Sandy Eisenberg Sasso

Sandy Eisenberg Sasso (born January 29, 1947) is the first woman to have been ordained a rabbi in Reconstructionist Judaism. She was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia, on May 19, 1974. She is also the author of many children's books on religious topics.

Biography Youth and early life Sasso was born in 1947 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In her youth, she was very involved in her Philadelphia Reform congregation and began to consider entering the rabbinate at 16 years old, though she knew that such a role had never been open to women. During this period she studied at Gratz College.

Rabbinical school In the fall of 1969, Sasso joined the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College's second class of rabbinical students. While in school, Sandy Eisenberg married her classmate, Dennis Sasso, making them the first rabbinical couple in Jewish history.

Sasso appeared in a 2005 documentary, titled And the Gates Opened: Women in the Rabbinate, which features stories of and interviews with her, rabbi Sally Priesand, and rabbi Amy Eilberg.

On December 6, 2010, at Temple Reyim in Newton, Massachusetts, Sandy Eisenberg Sasso met for the first time with Sally Priesand, the first Reform female rabbi, Amy Eilberg, the first Conservative female rabbi, and Sara Hurwitz, considered by some to be the first Orthodox female rabbi. They and approximately 30 other women rabbis lit Hanukkah candles and then spoke about their experiences in an open forum.

In May 2013, Sasso retired as senior rabbi of Beth-El Zedeck.

Awards and honors Sasso has been honored throughout her career: Honorary Doctor of Humanities, DePauw University, 1986. Special Merit award, Vermont Book Publishers, 1992, for God's Paintbrush. Children's Books of Distinction Award finalist, 1994, for In God's Name. Best books of the year honor, Publishers Weekly, 1995, for But God Remembered: Stories of Women from Creation to the Promised Land. Best books of the year honor, Publishers Weekly, 1996, for A Prayer for the Earth. Sagamore of the Wabash award, Governor of the State of Indiana, 1995. Named among Influential Women in Indiana, Indianapolis Business Journal, 1997. Honorary D.H.L., Butler University, Indianapolis, 1999. Honorary Doctor of Divinity, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, 1999. Honorary degree, Christian Theological Seminary, 2000. Helen Keating Ott Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children's Literature, 2004. National Jewish Book Award in the Illustrated Children's Book category for The Shema in the Mezuzah: Listening to Each Other, 2012. Illustration by Joani Keller Rothenberg. The Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, 2013. The 2022 art exhibit “Holy Sparks”, shown among other places at the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum, featured art about twenty-four female rabbis who were firsts in some way; Debra Band created the artwork about Sasso that was in that exhibit.