Rab­bi Vanes­sa L. Ochs is a pro­fes­sor in the Depart­ment of Reli­gious Stud­ies at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Vir­ginia and an ordained rab­bi. Her books include Invent­ing Jew­ish Rit­u­al, which won a Nation­al Jew­ish Book Award; Sarah Laughed: Mod­ern Lessons from the Wis­dom and Sto­ries of Bib­li­cal Women; and Words on Fire: One Wom­an’s Jour­ney into the Sacred. She lives in Char­lottesville, Virginia.