Sandy Eisenberg Sasso

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. 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. ==Works==

Children's books • ''God's Paintbrush'', illustrated by Annette C. Compton, Jewish Lights Publishing (Woodstock, VT), 1992. • ''In God's Name'', illustrated by Phoebe Stone, Jewish Lights Publishing (Woodstock, Vermont), 1994. • But God Remembered: Stories of Women from Creation to the Promised Land, Jewish Lights Publishing (Woodstock, Vermont), 1995. • ''A Prayer for the Earth: The Story of Naamah, Noah's Wife'', illustrated by Bethanne Andersen, Jewish Lights Publishing (Woodstock, Vermont), 1996. • God in Between, illustrated by Sally Sweetland, Jewish Lights Publishing (Woodstock, Vermont), 1998. • ''For Heaven's Sake'', illustrated by Kathryn Kunz Finney, Jewish Lights Publishing (Woodstock, Vermont), 1999. • ''God's Paintbrush'', Jewish Lights Publishing (Woodstock, Vermont), 1999. • ''What Is God's Name?'', Jewish Lights Publishing (Woodstock, Vermont), 1999. • God Said Amen, Jewish Lights Publishing (Woodstock, Vermont), 2000. • Cain and Abel: Finding the Fruits of Peace, illustrated by Joani Keller Rothenberg, Jewish Lights Publishing (Woodstock, Vermont), 2001. • ''Naamah, Noah's Wife'', illustrated by Bethanne Andersen, Jewish Lights Publishing (Woodstock, Vermont), 2002. • ''Adam and Eve's First Sunset: God's New Day'', illustrated by Joani Keller Rothenberg, Jewish Lights Publishing (Woodstock, Vermont), 2003. • ''Abuelita's Secret Matzahs'', Emmis Books (Cincinnati), 2005. • Butterflies under Our Hats, Paraclete Press (Orleans), 2006. • The Shema in the Mezuzah: Listening to Each Other, Jewish Lights Publishing, 2012. • Regina Persisted: An Untold Story, illustrated by Margeaux Lucas, Apples & Honey Press, 2018. Other works • Call Them Builders: A Resource Booklet about Jewish Attitudes and Practices on Birth and Family Life, Reconstructionist Federation of Congregations and Havurot (New York), 1977. • The Voices of Children, Co-editor with Siddur Kol HaNoar, Reconstructionist Press, 2005. • ''God's Echo – Exploring Scripture with Midrash'', Paraclete Press (Orleans), 2010. • "How Jewish Women Have Come to Read the Bible: The Creating of Midrash" in The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate, CCAR Press, 2016. ==Awards and honors==

Sasso has been honored throughout her career: • 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. ==See also==