Women’s Gallery: Showcasing Women in Jewish Leadership
“I’ve seen the difference it makes when women’s voices and talents are included at all levels,” says Joanne Greenaway, CEO at the London School of Jewish Studies, who as well as being a communal leader and educator is also an international lawyer who spent 10 years developing expertise in resolving Jewish divorce cases individually and systemically. For this reason, Women’s Gallery Podcast will spotlight incredible female leaders making a mark in the Jewish community. Interviewing a different woman leader in each episode, Women’s Gallery will explore different models of leadership in the context of schools, shuls, universities, batei din and every place where we can find incredible female leaders, showcasing the women defining Jewish leadership today. This LSJS podcast is powered by the Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit www.lsjs.ac.uk to continue learning with Joanne Greenaway and other LSJS educators.
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(47) Talmud for Everyone? Dr. Ayelet Hoffmann-Libson on Women, Learning, and Jewish Leadership
05/19/2026
(47) Talmud for Everyone? Dr. Ayelet Hoffmann-Libson on Women, Learning, and Jewish Leadership
On this episode of Women’s Gallery, Dr. Ayelet Hoffmann-Libson joins Joanne Greenaway for a wide-ranging conversation about women, Talmud, academia, and the future of Jewish learning. A senior lecturer in Talmud at Bar-Ilan University and a leading public-facing Torah scholar, Dr. Hoffmann-Libson reflects on her journey from studying at Pelech and Midreshet Lindenbaum to teaching at Harvard, Penn, and Yale. Together, she and Joanne explore how women entering the world of advanced Torah study are reshaping both the Beit Midrash and academia, why Talmud should not remain the domain of an elite few, and how learning Torah can become a profound framework for thinking about human existence, authority, individuality, and religious life. The conversation also examines the tensions between traditional and academic approaches to Talmud, the challenge of imposter syndrome for women in leadership, and why Dr. Hoffmann-Libson believes the next generation of Jewish women will fundamentally transform religious communities. This is a thoughtful and deeply personal discussion about Torah, truth, intellectual courage, and what it means to make the Talmud accessible to everyone. What does an observant life look like for spiritually aspirational women? Join the Women and Mitzvot course at LSJS with Joanne Greenaway, Dr. Lindsay Simmonds, and Rabbanit Rachel Weber Leshaw by signing up Find out about the Makkot Challenge with Hadran, advancing Talmud Study for Women: . Read Law and Self-Knowledge in the Talmud by Dr. Ayelet Hoffmann-Libson. today. This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit if you're looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.
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(46) Holding their pain with Dr. Aimee Baron of I Was Supposed To Have A Baby
05/06/2026
(46) Holding their pain with Dr. Aimee Baron of I Was Supposed To Have A Baby
What does it mean to hold pain that has no easy resolution? In this deeply moving conversation, Joanne Greenaway speaks with Dr. Aimee Baron about the quiet heartbreak of infertility, pregnancy loss, and unrealized expectations. Moving from working as a medical doctor to establishing an organisation in order to fill an important need in the global Jewish community, Dr. Baron brings both professional insight and profound personal experience to her work. Drawing on her own story and her work supporting others, Dr. Baron explores how individuals and communities can respond with greater sensitivity, awareness, and compassion. Together, they discuss the gap between medical care and emotional support, the unique challenges within Jewish communal life, and the power of simply being present for someone in pain. From the role of social media to the complexities of stigma and silence, this episode asks how we can better care for those whose lives have not unfolded as they had hoped. Honest, thoughtful, and profoundly human, this is a conversation about listening, understanding, and learning how to hold space when words are not enough. Visit and listen to Dr. Baron's podcast, . This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit if you're looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.
