August 3, 1902
Regina Jonas Is Born
Historical context
On this day, August 3, 1902, Regina Jonas was born in Berlin. In 1935 she became the first woman known to have been ordained as a rabbi.
Archive record
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- Date
- August 3, 1902
- Verified sources
- 1
- Archive threads
- 8
On this day, Regina Jonas was born in Berlin. She studied at the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums and wrote a thesis asking whether a woman could hold rabbinic office. In 1935 Rabbi Max Dienemann of the Conference of Liberal Rabbis ordained her, the first woman known to have been ordained as a rabbi.
She served as a pastoral counselor in Berlin and later as a rabbi in Theresienstadt, including work in Viktor Frankl’s mental-hygiene department. In October 1944 she was deported to Auschwitz and murdered.
Research trail
Sources and further reading
- Regina Jonas · Elisa Klapheck · Jewish Women's Archive Encyclopedia View source
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