places it was predecided that women should focus on home and children), tofight on the front lines, to attend most Ivy League Universities, to take legal action against workplace sexual harrassment, to decide not to have sex with their husbands, to take birthcontrol pills if they weren’t married, or to obtain health insurance at the same monetary rate as a man (unbelievable that this didn’t change until 2010 when the Affordable Care Act was passed). [Jewish Law (halacha) has still not found a way to deal with the issue of agunot, women tied to a marriage that has ended often with civil divorce but are unable to obtain a religious divorce, get.]

With all of this progress, it is sad that the world still sees Observant Jewish women through such a dated lens.

Thank God, many of those preconceptions are false. While Observant Jewish women still face significantly more obstacles than their secular counterparts, the women profiled below have all achieved a level of professional respect in their chosen fields, as well as a way to make their Observant Jewish lifestyle meaningful and fulfilling. They are from around the world and they are each unique. 

Stacey Goldman is one Observant woman who breaks the general mold that most of the secular world has for Observant Jewish women. She not only teaches Tanach at Kohelet Yeshiva High School in Philadelphia (a position usually reserved for male rabbis), she also gives adult education classes all over the greater Philadelphia area including at Aish HaTorah, Eitz Chaim, Lower Merion Synagogue, and Hillel at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Barnard College and the U.S. Yoetzet Halacha Program of Nishmat’s Miriam Glaubach Center and currently serves as Yoetzet Halacha for the greater Philadelphia community and the Young Israel/Aish in Las Vegas. She has published reflective essays and articles on chabad.org. You can find her audio classes on YUTorah.org as well. Stacey lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband and is the happy mother of five boys, two of whom are married. A favorite easy recipe for busy nights in her home is a delicious Everything Seasoning Baked Salmon (recipe below). From pan to table in less than an hour and it looks fancy enough for a Shabbat meal as well.

Another woman who shakes off the frumpy image that the media has projected on Observant Jewish women is Dr. Leslie Ginsparg Klein. She is the Academic Dean of the Women’s Institute of Torah Seminary and College, an Orthodox Jewish college for women. Dr. Klein received her Ph.D. from New York University, where she researched the history of Orthodox girls’ education in America and the Bais Yaakov movement. She is a noted scholar, author and speaker. Highly educated, she is an alumna of Michlalah, Stern College for Women and the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, and a recipient of the New York Jewish Week’s “36 Under 36” award (2009). To quote her, “People have told me that I have shattered their stereotypes of Orthodox Jewish women.” She wrote in an article for The Times of Israel that she loves fashion, travel, and adventurous sports like rappelling and surfing, “but I know there is more to life than superficial appearances and short-term thrills.” Even with her work, speaking engagements, and community activism, her paramount focus is her family and one of her favorite treats to make for them is Chocolate Chip Cookie Sticks. She will often substitute the chocolate chips for craisins or nuts, anything to mix it up.

Jewish women are no strangers to NASA — working as engineers, as Judith Love Cohen (actor Jack Black’s mother) did in the late ‘50s through her retirement in the ‘90s, and as statisticians, like Shari Bergstein does. At the age of 20, Shari majored in Journalism and Mass Communication, earned a certificate in Business and Economics Reporting, and minored in Statistics and Operations Research at UNC – Chapel Hill, where she was the only Observant Jewish female student. Shari earned her MS in Survey Methodology Statistics from the University of Maryland – College Park. Before working for the NASA Office of Inspector General’s Advanced Data Analytics Program, Shari worked for the Department of Commerce OIG’s Data Analytics division and interned at multiple federal statistical agencies. She has consistently been in lead positions, being recognized for her work with both honors and awards. As fast paced and technical as her career is, Shari also finds time to tutor students in mathematics and to foster dogs that have been abandoned and abused. She and her husband currently live in Houston, TX. Being a long-time vegetarian turned vegan with some dietary restrictions, Shari’s kitchen is always stocked with vegetables galore. One of her favorite go-to recipes is for healthier baked onion rings to garnish roasted veggies.

Dr. Charlotte Glicksman has been a Pediatric Critical Care physician for 32 years. First in New York, then Baltimore, and for the last four years in Jerusalem’s Hadassah-Mount Scopus (Har Hatzofim) Pediatric ICU. Being a doctor working with pediatric critical care patients is a time-intensive job. Her children are grown and out of the house now, so food prep for her husband and herself is less of a challenge than when her girls were growing up. But when her children were little and she had to prepare both Friday night dinner and Shabbat day lunch, this recipe for Magic Salad (her children named it and the recipe is below) helped because it was made primarily from leftovers and could be tossed together quickly.

Identifying as an Orthodox/Chasidic Jewish woman, Gelly Asovski is from Monsey, NY and was, to her knowledge, one of the first “Heimishe” women to go to college and become a therapist. She has been practicing for twenty years as a Child and Family Therapist in her home community. Her goal has always been to bring the best of the therapy world to the Chasidic Yiddish-speaking Jewish community. She is a Registered Play Therapy Supervisor, EMDR Consultant and coordinates the EMDR HAP (Humanitarian Assistance Program) Trauma Recovery Network in her area which provides pro bono EMDR therapy in times of community crisis, natural disaster, terrorism and hate crimes. After a near-death Covid experience two years ago, she made a promise to herself that if she survived, she would create a parenting program to help women be the best moms they could be. Parenting With Gelly has now helped hundreds both online and offline, who are struggling with challenging children. 

When Gelly is not working she is all about fun and adventure! She has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, loves horseback riding, hiking and traveling. She enjoys reading nonfiction and chillaxing with friends and her family. With two grown daughters she is grandmother to two cuties and she takes her role as grandma very seriously. She jokingly refers to her fallback cooking as a commercial for the Betty Crocker Pizza Maker. If she can cook it in that she is set but when pushed for a recipe that is tried and true in her kitchen, her chicken, rice and veggie bake was the recipe she instantly went for (recipe below).

One last woman who was excited to share a bit about herself, as she is a huge fan of UNORTHOBOXED Magazine, is Dr Sandra Bloom. Sandra is a doctor of Veterinary Medicine, trained at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical School (one of the most prestigious veterinary schools in the country) and she works full time at Falls Road Animal Hospital. Before she became a veterinarian, she worked in the planning department of the Jewish Federation. She is a wife, mother to an almost-three year old and has two cats. She is also a breast cancer survivor. Her plate is full and far from the average stereotypical life that is often portrayed in the media. Mixed into her busy schedule she still finds time to make a delicious dessert for her Shabbat table. Her favorite dessert is a luscious banana cheesecake.

her home through multiple holidays and simchas) applies for the position. During her interview she is asked about her qualifications. She replies, “Well, I work a full-time job caring for a household that has multiple members with various interests and activities. I prepare meals daily and twice a week I prepare and serve elaborate meals that are fit for a king. Often I am called upon to do all of this and plan and prepare meals for multiple guests coming from all walks of life with many dietary restrictions and the main guest, of course, is royalty. I budget, plan and also appear as a stylish hostess at all of these events.” The HR representative sits back and thinks for a moment and then offers her the prestigious position. It isn’t really a joke; as Observant Jewish women we can achieve and do it all.

Please enjoy these recipes the women above have so graciously shared with UNORTHOBOXED.