(Courtesy of Yeshivat Maharat) In June, Eryn London was ordained in a semicha (ordination) ceremony by Yeshivat Maharat, held at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in Manhattan. The ceremony was filled with passionate words from the graduates affirming their commitment to Torah, mitzvot and their communities.
In her semicha address, Rabba Eryn said, “None of us got here by chance or because it was expected of us. We are here because we felt the desire or the need or the compulsion to do this with our lives, even if when we were children it was not a possibility. I find it amazing that there are institutions such as Yeshivat Maharat that are educating and training women so they are able to have semicha and be rabbinic figures. I find it even more amazing that you can talk to young girls who will say that they want to become an Orthodox rabbi, and that is a real thing that they can do.They will no longer be told the only way is to become Yentl.”
Eryn is the daughter of Fran and Hank London of Fair Lawn, formerly of Randolph, where she grew up. She received her B.A. from Goucher College, where she majored in theater with a double minor in psychology and Judaic studies. Eryn subsequently earned an M.A. at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she specialized in applied drama: theater in educational, community and social contexts. Eryn made aliyah in February of 2010 and has since resided in Jerusalem. She has studied at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, taught theater at Emunah V’Omanut seminary, directed a number of plays at the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel and worked as a therapeutic recreation specialist in a nursing home. Eryn also studied for three years at the Susi Bradfield Women’s Insitute of Halachic Leadership at Midreshet Lindenbaum. Eryn co-led a community minyan; the minyan served the young adult community of Jerusalem and included religious as well as social events. In addition, she is one of the co-founders of “Gam Yachad,” a multi-denominational Beit Midrash for rabbinical students, now with branches in Jerusalem and New York. Eryn served as the rabbinic intern at the Mt. Freedom Jewish Center in 2014, a scholar-in-residence at the ACT Jewish Community in Canberra, Australia, and served as a rabbinic intern at Anshe Shalom Bnai Israel Congregation in Chicago. Rabba Eryn will attend the full-time chaplaincy residency program at New York Presbyterian Hospital this fall.
Yeshivat Maharat’s other 2017 semicha recipients are Dr. Carmella Abraham, Chava Evans, Goldie Guy and Bracha Jaffe. This year’s graduates will begin positions as pulpit rabbis, hospital chaplains, Judaic studies teachers and community educators in Baltimore and Rockville, Maryland; Riverdale; Westchester; and Manhattan.
Yeshivat Maharat was founded in September 2009 by Rabbi Avi Weiss and Rabba Sara Hurwitz, who had received her ordination earlier that year. In September 2013, Yeshivat Maharat expanded with the opening of its two-year Kollel: Executive Ordination Track.
To date, 44 women have enrolled in Yeshivat Maharat’s programs and 19 have been ordained. Learn more about them at www.yeshivatmaharat.org.
