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Heart and Soul: The New York Supreme Court's first female Hasidic judge

The Supreme Court's first female Hasidic judge

27/10/2023 GMT

The New York Supreme Court's first female Hasidic judge

BBC World Service - Heart and Soul, The New York Supreme Court's first female Hasidic judge

Fighting to become the first female Hasidic New York Supreme Court  judge in the US

Fighting to become the first female Hasidic  New York Supreme Court judge in the US.

Rachel Freier was 30 when she started her training to be an attorney and many people told her she was making a mistake. Growing up in an ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York, she was encouraged to focus on family life, not having a high-flying career. But for Rachel, a mother of six, she felt that she could be a good mother, a good housewife and stay true to her Jewish faith and beliefs, while still succeeding at work.  

With the support of her husband, she graduated from law school and became an attorney, and then made history becoming the first Hasidic woman to be elected as a judge at the civil court. Now, she is making history again, having just been appointed to the New York Supreme Court - another first for the Hasidic community. 

We pay a visit to her home in Brooklyn to hear how she balances home life with a hugely demanding career. And we walk in the neighbourhood where she grew up where people told her it could not and should not be done. 

Presenter: Colm Flynn
Series producer: Rajeev Gupta
Editor: Helen Grady
Production Coordinator: Mica Nepomuceno

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