017 Tzedek dinner for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism’s Consultation on Conscience. Photo by Ralph Alswang, courtesy of Rabbi Landsberg and the Religious Action Center.

After a car accident left Rabbi Lynne Landsberg struggling with a traumatic brain injury, she devoted her career to ensuring that Jews with disabilities have full access to the richness of Jewish life. Landsberg earned a master’s degree in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School in 1976 before her ordination from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in 1981. She served Central Synagogue in New York City from 1981–1984, then became the rabbi of two congregations in Virginia. In 1988 she took a position as associate director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, DC, where she helped craft social justice initiatives for interreligious affairs, reproductive rights, and race relations. She then became regional director for the mid-Atlantic region of the Union for Reform Judaism in 1996. In 1999, after a lengthy recovery from a traumatic brain injury, she returned to the Religious Action Center, where she became senior advisor on disability rights. She also served as founder and co-chair of the Central Conference of American Rabbis’ committee on disability awareness and inclusion, and co-founded the cross-denominational organization Hineinu: Jewish Community for People of All Abilities.

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Lynne Landsberg." (Viewed on December 9, 2024) <https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/landsberg-lynne>.