Rabbi David Wolkenfeld ASBI Congregation. Crisis and Continuity: Halakhah at the Crossroads- Part IV Female Orthodox Rabbis?

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1 1 Rabbi David Wolkenfeld ASBI Congregation Crisis and Continuity: Halakhah at the Crossroads- Part IV Female Orthodox Rabbis? Outline: I. Women and the Mitzvah of Talmud Torah II. Women and Positions of Authority/ Serarah III. The Nature of Rabbinic Ordination IV. Women and Halakhic Guidance V. Modesty and Maintaining Tradition VI. Professional Opportunities and Communal Service 1. Rambam, Laws of Torah Study 1:1 Women, slaves, and minors are free from the obligation of Torah study. Nevertheless, a father is obligated to teach his son Torah while he is a minor, as [Deuteronomy 11:19] states: "And you shall teach them to your sons to speak about them." A woman is not obligated to teach her son, for only those who are obligated to learn are obligated to teach. 2. Rambam, Laws of Torah Study 1:13 A woman who studies Torah will receive reward. However, that reward will not be [as great] as a man's, since she was not commanded [in this mitzvah]. Whoever performs a deed which he is not commanded to do, does not receive as great a reward as one who performs a mitzvah that he is commanded to do. Even though she will receive a reward, the Sages commanded that a person should not teach his daughter Torah, because most women cannot concentrate their attention on study, and thus transform the words of Torah into idle matters because of their lack of understanding. [Thus,] our Sages declared: "Whoever teaches his daughter Torah is like one who teaches her tales and parables." This applies to the Oral Law. [With regard to] the Written Law: at the outset, one should not teach one's daughter. However, if one teaches her, it is not considered as if she was taught idle things. 3. Rambam, Laws of the Foundations of Torah 4:13 The matters discussed in these four chapters concerning these five mitzvot are what the Sages of the early generations termed the Pardes, as they related: "Four entered the Pardes..." Even though they were great men of Israel and great Sages, not all of them had the potential to know and comprehend all these matters in their totality. I maintain that it is not proper for a person to stroll in the Pardes unless he has filled his belly with bread and meat. "Bread and meat" refer to the knowledge of what is permitted and what is forbidden, and similar matters concerning other mitzvot. Even though the Sages referred to these as "a small matter" - for our Sages said: "'A great matter, this refers to Ma'aseh Merkavah. `A רמב"ם הלכות תלמוד תורה פרק א הלכה א נשים ועבדים וקטנים פטורים מתלמוד תורה, אבל קטן אביו חייב א ללמדו תורה שנאמר ולמדתם אותם את בניכם ב לדבר בם, ואין האשה חייבת ללמד את בנה שכל החייב ללמוד חייב ללמד. רמב"ם הלכות תלמוד תורה פרק א הלכה יג אשה שלמדה תורה יש לה שכר אבל אינו כשכר האיש, מפני שלא נצטוית, וכל העושה דבר שאינו מצווה עליו לעשותו אין שכרו כשכר המצווה שעשה אלא פחות ממנו, ואף על פי שיש לה שכר צוו חכמים שלא ילמד אדם את בתו תורה, מפני שרוב הנשים אין דעתם מכוונת להתלמד אלא הן מוציאות דברי תורה לדברי הבאי לפי עניות דעתן, אמרו חכמים כל המלמד את בתו תורה כאילו למדה תפלות, * במה דברים אמורים בתורה שבעל פה אבל תורה שבכתב לא ילמד אותה לכתחלה ואם למדה אינו כמלמדה תפלות. רמב"ם הלכות יסודי התורה פרק ד הלכה יג ועניני ארבעה פרקים אלו שבחמש מצות האלו הם שחכמים הראשונים קוראין אותו א פרדס כמו שאמרו ארבעה נכנסו לפרדס, ואף על פי שגדולי ישראל היו וחכמים גדולים היו לא כולם היה בהן כח לידע ולהשיג כל הדברים על בוריין, ואני אומר שאין ראוי לטייל בפרדס אלא מי שנתמלא כריסו לחם ובשר, ולחם ובשר הוא לידע האסור והמותר וכיוצא בהם משאר המצות, ואף על פי שדברים אלו דבר קטן קראו אותן חכמים שהרי אמרו חכמים דבר גדול מעשה מרכבה ודבר קטן הוויות דאביי ורבא, אעפ"כ ראויין הן להקדימן, שהן מיישבין דעתו של אדם תחלה, ועוד שהם הטובה הגדולה

