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Lauren Tuchman (born 1986) is the first blind woman to be ordained as a rabbi. She is notable for her contributions to inclusive Torah and advocacy for disability justice.

Biography

Tuchman was born in 1986, and has been blind since infancy. She was raised in Washington, D.C., in an interfaith family with a secular Jewish father and a Catholic mother. Tuchman was raised Catholic and her mother incorporated Jewish traditions into her upbringing. During her time in the Catholic community, Tuchman experienced several ableist incidents. As a teenager, she began embracing Judaism after encountering a braille siddur. Tuchman formally converted to Judaism as a young adult.

Tuchman attended Dickinson College, where she majored in religion. She later earned a master's degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS). Recognizing a lack of broader inclusion for individuals with disabilities in Jewish spaces, Tuchman decided to pursue rabbinical ordination three years after completing her graduate studies.

She continued her education at JTS for rabbinical school, where she participated in social justice programs, including the Jewish Organizing Institute & Network (JOIN for Justice) training for clergy and the Jews United for Justice Jeremiah Fellowship. She also served as a rabbinic intern for T'ruah. In 2017, she delivered an ELI Talk titled We All Were At Sinai: The Transformative Power of Inclusive Torah.

After her ordination in 2018, Tuchman began working at Avodah, a Jewish service organization, as their Washington, DC–based Rabbi-in Residence. In 2019, she joined JOIN for Justice's board of directors and completed the first cohort of SVARA's Kollel. From 2018 to 2020, Tuchman participated in David Jaffe's Inside Out Wisdom and Action Project, focusing on social justice leadership through Musar, and subsequently began teaching within the program.

Following her ordination in 2018, Tuchman began working at Avodah, a Jewish service organization, as the Washington, DC–based Ruach Rabbi-in Residence. In September 2019, she joined JOIN for Justice's board of directors. Also in 2019, she completed SVARA's Kollel as a part of their first cohort.

Tuchman's work also includes speaking with congregations and consulting with individuals and organizations on access and inclusion and contributes Torah commentary to several resources.

Theology

For many years, Tuchman incorporated Hasidic teachings, particularly those of Kalonymus Kalman Shapira.

Awards and honors

• 2017: The Jewish Week's 36 Under 36
• 2020: Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance's Ushpizot

References

1. ^ "Through a Different Lens: First Blind Woman Rabbi Talks Life, Judaism, and Inclusion | Journeys: Jewish Living, Jewish Meaning". Retrieved 2023-05-07.
2. ^ "Lauren Tuchman". Jewish Women's Archive. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
3. Buckholtz, Marjorie (2021-10-29). "From Moses to Covid: Rabbi Lauren Tuchman on Disability and Inclusion". Lilith Magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
4. Foretek, Jared (2019-02-27). "Inclusion is not an investment, rabbi says". Washington Jewish Week. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
5. ^ Ross, Tova (2017-05-25). "Lauren Tuchman". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
6. "The first blind female rabbi is making sure she won't be the last". The Forward. 2021-02-19. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
7. ^ "Lauren Tuchman". SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
8. "36 Under 36 2017". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
9. "Rabbi Lauren Tuchman". RespectAbility. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
10. "2020 Ushpizot". Jofa. Retrieved 2023-05-07.

External links

• Official website
• We All Were At Sinai: The Transformative Power of Inclusive Torah

v t e Women rabbis and Torah scholars
Timeline of women rabbis
Pre-modern figures	Bible and Talmud Deborah (1107–1067 BCE) Bruriah (2nd century) Medieval and early modern era Rashi's daughters (11th–12th century) Bat ha-Levi (12th century) Paula Dei Mansi (13th century) Miriam Shapira-Luria (14th century) Fioretta of Modena (1522–1580) Bayla Falk (16th century) Eva Bacharach (1580–1651) Asenath Barzani (1590–1670) Frehat Bat Avraham (d. 1756) Maiden of Ludmir (1805–1888)
Modern figures	Ray Frank (1861–1948) Lily Montagu (1873–1963) Regina Jonas (1902–1944) Tehilla Lichtenstein (1893–1973) Paula Ackerman (1893–1989) Martha Neumark (1904–1981) Avis Clamitz (1908-1991) Helen Levinthal (1910–1989) Sally Priesand (b. 1946) Mimi Feigelson (b. 1963) First ordination by denomination Regina Jonas (Reform, 1935) Sandy Sasso (Reconstructionist, 1974) Lynn Gottlieb (Renewal, 1981) Amy Eilberg (Conservative, 1985) Tamara Kolton (Humanistic, 1999) Sara Hurwitz (Orthodox, 2009)
Alternate rabbinical roles	Yoetzet halacha Toanot Rabniyot
Organisations and midrashot	Women's Rabbinic Network Yeshivat Maharat Matan Women's Institute Midreshet Lindenbaum Nishmat Center Hadran
Category: Women rabbis

• Living people
• 21st-century American rabbis
• 21st-century converts to Judaism
• Converts to Judaism from Roman Catholicism
• Women rabbis
• Blind clergy
• 1986 births
• Rabbis from Washington, D.C.
• Activists from Washington, D.C.
• Dickinson College alumni
• Jewish Theological Seminary of America alumni
• American blind people
• 21st-century American women