(21) Sara Wolkenfeld @ Sefaria: Opening up access to Torah in the digital age
Women’s Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership
Release Date: 05/13/2025
(37) Michele Weiss, Orthodox Mayor-Elect: Jewish Values in American Politics
Women’s Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership
I’m thrilled to welcome Michele Weiss, the first Orthodox Jewish woman to be elected mayor of an American city. Michele already has over 15 years of service on City Council of University Heights, Ohio, including multiple terms as Vice Mayor. She also serves as the Chief Financial Officer of the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, teaches as an adjunct professor, and is a founding member of the nonprofit AMATZ Initiative, which supports professional development for Beis Yaakov school leaders. A trained accountant with an MBA, she’s a powerhouse with a strong commitment to tzniut who...
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(36) Guiding young women through transitions, with Rabbanit Shayna Goldberg
Women’s Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership
In this episode we meet Rabbanit Shayna Goldberg, mashgicha ruchanit and teacher to Israeli and American post-high school students in Migdal Oz, an affiliate of Yeshivat Har Etzion. Shayna is also a yoetzet halacha, a contributing editor for Deracheha: Womenandmitzvot.org, co-host of the podcast “Women Talking Mitzvot” and the author of the book: What Do You Really Want? Trust and Fear in Decision Making at Life's Crossroads and in Everyday Living, and we found a great deal of common ground. We discuss her role in helping young women to grow while staying connected to their home and roots,...
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(35) Danielle Chaimovitz: The well-travelled shlichim of Europe
Women’s Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership
Seasoned shlucha Danielle Chaimovitz has nurtured communities in Estonia, Poland and Germany. A daughter of olim, she was always drawn to communal roles in Jewish life, and she and her husband have made it their specialty to help small communities thrive. Danielle and I discuss the role of a shlucha - what does success look like? How much should your children be part of your work? Should you ever be advising your community to leave? I'm surprised and touched to learn the incredible ways the Munich community supported them through the October 7th war, and fascinated by the subtle differences...
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(34) Holding a community - with Rebbetzen Yael Roodyn
Women’s Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. Who do you look after when you can't look after everyone? How does a leader react when she's the one in need of help? What do you do if you feel pidgeonholed by your education or career choices? Rebbetzen Yael Roodyn, much loved Rebbetzen of Finchley Federation Synagogue, gives us insights into caring for and inspiring her close-knit community, bringing out the leadership in others and ensuring that everyone feels part of the family. With a Master of Research in...
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(33) Uncovering Halacha for Women Today, with Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash
Women’s Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. I’m delighted to be joined by Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash, one of the most refreshing and challenging voices in contemporary Jewish learning. Based in Jerusalem, Nechama teaches Talmud and halachah at the Pardes Institute and Matan, where she’s known for tackling some of the most complex questions around gender and relationships with honesty, warmth and depth. Her recently published book, Uncovered: Women’s Roles, Mitzvot, and Sexuality in Jewish Law, offers a...
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(32) Transforming the halachic landscape, with Nishmat founder Rabbanit Chana Henkin
Women’s Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. NEW! Talk to us at and tell us about amazing women who you’d like to hear interviewed. Joanne Greenaway is joined by Rabbanit Chana Henkin, founder of Nishmat: The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women in Jerusalem, and Head of its Research Institute. One of the great pioneers of women's Orthodox Torah scholarship, Rabbanit Henkin has transformed the landscape of women's halachic and spiritual leadership. Together...
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(31) Truth Lived, Not Just Truth Learned: The Enduring Legacy of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l, with Joanna Benarroch
Women’s Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. NEW! Talk to us at and tell us about amazing women who you’d like to hear interviewed. Joanna Benarroch joined Rabbi Sacks’ Office of the Chief Rabbi in 1997 and worked for Rabbi Sacks for the next 24 years, first as his Executive Director and then running his private office. Since his passing, Joanna has played a key role in establishing the Rabbi Sacks Legacy to perpetuate his values and teachings. We discuss what drove Rabbi Sacks to...
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(30) Realistic teshuva with Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble
Women’s Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. NEW! Talk to us at and tell us about amazing women who you’d like to hear interviewed. This week, I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble to the podcast—turning the tables a bit, since Yosefa herself is an accomplished host of not one, but three podcasts in both Hebrew and English. Her mellifluous voice and natural storytelling draw you in, but it’s her deep Torah insights and thoughtful reflections on personal growth that make this episode truly special....
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(29) Innovation with patience: Jo Grose, CEO of the United Synagogue
Women’s Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. I’m delighted to be joined by Jo Grose, the first ever female CEO of the United Synagogue. Jo stepped into the position in 2023, after many years of senior leadership within the organisation, as well as leadership roles at PaJeS and PJ Library and an earlier career in educational publishing. She is also an active member of her local community, where her passion for community-building began, and serves as a trustee of her local Jewish school trust. For those unfamiliar, the...
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(28) Following Your North Star, with Joanne Greenaway and Dr. Erica Brown
Women’s Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership
***1st Anniversary Edition!*** It’s our birthday! For this special anniversary edition the tables have been turned on me! Joanne Greenaway is Chief Executive of LSJS. Experienced International Arbitration lawyer and formerly Director of Get cases for the London Beth Din, she is part of Ohr Torah Stone’s International Halakha Scholars Program and a Sacks Scholar. One year ago, she launched THIS podcast to inspire women to find what they uniquely bring to the world and create roles for themselves to do so - by showcasing other women in Jewish leadership who’ve done just that. Dr. Erica...
info_outlineThis podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit lsjs.ac.uk/connect to learn about our Jewish
learning journeys & find something that suits you.
I learn every day with my chavruta in Israel using Sefaria sources. So I’m delighted to be
interviewing Rabbanit Sara Tillinger Wolkenfeld, Chief Learning Officer at Sefaria, the online
database and interface for Jewish texts.
Sara is passionate about Talmud education and about expanding Jewish textual knowledge
and its accessibility for all. She writes and teaches widely about Jewish texts and Jewish
law, and her current projects focus on applying Talmudic ideas to questions of
advancements in digital technology.
We discuss ways she uses AI to improve accessibility on Sefaria, her goals for women’s
learning in the future, and worrying trends in access to texts commonly cited by antisemites.
Sara is also a member of Class Six of the Wexner Field Fellowship and an alumna of the
David Hartman Center at the Hartman Institute of North America. She serves as
Scholar-in-Residence at Ohev Sholom Congregation in Washington, DC and her research
and writing focus on the intersection between Jewish ethics and advancements in
technology. Sara’s writing has been published in The Atlantic, First Things, and Religion
Dispatches, as well as numerous Jewish publications.