On Thursday, March 12 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM, Niagara Foundation is excited to host Cantor Julie Yugend-Green of Oak Park Temple Bn’ai Abraham Zion for a Friends in Faith roundtable discussion regarding women in male-dominated religious roles.
Cantor Yugend-Green was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a teen, her cantor taught her how to cantor, though at this point in time she never considered undertaking the role seriously.
In her twenties, Yugend-Green frequently cantored at Shabbat services. At one such service, she had “a moment of clarity, an epiphany” wherein she realized that she wanted to be ordained as a cantor.
Soon after, she married and moved to Israel to attend Hebrew Union College, a more liberalized seminary that accepted women to both study and become ordained as cantors. After finishing up her years of seminary training in New York, Yugend-Green was ordained a cantor in 1994.
A Midwesterner at heart, Yugend-Green’s tenure as a cantor in New York ended after she accepted her current position in Oak Park. In 1997, along with her husband and children, Yugend-Green moved to Chicago and has been here ever since.
When asked about her experience as a woman in a traditionally male role, Cantor Yugend-Green noted that she has always been a part of a more liberal community: consequently, being a woman in a man’s role has never felt exceedingly unique. Nonetheless, she notices the difference in Israel, where liberal cantors like herself bear very little formal influence. Likewise, she has noticed discrepancies that perhaps all women in leadership positions notice: comments on appearance, varied reactions to her leadership role, etc.
Join us on March 12 to learn more about Cantor Yugend-Green’s experience and to discuss women in typically male-dominated religious roles. Register today!