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General
Meesh Hammer-Kossoy (October 1969 - present), also known as Rabbi Meesh Hammer-Kossoy, is an American-Israeli who became one of Israel’s first female Orthodox Rabbis in 2015 [1]. She works at the Non-Denominational Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, teaching the Talmud and Rabbinics, Social Justice and Ethics.[2]. The title of Rabbi has changed the perspectives of students and peers around her, with her receiving “dozens of calls from students and community members suddenly seeking out guidance in light of her new status”[3]. She uses her beliefs rooted in the Jewish principles of faith, humility, and responsibility to guide her in her religious role. Her orthodox values are essential to the way she moves through her life, with the belief that she is a ‘chain in the tradition’ with faith that God will push events in the right direction throughout time.
Education
Meesh Hammer-Kossoy, originally from Washington, D.C., obtained a B.A. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Talmud from New York University [4]. Her dissertation explored the criminal punishment system in the Talmudic period [5]. After completing her studies at Beit Midrash Har’el, she received Orthodox ordination from Rabbi Herzl Hefter and Rabbi Daniel Sperber [6]. From early on, she knew that she wanted to become a teacher, however, becoming a Rabbi was a door that opened for her later in life that she had never imagined in earlier years.
Family life
Meesh Hammer-Kossoy grew up in a family of what she calls ‘assimilated Conservative family’ [7]. She testifies to how blessed she is to have a family who supports her in being her ‘best me’ whilst continuing the mission God sent her to do. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy, her husband, and their three children live in Jerusalem together. They are members of Kehillat Yedidya, a liberal Orthodox synagogue that has been at the forefront of expanding religious roles for women [8].
Activism
Meesh Hammer-Kossoy now serves as a senior leader at Beit Midrash, guiding students on their journey of learning and exploring Judaism and Jewish texts. Currently, she is serving as the Director of the Year Pogrom [9]. She discusses the deep thirst for female rabbinic leadership, highlighting the inspiration of students who see her position as breaking the glass ceiling for women and girls trying to carve out spaces in the Orthodox world or Judaism [10].
She has worked as an activist with groups and clergy members in organizing letters of protest to the government about key issues and asking families to ‘adopt’ hundreds of asylum seekers who came to Israel alone as minors with no legal status after being in Israel for years [11]. Her critiques to the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), shed light on its impediments to women’s mission to preserve and transmit their heritage.
Bibliography
Hammer-Kossoy, Meesh. “Daring Decrees and Radical Responsibility: Why Rabbinic Tikkun Olam Is Not What You Think.” Tikkun Olam: Judaism, Humanism, and Transcendence, 2015, 233–58.
Hammer-Kossoy, Meesh. “#MeToo and Sexual Harassment: A Familiar Mishnah through a News Lens.” JOFA Journal, 2019.
Hammer-Kossoy, Meesh. “Scribe: Why Is It so Easy to Fear Those Different from Ourselves?” The Forward, June 15, 2020. https://forward.com/community/448847/why-is-it-so-easy-to-fear-those-different-from-ourselve/.
Hammer-Kossoy, Michelle. “Divine Justice in Rabbinic Hands: Talmudic Reconstitution of the Penal System” Dissertation, New York University, 2005
Hammer-Kossoy, Meesh. “The Fast of Esther: Standing as One from Quarantine .” The Times of Israel , March 2020. https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-fast-of-esther-standing-as-one-from-quarantine/.
Hammer-Kossoy, Meesh. “תנך ביחד: בראשית ו: What’s in a Window?” 929, 2018. https://www.929.org.il/author/1933/post/23896.
Hammer-Kossoy, Meesh. “Daring Decrees and Radical Responsibility: Why Rabbinic Tikkun Olam Is Not What You Think.” Fixing Tikkun Olam, 2015, 231–57. https://doi.org/http://www.mesorahmatrix.com/essays/11_DaringDecreesandRadicalResponsibility.pdf.
References
editGradstein, Linda, and Moe G. says. “Interview with Rabbi Meesh Hammer-Kossoy.” Hadassah Magazine, May 14, 2018. https://www.hadassahmagazine.org/2018/04/25/interview-rabbi-meesh-hammer-kossoy/. Accessed November 20, 2024.
“Meesh Hammer-Kossoy.” Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. February 21, 2024. Accessed November 20, 2024. https://www.pardes.org.il/faculty/meesh-hammer-kossoy/#:~:text=Meesh%20is%20the%20Director%20of,her%20professional%20home%20since%201999.
Reich, Aaron. “Rabbi Meesh Hammer-Kossoy: Cultivating Pardes’s Halachic Studies.” The Jerusalem Post, July 8, 2024. Accessed November 20, 2024. https://www.jpost.com/j-spot/article-808951.
Hammer-Kossoy, Meesh. “Pardes 360: Why Orthodox Judaism Needs Women Rabbis.” Elmad: Pardes Digital Library. November 15, 2015. Accessed November 20, 2024. https://elmad.pardes.org/life-cycle/womens-issues/2015/11/pardes-360-why-orthodox-judaism-needs-women-rabbis/.