Part and parcel of attending public schools in the 1970s and ’80s in this country was being socially indoctrinated with viewings of “Free to Be You and Me.” Among the vignettes advocating an end to gender roles telling us who we could be, what we could do and how we could express our feelings was a cautionary tale called “Ladies First.” Spoiler alert: It didn’t end well for the individual demanding “ladies first.” Inspired by this feminist upbringing and resurgence of women’s activism in the wake of #MeToo, we followed up on an initiative and invited the women of our congregation to give a Torah commentary or sermon once a month. We called it “Women First” as a tip of the hat to “Free to Be You and Me” because the ordinal number conveys it’s a top priority and because these talks were given on the first Sabbath of the month.
Women First Archives
Archived Women First Torah Commentaries
click on highlighted links to read a transcript
August 2, 2019 – Susan Cantor
September 6, 2019 – Sarah Lowe
October 4, 2019 – Carly Conatser
November 1, 2019 – Diana Clewett
December 6, 2019 – Rosie Moosnick
January 3, 2020 – Madeline Rosenberg
February 7, 2020 – Susan Sloss
July 3, 2020 – Susan Cantor
August 7, 2020 – Carly Conatser
September 4, 2020 – Reva Schottenstein-Reed
October 2, 2020 – Susan Sloss
November 6, 2020 – Aaron Ann Cole-Funfsinn
December 4, 2020 – Lisa Miller
January 1, 2020 – Deb Nelson
February 26, 2021 – Lisa Taulbee
April 2, 2021 – Miriam Sillman
June 25, 2021 – Sarah Lowe
July 2, 2021 – Carly Conatser
August 6, 2021 – Nancy Schoenberg
September 3, 2021 – Dianne Bazell
October 1, 2021 – Lily Gardner
November 5, 2021 – Elizabeth Hurst
December 3, 2021 – Sarah Lowe
May 20, 2022 – Rabbi Elena Stein