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(45) Hormonal Health the Jewish Way with Jacqueline Rose
04/21/2026
(45) Hormonal Health the Jewish Way with Jacqueline Rose
This week Joanne meets Jacqueline Rose, an award-winning integrative menopause educator, coach and hormonal health specialist based in Israel. A mother of five with a background in environmental science and yoga, Jacqueline has built a second career helping women understand the full hormonal arc of their lives, with a particular focus on perimenopause, menopause and the too-rarely-discussed post-menopause. Her approach draws on functional medicine, yoga, and a deeply Jewish lens on what it means to thrive at every life stage. They cover an enormous amount of ground: why HRT alone is never the whole answer, the five pillars Jacqueline uses to restore hormonal balance (stress, nutrition, sleep, movement and connection), and why "being symptomatic is not a prerequisite for being a menopausal woman." Jacqueline introduces a fourth, often invisible category of symptoms: spiritual ones. The identity shifts, the changing relationship to giving, to self, that so many women experience but have no language for. They also discuss what Jewish women specifically need to hear about their hormonal life cycle, the silence around post-menopause, and the quietly radical idea that menopause is not a decline but a bridge to a woman's most purposeful stage. It's a wide-ranging, practically grounded and genuinely moving conversation about reclaiming the language of women's health from the inside out. Find Jacqueline's podcast Things I Want My Daughters to Know at . This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit if you're looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.
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(44) Unifying a fractured nation by regrowing the land, with Danielle Abraham
04/06/2026
(44) Unifying a fractured nation by regrowing the land, with Danielle Abraham
This week Joanne meets Danielle Abraham: Oxford-educated, Woodford-raised, and now one of the most driven women rebuilding Israel from the ground up. As founder and CEO of Regrow Israel, Danielle mobilised emergency support for farming communities devastated in the Western Negev and northern Israel in the wake of October 7th, raising over $30 million and supporting more than 110 farms. She is also co-founder of Volcani International Partnerships, an Israeli NGO tackling global food and nutrition insecurity through Israel's world-leading agricultural expertise. In this conversation, Danielle unpacks the systematic, premeditated agricultural terrorism of October 7th, in which 40 irrigation control boxes were targeted and destroyed on a single kibbutz alone. She explains why rebuilding the farms was the only possible foundation for rebuilding the communities, and why agriculture sits at the very heart of Israel's identity. Together they move from the pioneering spirit of Ben Gurion's Israel to today's border farmers, from tikkun olam and Israel's global agricultural leadership to whether the land can be a unifying force for a fractured nation. A conversation brimming with hard-won hope and a powerful case for a part of Israel's story that is still largely untold. This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit if you're looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.
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(43) Teaching Israel with Courage and Complexity, with Sarah Gordon, VP of Unpacked for Educators
03/24/2026
(43) Teaching Israel with Courage and Complexity, with Sarah Gordon, VP of Unpacked for Educators
This LSJS podcast is powered by the Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous sponsor. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. Talk to us at womensgallery@lsjs.ac.uk and tell us who you’d like to hear interviewed. Joanne Greenaway sits down with Sarah Gordon, Vice President of Unpacked for Educators, to explore one of the most urgent challenges facing Jewish education today: how to teach Israel in a time of war, polarization, and digital misinformation. Drawing on years in the classroom and her current work supporting thousands of educators worldwide, Sarah explains why traditional advocacy models are no longer enough, and why today’s students need not just connection, but literacy and the courage to engage complexity. Together they discuss how Israel education has evolved, the impact of social media on young Jews, and the delicate balance teachers must strike between nurturing love for Israel and encouraging honest questions. They also explore practical strategies: teaching students how to navigate difficult conversations, helping schools define their values, and building resilience so that young people leave school not just with passion but with understanding. The conversation touches on the emotional realities of teaching Israel during wartime, the power of culture and personal relationships in building connection, and what Jewish educators can learn from the Passover Seder about curiosity, storytelling, and shared journey. This is a thoughtful and hopeful conversation about what it means to educate the next generation of Jewish leaders in complicated times. This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit us at if you’re looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.
