Jill Jacobs (Rabbi)
Encyclopedia
Jill Jacobs is the Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America. She is a Conservative
rabbi
and the author of There Shall be No Needy: Pursuing Social Justice through Jewish Law and Tradition. This book includes chapters on tzedakah, poverty, health care, housing, labor, criminal justice, and environmental justice in America, seen through a Jewish viewpoint. She has served as the Rabbi in Residence of Jewish Funds for Justice
and as the Director of Outreach and Education for Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
.
She is also the author of an influential teshuvah (legal position), passed by the Rabbinical Assembly
's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards that says that Jews should pay their workers a living wage, create dignified workplaces, and hire union workers when possible. She was named to Newsweeks list of the fifty most influential rabbis in 2009 and 2010, to The Forward
newspaper's list of fifty influential American Jews in 2006 and 2008, and to The Jewish Week
Jacobs was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
in 2003 and also earned an MA in Talmud at the same time. She earned an MS in Urban Affairs from Hunter College
, CUNY, in 2003, and a BA in Comparative Literature from Columbia University
in 1997. She is married to Guy Austrian and has a daughter, Lior Brakha Austrian-Jacobs, born August 31, 2009. She spent the 2009–2010 academic year as a Jerusalem Fellow at Hebrew University of Jerusalem
's Mandel Institute.
In 2003, Jacobs—then a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary—got into a public debate with Rabbi Daniel Gordis
. Jacobs wrote an article for the JTS student bulletin in which she critiqued Israel's policies toward Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem
. The JTS administration censored the article and David Freidenreich, the student editor of the bulletin, quit in protest. Jacobs and Freidenreich distributed around the school a copy of the censored article along with Freidenreich's letter of resignation. Gordis heard about the article and sent an e-mail excoriating Jacobs to his list of several thousand correspondents. Jacobs responded with a public plea for civil dialogue. Gordis sent a follow-up e-mail apologizing for any personal embarrassment he caused, without retracting any of his earlier comments.
Throughout her work, she integrates Jewish legal and narrative text, social science research, and stories of people she has met and with whom she has worked.
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
and the author of There Shall be No Needy: Pursuing Social Justice through Jewish Law and Tradition. This book includes chapters on tzedakah, poverty, health care, housing, labor, criminal justice, and environmental justice in America, seen through a Jewish viewpoint. She has served as the Rabbi in Residence of Jewish Funds for Justice
Jewish Funds for Justice
The Jewish Funds for Justice is an Amercian charity based in New York. Since 2005, Simon Greer has been its President & CEO.-History:The original Jewish Fund for Justice was created in 1984...
and as the Director of Outreach and Education for Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs is a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago, Ill., that works with diverse neighborhoods and community groups to battle discrimination, anti-Semitism, poverty and other forms of oppression...
.
She is also the author of an influential teshuvah (legal position), passed by the Rabbinical Assembly
Rabbinical Assembly
The Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, and oversees the work of the Committee on Jewish Law and...
's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards that says that Jews should pay their workers a living wage, create dignified workplaces, and hire union workers when possible. She was named to Newsweeks list of the fifty most influential rabbis in 2009 and 2010, to The Forward
The Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
newspaper's list of fifty influential American Jews in 2006 and 2008, and to The Jewish Week
The Jewish Week
The Jewish Week is an independent weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of the metropolitan New York City area. The Jewish Week covers news relating to the Jewish community in NYC and has world-wide distribution.-Editorial staff:...
Jacobs was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
in 2003 and also earned an MA in Talmud at the same time. She earned an MS in Urban Affairs from Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
, CUNY, in 2003, and a BA in Comparative Literature from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1997. She is married to Guy Austrian and has a daughter, Lior Brakha Austrian-Jacobs, born August 31, 2009. She spent the 2009–2010 academic year as a Jerusalem Fellow at Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
's Mandel Institute.
In 2003, Jacobs—then a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary—got into a public debate with Rabbi Daniel Gordis
Daniel Gordis
Daniel Gordis is President of the Shalem Foundation and Senior Vice President and Senior Fellow at the Shalem Center in Israel. Gordis was the founding dean of the Ziegler Rabbinical School, the first rabbinical college on the West Coast of the United States.-Biography:Daniel Gordis was born on...
. Jacobs wrote an article for the JTS student bulletin in which she critiqued Israel's policies toward Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
. The JTS administration censored the article and David Freidenreich, the student editor of the bulletin, quit in protest. Jacobs and Freidenreich distributed around the school a copy of the censored article along with Freidenreich's letter of resignation. Gordis heard about the article and sent an e-mail excoriating Jacobs to his list of several thousand correspondents. Jacobs responded with a public plea for civil dialogue. Gordis sent a follow-up e-mail apologizing for any personal embarrassment he caused, without retracting any of his earlier comments.
Approach to Judaism and social justice
Jacobs's approach to Judaism and social justice is driven by a belief that Jews should be involved in the public square as Jews. In There Shall be No Needy she writes:
When Jews engage in the public discourse as Jews, we should bring Jewish law and principles into the conversation in such a way as to enrich, rather than shut down, the discourse. We should also bring into this dialogue Jews and others who are engaged in public life; the conversation among rabbis, public policy experts, grassroots activists, and Jewish communal professionals should generate a nuanced understanding of how the Jewish community might approach individual issues.
This approach precludes quoting a simplified version of Jewish law or text in order to prove a point, or asserting that Jewish law unequivocally demands a certain approach to an issue. Rather, Jewish sources should help us to see various sides of an issue, challenge our assumptions, and help us to formulate a response that takes multiple factors into account. The commitment to living our Judaism publicly should then push us to take public action on these principles, both as individuals and as a community.
If we succeed in facilitating this rich conversation, we will create a new kind of Jewish politics in America. Rather than trade sound bites, we will continue the talmudic tradition of dialogue, in which various questioners and commenters engage in an often messy conversation that eventually leads to a fuller understanding of the situation at hand. Jews who now exercise their commitments to public life outside of the Jewish community will find a place within this community, as they contribute their own wisdom and observations to the conversation. Individual Jews and Jewish institutions will strengthen their commitment to public life, as the question of how to address current issues becomes part of the general Jewish conversation, rather than something separate from it or as an add-on to discussion of Shabbat, kashrut, and other aspects of Jewish practice. We will witness the emergence of a Judaism that views ritual observance, study, and engagement in the world as an integrated whole, rather than as separate and distinct practices. The Jewish community’s deepened involvement in public life will change the face of religious politics in America, as other communities will recognize the Jewish community as an important and authentic religious voice in the public square of America.
Throughout her work, she integrates Jewish legal and narrative text, social science research, and stories of people she has met and with whom she has worked.