Regina Jonas was the first woman known to have been ordained as a rabbi. She was ordained in 1935 in Berlin, and went on to serve in that community as a Judaic studies teacher and chaplain. In 1942, she was deported to Terezin, where she served as the rabbi of the camp community—teaching, giving sermons, and offering pastoral care to her fellow prisoners. In 1945, she was deported to Auschwitz, where she was murdered. In this program, taught by JWA’s Rabbinic Intern Sarah Mulhern, participants learn about and honor the memory of Rabbi Regina Jonas. Her story has in some ways been hidden until recently and is not very widely known, so in addition to learning about her remarkable achievements, participants also think together more broadly about which stories we tell and which we do not, why this is, and what impacts this has on us and our communities.

Session Recording

Session Materials

• PowerPoint presentation

Featured Resources

• Find the short film, In the Footsteps of Regina Jonas on jwa.org.
• Explore JWA’s program resources about Rabbi Regina Jonas.  

Additional Resources

• Learn more about Regina Jonas by reading JWA’s encyclopedia article about her