RABBI SALLY J. PRIESAND

Rabbi Sally J. Priesand, ordained on June 3, 1972, became the first woman in North America to achieve this historic milestone.  She is universally acknowledged as a pioneer who has inspired generations of women across all denominations and around the globe.

As Honorary President of CCJ, Rabbi Priesand brings pioneering leadership, mentorship, and clarity of purpose which will help guide CCJ to attract, educate, and inspire the diverse range of exceptional rabbinic leaders essential to a flourishing Jewish future in North America.

After being ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, she served as Assistant Rabbi at Stephen Free Wise Synagogue in New York City, Rabbi at Temple Beth El in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and for 25 years as Rabbi of Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls, New Jersey until she retired in 2006, becoming Rabbi Emerita.

Rabbi Priesand’s commitment to all things Jewish, to the cause of justice and peace, to equal opportunity for women, to the needs of the hungry and the homeless, and to Israel is reflected in her many organizational affiliations.  She is a member of the Women of Reform Judaism, Jewish Women International, Hadassah, the National Council of Jewish Women, the National Organization for Women and the National Breast Cancer Coalition.  She was a Founding Member of ARZA (Association of Reform Zionists of America).

Her leadership roles include the Executive Board of both the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Union for Reform Judaism, the Board of Governors of HUC-JIR, President of the Rabbinic Alumni Association, and editor of the CCAR Newsletter. Her many awards and honors include: the Woman Who Dares Award from the National Council of Jewish Women, Honorary Membership in the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the Distinguished Alumnae Award from the Alumni of Hebrew Union College. In 2010 Good Housekeeping Magazine named her one of 125 women who changed our lives and our world. In 2022 the American Jewish Archives sponsored an exhibit called Sally Paved the Way in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of her ordination. More recently in 2023, she was honored for her leadership by Interfaith Neighbors in Monmouth, New Jersey having served as President for three decades, and shortly thereafter she became President Emerita.

In addition to the Bachelor of Hebrew Letters and the Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters from HUC-JIR, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Cincinnati. In addition, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Florida International University, and an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from HUC-JIR.

Rabbi Priesand is also an accomplished author having written Judaism and the New Woman, and contributed to Women Rabbis: Exploration and Celebration as well as A Treasury of Favorite Sermons by Leading American Rabbis, and most recently to The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate, a winner of the National Jewish Book Award. In 2022, a children’s book called Sally Opened Doors was written about her by her friend and colleague, Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, who is a member of the Board of Trustees of CCJ.