HerTorah:
Female Spiritual Leaders Of the Shoah
Featuring Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, Rebbetzin Tzipora Weinberg, R’ Aliza Sperling
Together we will remember and shine a light on female spiritual leaders whose stories have almost been forgotten. Prior to World War II, these women were Torah leaders, and during the Holocaust they displayed extraordinary spiritual heroism and resistance. What can we learn from their stories, and how can we ensure that their heroism is not forgotten?
Please join us in learning from three outstanding teachers sharing some of the profound spiritual leadership present during the most traumatic Jewish experience in recent history.
Come when you can; stay till you can’t. But, come.
Our learning is incomplete without you.
Join us Tuesday evening 5/2 @ 8:15-9:45pm EST
Please invite someone you think might want to be with us, too.
• Regina Jonas: An Untold Story of Resilience Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
Regina Jonas was ordained as a rabbi in 1935 in Berlin, but few people knew her story until the 1990s. Who was she, what did she teach, and why was her story kept hidden for so long? A fascinating and tragic story of the first woman rabbi, her challenges and her triumphs.
• Voices in the Darkness: Spiritual Triumph in the Telsiai Ghetto Rebbetzin Tzipora Weinberg
The diversity of the Nazi persecution and murder of Jews during the Holocaust presents a litany of horrors, incomparable to one another, each carrying cruelty and suffering that language can never completely convey. Jewish responses to the Nazi scourge tell us a great deal about the strength of humanity in the face of brutality. But the story of women’s responses during the Holocaust is not discussed enough, and the story shared by Rebbetzin Weinberg has been all but undocumented. For the first time, the story of the women’s ghetto at Telsiai and the spiritual fortitude they manifested there will meet a public audience, as she shares a tale of heartrending courage and devotion to the Jewish faith.
• A Light in the Darkness: Tzila Orlean Sorotzkin R’ Aliza Sperling
Tzila Neugroschel Orlean was a disciple of Sarah Schenirer, and educator and teacher in Bais Yaakov schools for girls in Poland before World War II. She arrived in Auschwitz in 1942, and was appointed as a nurse. Her devotion to all her patients profoundly impressed the doctors, Jews and non-Jews alike, and she was held in high regard. She was the only Jew in Auschwitz who was called by her name - and not a number- even by the Nazis. Along with her student Tili Rinder, Tzila Orlean saved many Jews from the Nazis, often risking her own life. She organized a group of Bais Yaakov students into key positions in Auschwitz so they could mitigate the suffering and rescue as many Jews as they could.
HerTorah gathers together a diverse community of Jewish women to connect over our shared heritage, explore our collective wisdom, and elevate our communal experience in learning with and from one another.
HerTorah is directed by Rabbanit Aliza Sperling, made possible in part by support of the Aviv Foundation and The Covenant Foundation and inspired by each one of us.
Grateful for the support of The Covenant Foundation
This gathering was made possible (in part) by funds granted by The Covenant Foundation. The statements made and the views expressed, however, are solely of SVIVAH.
This gathering welcomes women* 12+ and learners of all backgrounds.
SVIVAH is dependent on the generosity of those who choose to invest in a powerful community of women. As always, cost should never be a barrier to anything SVIVAH, but if you can, please help us show respect to our speakers/facilitators for their time and expertise. www.svivah.org/donate
Questions about ZOOM or about this gathering? Email connect@svivah.org
*SVIVAH defines "Jewish woman" as anyone wishing to be included in a circle of Jewish women. If you want to be here, we want you to be here.