2 2 small matter, this refers to the debates of Abbaye and Ravva" - nevertheless, it is fitting for them to be given precedence, because they settle a person's mind. Also, they are the great good which the Holy One, blessed be He, has granted, [to allow for] stable [living] within this world and the acquisition of the life of the world to come. They can be known in their totality by the great and the small, man or woman, whether [granted] expansive knowledge or limited knowledge. 4. Hidushei HaRamban on Shavuot 30a And we hear from our Mishnah that a woman is not eligible to judge because anyone who is ineligible to testify is ineligible to judge as it is taught (Nidah 49b): All who are eligible to judge are eligible to testify. And we learn a great principle from this statement. And so too it says in Yerushalmi that a woman does not testify and does not judge. And regarding what is written concerning Devorah (Judges 4) for she judged Israel. The explanation is that she provided guidance. And even though it says in Sifri that You shall appoint a king and not a queen she was treated as though she were a queen. Alternatively, they accepted her words of their own free will. 5. Hidushei HaRitva on Shavuot 30a And regarding what is written concerning Deovrah (Judges 4) that she judged Israel, and it also is written that the Children of Israel went up to her for judgment, that they acting in accordance with her instructions was not in the category of a formal appointment, for we see in Sifri You shall appoint a king upon you (Deut. 17) and not a queen. And that is the rule for other appointments. However, that they acted in accordance with her advice, or that they accepted her upon themselves to judge for one who accepts a relative or ineligible person to judge or for testimony, the ensuing judgment and testimony is upheld as is found in the third chapter of Sanhedrin (24a). 6. Rambam, Laws of Kings 1:5 We may not appoint a woman as king. When describing the monarchy, the Torah employs the male form of the word king and not the female. This principle also applies to all other positions of authority within Israel. Only men should be appointed to fill them. 7. Sefer HaHinukh, #152 Not to enter the Temple while drunk, and so too not to provide religious guidance while drunk. That is to say, not to judge regarding any of the laws of the Torah when a person is drunk, as it says (Leviticus 10:9), Do not drink wine or any alcohol etc. when you enter the Tent of Meeting. And the language of the Talmud (Eruvin 64a) is that one who drinks a revi it may not provide guidance And the root of this mitzvah is known. For it is not appropriate to be involved in precious concerns, matters of the most precious imaginable, such as things pertaining to the Temple or words of Torah, in any condition other than when an individual is calm and ordered in all of his actions And the prohibition against entering the Temple while drunk שהשפיע הקדוש ברוך הוא ליישוב העולם הזה כדי לנחול חיי העולם הבא, ואפשר שידעם הכל קטן וגדול איש ואשה בעל לב רחב ובעל לב קצר. חידושי הרמב"ן מסכת שבועות דף ל עמוד א ושמעינן ממתני' דאשה אינה כשרה לדון דכיון דפסולה להעיד פסולה לדון כדתנן )נדה מ"ט ב'( כל הכשר לדון כשר להעיד וכלל גדול הוא ולמדין ממנו, וכן אמרו בירושלמי שאין האשה מעידה ואין האשה דנה, ומאי דכתיב )שופטים ד'( והיא שופטה את ישראל פירושו מנהגת שעל פיה ובעצתה היו נוהגין זה עם זה כדין מלכה, ואף על גב דאמרינן בספרי שום תשים עליך מלך ולא מלכה נוהגין היו בה כדין מלכה, אי נמי מקבלין היו דבריה ברצונם. חידושי הריטב"א מסכת שבועות דף ל עמוד א ומה שאמר הכתוב