Danya Ruttenberg

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg
Personal life
Born	(1975-02-06) February 6, 1975 (age 49)
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Brown University, BA Religious Studies[1]
Religious life
Religion	Judaism
Denomination	Conservative Judaism (formerly)
Website	danyaruttenberg.net

Danya Ruttenberg (born February 6, 1975)^[2] is an American rabbi, editor, and author. She has been called "the Twitter rabbi" for her social media presence.^[3] She lives in Chicago.^[4]

Biography

Her family attended a Reform synagogue in Chicago, and she described herself as having been atheist around that time.^[5] Ruttenberg later became a part of the Conservative movement within Judaism.^[3]

When she was in college her mother died of breast cancer, and Ruttenberg reconsidered religion, practiced Jewish mourning rituals, which she said allowed her to "make friends with Judaism, to be open to it"; in 2008 she published a memoir of her spiritual awakening titled Surprised by God: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Religion.^[6][7][5]

She was ordained in 2008 by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles.^[8]

She served as the Senior Jewish Educator at Tufts University Hillel,^[9] and subsequently Campus Rabbi at Northwestern Hillel and Director of Education for the campus dialogue program Ask Big Questions.^[10] She served as Rabbi in Residence for the community service group Avodah.^[3]

On the evening of February 6 2017, Ruttenberg and 18 other rabbis associated with human rights organization T'ruah were arrested while protesting the Trump travel ban outside of Trump Tower.^[11] She described her arrest as a "profoundly holy experience" and compared it to sacrifices made at the Temple in Jerusalem.^[12]

In 2020, she became Scholar in Residence for the National Council of Jewish Women.^[13][14] While at the NCJW, she launched Rabbis for Repro, a reproductive rights group.^[15][16]

In 2021, she wrote an open letter condemning attempts to rehabilitate the reputation of Steven M. Cohen after his 2018 departure from Stanford University over sexual harassment. The letter was signed by 500 rabbis.^[17] In 2023, she and several other former students of the Ziegler School sent a letter to the Rabbinical Assembly regarding sexism, homophobia, and sexual harassment at the school. The letter asked for an investigation and a change in leadership.^[18][19]

In July 2024, she announced that she had disaffiliated from the Conservative movement within Judaism, and was in the process of joining a different rabbinical association.^[20]

Awards and honors

• Finalist for Surprised by God – Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, 2010^[21]
• "36 Under 36"^[a] – The Jewish Week, 2010^[22]
• Top 50 most influential women rabbis – The Jewish Daily Forward, 2010^[23]
• Finalist for Nurture the Wow – National Jewish Book Award 2016
• Parents' Choice selection for Nurture the Wow – PJ Library, 2016
• 21 Faith Leaders to Watch – Center for American Progress, 2021^[14]
• Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice Award for On Repentance and Repair – 72nd National Jewish Book Awards, 2023.^[24]

Bibliography

Writer

• On Repentance And Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World (2022)^[25]
• Nurture the Wow (2016)
• Surprised by God (2008)

Editor

• Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices: War and National Security with Elliot Dorff (2010)^[23]
• Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices: Sex and Intimacy with Elliot Dorff (2010)
• Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices: Social Justice with Elliot Dorff (2010)
• The Passionate Torah: Sex and Judaism (2009)^[1]
• Yentl's Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism (2001)^[26]
• Lilith, contributing editor
• Women in Judaism, contributing editor^[1]

Contributor

Book chapters Ruttenberg has written include:

• Priority Lists: A Dialogue on Judaism, Feminism, and Activism, with Rebecca Alpert in Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Call for Justice (2013)
• The Hermenuetics of Curiosity: On Reclamation, in New Jewish Feminism (2008)
• Fringe Me Up, Fringe Me Down: On Getting Dressed in Jerusalem, in Bitchfest: 10 Years of Writing From the Pages of Bitch Magazine (2006)
• Towards a New Tzniut, in Yentl's Revenge (2001)

