Former Professor Judith Plaskow will be inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2024. MANHATTAN.EDU/COURTESY
By Mack Olmsted, Asst. Arts and Entertainment Editor
Former professor emerita of religious studies at Manhattan College Judith Plaskow has become an inductee for the National Women’s Hall of Fame for 2024.
Plaskow is one of eight inductees and has joined the ranks of over 300 national women honorees, such as Rosa Parks, Helen Keller Michelle Obama and many more.
“Plaskow’s work has remained critical in the development of Jewish feminist theology,” stated on the womenofthehall.org website. “Her most significant work, Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective, argues that the absence of female perspectives in Jewish history has negatively impacted the religion and she urges Jewish feminists to reclaim their place in the Torah and in Jewish thought.”
Plaskow didn’t believe her invitation to the Women’s Hall of Fame when she received her email, so she deleted it, but once someone from Manhattan College contacted her about being inducted into the hall of fame, Plaskow described her experience.
“I was just blown away,” Plaskow said. “I immediately thought, ‘who’s in this hall of fame?’ I looked at the list and I couldn’t believe it… Eleanor Roosevelt, Michelle Obama, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, these are all incredible women so it was just kind of mind-boggling to be among their names.”
Plaskow’s had many impacts on her students as well in the department of religious studies. She taught at Manhattan College from 1979 to 2012 and was the first female Jewish professor.
At first, Plaskow recounted that some faculty and staff weren’t too fond of her but over time, they learned to accept her and became adequate colleagues.
Former student of Plaskow and current adjunct professor Patrice Athanaisdy admired her former professor and explained that she taught one of her favorite classes. She explained that Plaskow always kept the classes interactive and was very accommodating to her students.
“She’s always been sort of a pioneer because she was a feminist within Judaism,” Athanaisdy said. “She’s always been at the forefront and always has been a scholar within her group… It’s pretty interesting that a professor of Jewish theology got to break barriers at a Catholic College. I think that shows how strong of a person she is.”
Plaskow has written six books and is a co-editor to anthologies on feminist studies in religion, which are widely used through religion education curricula throughout the nation.
She is the former president of the American Academy of Religion and also founded the “Journal of Feminist Studies and Religion” 40 years ago. The publication is also widely recognized by theological scholars nationwide.
Outside of the MC community, she is most recognized for writing the book “Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective.” Plaskow is proud of her career and admires the time she taught at Manhattan College.
“I just like to say that I felt very supported by other faculty of the College and that there was a very rich intellectual exchange among colleagues,” Plaskow said. “That was something that I enjoyed immensely. Teaching there was fantastic.”