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(42) Writing prayers for our times with Rachel Sharansky Danziger
03/10/2026
(42) Writing prayers for our times with Rachel Sharansky Danziger
What can I do to hold a fractured people together in a time of grief, disagreement, and uncertainty? Joanne Greenaway speaks with Jerusalem-based writer and educator Rachel Sharansky Danziger, exploring through her works how prayer, storytelling and leadership can create space for understanding and collaboration even amid deep disagreement. Rachel’s upbringing as the daughter of former Soviet refusenik and Israeli activist leader Natan Sharansky and Avital Sharansky shaped her belief that individual voices can make a difference. Rachel reflects on the emotional complexity of Israeli society since October 7 and discusses prayer as a language of hope that allows people with opposing views to stand together in yearning. She reflects on what’s unique in women’s leadership and how that is needed today. Rachel’s central conviction shines throughout the conversation: even in moments of profound uncertainty, one person can effect change. Az Nashir by Rachel Sharansky Danziger and Anne Gordon can be purchased from: Amazon US at Amazon UK at This LSJS podcast is powered by The Walder Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Visit us at if you’re looking to explore and strengthen your Jewish identity.
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(41) Defending women's rights with Professor Ruth Halperin-Kaddari
02/24/2026
(41) Defending women's rights with Professor Ruth Halperin-Kaddari
I’m honoured to introduce my long-time role model, Professor Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, a legal scholar and internationally recognized advocate for women's rights. We talk about her pioneering work documenting sexual violence during the October 7th attacks in Israel through the DINA Project, and how she has worked to ensure survivors' experiences are recognized and addressed on both a national and international level. We also delve into her decades-long efforts to advance women’s rights in Israel, particularly through the Ruth and Emmanuel Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women. Ruth explains how the center combines legal aid, advocacy, and research to support women navigating family law and divorce, while pushing for broader systemic change. In spite of a system she feels is broken, Ruth is hopeful and persevering in her work from within legal and religious systems to create lasting impact. This episode is a fascinating look at courage, leadership, and the ongoing fight for gender justice in Israel and beyond. 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 who you’d like to hear interviewed.
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(40) Supporting Women Through Judaism’s Most Personal Questions, with Rabbanit Yaffa Setton
02/10/2026
(40) Supporting Women Through Judaism’s Most Personal Questions, with Rabbanit Yaffa Setton
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 who you’d like to hear interviewed. Meet Rabbanit Yaffa Setton - Yoetzet Halacha, rebbetzen, educator and community leader serving the Syrian Sephardic communities of Brooklyn and Deal, New Jersey. Between teaching high school by day and answering halachic questions at all hours, Yaffa occupies a unique and trusted space in the lives of the women she supports. Follow her journey through advanced Torah learning — from Nishmat’s Yoetzet Halacha training to the International Halacha Scholars Program and now Ematai’s groundbreaking end-of-life care fellowship. We reflect on the kinds of sensitive, complex questions women bring her: mikvah, fertility, medical decisions, and moments of real vulnerability. We explore the delicate balance between guidance and psak, the importance of creating safe spaces to ask, and why sometimes simply having someone who understands makes all the difference. We also talk about the strength and warmth of the Syrian community she serves, teaching Torah across generations of the same families, and the models of leadership that inspire her most - particularly Sarah’s insight and Miriam’s courage to step forward without being asked. It’s a thoughtful, grounded conversation about leading with both knowledge and heart. Hear from Chana Henkin, founder of the Yoetzet Halacha programme: Book the course: Women & Mitzvot, featuring Joanne Greenaway:
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(39) Combating Campus Antisemitism with The British Zioness, Tali Smus
01/27/2026
(39) Combating Campus Antisemitism with The British Zioness, Tali Smus
Jo meets Tali Smus, known online as The British Zioness - a university student, activist, and unapologetic Jewish voice in the UK. Raised in a religious Jewish home in London, Tali has become a prominent advocate for Jewish pride and against antisemitism on campus at King’s College London while also building a significant online platform through her writing, speaking, and social media presence. Jo and Tali explore how a young woman finds her voice in hostile environments - from confronting antisemitism at university to navigating activism and hate online. Tali reflects on public speaking without formal training, imposter syndrome, social media as a tool for advocacy, and the emotional toll of being a visible Jewish and Zionist woman. The conversation also examines campus culture, institutional responses to antisemitism, collaboration versus solo activism, and the pressures facing this generation of students. 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 who you’d like to hear interviewed.
