RBG's Childhood by Emily Ploch

Interview on her childhood

2025plem2_1 — 2022-02-02 02:12:35 UTC

While growing up Ruth Bader Ginsburg had subtly noticed the recognition of women lacking in Judaism. She always wanted to change the difference and was jealous of the events for boys, such as the bar mitzvah (Eisner).

1948

2025onel1_1 — 2022-02-02 02:15:35 UTC

Ruth Bader Ginsburg graduated from high school at age 15. Unfortunately, her mother, who had supported her and taught her many lessons, died the day before her graduation. She excelled in her academics and joined many extra curricular during her time at James Madison High School. (History)

1933

2025onel1_1 — 2022-02-02 02:18:15 UTC

Joan Ruth Bader was born on March 15, 1933, the second daughter of Nathan Bader and Cecilia Bader. She grew up in low-income, working class neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. During her childhood, she learned a lot about her identity, which would later shape her world perspectives and decisions. (HISTORY)

1946~

2025waid1_1 — 2022-02-02 02:18:39 UTC

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s role model was a fictional character known as Molly Goldberg. Ruth was inspired by her work because Molly Goldberg was a character that she could relate to. Molly often talked about topics regarding sexism which was what inspired Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Kempner).

1946

2025onel1_1 — 2022-02-02 02:25:48 UTC

At age 13, Ginsburg wrote an essay for her nearby Synagogue. According to the synagogue, RBG also questioned the tradition where boys can get a bar mitzvah at age 13, but girls cannot. In her essay, Ginsburg writes about World War II, and the fate of Jewish individuals during the time. A quote from her essay is: "In our beloved land families were not scattered, communities not erased nor our nation destroyed by the ravages of the World War. Yet, dare we be at ease?" (Young)

1936~

2025plem2_1 — 2022-02-02 02:29:57 UTC

Despite the difficulty, her parents were very eager to know that Ruth learned what it meant to be a good Jew, as well as an American. This idea was commonly thought of throughout a large number of Jews in Brooklyn. Her mother, Celia has also shaped her views on Judaism, and feminism. Her mother had lists of biblical terms for “women of valor,” and RBG memorized those, and imbibed them (Shimron).

1948

2025plem2_1 — 2022-02-02 02:30:51 UTC

When her mother passed, Ruth was not allowed to say the mourner’s prayers as part of a minyan, a tradition which has changed in Reform and Conservative Jewish traditions. She was indignant about it, and it was an affront to her mother. And this heavily affected her relationship with Judaism (Shimron).

1948

2025waid1_1 — 2022-02-02 02:42:17 UTC

Her beliefs on gender equality and feminism started at a very young age and stem from her mother's perspectives. Like Ruth, her mother, Cecilia had also excelled in high school but was later forced to work as a garment worker in order to pay for her brother's education. However, she believed that Ruth should be independent in the future which was why she saved her portion of her salary to pay for Ruth's education.

Unfortunately, her mother passed away due to cervical cancer, which influenced Ruth to work harder in the future and overcome gender stereotypes.

- “There could be a dorm room full of young women talking or playing bridge or whatever. I could sit there with my notes and wasn’t distracted,” Ginsburg said (Brockell).

Later in life...

2025plem2_1 — 2022-02-03 23:41:06 UTC

RBG advocated for Judaism even on the supreme court. She had small ways to have the court hospitable for Jews. Some examples were the calendar year as Christian was offensive, and RBG successfully excised the court for it. She also pushed for the court to not hear cases on Jewish traditional practice, Yom Kippur (Shimron).

2015

2025plem2_1 — 2022-02-03 23:42:07 UTC

In 2015, she researched for sacred text on women in the Exodus narrative for the American Jewish World Service writing an insert to its Passover Haggadah. RBG highlighted the roles women played and gave the spotlight to the miraculous women in the Jewish passages (Shimron).

Works cited

2025onel1_1 — 2022-02-07 03:43:48 UTC

Alfonso III, Fernando, Rocha, Veronica, Wagner, Meg, Macaya, Melissa, and Picheta, Rob. "September 18 and 19: Ruth Bader Ginsburg death reactions and tributes." CNN. 18 Sept. 2020. Web. 7 Feb. 2022.

CNN. "In photos: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg." CNN. 6 Jun. 2017. Web. 7 Feb. 2022.

Eisner, Jane. "Jane Eisner Interviews Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Transcript." The Forward. 5 Feb. 2018. Web. 7 Feb. 2022. <https://forward.com/opinion/393687/jane-eisner-interviews-ruth-bader-ginsburg-transcript/>

Georgett Roberts And Laura Italiano. "Brooklynites remember borough native Ruth Bader Ginsburg." New York Post. 19 Sept. 2020. Web. 7 Feb. 2022.

History.com Editors. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg." HISTORY. 9 Nov. 2009. Web. 7 Feb. 2022.

