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TINTON FALLS, N.J., Jun 9, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The first woman to be a rabbi in the United States, now serving in New Jersey, is planning her retirement.
Sally Priesand leaves Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls after 25 years, the New Jersey Jewish News reports. She will take the title of rabbi emerita.
"Retirement will be a major life change, that's for sure," Priesand said. "A new home and a career change are a lot to think about."
Priesand decided at the age of 16 that she wanted to be a rabbi and gives her parents credit for encouraging her.
"When I arrived at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in 1964, they didn't take me very seriously at first," Priesand said. "Few people at the college paid much attention; they thought I
came to marry a rabbi rather than be one."
During her years as a rabbi, Priesand has seen a lot of changes, including the thousands of women who have followed in her footsteps. Even Orthodox Judaism has a feminist movement pushing for a greater role for women.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
