Ruchie Freier, a Chasidic female lawyer, was inducted as a civil court judge at Brooklyn Borough Hall. Freier, beat out two other opponents and is the first Chasidic woman ever to be elected as a New York State Civil Court judge. She was introduced by several speakers including Brooklyn’s acting district attorney Eric Gonzalez.
Helped by her three daughters, she donned her black robe as she was inducted as a judge by her uncle, former Judge David Schmidt. Her parents, husband, children and grandchildren participated in the ceremony in Borough Hall’s ceremonial courtroom. Singer Lipa Schmeltzer sang a Yiddish rendition of “G-d Bless America”. See you tube video below
Freier thanked her many supporters and her family. When thanking the sitting judges, Freier acknowledged she has much to learn from them in her new career but said that she intends to return the favor by doing some teaching of her own: “I will teach you about the mysterious Chasidic world, often shrouded in secrecy with many misconceptions,” pledged Freier. “One of the misconceptions that there are, is about women and I hope to clear that up.”
Freier is also the founder of the all-women’s Ezras Nashim Volunteer Ambulance Corps for which she still volunteers. She thanked her volunteer colleagues for covering her shifts when she couldn’t and helping her show the world that Chasidic women are capable of remarkable achievement.
Freier said that her own family members found sanctuary in America after World War II. They taught her to always be grateful to be living in a place where they warmly welcomed immigrants and gave them the opportunity to succeed without compromising on their religious practices.
“As a result of the vision of the founding fathers of this great country, I was able to maintain the standards of a woman from the Chasidic community and achieve the position of civil court judge,” said Freier. “For this I thank G-d, and I thank America, and I pray that G-d continues to bless America.”