Hodgson, Godfrey. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg obituary." the Guardian. 19 Sept. 2020. Web. 7 Feb. 2022. <http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/19/ruth-bader-ginsburg-obituary>

Jehlen, Nick. "The Notorious RBG: Ruth By Decade." Dissent Pins. 16 Apr. 2019. Web. 7 Feb. 2022.

Kempner, Aviva. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Role Model Was Molly Goldberg (Guest Blog)." TheWrap. 24 Sept. 2020. Web. 7 Feb. 2022.

Papenfuss, Mary. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg Voted From Hospital To Block Trump Asylum Restrictions." HuffPost. 22 Dec. 2018. Web. 7 Feb. 2022.

Photo, Time. "See Ruth Bader Ginsburg Grow from Toddler to Supreme Court Justice." Time. n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2022.

Shimron, Yonat. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg was shaped by her minority faith." Washington Post. 19 Sept. 2020. Web. 7 Feb. 2022. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/ruth-bader-ginsburg-was-shaped-by-her-minority-faith/2020/09/19/45f02f3e-fa9d-11ea-85f7-5941188a98cd_story.html>

Untapped New York. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Childhood Home in Brooklyn - Untapped New York." Untapped New York. 21 Sept. 2020. Web. 7 Feb. 2022.

Wikipedia Contributors. "Gertrude Berg." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2022.

Wikipedia Contributors. "The Goldbergs (broadcast series)." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2022.

YouTube. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg's life, in her own words." YouTube. 20 Sept. 2020. Web. 7 Feb. 2022.

1938-1942

2025onel1_1 — 2022-02-07 03:48:09 UTC

During her elementary years, Ruth Bader Ginsburg attended P.S 238 on E. 9th Street. (Young)

Supreme Court

2025plem2_1 — 2022-02-07 03:49:21 UTC

It is said that President Clinton wanted to have more diversity in the supreme court, and RBG’s commitment to women’s equality as well as her Jewish identity were significant factors to add diversity (Hodgson).

1933-1946

2025onel1_1 — 2022-02-07 03:52:10 UTC

According to Michelle Young of Untapped New York, as neither of her parents attended college, "her mother was a garment factory worker and her father a furrier during the Depression" ("Ruth")

Years later...

2025onel1_1 — 2022-02-07 03:54:54 UTC

Just recently, the East Wood Jewish Center published RBG's essay on their online website, saying that the essay may have helped to shape Ginsburg into the role model for gender equality she remains today.

2025waid1_1 — 2022-02-07 03:56:49 UTC

Some of the main reasons why Ruth Bader Ginsburg looked up to Molly Goldberg was because of her way of using entertainment and humor to express serious topics such as sexism and overcoming other stereotypes. Moreover, Ruth was also inspired by her because in her show, The Goldbergs, Molly is a Jewish character (Kempner).

- “When I was growing up there were not many what we today call role models. There were very few women out there doing things because the prevailing view was that if a woman worked, that was a reflection on her husband, that he wasn’t able to be the family breadwinner. But there were occasional people who didn’t fit that mold and Gertrude Berg, was surely one of them (Kempner)."

- "She was an assertive woman, and for girls growing up at my time, Molly Goldberg had that quality. She cared about her children, she wanted them to have opportunities that she didn’t have and that was the way of thinking in the Jewish community. Parents wanted their children to have opportunities that they didn’t have themselves."

1933-1946

2025onel1_1 — 2022-02-07 03:58:45 UTC

As mentioned before, Cecilia Bader, Ginsburg's mother, worked in a garment industry, and did not attend university. Instead, Cecilia helped to fund her brother's college tuition. Her mother was a very significant and influential figure in her life, and this action inspired Ruth greatly. (History)

2020

2025onel1_1 — 2022-02-07 04:05:19 UTC

Ruth Bader Ginsburg lived at 1584 E 9th Street, a few blocks away from Ocean Parkway. It has now become a memorial, where people leave flowers and messages for the notorious RBG. (Young)

2020-2021

2025onel1_1 — 2022-02-07 04:29:18 UTC

An article by Michelle Young from Untapped New York demonstrates the impact she has on those around even after she has passed stating that, "The current owners, Diana and William Brenneisen, have lived at the house for the last 47 years. William told WCBS Radio this weekend, 'She was quite an inspiration, a very strong woman'" (Untapped New York)

RBG's recognition

2025onel1_1 — 2022-02-07 04:34:08 UTC

The Jewish Center says that the essay, with the title “One People'' urged “congregants to rid themselves of hate and prejudice.” The synagogue also stated that Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 'wondered as a young girl why boys got to do a bar mitzvah at age 13, while ‘there was no comparable ceremony for me,’ a struggle that may have shaped her into the gender equality advocate she is today" (Young).

How Judaism shaped her views

2025plem2_1 — 2022-02-07 11:51:38 UTC

Growing up in the shadow of WWII made her learn more about the treatment of Jews in Europe, the racism and oppression they were receiving for no reason. The Holocaust was one of the major indicators of apartheid in America, which made RBG think about how long our own country can persist in segregation and the role of society. (Eisner)