Denise Eger

American rabbi

Denise Eger

Eger in 2010

Born|  (1960-03-14) March 14, 1960 (age 64)

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Nationality| American
Education|

* University of Southern California (B.A. 1982)
* Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (M.A. 1986, Hebrew Letters)
* Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (Rabbinical ordination 1988)

Occupation| Rabbi
Spouse| Eleanor Steinman
Website| rabbieger.wordpress.com

Denise Leese Eger (born March 14, 1960)[1] is an American Reform rabbi. In March 2015, she became president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in North America; she was the first openly gay person to hold that position.[2][3]

## Biography[edit]

Denise Eger was born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania,[4] the 2nd daughter of Bernard Eger and Estelle (Leese) Eger. She was raised in Memphis, Tennessee. She studied voice at Memphis State University, then transferred to the University of Southern California, where she majored in religion. She then studied at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, from which she earned a master's degree, and went on to pursue rabbinic studies.[2] She came out publicly as gay in 1990 in a story in the Los Angeles Times.[5]

## Career[edit]

Prior to ordination, Eger served as a rabbinic internship for the Chaverim group in Westwood, for the 1983–84 term. She then became an intern in 1985-86 under Rabbi Solomon F. Kleinman at Temple Ahavat Shalom Northridge in Southern California. Rabbi Eger was ordained in 1988 at the New York campus of Hebrew Union College,[6] following which she served as the first full-time rabbi of Beth Chayim Chadashim in Los Angeles, the world's first gay and lesbian synagogue recognized by Reform Judaism.[7] In 1992, she and 25 other people founded Congregation Kol Ami, a synagogue intended to serve both gay and non-gay Jews in West Hollywood, California. Kol Ami has flourished into a 350-member congregation. Significant accomplishments include successfully fundraising to purchase land and construct an award-winning building, located on LaBrea avenue in West Hollywood, which was completed in 2001, and building an endowment that contributes 15 percent of the synagogue's annual operating budge

She previously served as the chair of the Search Alliance Institutional Review Board and Treasurer of the Women's Rabbinic Network, and is a past president of the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis. She chaired the Gay and Lesbian Rabbinic Network of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and is past chair of the Task Force on Gays and Lesbians in the Rabbinate. She is a founding member of the Religion and Faith Council of the Human Rights Campaign and a founding executive committee member of California Faith for Equality. She is a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute.[8]

Rabbi Eger was instrumental in helping pass the March 2000 CCAR resolution in support of officiation and gay and lesbian weddings. She is co-author of the official Reform movement gay and lesbian wedding liturgy. She officiated at the wedding of activists Robin Tyler and Diane Olson, on June 16, 2008.[9]

In 2009, she became the first female and the first openly gay President of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California.[7] She was also the founding President of the Lesbian, Gay, & Bisexual Interfaith Clergy Association.[6] In the summer of 2010 she was named one of the fifty most influential women rabbis.

In March 2015, she became president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in North America; she is the first openly gay person to hold that position.[2][3] As head of the 2300 member international organization of Reform Rabbis, her achievements include revitalizing the ethics code by instituting mandatory continuing education; increasing CCAR's visibility by transforming the process for adoption of resolutions on public policy issues, and effective social media and press strategies; developing international relationships among Reform Rabbis serving outside North America; and strengthened governance by instituting term limits for committee chairs and members. Through her initiative, the CCAR created mandatory continuing education requirements for its members.

Eger is a trained executive coach with a PCC certification from the International Coaching Federation. She currently coaches non-profit executives and clergy.

## Author and editor[edit]

Rabbi Eger co-authored with Rev. Neil Thomas the book 7 Principles for Living Bravely (TKG, 2023). The book is the product of their shared experiences during both the AIDS pandemic and the Covid-19 pandemic. Seven Principles for Living Bravely gives readers the tools to weather life’s most difficult times, from trauma to pandemics, from gloom and grief to expectation and delight – by using and mastering the timeless interfaith principles and practices of Mourning, Truth, Rest, Love, Prayer, Joy, and Hope.

Rabbi Eger is also the co-editor of the book Gender & Religious Leadership: Women Rabbis, Pastors and Ministers (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019).

She is the editor of the groundbreaking book Mishkan Ga'avah: Where Pride Dwells, A Celebration of LGBTQ Jewish Life and Ritual (CCAR Press, 2020). This is a collection of prayers and rituals for LGBTQ Jews and allies as well as ceremonies for LGBTQ significant moments and life cycle events.

She has contributed articles to numerous publications including, The Social Justice Torah Commentary, (ed. Barry Block, CCAR Press, 2021), The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate (ed. Schorr & Graf, CCAR Press, 2016), Torah Queeries (ed. Drinkwater, Schneer, & Lesser, NYU Press, 2009), and Contemporary Debates in Reform Judaism (ed. Kaplan, Routledge 2001).

