Aviva Kipen (c. 1950) is an Australian Reform rabbi and the first Australian woman[a] to receive a rabbinic ordination in the Reform stream of Judaism.[1] She became the sole rabbi of the Bentleigh Progressive Synagogue in 2001[1] before resigning from the congregation in 2008.[2] She has also been a family counselor, theology teacher and a PhD student at the Melbourne College of Divinity.[3] In 2001, she received a Centenary Medal[2] and was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.[4]
Rabbi Aviva Kipen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal | |
| Born | c. 1950 Melbourne, Australia |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Position | Sole rabbi |
| Synagogue | Bentleigh Progressive Synagogue |
| Began | 2001 |
| Ended | 2008 |
Biography
editKipen was born in Melbourne, Australia on c. 1950.[4] As a teenager, she was a choir member of her local synagogue, where she was inspired the sermons of one Rabbi Lubofski who "nourished [her] love of Judaism and made it possible, even for the occasional girl, to get some serious scholarship and engage with Jewish issues".[1] When she was 25, she became a primary school teacher and moved to the United States, where she saw women serving as Rabbis for the first time. After applying for Rabbinic studies and completing her M.A. in Rabbinics, she became formally ordained as the first female Australian rabbi at Leo Baeck College in July 1991.[5]
Notes
edit- ^ The first woman to serve as a rabbi in Australia was the American-born Karen Soria.
References
edit- ^ a b c Binger, Annette (May 31, 2006). "The ministry of women". Eureka Street. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
- ^ a b Swain, Shurlee. "Kipen, Aviva (c. 1950 - )". The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
- ^ Dubecki, Larissa; Dunn, Amanda; Bone, Pamela (May 5, 2001). "Federation's centenary, and as a nation we celebrate". The Age. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b Morgan, Helen (April 23, 2013). "Kipen, Aviva (1950 - )". Australian Women's Register. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
- ^ "Rabbi Dr Aviva Kipen". vic.gov.au. May 26, 2022. Archived from the original on July 27, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2023.