Vanessa Ochs, Professor Emerita in the Department of Religious Studies and Jewish Studies Program at the University of Virginia (UVA) and a core member of the Jewish Studies Program since its inception, teaches such topics as Jewish feminism, Jewish weddings, the Passover Haggadah, ethnographic fieldwork in religion, and spiritual writing. An ordained rabbi, she is also Chair of the Professional Consulting Committee: UVA Chaplaincy Services and Pastoral Education at the UVA Health System. In the summer of 2020, she was a faculty member for the Bronfman Youth Fellowship.

Her books include: "The Passover Haggadah: A Biography"; "Inventing Jewish Ritual," winner of a 2007 National Jewish Book Award; "Sarah Laughed", "The Jewish Dream Book" (with Elizabeth Ochs); "Words on Fire"; and "Safe and Sound." Her many awards include a Creative Writing Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts.

In her research, Ochs investigates new Jewish ritual, Jewish feminism, the Passover Haggadah, and Jewish material culture. She continues to explore the theme of “Jewish Sensibilities,” which has become the central focus of the journal "Sh’ma" and the work of the Lippman Kanfer Foundation and is now featured as a curriculum produced by Hillel International.

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