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(38) Bridging differences to create social change, with Dr. Aliza Lavie
01/13/2026
(38) Bridging differences to create social change, with Dr. Aliza Lavie
Aliza Lavie moves seamlessly between public leadership, scholarship, culture and creativity. A former Member of Knesset, best-selling author and leading scholar of Jewish culture, Aliza has spent her career amplifying women’s voices and strengthening connections across the Jewish world. From founding global initiatives that revive women’s prayer and heritage, to shaping national conversations on religion, state and gender equality, her work bridges Jewish tradition and contemporary life. As a senior academic, cultural entrepreneur and visionary leader, Aliza offers a rare perspective on how women’s leadership can transform Jewish communal and spiritual life across generations. We discuss working in the knesset, creating change at this difficult time, and the power of bringing together diverse groups of women. We talk about clarity of mission, giving a voice to those who don’t have one, finding leadership in unexpected places and the vital aguna legislation Aliza passed that impacted my work at the Bet Din so much. It’s a broad conversation that bounces from prayer to politics to chessed, united by Aliza’s vision of bringing back our collective knowledge to create tools for the present. Aliza’s website collecting women’s prayers can be found at: Her book, Iconic Jewish Women, can be purchased on . 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 who you’d like to hear interviewed.
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(37) Michele Weiss, Orthodox Mayor-Elect: Jewish Values in American Politics
12/30/2025
(37) Michele Weiss, Orthodox Mayor-Elect: Jewish Values in American Politics
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 puts her children firmly first yet still manages, as she puts it, “to do a couple of other things.” Our conversation flies from spirituality to imposter syndrome to Trump and Israel to achdut in Cleveland to raising a family, with the super-relatable Michele calmly explaining her roles and views in it all, making it look almost easy. 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 who you’d like to hear interviewed.
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(36) Guiding young women through transitions, with Rabbanit Shayna Goldberg
12/16/2025
(36) Guiding young women through transitions, with Rabbanit Shayna Goldberg
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, how she empowers them to take responsibility for their own decisions, how she helps them hear themselves in this process, and her conscious aim for lasting rather than drastic change. We cover the changes she’s seen in her career, a move towards questioning authority in her students' search for meaning, and the growing hunger to know how halachic decisions are made, as well as what motivates her to write and the surprising way in which that began. We also touch on the growing world of female leadership, contrasts between the secular and Jewish worlds in these areas, and our hopes for the future. Shayna’s book, What Do You Really Want? can be purchased from . This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you.
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(35) Danielle Chaimovitz: The well-travelled shlichim of Europe
12/02/2025
(35) Danielle Chaimovitz: The well-travelled shlichim of Europe
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 she's discovered between communities, and how that's affected her leadership style. Our new beginner's Gemara course starts this Thursday, 4th December - a deep yet accessible course to help students feel confident navigating the Talmud. Find out more and book at . 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 who you’d like to hear interviewed.
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(34) Holding a community - with Rebbetzen Yael Roodyn
11/18/2025
(34) Holding a community - with Rebbetzen Yael Roodyn
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 Computer Vision and Image Programming, Yael began her professional life at KPMG Tel Aviv as a trainee actuary. She later taught in several seminaries in Jerusalem, and now, as well as being Rebbetzen of her shul, handles Aish UK's Campus Follow Up for women. Yael and her husband are blessed with eight children. Our conversation reveals a deeply thought-through set of decisions which led Yael to where she is today, the theme of which is finding the right balance of caring for others, bringing up her family, and developing herself. Yael shares creative leadership guidance, self-care principles and wisdom that can help us all feel more balanced, productive and fulfilled.
