Rachel Mikva

Rachel Mikva
Rachel Mikva
Academic work
Institutions	Chicago Theological Seminary

Rabbi Rachel S. Mikva is an American rabbi and academic. She is the Rabbi Herman E. Schaalman Chair & Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, and Senior Faculty Fellow of the InterReligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary, Illinois, United States.

Life

Mikva was ordained at Hebrew Union College in 1990. She served as a congregational rabbi for 13 years.

In 2009, Mikva was awarded a grant by the American Academy for Jewish Research to develop electronic formats for Hebrew Scriptures.

In 2024, Mikva described herself as "a committed progressive Jew" and as a Reform Jew.

Mikva was elected to Hebrew Union College's Board of Governors in 2025. She was named an Interfaith Leadership Network Fellow in 2026.

Publications

Books

Broken Tablets: Restoring the Ten Commandments and Ourselves. 2000.
Midrash vaYosha: A Medieval Midrash on the Song at the Sea. Texts and Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Judaism. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. 2012. ISBN 978-3-16-151009-0.
Dangerous Religious Ideas: The Deep Roots of Self-Critical Faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Beacon Press. 2020.
Interreligious Studies: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2023. ISBN 9781108826600.
Monotheism and Pluralism. Cambridge University Press. 2024.

Chapters

Gertsman, Elina, ed. (2012-02-20). "Weeping as Discourse between Heaven and Earth: The Transformative Power of Tears in Medieval Jewish Literature". Crying in the Middle Ages: Tears of History (1 ed.). Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203807750. ISBN 978-0-203-80775-0.
Beal, Jane, ed. (2014-01-01). "Epic and Romance, Narrative and Exegesis: Moses in the Minor Midrashim". Illuminating Moses: A History of Reception from Exodus to the Renaissance. BRILL. pp. 143–165. doi:10.1163/9789004258549. ISBN 978-90-04-25854-9.
McFarlane, Doreen, ed. (2024-07-05). "Imagine I Am Sitting There: An Interreligious Perspective on Matthew 23". Furthering Interfaith Biblical Scholarship: A Festschrift in Memory of Andre LaCocque. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-6667-7681-2.

Articles

Mikva, Rachel S. (2011). "Midrash in the Synagogue and the Attenuation of Targum". Jewish Studies Quarterly. 18 (4). Mohr Siebeck GmbH & Co. KG: 319–342. ISSN 0944-5706.
Mikva, Rachel S. (2014-06-01). "Bridges Across an Impossible Divide: The Inner Lives of Arab and Jewish Peacemakers". Journal of Church and State. 56 (2): 382–383. doi:10.1093/jcs/csu011. ISSN 0021-969X.
"Reflections in the Waves: What Interreligious Studies Can Learn from the Evolution of Women's Movements in the U.S.". Journal of Ecumenical Studies. 53 (4): 461–482. 2018. doi:10.1353/ecu.2018.0035. ISSN 2162-3937.

References

↑ "Rachel S. Mikva- Faculty Directory". Chicago Theological Seminary. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
1 2 "Hebrew Union College Elects Four New Members to the Board of Governors". Hebrew Union College. 2025-05-05. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
1 2 3 "Announcing the 2025-2026 Interfaith Leadership Network Fellows". Interfaith Alliance. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
↑ "Rabbi Rachel Mikva to Talk About 'Dangerous Religious Ideas'". Elmhurst College. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
1 2 Rodriguez-Plate, S. B. (2024-01-26). "Dangerous Religious Ideas. An Interview with Rabbi Rachel Mikva". April Online. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
1 2 "Rabbi Rachel Mikva". Sojourners. 2015-08-17. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
↑ "Broken Tablets: Restoring the Ten Commandments and Ourselves (Sept., $19.95)". Publishers Weekly. 246: 56.
↑ Sabar, Ariel (2020-12-15). "Three Books That Gaze Upward to Heaven and Inward to the Heart". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
↑ Merkle, John (2023-08-27). "Dangerous Religious Ideas as Threats to Solidarity: Review of Dangerous Religious Ideas: The Deep Roots of Self-Critical Faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam". The Journal of Social Encounters. 7 (2): 167–171. doi:10.69755/2995-2212.1209. ISSN 2995-2212.
↑ Yarbrough, C. Denise (October 2024). "BOOK REVIEW Interreligious Studies: An Introduction. By Rachel S. Mikva. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. xi+356 pages. $105.00 (hardcover); $34.99 (paperback); $34.99 (eBook). ISBN 9781108826600". Journal of Interreligious Studies (43): 137–140. ISSN 2380-8187.
↑ Robinson, Leon (2024-05-21). ""Interreligious Studies: An Introduction" by Rachel S. Mikva". Theology in Scotland. 31 (1): 83–86. doi:10.15664/tis.v31i1.2762. ISSN 2755-9238.

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[1] "Rachel S. Mikva- Faculty Directory". Chicago Theological Seminary. Retrieved 5 November 2014.

[:3-2] 1 2 "Hebrew Union College Elects Four New Members to the Board of Governors". Hebrew Union College. 2025-05-05. Retrieved 2026-10-03.

[:4-3] 1 2 3 "Announcing the 2025-2026 Interfaith Leadership Network Fellows". Interfaith Alliance. Retrieved 2026-10-03.

[4] "Rabbi Rachel Mikva to Talk About 'Dangerous Religious Ideas'". Elmhurst College. Retrieved 2 December 2017.

[:1-5] 1 2 Rodriguez-Plate, S. B. (2024-01-26). "Dangerous Religious Ideas. An Interview with Rabbi Rachel Mikva". April Online. Retrieved 2026-10-03.

[:2-6] 1 2 "Rabbi Rachel Mikva". Sojourners. 2015-08-17. Retrieved 2026-10-03.

[7] "Broken Tablets: Restoring the Ten Commandments and Ourselves (Sept., $19.95)". Publishers Weekly. 246: 56.

[8] Sabar, Ariel (2020-12-15). "Three Books That Gaze Upward to Heaven and Inward to the Heart". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-03.

[9] Merkle, John (2023-08-27). "Dangerous Religious Ideas as Threats to Solidarity: Review of Dangerous Religious Ideas: The Deep Roots of Self-Critical Faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam". The Journal of Social Encounters. 7 (2): 167–171. doi:10.69755/2995-2212.1209. ISSN 2995-2212.

[10] Yarbrough, C. Denise (October 2024). "BOOK REVIEW Interreligious Studies: An Introduction. By Rachel S. Mikva. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. xi+356 pages. $105.00 (hardcover); $34.99 (paperback); $34.99 (eBook). ISBN 9781108826600". Journal of Interreligious Studies (43): 137–140. ISSN 2380-8187.

[11] Robinson, Leon (2024-05-21). ""Interreligious Studies: An Introduction" by Rachel S. Mikva". Theology in Scotland. 31 (1): 83–86. doi:10.15664/tis.v31i1.2762. ISSN 2755-9238.