על דבורה )שופטים ד'( והיא שפטה את ישראל, וכתיב נמי ויעלו אליה בני ישראל למשפט, זה שהיו מתנהגים על פיה לא בתורת מינוי, דהא אמרינן בספרי שום תשים עליך מלך )דברים י"ז( ולא מלכה והוא הדין לשאר משימות, אלא שמתנהגים על פי עצתה, או שקבלוה עליהם לדין שהמקבל עליו לדין ולעדות קרוב או פסול דינו דין ועדותו עדות כדאיתא בפרק דיני ממונות )סנהדרין כ"ד א '(. רמב"ם הלכות מלכים פרק א הלכה ה אין מעמידין אשה במלכות שנאמר עליך מלך ולא מלכה, וכן כל משימות שבישראל אין ממנים בהם אלא איש. ספר החינוך מצוה קנב שלא להכנס שתוי במקדש, וכן שלא להורות, כלומר שלא לדון בדבר מדיני התורה בעוד שיהא האדם שכור, שנאמר ]ויקרא י', ט'[ יין ושכר אל תשת וגו' בבואכם אל אהל מועד. ולשון התלמוד ]עירובין ס"ד ע"א[, שתה רביעית אל יורה... שורש המצוה ידוע. שאין ראוי להתעסק בדברים היקרים בתכלית היוקר כמו עניני המקדש ודברי התורה רק בעת שיהיה האדם מיושב בדעתו ומכוון בכל מעשיו... ונוהג איסור ביאת מקדש בשכרות בזמן הבית בזכרים ונקבות, ומניעת ההוראה בכל מקום ובכל זמן בזכרים, וכן באשה חכמה הראויה להורות. וכל מי שהוא חכם גדול שבני אדם סומכין על הוראתו,

3 3 applies at times when there is a Temple, and applies for both men and women. And the need to refrain from rendering religious guidance applies at all places for men and also for a woman who is wise and who is (otherwise) an individual suitable to render religious guidance. And it is prohibited to teach students while drunk or teaching is akin to providing religious guidance. 8. Pithei Teshuvah, Hoshen Mishpat 7:5 A woman is ineligible to judge. See Responsa Peri Tevu ah 46 what is written about that. And it is written in the book Birkhei Yosef 11 that even though a woman is ineligible to judge, nonetheless, a wise woman can offer guidance 9. Shulhan Arukh: Yoreh De ah 1:1 Everyone may slaughter kosher animals for food, even women. Rema Adds: And some say that women should not be left to slaughter for a custom has already spread among women not to slaughter and indeed that is the practice that women do not slaughter. 10. Sanhedrin 5a When Rabbah bar Hanah went down to Babylonia, Rabbi Hiya said to Rabbi [Yehudah hanasi]: My cousin is descending to Babylonia, may he provide religious guidance? Yes he may! May he judge? Yes he may! May he permit bekhorot? He may permit! When Rav went to Bavel, Rabbi Hiya said to Rabbi [Yehudah hanasi]: My cousin is descending to Babylonia, may he provide religious guidance? He may provide! May he judge? He may judge! May he permit bekhorot? He may not! 11. Sanhedrin 13b 14a Rav Aha the son of Rava said to Rav Ashi: Is ordination performed through the laying of hands? He replied, it is done through a title. We call him rabbi and he has the permission to impose fines. And cannot an individual convey ordination alone? For did not Rav Yehudah say in the name of Rav: Certainly remember that man for the good that he did and Rabbi Yehudah ben Bava is his name, for were it not for him the laws of fines would have been forgotten from Israel. Forgotten? Rather change the text to say, the laws of fines would have been nullified within Israel. For one time the wicked [Roman] government decreed a decree of extirpation upon Israel that anyone who ordains will be killed and anyone with ordination would be killed and a city where an ordination takes place would be destroyed and the boundaries adjacent to that city would be uprooted. What did Yehudah ben Bava do? He went and sat between two great mountains, between two great cities, and between two Sabbath boundaries between Usha and Shefaram. And he ordained five scholars and these are they: Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehudah, Rabbi Shimon, Rabbi Yosi, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamoa. Rav Avya adds: Also Rabbi Nechemia. And when the enemies