This year, the American Friends of Nishmat Gala will celebrate and honor Rabbanit Chana Henkin and 35 years of Nishmat.
Rabbanit Chana Henkin, the Founder and Chancellor of Nishmat, has led the way in redrawing the landscape of Torah scholarship and leadership for women, and she is the woman who brought about the Yoetzet Halacha revolution. She has received numerous honors for her work, including honorary doctorates from Yeshiva University and Bar Ilan University, Yakirat Yerushalaim, and more. She and her husband, the late esteemed posek Rabbi Yehuda Henkin ztz”l, made aliya fifty-three years ago, when Israel was twenty-four years young. The Henkins were blessed with six children – including their son and daughter-in-law Rav Eitam and Naama Henkin השם יקום דמם, who were murdered by Hamas terrorists in 2015 – and l’havdil, a growing tribe of grandchildren. Her infectious love of Torah has inspired generations of Nishmat students from Israel and across the Jewish world.