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(33) Uncovering Halacha for Women Today, with Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash
11/06/2025
(33) Uncovering Halacha for Women Today, with Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash
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 fearless, richly sourced exploration of women’s ritual obligations, religious identity and sexuality in Jewish law. Nechama’s teaching combines rigorous text study with a rare sensitivity to lived experience. Link to the book:
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(32) Transforming the halachic landscape, with Nishmat founder Rabbanit Chana Henkin
10/22/2025
(32) Transforming the halachic landscape, with Nishmat founder Rabbanit Chana Henkin
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 with her late husband, Rav Yehuda Henkin ztz"l, she founded the Yoatzot Halacha programme, training women experts in Jewish law and women's health, whose work has changed the way halachic guidance is sought and given across the Orthodox world. A beloved teacher and visionary, Rabbanit Henkin has received honorary doctorates from both Bar-Ilan and Yeshiva Universities and was awarded Israel’s prestigious Agrest Prize for innovative religious education. She reflects on resilience amid personal loss, explains the vacuum that prompted her to start the Yoatzot Halacha programme, discusses continuing her late husband’s work on women in halacha and demonstrates how halacha has given agency to women. We discuss the difference between a yoetzet and a rabbi, and the changing relationships between women and rabbis in the information age, and she inspires us with a message about serving the community in the future. Responsa on Contemporary Jewish Women's Issues (New Expanded Edition) is available . To access our full LSJS programme of learning, visit . Our new women’s gemara course, A Taste of Talmud starts on Wed 22nd October. .
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(31) Truth Lived, Not Just Truth Learned: The Enduring Legacy of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l, with Joanna Benarroch
10/01/2025
(31) Truth Lived, Not Just Truth Learned: The Enduring Legacy of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l, with Joanna Benarroch
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 keep seeking and writing, the far-reaching plans he made and high standards he held himself to, as well as his relationship-first approach and genuine interest in people and what made them tick. Joanna Benarroch talks about her own trajectory as a behind-the-scenes leader and the privileged position she found herself in, as well the explosion in popularity of Rabbi Sacks right across Israeli society since his death and her mission now, post-aliyah The Rabbi Sacks & the Scholars LSJS course begins this November with a free taster class, Judaism at the crossroads of tradition and modernity. Discover the beauty and clarity of his teachings. More info and book at: .
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(30) Realistic teshuva with Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble
09/18/2025
(30) Realistic teshuva with Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble
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. Yosefa teaches Tanach, Biblical Exegesis, and Jewish Thought at Migdal Oz Beit Midrash, lectures at Herzog College and Herzog Global, and serves as a Yoetzet Halacha and madrichat kallot. She’s also a member of the second cohort of Sacks Scholars and hosts a widely acclaimed weekly Parsha podcast for Matan Women’s Institute for Torah Study, alongside a new show on women and mitzvot with Shayna Goldberg. In our conversation, we dive into her journey from Albany, NY to Efrat, the mentors who shaped her, and how she balances spiritual growth, leadership, and daily life. We explore topics we’re all thinking about as we approach Rosh Hashana including personal growth, very practical methods for teshuva, habits that foster growth, differences between Israel and the diaspora regarding women's roles and leadership, and where we have and haven’t made progress in women’s learning. To learn about the parasha in Yosefa’s unique style, visit the . Stretch your mind and soul through ideas based learning in free and paid classes, courses and events - visit the new LSJS website at .