She is a contributor to anthologies such as Torah Queeries, Lesbian Rabbis, Twice Blessed, and Conflicting Visions: Contemporary Debates in Reform Judaism. She wrote the piece "Creating Opportunities for the 'Other': The Ordination of Women as a Turning Point for LGBT Jews", which appears in the book The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate, published in 2016.[10][11]

## Community service[edit]

Eger has worked extensively with people with HIV/AIDS,[12] and is widely known as an expert on Judaism and LGBT civil rights.

Rabbi Eger has made activism in pursuit of justice for all people a cornerstone of her rabbinate. She has been active in helping to negotiate for improved labor conditions in local hotels and in the agriculture industry; in working for a moratorium on the death penalty in California and in efforts to halt genocide and crimes against humanity around the world. She has worked extensively with people with AIDS. Eger has facilitated an HIV+ support group for 30 years. She served as co-chair of the Community Advisory Board of the Shanti Foundation and is a past Chair of the Spiritual Advisory Committee of AIDS Project Los Angeles. She is past co-chair of the Institutional Review Board for Search Alliance, an AIDS drug research organization. She cofounded the LGBT Interfaith Clergy Group of Southern California and served as its first president. She served on as a founding member of the board of ZIONESS, a progressive Pro-Israel advocacy organization. She has helped to mentor young rabbinical students at the Hebrew Union College and also served as a mentor to rabbinical students for AIPAC. She is a founding member of the Religion and Faith Council of the Human Rights Campaign. She served on the Board of the No On Knight Campaign/No on Proposition 22. and sat on the Board of the Equality for All/No on Prop 8. She was a founder of the California Faith for Equality and helped to organize Jews for Marriage Equality. Rabbi Eger is a Trustee of the Reform Pension Board, a joint project of the Union for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. She also sits on the Camp Committee for the URJ's Henry S. Jacobs Camp, in Utica, MS.

## Honors[edit]

* Forward Fifty, Jewish Daily Forward, named one of the 50 most Influential Jews in North America by the Jewish Daily Forward
* “12 Remarkable Women in Leadership,” National Women’s Political Caucus – Los Angeles, October, 2009
* Forward Sisterhood Fifty, July 2010, Jewish Daily Forward, named one of the 50 most Influential Women Rabbis in North America by the Jewish Daily Forward
* Morris Kight Lifetime Achievement Award from Christopher Street West/LA Pride.[13]
* Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa 2013, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
* The art exhibit “Holy Sparks”, which opened in February 2022 at the Heller Museum and the Skirball Museum, featured 24 Jewish women artists, who had each created an artwork about a female rabbi who was a first in some way.[14][15] Dorit Jordan Dotan created the artwork about Eger.[15]

## References[edit]

1. ^ Denise Eger, LGBT history month.
2. ^ a b c Tess Cutler, "Rabbi Denise Eger seeks to open doors wider to all Jews", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, March 4, 2015.
3. ^ a b "Reform rabbis install first openly gay or lesbian president, Denise Eger | Jewish Telegraphic Agency". Jta.org. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
4. ^ Los-Angeles-Tagebuch: Am Schabbat fährt Frau Rabbi zum Baseball, the . Der Spiegel, 1 June 2004,
5. ^ Zoll, Rachel (16 March 2015). "Reform Jewish rabbis in U.S. install first openly lesbian president". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
6. ^ a b "Board of Rabbis - Home". Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
7. ^ a b Fax, Julie Gruenbaum (May 6, 2009). "Glass Ceiling Twice Shattered at Board of Rabbis". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles.
8. ^ "Rabbinic Leadership Initiative (RLI) IV". Shalom Hartman Institute. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
9. ^ "Finally, the ritual is legally theirs". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 26 August 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
10. ^ Hirshel Jaffe (4 May 2016). "The Message of the Sacred Calling: Our Journey to True Equality | RavBlog". Ravblog.ccarnet.org. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
11. ^ Zauzmer, Julie (2012-12-14). "'I not only envisioned it. I fought for it': The first female rabbi isn't done yet". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
12. ^ "This Lesbian Rabbi Cared for Dying AIDS Patients when Few Would". 30 July 2019.
13. ^ "Rabbi Denise L. Eger | Congregation Kol Ami of West Hollywood". www.kol-ami.org. Archived from the original on September 17, 2013.
14. ^ "2022 Gala, Rabbi Levy's Shabbat Message, Tzedek Council and more... ✨". www.kol-ami.org.
15. ^ a b "VIDEO: HOLY SPARKS – Celebrating 50 Years of Women in the Rabbinate". Jewish Art Salon. January 30, 2022.

## External links[edit]

* Denise Eger's blog

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Pre-modern
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| Bible and Talmud|

* Deborah (1107–1067 BCE)
* Bruriah (2nd century)

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Medieval and
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* Rashi's daughters (11th–12th century)
* Bat ha-Levi (12th century)
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* 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)

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Alternate
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* Yoetzet halacha
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Organisations
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* Women's Rabbinic Network
* Yeshivat Maharat
* Matan Women's Institute
* Midreshet Lindenbaum
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