It was only 50 years ago this month that the first female rabbi was ordained

Sally Jane Priesand became the first woman in the United States to be ordained as a rabbi in 1972. (The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives)

For many American Jews, seeing a female rabbi is a pretty regular part of life. But it's a fairly recent development. Sally Priesand – the first American female rabbi – was ordained just 50 years ago, on June 3, 1972.

This groundbreaking ordination changed women's roles, and the course of Judaism itself.