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(29) Innovation with patience: Jo Grose, CEO of the United Synagogue
09/04/2025
(29) Innovation with patience: Jo Grose, CEO of the United Synagogue
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 United Synagogue (US) is the main umbrella body of centrist Orthodoxy in the UK, an influential organisation with over 60 synagogues and responsibility for Jewish life “from cradle to grave.” We discuss how a CEO can find honest feedback and people who will stretch them, the value of developing skills outside the Jewish community, rapidly responding to October 7th, the male-female dynamic at the US including the more challenging informal moments, successfully professionalising the role of rebbetzens, allowing for innovation in a traditional framework, and so much more. Having had the privilege of working alongside Jo both at the US and in my role at LSJS, I know Jo as a consummate professional, an inspiring leader, and a wonderful person. It’s been eye opening to explore her journey, her vision for Jewish communal life, and her reflections on leadership.
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(28) Following Your North Star, with Joanne Greenaway and Dr. Erica Brown
08/19/2025
(28) Following Your North Star, with Joanne Greenaway and Dr. Erica Brown
***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 Brown does a fantastic job of probing me and we discuss humanity, finding your north star, what it means to be role model, creating sisterhoods, career pivots, holding internal tensions and so much more. Many, many thanks to Erica for agreeing to interview me. Erica is Vice Provost for Values and Leadership at Yeshiva University and Founding Director of its Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership, as well as a prior guest on the podcast, friend and mentor. Erica’s book, Morning has Broken: Faith after October 7th is available at . This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you.
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(27) A voice for the hostages with Dr. Haya Langerman
08/05/2025
(27) A voice for the hostages with Dr. Haya Langerman
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. This week I am delighted to be joined by Dr. Haya Langerman. Haya is a medical advisor with a doctorate in diabetes who has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 30 years. For the last 21 months she has been on the frontlines of support for hostage families and fighting for their return (after 669 days now), as a lead volunteer for the Hostage and Missing Families Forum. We discuss what prompted Haya to drop everything and take up this work when the war started, her decision not to go back to Israel at that time, how the Forum handles the rapidly changing situation, and what everyone can do to help the families of the hostages.
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(26) Exposing and destigmatising sexual abuse, with Shana Aaronson of Magen
07/22/2025
(26) Exposing and destigmatising sexual abuse, with Shana Aaronson of Magen
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. This week I am delighted to be joined by Shana Aaronson, Executive Director of , where she first began as Social Services Coordinator, supporting families where children had been physically and sexually abused. Magen is dedicated to creating safer Jewish communities in Israel and around the world by developing and implementing programs that foster transparency, prioritizing the well-being of victims, holding perpetrators accountable, and eliminating the stigma surrounding sexual abuse. Their work spans advocacy, education, and direct support for survivors. Shana also volunteers as a Jewish marital law coach and birth assistant for women with histories of sexual and physical abuse. She lives with her family in Mateh Yehuda, Israel. We speak about the difficult but essential work of confronting abuse in religious communities, the role of communal silence, how to shift shame from victim to perpetrator, and what change could look like when survivors are believed and supported. This is a wide-ranging and powerful conversation about truth telling, accountability, and building safer futures. If you're affected by the issues discussed, please reach out for help. Some community resources are: – Supporting Jewish women affected by domestic or sexual abuse – Child protection and abuse prevention in religious communities
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(25) Scaling the heights of halachic scholarship, with Rabbanit Chamutal Shoval
07/08/2025
(25) Scaling the heights of halachic scholarship, with Rabbanit Chamutal Shoval
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. I’m delighted to welcome Rabbanit Chamutal Shoval, Director of the Susi Bradfield Women’s Institute of Halachic Leadership at Midreshet Lindenbaum, and a graduate of its rigorous five‑year program as a Morat Hora’a and Manhiga Ruchanit - empowering women with halachic authority and spiritual leadership and enabling female halachic leaders to claim their place in discourse, advisory roles, synagogues, schools, and more, both in Israel and abroad. She spent two transformative years, alongside her husband and five daughters, at Ohr Torah Stone in Springfield, NJ teaching Talmud and Jewish law at Rae Kushner Hebrew Academy. A WIHL alumna, Chamutal follows in the footsteps of trailblazer Rabbanit Devora Evron. I also reflect on my own journey through the IHSP flagship program and the privilege of learning under Chamutal’s emerging mission. We explore role models and trailblazing pathways, titles and recognition; how we create meaningful roles for women in the synagogue setting; and encouraging more women to write halacha, publish books, build communities and shape the next 20 years of Jewish life. Gain rare insight into the mindset and mission of this influential female halachic leader today - her vision for the future, her personal journey, and her impact on Jewish leadership globally.
