Paula Reimers

Paula Reimers is an American rabbi. As of 2008 she was the rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel (Lebanon, Pennsylvania). [ Winding road leads rabbi to Valley, David Mekeel, Lebanon Daily News, December 9, 2006] Reimers is one of the first women to be ordained by the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary. [ [http://www.jewsonfirst.org/07b/capitol_ministries.html jewsonfirst.org "Capitol Ministries: Making disciples for Jesus Christ in state legislatures" (May 15, 2007)] ]

Reimers was educated at Barnard College, (A.B., 1969) M.A., Columbia University, (M.A., 1971) and the Jewish Theological Seminary (M.A., ordination, 1990.) [ [http://www.lvc.edu/religious-life/staff.aspx] ] Reimers converted from Christianity to Judaism in 1981. [ “From Jew-by-choice to rabbi: Women forging new paths,” Aleza Goldsmith, August 3, 2001, Jewish Bulletin of Northern California [http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/16555/edition_id/325/format/html/displaystory.html] [ What It Means to Be Jewish: The Voices of Our Heritage, by Ina Abrams and Ina L. Yalof, St. Martin’s Press, 2002, Page 230]

Reimers has been politically active in defense of Palestinian rights. [ Christians and a Land Called Holy: How We Can Foster Justice, Peace, and Hope, by Charles P. Lutz and Robert O. Smith, 2006, Fortress Press, p. 151] In 2001, shortly after the 9/11 atrocity, Reimers invited several Muslims to join members of Temple Emanu-El in Burbank, California in their sukkah. In order not to offend the Muslim guests, Israeli flags were removed from among the sukkah decorations, offending some of her congregants. The congregation voted not to renew her contract. [ “The Silencing of the Left?How the quest for a united front may quash the debate on Israel,” by Julie Gruenbaum Fax, The Jewish Journal, Sept. 26, 2002 [http://www.jewishjournal.com/israel/article/the_silencing_of_the_left_20020927/] ]

Reimers, a feminist, opposes using both male and female pronouns in worship. [ Is God male, female, both or neither? How should we phrase our prayers in response to God’s gender? By Ahuva Zache , I-Torah [http://urj.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=11422] ] [” God and Gender in Judaism, by Matthew Berke, First Things 64 (June/July 1996): 33-38. ]

Reimers spoke out [ [http://www.jewsonfirst.org/07b/capitol_ministries.html jewsonfirst.org "Capitol Ministries: Making disciples for Jesus Christ in state legislatures" (May 15, 2007)] ] against the Christian missionizing of Ralph Drollinger the former NBA player who now heads Capitol Ministries [ [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/misc/where/stories/080805dnspowherenow.7fa8768.html Dallas Morning News: "Ex-Mavs center Ralph Drollinger is now living by the book" (August 8, 2005] ] [ [http://www.capmin.org/ capmin.org] ] whose goal is: "Making disciples for Jesus Christ in state legislatures." [ [http://www.jewsonfirst.org/07b/capitol_ministries.html jewsonfirst.org "Capitol Ministries: Making disciples for Jesus Christ in state legislatures" (May 15, 2007)] ] [ [http://www.dailygotham.com/send/send/3876 dailygotham.com "Religious Intolerance in America"] ] Reimers further elaborated that:

:In my opinion, the 2007 Commonwealth Prayer Breakfast clearly showed state endorsement of one particular religion (Christianity) and one particular sect within that religion (evangelical Protestantism), and even one particular Christian evangelical organization, Capitol Ministries. Many specific indications would lead to this conclusion. [ [http://www.jewsonfirst.org/07b/capitol_ministries.html#reimers jewsonfirst.org "The 2007 Commonwealth Prayer Breakfast: Rabbi Paula Reimers, Congregation Beth Israel, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, May 17, 2007"] ] [ [http://www.jewsonfirst.org/07b/reimers_prayerbreakfast.pdf Rabbi Paula Rimmer: 2007 Commonwealth Prayer Breakfast" (pdf)] ]

Publications

"Feminism, Judaism, and God the Mother" (Conservative Judaism, Fall 1993)

References