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Margaret Wenig

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Margaret Moers Wenig (born 1957) is an American rabbi known for advocating LGBT rights within Reform Judaism.[1][2] Margaret became spiritually aware at an early age. A seminal moment in her development occurred when she was in sixth grade and had a birthday party, to which she invited all her classmates except one boy, who was devastated as a result. She realized the degree to which she had hurt the boy, and this set her on a path of soul searching and religious awareness.[3]

In 1976, she and Naomi Janowitz published Siddur Nashim, which was the first Jewish prayer book to refer to God using female pronouns and imagery.[4]

She graduated from Brown University in 1978,[5][6] and was ordained in 1984.[7]

In 1990, she wrote the sermon “God is a Woman and She is Growing Older”, which has been widely published.[8][9]

In 1995, Wenig, Sharon Kleinbaum, and Russell Pearce sent a resolution asking for support for civil marriage for gay couples to the Reform movement's Commission on Social Action; when it was approved by them, Wenig submitted it to the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which approved it in 1996.

Wenig married Sharon Kleinbaum in 2008; they later divorced.[10][9][11]

In 2015, Wenig became the first Jewish president of the Academy of Homiletics.[12]

Wenig now teaches liturgy and homiletics at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Margaret Moers Wenig, Rabbi, D.D." Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  2. ^ "Maggie M. Wenig, class of 1978 - Second Interview | the Pembroke Center Oral History Project".
  3. ^ "The Religious Awakening: How Female Jewish Leaders Came to their Faith." New York Jewish Woman, June 2013, pp. 6-13.
  4. ^ Shannon Weber (4 June 2019). Feminism in Minutes. Quercus. pp. 286–. ISBN 978-1-63506-142-0.
  5. ^ "Interview with Margaret Moers Wenig, class of 1978" (PDF). Pembroke Oral Histories. Brown University. 2014. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  6. ^ "Margaret Wenig Wed To Dr. R. J. Rubenstein". The New York Times. 1978-06-19. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  7. ^ "Maggie M. Wenig, class of 1978 - Second Interview | the Pembroke Center Oral History Project".
  8. ^ Lauren F. Winner (1 August 2015). Mudhouse Sabbath: An Invitation to a Life of Spiritual Discipline - Study Edition. Paraclete Press. pp. 124–. ISBN 978-1-61261-742-8.
  9. ^ a b Blumenthal, Ralph (2009-09-01). "A Rabbi Whose God Is a Loving and Long-Suffering Mother". The New York Times.
  10. ^ "Sharon Kleinbaum's Personal and Political Battles - Tablet Magazine". Tabletmag.com. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  11. ^ Green, Jesse (2013-02-22). "The Peculiar Mechanics of Gay Divorce". New York. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  12. ^ Woog, Dan (2016-01-16). "Woog's World: Finding a voice in Westport, woman rabbi's sermons soar". Westport-news.com. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
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