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Continued from page 12.
been here one Shabbat, the way the
synagogue functions from a Jewish
perspective really fits my view of
Judaism.”
A fifth-generation rabbi, Alex
ander’s views of Judaism go back
to her childhood, to parents and a
grandfather-rabbi who instilled in
her both a love of religion and the
notion of taking risks for what she
believes in.
“My mother was always a pro
fessional and a strong person her
self,” she explained. “It helped a lot
to have two parents who lived their
lives as parents and who were not
afraid to tread new ground.
“Sure, my father has something
to do with influencing me, but
more likely than his rabbinate is
the way my parents dealt with Jud-
aism in the home.”
Alexander described her father,
who was ordained at the Berlin
Seminary, an Orthodox rabbinical
institute, as a humanitarian for
whom “there does not seem to be a
difference as a rabbi or a person.”
Her grandfather, the late Rabbi
Hugo Alexander, also ordained at
the Berlin Seminary, saw Leslie’s
dream through more traditional
eyes. “He put up some kind of
arguments about women being
Conservative rabbi
called to the Torah, and wasn’t
always positive,” she said.
“He did not live to see my ordi
nation, but lived to see my fight. I’ll
never forget the day I first read
Torah at B’nai Emunah. 1 was ner
vous because he was there and ner
vous about what he’d think. As I
walked off the bima, I saw tears in
his eyes.”
She also credits her husband,
Dr. Kenneth Aitchison, for his
support. He will commute 90 min
utes each way to his job north of
San Diego.
Rabbi Theodore Alexander said
he “kvells” in his daughter’s new
position, insisting, “I’m not react
ing as a father, but as a Conserva
tive rabbi. I agree with Rabbi Kas
sel Abelson (president of the Con
servative Rabbinical Assembly) that
this is a tremendous historical step
forward. Hopefully, because Adat
Ari El is not afraid of an innova
tion or being a pioneer, they might
have paved the way for many other
outstanding rabbis who are female,
which is only incidental.”
The younger Alexander hopes
that the label “female rabbi” will be
dropped. There are about 130 wom
en ordained as rabbis, all Reform
but for four ordained by the Con
servative movement. Two of the
four have pulpits, though consid
erably smaller than Alexander’s.
“1 don’t have a chip on my shoul
der because I’m a woman,” she
stressed. “Last week I went to a
Women’s League meeting and spoke
to them that I am serving the whole
congregation. 1 don’t want to run
away from being a woman, nor do
I think that it needs to be stressed,
but 1 do know what it has to do
with a rabbinical position.
“I’m there to do a job, to be a
rabbi.”
Alexander listed her rabbinic
duties as being in charge of the
congregation’s daily minyan, read
ing from Torah on Shabbat, split
ting pulpit duties with Adat Ari
El’s senior rabbi, Moshe Rothblum,
and counseling, attending life cycle
events, teaching and community
outreach. “It’s a basic rabbinical
position," she said. “It’s so much of
what I want to do; it’s special.”
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Zionist leaders’ graves defiled^
JERUSALEM (JTA)—The graves of several Zionist founders
of the state of Israel at Mount Herzl National Cemetery were
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The slogans were signed “Keshet,” a group suspected by the
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three previous incidents of desecration.
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PAGE 13 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE August 22, 1986