In a comprehensive look at Jewish history, these five remarkable women have left an indelible mark on Jewish culture and society. From ancient Persia to modern-day America, these women exemplify courage, leadership, and a commitment to social justice.
Queen Esther of the Purim Story
In the 5th century BCE, there was a fateful beauty contest in the Persian Empire. Having just killed his wife, King Ahasuerus was in the market for a new one, so he hosted a beauty pageant to find his next queen. The winner was a Jewish girl named Esther, but before she met her new husband, her cousin Mordechai gave her some important advice: don't tell anyone you're Jewish. The king spent most of his time partying and drinking while his second-in-command, Haman, ran the show. When Mordechai refused to bow down to Haman, Haman asked the king for permission to kill every Jew in the empire. Unaware that his queen was Jewish, the king agreed. But when Esther revealed her identity to the king, Haman was publicly hanged. The date Haman had chosen for the genocide became a day of celebration, the Jewish holiday of Purim, which commemorates that the Jewish people are still here, thanks to Queen Esther's courage.
Asenath Barzani
While Queen Esther commanded an empire, Asenath Barzani commanded an entire Jewish community. Born in a medieval Kurdish community, Barzani was a trailblazer in a time when Jewish communities were led by men. Her father, Shmuel, had founded several yeshivas that were only open to men, but he had no sons to carry on his legacy. Hence, he did something revolutionary: he taught Barzani, hoping she would become his successor. Barzani got married, but she made her husband promise that he would never make her do any domestic work so she could focus on her Torah studies. When her father died, her husband took over the yeshiva, but it was Barzani who led the students through their rabbinic training. Barzani outlived her husband and eventually officially ran the yeshiva. According to legend, Barzani also had supernatural powers, like alerting angels to stop a synagogue fire and warding off evil by calling out the holy names of God.
Hannah Senesh
In the spring of 1944, three female parachutists from Mandatory Palestine fell from the sky in a remote part of Yugoslavia. One of them was a woman named Hannah Senesh. Senesh was on a mission to rescue whatever Jews she could from the Nazis. She had been born in Hungary and had escaped the constant antisemitism by moving to Mandatory Palestine in 1939. There, she joined the Haganah, the largest Jewish paramilitary organization in the region. The Jews of Palestine weren't going to let the Nazis ravage Europe, so they decided to send parachutists into Europe to rescue Jews. Senesh and her team linked up with Jewish partisans in Yugoslavia, but before she could save anyone, she was arrested and thrown into a Hungarian prison, where she was tortured daily. She refused to tell her captors anything or beg for mercy, and she was executed by a firing squad, facing her executioners defiantly. Senesh became a symbol of Jewish solidarity across borders, and her poem "Eli, Eli" is one of Israel's most famous folk songs.
Golda Meir
Golda Meir was the Middle East's first and thus far only female head of state. She led Israel during a difficult time, including the Yom Kippur War, when thousands died, and the public was seething, questioning why the country hadn't been better prepared. Meir was born in what is now Ukraine and remembered her father boarding up the front door and locking her in the cellar to keep her safe from the pogroms. She never forgot what it was like to hide from her neighbors' rage and refused to spend her life cowering. She moved to Mandatory Palestine in 1921 and watched as the world turned away increasingly desperate Jewish refugees, becoming even more convinced that the Jewish people needed strength, not just the world's sympathy. After the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, Meir became one of only two women to sign the country's declaration of independence. Though she faced controversies and ultimately resigned, Meir remains an icon, a complicated and fascinating figure who embodied strength and humanity.
Bella Abzug
Bella Abzug was a Jewish woman who campaigned tirelessly for social justice causes. Even as a young girl, she defied gender norms, refusing to accept that only boys could say the Mourner's Kaddish for their deceased parents. As she grew up, Abzug continued breaking down barriers by earning a law degree and fighting for labor and civil rights. In 1970, she ran for congress and won, and in 1974, she introduced the first-ever federal bill supporting gay rights, known as the Equality Act of 1974. Abzug was particularly interested in defending Jewish rights, including the right to self-determination, and she used her platform to argue that Zionism was a liberation movement when the UN declared it to be racism in 1975. Abzug fought for social justice causes until she died in 1998, mobilizing women worldwide to create a more just world.
