Helen Levinthal (1910–1989)[1] was a significant figure in the early history of the acceptance of Jewish women in the rabbinate.
[2] In 1939 she became the first American woman to complete the entire course of study in a rabbinical school, which she did at the Jewish Institute of Religion in New York.
[2][5] In March 1939, before her graduation, her father invited her to preach in his synagogue, which she did on the topic of "The Jewish Woman Faces a New World".
[5] She also spoke that year to a crowd of 900 at the Shaarel Zion Community Auditorium on the topic of "The Future of Judaism".
[6] In 1940 she preached at the High Holidays in Congregation B'nai Shalom in Brooklyn, as was noted in Time magazine.