Ruttenberg has also published pieces in The Atlantic, The Forward, The Huffington Post, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, Kveller, The New York Times, Newsweek, Time Magazine, Salon, The San Francisco Chronicle, Sojourners, Tablet Magazine, and The Washington Post, and other publications.^[27]

Footnotes

1. 36 most influential leaders under age 36

References

1. Danya Ruttenberg, ed. (June 2009). The passionate Torah: Sex and Judaism. NYU Press. ISBN 9780814776346. Archived from the original on 2024-04-04. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
2. Ruttenberg, Danya (6 February 2006). "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEEEE". danyaruttenberg.net. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
3. Levitt, Aimee (August 21, 2019). "The Twitter rabbi". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
4. Pickus, Abigail (2016-03-30). "JUF News : Parenthood as a spiritual practice". JUF News. Archived from the original on 2024-07-13. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
5. Herschthal, Eric. "Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, 35". jewishweek.timesofisrael.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-02. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
6. "Rabbi's book explores her Jewish revival in the city by the Bay | j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California". Jweekly.com. 2008-10-16. Archived from the original on 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
7. Dorff, Elliot N.; Ruttenberg, Danya (2010). Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices ... - Danya Ruttenberg - Google Books. Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 9780827611245. Archived from the original on 2024-04-04. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
8. "Introducing Some of the Jewish World's Newest Rabbis –". Forward.com. Archived from the original on 2011-12-17. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
9. "Hillel Names Six New Senior Jewish Educators". Hillel.org. Archived from the original on 2012-04-03. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
10. "Nurture the Wow: Q&A with Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg". Hillel.org. Archived from the original on 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
11. Moynihan, Colin (2017-02-07). "About 20 Rabbis Arrested During Protest Over Trump Travel Ban". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2020-12-17. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
12. Ruttenberg, Danya (2017-02-09). "I'm a rabbi who was arrested protesting Trump's travel ban. It was a holy act". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
13. "Welcome 117th Congress!". National Council of Jewish Women. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
14. Graves-Fitzsimmons, Guthrie (May 20, 2021). "21 Faith Leaders To Watch in 2021". Center for American Progress. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
15. Ruttenberg, Danya (June 14, 2022). "My Religion Makes Me Pro-abortion". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
16. "More than 1,000 'Rabbis for Repro' work for abortion rights. Their fight just got tougher". The Forward. 2021-09-02. Archived from the original on 2023-04-28. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
17. Hanau, Shira; Bachner, Michael (2021-03-26). "500 Jewish clergy pan comeback attempt of academic accused of sexual misconduct". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2024-07-13. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
18. Keene, Louis (2023-04-17). "Former rabbinical students complain to Conservative movement about sexism at seminary". The Forward. Archived from the original on 2024-07-13. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
19. Keene, Louis (2024-06-18). "Investigation says many students at LA rabbinical school experienced sexism and homophobia but it was not 'systematic'". The Forward. Archived from the original on 2024-06-30. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
20. "Danya Ruttenberg". Facebook. 2024-07-10. Archived from the original on 2024-07-13. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
21. "2010 Sami Rohr Prize Finalists". Jewish Book Council. 2009-11-23. Archived from the original on 2009-12-28. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
22. Eric Herschthal (2010-06-15). "Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, 35". The Jewish Week. Archived from the original on 2010-12-29. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
23. "About". Danya Ruttenberg. Archived from the original on 2007-07-11. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
24. Silow-Carroll, Andrew (January 18, 2023). "Michael Twitty's 'Koshersoul,' a memoir of food and identity, named Jewish book of the year". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
25. Sharif, Marci (January 12, 2023). "How to right your wrongs in 5 steps and start the new year strong". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
26. Ruttenberg, Danya (23 October 2001). Yentl's Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism (9781580050579): Danya Ruttenberg, Susannah Heschel: Books. ISBN 1580050573.
27. "Articles". Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.