Bea Wyler

Bea Wyler (* 1951 in Baden) is a Swiss rabbi. In 1995 she became the first female rabbi in Germany after the Second World War.

Life

Bea Wyler grew in the Aargau Wettingen, studied at the ETH Zurich Agronomy and worked as agricultural science journalist. The Basler Zeitung put it in 1980 as first science editor, where she headed the science department. Subsequently, she worked at a chemical company in Basel in the public relations department and was responsible for company publications.

After a stay in Israel, she studied in London at the Leo Baeck College and in New York at the Jewish Theological Seminary. In May 1995, she was ordained at the age of 44 years.

On August 1, 1995, she was hired by the Jewish community formed in 1992 in Oldenburg ( Lower Saxony) and the Jewish community in Brunswick. The inauguration caused quite a stir in the media and sparked criticism from the Orthodox Judaism because it rejects women in the office of rabbi. Ignatz Bubis, chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said at the time that he would not attend a worship service led by her. You will also not included in the German Rabbinical Conference. As long as he had anything to say in the matter, there would be no woman as a rabbi in Frankfurt.

Starting in 1997, Bea Wyler also worked for the newly founded Jewish community in Delmenhorst. At the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg taught Jewish studies in 1995 established interdisciplinary degree program.

In May 2004, she gave up their offices in Germany. For family reasons, she returned back to Switzerland and has been primarily teaching and active in journalism, but also keeps worship. In Switzerland it is the only rabbi.

Her successor in Braunschweig in 2002 Jonah Sievers. In the town of Oldenburg in 2006 followed her for two years Daniel age.