She is a member of the Jewish Studies Program at the university, where she teaches courses in Judaism, the anthropology of religion, and spiritual writing.
[11] Ochs was a founding member of the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Virginia and its first Ida and Nathan Kolodiz Director (2001-2006).
[13] An ongoing interest in the subfield of material culture is the question of what makes a home ‘Jewish.’[14] Her work on ritual has explored how recent innovations in Jewish practice have both expanded to more fully incorporate the experience of women.
[15] This research, along with others, testifies to the continued importance of ritual in the lives of modern Jews, exemplified in the ways religious practices have adapted to modern conditions while referencing ancient practice,[16] sometimes creating rituals marking specifically woman-centered events (e.g., menstruation, divorce, menopause).
[34] Through her analyses of feminist ritual, Ochs has contributed to the movement in Jewish thought of transforming modern ways of knowing, or epistemologies, through a sensitivity to gendered lenses;[35] feminist critique thereby seeks to contribute not only deeper understandings of texts and practices, but to also open a space for reconsidering the normative implications of those texts and practices on the contemporary scene.