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(24) Fighting breast cancer through humour, with Gila Pfeffer
06/24/2025
(24) Fighting breast cancer through humour, with Gila Pfeffer
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. Gila Pfeffer is an award winning author, breast cancer prevention advocate and mum of four. Her recent book, , was the 2024 winner of the Gilda Women’s Book award and had me laughing hysterically and sobbing in equal measure. She describes it as “about losing both my parents to cancer, trying not to get cancer myself, then getting it anyway”. We answer questions like: why would you choose humour as a vessel for discussing breast cancer and loss? How do you navigate the publishing world as Jew in the current climate? What do you say at a shivah? And, why are there so many photos online of you holding up two large, round objects? To find out more about breast cancer awareness, take a look at the resources below: Cancer Research UK: The Breast Cancer Research Foundation: Jnetics - Improving the prevention and diagnosis of Jewish genetic disorders: Sharsheret - the Jewish breast and ovarian cancer community: #FeelItOnTheFirst
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(23) Finding common ground through feminine traits, with Sharon Rosen
06/10/2025
(23) Finding common ground through feminine traits, with Sharon Rosen
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. Today I’m honoured to welcome Sharon Rosen, a leader in interfaith peace building in Israel and around the world. Sharon served as Search for Common Ground’s Global Director of Religious Engagement from 2017 until recently. She also co-founded and directed Education for Life, an NGO that provides tools for the development and wellbeing of children within state educational systems. She was also a faculty member at the Jerusalem Center for Near East Studies, teaching courses on Bible, gender, and contemporary relevance. From her father’s survival as a prisoner of war and how that projected the family into Israel as some of the first olim, to the challenge of seeking female leaders to connect and build bridges with in the Muslim world, this conversation is really wide-ranging. Sharon is an expert on designing and implementing interreligious programming that builds collaboration across religions and promotes peace. She is also an experienced facilitator in conflict resolution and strategic planning. Her advice for women and for the world, to amplify feminine traits of caring, compassion, mediation and dialogue over dominance, strength, assertiveness and competition, demonstrates the decades of experience it comes from.
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(22) Can women do that? Nicole Duke, Kashrut Supervisor & Burial Advisor
05/27/2025
(22) Can women do that? Nicole Duke, Kashrut Supervisor & Burial Advisor
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. Rabbanit Nicole Duke is not an obvious leader, but her guidance behind the scenes at crucial times and life cycle events helps countless people through both difficult and wonderful times. First she is a shomeret, a kashrut supervisor enabling kosher functions to take place. She is also responsible for the chevra kadisha - the organisation dedicated to caring for the deceased and preparing them for burial - at the main Orthodox cemetery in London, and she single-handedly runs a hotline advising, guiding and arranging help for people who have just lost a loved one. We discuss the emergence of women into these roles and what women can bring to the world of kashrut in particular, as well as revealing some of the little known world of what happens when a person passes away.
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(21) Sara Wolkenfeld @ Sefaria: Opening up access to Torah in the digital age
05/13/2025
(21) Sara Wolkenfeld @ Sefaria: Opening up access to Torah in the digital age
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit 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.
