In the Torah, Serach bat Asher, daughter of Jacob’s son Asher, is mentioned only twice. Yet strangely, these two mentions are hundreds of years apart, suggesting that she was both present among the Israelites who entered Egypt, as well as among those who entered Israel more than 400 years later.
There’s a midrash that in the Talmud, rabbis are arguing about what the Red Sea looked like when it parted. They parsed through details in texts and made academic arguments until, finally, one rabbi simply decided to ask Serach bat Asher what happened, as she was still alive.
The stories of Serach bat Asher were Rabbi Leah Berkowitz’s first exposure to what a midrash could be. Women are seldom named in the Torah. Berkowitz, 41, throughout her time studying Near Eastern and Judaic studies and journalism at Brandeis University and receiving rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, was committed to bringing those long-forgotten stories to the forefront of Jewish consciousness.
“So many things are unsaid in the Torah, so to be able to get into a character’s mind, we don’t always hear about the character’s motivations,” Berkowitz said.
“As a Jewish professional, I also started to realize, Oh, there are a lot of stories that aren’t being told,” she added.
Berkowitz is the rabbi at Congregation Kol Ami in Elkins Park, where she lives, and is beginning her sixth year in the community. Beyond her work as a pulpit rabbi, Berkowitz has a passion for sharing midrash with the next generation of Jews. In May 2022, she released “Maybe It Happened This Way: Bible Stories Reimagined” alongside co-author Erica Wovsaniker. Next month, she will release “The Moving-Box Sukkah,” published by Apples and Honey Press.
Last week, Berkowitz returned from Union for Reform Judaism Six Points Creative Arts Academy, where she served as faculty for the creative writing program for Jewish tweens and teens.
Inspired by the stories of Serach bat Asher she studied in college alongside Reform Rabbi Susan Silverman, Berkowitz wanted to make stories of Judaism’s unsung heroes — many times women — more accessible to young Jews.
Berkowitz does this on the pulpit on Shabbat mornings, but her background as a writer and Jewish summer camp alum made her interested in teaching young students.
Moreover, sharing lesser-known stories in the story felt pressing. As a young rabbi at Judea Reform Congregation in Durham, North Carolina, Berkowitz had a student approach her with a question: “There aren’t really any women to admire in the Torah,” the student said. “Why do we even bother saying their names in the prayers if they didn’t really do anything?”
Berkowitz searched for a book showing the vibrant impact of biblical women on Jewish history but found little in the way of scholarship to prove her point — not because evidence of women in the Torah didn’t exist, but because it wasn’t widely available to a young audience.
Berkowitz’s writing tries to rectify the problem. “Maybe It Happened this Way: Bible Stories Reimagined” modernizes the Torah and introduces midrash to children as a way to better understand the Torah. “The Moving-Box Sukkah,” about a boy trying to observe Sukkot amid a move to a smaller apartment with little outdoor space, similarly brings the Torah to the modern world, encouraging young people to grapple with what it means to be Jewish today.
Both are stories Berkowitz felt were needed in her teaching arsenal when she began as a rabbi.
“A lot of what I do is create materials that I needed as a Jewish professional that didn’t exist,” she said.
Growing up attending Temple Sholom in Broomall, Berkowitz was familiar with the progressive values of Reform Judaism her entire life. Her time at URJ Camp Harlam as a kid solidified her love of Judaism and writing. But even steeped in a culture that prioritized social justice, Berkowitz experienced barriers to becoming a pulpit rabbi.
While women are allowed to become rabbis in the Reform tradition — that was never a question for Berkowitz — the expectation was that they would become associate rabbis, hold supporting roles in a synagogue, or become rabbis for educational organizations or nonprofits. Ordained at 26 and wanting to become a spiritual leader at a synagogue, Berkowitz was sometimes not taken as seriously as her older male counterparts.
As past president of the Women’s Rabbinic Network, Berkowitz has tried to rectify gender inequities, such as pay disparities and parental leave, within Reform institutions. Working with the next generation of Jews, Berkowitz hopes to instill similar values.
This summer, campers at Six Points Creative Arts Academy wrote about everything from Dungeons and Dragons fanfiction to a memoir about a family’s emigration from Hong Kong.
“They’re very kind, they’re really smart, and they are very creative,” Berkowitz said. “So I’m looking forward to seeing what they do in the future.”
very interesting, information.