Rabbanit Chana Henkin is the Founder and Chancellor of Nishmat – The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women, and one of the most influential figures in Jewish education. A visionary pioneer, she has transformed the landscape of Torah learning and leadership for women in Israel and worldwide.
For over three decades, Rabbanit Henkin has led Nishmat’s Beit Midrash, where her deep scholarship and passionate love of Torah have inspired generations. Together with her late husband, the esteemed halachic authority Rav Yehuda Henkin ztz”l, and Rabbi Yaakov Varhaftig, she established the groundbreaking Yoatzot Halacha initiative, training women as experts in Jewish law and women’s health. The initiative quickly gained international recognition through a telephone hotline, websites providing global access to Yoatzot Halacha, and a satellite training program in the United States. To date, Yoatzot Halacha have answered more than 500,000 questions, offering guidance and support to women worldwide.
Rabbanit Henkin also founded an academic and professional advancement program for Ethiopian-Israeli women, supporting their college and graduate studies and facilitating their integration into Israel’s economic mainstream. A graduate of Yeshiva University’s Stern College and Bernard Revel Graduate School, she holds Honorary Doctorates from Bar-Ilan University and Yeshiva University. Her honors include the Agrest Prize for innovative religious education, Yakirat Yerushalayim, and selection as a Torchbearer in Israel’s National Yom Ha’Atzmaut Ceremony.
From her home in Jerusalem, she continues to advance Torah scholarship as head of Nishmat’s Henkin Institute, publishing Nishmat HaBayit and Henkin family writings.
Since making Aliyah with husband Rav Yehuda Henkin ztz”l, the couple had six children, including Rabbi Eitam Henkin, who was murdered with his wife Naama in 2015.
Rabbanit Henkin made Aliyah from New York, United States in 1972.