The first woman becoming a rabbi in Denmark

For the first time in the history of Denmark a woman was ordained for rabbinate. This one turned out to be 31-years old Sandra Kviat, who had graduated from the  prestigious college “Leo Beck” in London. This year the graduates of the college have been 5 women and no man, - fyens.dk reports with a link reference to Kristeligt Dagblad. The ordainment itself took place at the end of June 2011 in the liberal synagogue in London.

For the last 63 years Sandra Kviat has been the first Danish woman, ordained for rabbinate.

Sandra Kviat explains the fact, that more and more Jewish women are becoming rabbis, this way: “We’re in the track of the National Church of Denmark from the point of view of the female clergy. In former times the women used to keep apart and nowadays they start getting increasingly involved. But I suppose it will eventually level off.”

The chief rabbi of the Danish Jewish community Bent Lexner congratulated Sandra Kviat on the ordainment and called this historical fact the “updating”.

Nevertheless, Sandra Kviat will hardly be allowed to conduct the ministration in the Orthodox synagogue in Copenhagen, in which the women usually sit apart from the men and where they must not touch Sefer Torah.

Nowadays there are about 6000-7000 Jews in Denmark.

 

 

Original text, photo: Fyens.dk