Deborah Cohen (mohelet)

Dr. Deborah Cohen is the first woman to be certified as a mohelet by the Reform Jewish movement.[1]

Deborah Cohen
Born
California, United States
NationalityAmerican

Career

Cohen was an obstetrician[2] at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Los Angeles.[3] A family doctor, Cohen had first turned to the Conservative and Orthodox movements to be trained as a mohelet but was denied. In early fall of 1981, Cohen contacted the Hebrew Union College to ask for training, but the Reform movement had not yet trained any women to be mohalot.[4] The Reform movement recognized that women could act as mohalot in 1984. The Union of American Hebrew Congregations, now known as the Union for Reform Judaism, created the Brit Milah Board as the first circumcision training program offered by a liberal Jewish organization.[5] She became the first woman to be trained as a mohelet by the Reform Jewish movement in 1984.[6][7]

See also

References
  1. "Berit Mila Program of Reform Judaism". beritmila.org. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  2. "The Chronicle #67 – Fall 2006". Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  3. "Reform Graduates Class Of Mohalim". Jewish Post. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  4. "Introducing the Reform Mohel" (PDF). Rhode Island Herald. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  5. "When the Mohel is a Woman". Lilith Magazine. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  6. "Women Carve Out a New Niche in an Old Rite". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  7. "A Mohel's Role In Jewish Life". Chicago Jewish News. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
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