Sally Jane Priesand is America's first ordained female 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 second ordained female rabbi in the world, after Regina Jonas

Regina Jonas

Regina Jonas was a Berlin-born rabbi. In 1935, she became the first Jewish woman to be ordained as a rabbi .-Early life:She became orphaned from her father when she was very young...

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Sally Jane Priesand was born June 27, 1946, in Cleveland, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. As a teenager at Beth Israel-West Temple, a Reform

Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...

 congregation on Cleveland's West Side, she began to display an intense commitment to Judaism and Jewish life. She participated in Jewish summer camps and in Jewish youth groups; when she was 16 she decided to become a rabbi.