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Lois Blum Feinblatt

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Jean Freedman interviewed Lois B. Feinblatt on March 21, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Feinblatt talks about her background, including experiences of growing up in a segregated Baltimore, her college years, marriage and motherhood during World War II, her career in welfare and later as a psychotherapist, and reflects on her Jewish practice and the Jewish community in Baltimore.

Reva Twersky

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Roz Bornstein interviewed Reva Twersky on June 19, 2001, in Seattle, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Twersky discusses her family's Russian roots, their Orthodox values, community life in Seattle, experiences during World War II, involvement in Jewish organizations, and her marriage.

Miriam Waltzer

Project
Women Who Dared

Abrielle Louise Young interviewed Miriam Waltzer on January 12, 2005, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Waltzer shares the story of her childhood in Germany during World War II, her marriage to an American, their involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, her career as a judge, and her contributions to humanitarian organizations.

Hanna Weinberg

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Jean Freedman interviewed Hanna Weinberg on June 10, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Weinberg shares her immigration story from Germany and Lithuania to the United States, her experiences growing up in various cities, her marriage to Rabbi Yaacov Weinberg, her community involvement, and her reflections on raising a large family and widowhood.

Dorothy Wittenberg

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Pamela Brown Lavitt interviewed Dorothy Wittenberg on April 26 and May 8, 2001, in Mercer Island, Washington, for the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Wittenberg recounts her family background, childhood memories, experiences as one of the few Jewish families in Tacoma, her education, volunteer work, and reflections on community, and women's roles.

Lillian Simon Freehof

Lillian Simon Freehof (1906-2004) was a leader in developing transcription services for people with visual impairments and blindness, working with Sisterhood volunteers at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh, PA, and, at the national level, with the Federation of Temple Sisterhoods (now WRJ).  She also wrote books and plays for children and young adults and books on needlework and Jewish festivals for adults. She was the wife of Rabbi Solomon B. Freehof.

Helene Hines on her handcycle

This Year, Resolve to Be More like This Badass Woman

Madisen Siegel

Whenever she heard ‘no,’ Helene Hines pushed back—and proved everyone wrong.

Frances Rosenthal Kallison

Frances Elaine Rosenthal Kallison was a horsewoman and historian, a cofounder of the Texas Jewish Historical Society, and the only Jewish woman in the National Museum and Cowgirl Hall of Fame.  A regional leader of the National Council of Jewish Women, she lobbied to end the poll tax and open pre-natal clinics for the poor. The exhibit she curated on Texas Jewry for the 1968 World’s Fair in San Antonio has been continually updated.

Meyera Oberndorf

Meyera Oberndorf blazed trails in Virginia politics as the first woman and first Jewish mayor of Virginia Beach, the largest city in the Commonwealth. From 1988 to 2008, she stood up to a long-ingrained good old boy network and led the city through difficult issues including racial unrest, all while staying closely connected to her citizens as “the people’s mayor.”

Sally Gottesman

Sally Gottesman, born 1962 in New Jersey and residing in New York, is a non-profit entrepreneur whose leadership and philanthropy have had a major impact on the Jewish feminist and justice landscape.

Bruria Benbassat de Elnecavé

Bruria Benbassat de Elnecavé was an ardent activist who dedicated her life to educate Jewish Argentines in general and Jewish Argentine women in particular about Zionism and the State of Israel. 

Three Jewish Women Participate in Forming of First Girl Scout Troops

March 12, 1912

On March 12, 1912, the first meeting of what would become Girl Scouts of the USA convened at the home of Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Georgia.

Flyer for Betty Friedan's 1963 Presentation in Detroit

From the Archives: To Volunteer or Not to Volunteer? The Betty Friedan Conundrum

Robbie Terman

Betty Friedan helped pave the way for women in the workforce, and the world is better for it. But, contrary to her early advice, we should not forget the contributions of volunteers to our society.

Minnah Stein with Mayor Shelli Freeland Eddie

A Tale of Two Cities and Their Mayors

Minnah Stein

Getting to intern with the mayor of Sarasota, Shelli Freeland Eddie, has been one of the best experiences of my life. I want to have a career that allows me to help people, and working with the mayor has enabled me to learn from the best. I’m so proud that our city has a strong woman as mayor who young girls in my community can look up to.

I’ve learned so much from all of the experiences my internship has offered me, but my favorite internship days are the days when after the City Council meetings are over, I trade my notepad and flats for a Girls Inc. t-shirt and sneakers. I leave the City of Sarasota and go to Dream Harbor, the mock city run by the girls at Girls Inc.

Sofia Gardenswartz in "Serving Spoons" Apron

Double-Bound

Sofia Gardenswartz

I am the President of a nonprofit, Serving Spoons, that prepares and delivers healthy, home-cooked meals to families in need. I accepted this leadership position nearly five years ago, and though I expected to encounter challenges due to my age, I felt confident I could convince the other industry professionals to take me seriously if I demonstrated maturity, responsibility, and commitment to my organization. Yet one of the greatest challenges, as I soon discovered, wasn’t my mere fourteen years, but rather my identity as a female.

Topics: Food, Volunteers
Katy Ronkin and Rhoda Nissenbaum

Saturdays with Rhoda

Katy Ronkin

Almost every Saturday for the last five years, I’ve gone to visit my friend Rhoda Nissenbaum. We read together and talk, along with my mother and Rhoda’s aide, Sarah. What started as my Bat Mitzvah project has blossomed into a beautiful friendship.  Fortunately, I was able to record my recent meeting with Rhoda, and we got a chance to talk about her life, all 97 years of it! 

Topics: Activism, Volunteers
Blanche Hart

From the Archives: Blanche Hart, the Jane Addams of Detroit

Robbie Terman

The year Blanche Hart was born, the United States celebrated its 100th birthday. The telephone was patented, Mark Twain published The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and the Transcontinental Express train traveled from New York City to San Francisco in just 83 hours and 39 minutes.

Topics: Volunteers

Benevolent Societies and Tzedakah

Examine different ways that American Jewish women historically—and we today—fulfill the obligation of tzedakah (charity) and gemilut chesed (acts of loving kindness).

Hurricane Katrina: Community Responsibility and Tikkun Olam

Explore Hurricane Katrina as an example of how Jews respond to catastrophe. Gail Chalew, a Jewish reporter from New Orleans, tells the story of Haley Fields, a thirteen year old girl from Los Angeles, who came up with her own unique way of helping those in need.

Ray Frank's Yom Kippur Sermon, 1890

Read the 1890 Yom Kippur sermon by Ray Frank, the first Jewish woman to preach formally from a pulpit, and consider what unites and divides the Jewish people both historically and today.

Pauline Bebe

Pauline Bebe’s struggles to become the first women rabbi to serve in France have made her sensitive to the importance of welcoming people of all backgrounds to participate in Jewish life.

Pauline Bebe

The first woman rabbi in France, Pauline Bebe has worked to reach out to addicts, HIV-positive people, and others who often struggle to find an inclusive community.

Julia Neuberger

Baroness Julia Neuberger holds an unusual double distinction as both a rabbi and a member of the House of Lords.

Karen Sokal-Gutierrez

After recognizing a neglected epidemic causing severe pain to children around the world, Karen Sokal-Gutierrez founded the Global Children’s Oral Health and Nutrition Project (GCOHNP) to improve diet and dental care for children and their families.

Jessica Posner Odede

Jessica Posner Odede first came to Nairobi with dreams of volunteering with a theater program, but her experiences in the slums of Kiberia drew her to co-found Shining Hope for Communities, creating a girls’ school as a hub for social services ranging from medical aid to clean power and water initiatives.

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