Sarah Schechter

For another person, see Sarah Schechter (producer).
Air Force Jewish Chaplain (Capt.) Rabbi Sarah Schechter leads Jewish services, wearing traditional Jewish prayer shawl (tallit), at 332 AEW Jt. Base Balad, Iraq.

Sarah Schechter is the first female rabbi in the U.S. Air Force.[1] She joined the Air Force as a chaplain candidate, and became a chaplain when she was ordained as a Reform rabbi in 2003.[2] Her father was an Air Force chaplain in 1960.[3][4]

She grew up in Manhattan, and decided to join the military immediately after the September 11 attacks, calling a recruiter on September 12.[5] Her daughter Yael Emunah was born during her military service.[6]

In 2013, she became the Jewish chaplain of the 11th Wing at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, and was featured on the chaplain section of the Air Force website.[7][8]

She wrote the piece "Personal Reflection: A Rabbi in the Military", which appears in the book The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate, published in 2016.[9][10]

  1. ^ "Wise Temple". Retrieved Sep 27, 2020.
  2. ^ "None". Archived from the original on Oct 19, 2013. Retrieved Sep 27, 2020.
  3. ^ Orlando Sentinel [dead link]
  4. ^ Shear, David (2 April 2013). "Female rabbi joins US Air Force". ynet. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  5. ^ Ain, Stewart (20 April 2007). "Passover In The Trenches". jewishweek.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved Sep 27, 2020.
  6. ^ Air Force Captain and Reform Rabbi on Life as a Military Mom – The Sisterhood – Forward.com
  7. ^ "U.S. Air Force - Chaplain". www.airforce.com. Retrieved Sep 27, 2020.
  8. ^ "Chaplain Serves as First Female Air Force Rabbi". Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  9. ^ Hirshel Jaffe (4 May 2016). "The Message of the Sacred Calling: Our Journey to True Equality | RavBlog". Ravblog.ccarnet.org. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  10. ^ Zauzmer, Julie (2012-12-14). "'I not only envisioned it. I fought for it': The first female rabbi isn't done yet". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-05-26.