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(20) Szonja Komoroczy: Breathing life into Hungary’s enigmatic Jewish community
04/29/2025
(20) Szonja Komoroczy: Breathing life into Hungary’s enigmatic Jewish community
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. What’s it like to be part of the Jewish community in Hungary? Home to the second largest synagogue in the world yet a hidden Jewish population that no-one can count, how does it function and what will its future be? Jewish educator, historian and tour guide Szonja Komoroczy is Vice Rector at the Jewish University of Budapest and has lectured and published extensively in English, Hungarian, Hebrew, and Yiddish. As an educator, her passion is to tell the story behind the facts, and, as a tour guide, to show the stories behind various layers of a city or region - historical, social, and architectural, alike. Behind the scenes, she’s something of an unofficial ambassador of the community. With a PhD and two MA degrees from Oxford and Budapest, Szonja’s main field of research and interest is Hungarian Jewish history and cultural history, and she is especially intrigued by issues related to changes in national identity and language choice. I think Szonja’s story and that of Hungarian Jewry is not well enough known and I’m really happy for her to share it more widely on this podcast. For more Jewish learning journeys, connect with us at .
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(19) Pesach: The power of openness to change, with Tanya White
04/15/2025
(19) Pesach: The power of openness to change, with Tanya White
This podcast is powered by LSJS. Visit to learn about our Jewish learning journeys & find something that suits you. Dr Tanya White is a much loved teacher at LSJS and Matan, and a lecturer in Jewish Philosophy at Bar Ilan University. Tanya lives in Israel with her husband and four girls, and she writes, teaches and lectures on Tanach and Jewish Philosophy. She has a very unique style that is both inspiring and intellectually stimulating and our students here at lsjs.ac.uk love her. I always learn so much from her approach and her take on ideas – really profound and really personal and authentic. We discuss bridging the gap between israel and the Diaspora, responding to October 7 as an educator, what’s next on the horizon for Orthodox Jewish women, and bringing Pesach Torah concepts to life. For more Pesach learning and other learning journeys, connect with us at .
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(18) Strategic investing in Women’s Orthodox Torah Leadership with Ann Pava and Elizabeth Walder
03/31/2025
(18) Strategic investing in Women’s Orthodox Torah Leadership with Ann Pava and Elizabeth Walder
Today, we’re live! I’m at the Orthodox Women’s Torah Leadership Convening with Ann Pava and Elizabeth Walder, trailblazers of Jewish philanthropy, strategically growing the field of Orthodox Jewish women’s Torah leadership. As we sit onstage at the Convening that Ann and Elizabeth made happen, they reveal how they choose where to invest, and how they go forward as partners with those organisations lucky enough to receive their help. We marvel at how far this field has come - programmes in learning and leadership that are now available for women and girls, and positions held by women that were traditionally reserved for men. We discuss the challenges for Orthodox women seeking a career in Torah leadership as well the hurdles we’ve overcome, and the work still to do in this field. Anne Pava is the president of . An activist, philanthropist, thought leader and community builder, she loves to mentor and empower women, especially to lead, and to make the world a better place and has been pivotally to the Prizmah Centre for Jewish Day Schools, the Jewish Federations of North America, the Hebrew High School of New England and the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusets. She is involved in many other boards and has won an award for outstanding women philanthropists. Elizabeth Walder is president and executive director of the and the board chair of Walder Operations. She is a lawyer by training and led a multicultural immigration law practise helping thousands of immigrants reach their full potential. Later she served as the chief sustainability officer at IDT before establishing The Walder Foundation with her husband. Through its Jewish Life pillar the Walder Foundation founds many initiatives to empower Orthodox women’s Torah leadership and Elizabeth was awarded the Hinda Institute’s Heroines of Hope award in 2022 given to a visionary broad-minded philanthropist who personifies leadership and compassion. Special thanks to Dr. Elana Stein Hain, who organized the convening. (You can hear Jo's Women's Gallery interview with her .) Listen to Jo's interview with Rabbanit Michelle Cohen Farber .
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