recognizes what he had done, he said to them, my children run! And they said to him, Rabbi, what will be of you? And he responded, I will fall upon them like a stone that cannot be turned. It was said about אסור לו לשנות לתלמידיו והוא שתוי, שהלימוד שלו כמו הוראה הוא. פתחי תשובה חושן משפט ז"ה אשה פסולה לדון- עיין בתשו' פרי תבואה סי' מ"ו מ"ש בזה. וכ' בספר ברכי יוםף אות י"ב אף דאשה פסולה לדון מ"מ אשה חכמה יכולה להורות הוראה... שולחן ערוך יורה דעה סימן א סעיף א הכל שוחטין לכתחלה, אפילו נשים. הגה: יש אומרים שאין להניח נשים לשחוט, שכבר נהגו שלא לשחוט, וכן המנהג שאין הנשים שוחטות )ב"י בשם האגור(. תלמוד בבלי מסכת סנהדרין דף ה עמוד א כי הוה נחית רבה בר חנה לבבל, אמר ליה רבי חייא לרבי: בן אחי יורד לבבל, יורה? - יורה. ידין? - ידין. יתיר בכורות? - יתיר. כי הוה נחית רב לבבל, אמר ליה רבי חייא לרבי: בן אחותי יורד לבבל, יורה? - יורה. - ידין? - ידין. תלמוד בבלי מסכת סנהדרין דף יג: יד. אמר ליה רב אחא בריה דרבא לרב אשי: בידא ממש סמכין ליה? - אמר ליה: סמכין ליה בשמא, קרי ליה רבי, ויהבי ליה רשותא למידן דיני קנסות. וחד לא סמיך? והא אמר רב יהודה אמר רב: ברם, זכור אותו האיש לטוב, ורבי יהודה בן בבא שמו, שאילמלא הוא נשתכחו דיני קנסות מישראל. - נשתכחו? נגרוסינהו! - אלא: בטלו דיני קנסות מישראל. שפעם אחת גזרה מלכות הרשעה שמד על ישראל, שכל הסומך - יהרג, וכל הנסמך - יהרג, ועיר שסומכין בה - תיחרב, ותחומין שסומכין בהן - יעקרו. מה עשה יהודה בן בבא? הלך וישב לו בין שני הרים גדולים, ובין שתי עיירות גדולות, ובין שני תחומי שבת, בין אושא לשפרעם. וסמך שם חמשה זקנים, ואלו הן: רבי מאיר, ורבי יהודה, ורבי שמעון, ורבי יוסי, ורבי אלעזר בן שמוע. רב אויא מוסיף: אף רבי נחמיה. כיון שהכירו אויביהם בהן אמר להן: בניי, רוצו! אמרו לו: רבי, מה תהא עליך? - אמר להן: הריני מוטל לפניהם כאבן שאין לה הופכים. אמרו: לא זזו משם עד שנעצו בו שלש מאות לונביאות של ברזל, ועשאוהו ככברה.

4 4 him that he did not move from that place until he was pierced by 300 iron lances and turned into a sieve. 12. Rabbi Josh Maroof: Conferral ceremony of Maharat Sara Hurwitz (Available at There is a paucity of classical source material addressing the question of whether qualified women can render halakhic decisions, i.e. give hora ah. However, what material does exist is uniformly and clearly in support of the permissibility of women being morot hora ah. For example, the Sefer HaHinukh writes that the prohibition of giving hora ah while intoxicated applies both to men and to women who are qualified to rule on halakhic issue. Furthermore, the Birkei Yosef, written by the renowned sage Maran Ha Hidah and cited approvingly in Pithei Teshuvah states unequivocally that, although women are not permitted to serve as judges on a rabbinical court, a knowledgeable woman may issue decisions on matters of halakhah Why should a woman be entitled to render halakhic decisions yet be barred from serving as a judge? In order to understand the answer, we must clarify the fundamental difference between the concepts of hora ah and p sikat din and the legal mechanisms by which they operate. The legal meaning of hora ah is teaching or instruction; indeed, the words hora ah and Torah share the same Hebrew root. Specifically, hora ah refers to the application of the abstract principles of Torah Law to the concrete particulars of life. In essence, then, hora ah is nothing more than a by-product of intensive Torah study. When one develops a thorough and comprehensive theoretical knowledge of an area of Jewish law, and applies that knowledge to the practical exigencies of life, one is basically engaging in hora ah. Not all explanations are correct, not all interpretations are valid, and not all conclusions are warranted. Even the most distinguished and scholarly yeshiva students, rabbis, men and women are subject to occasional error, flaws in reasoning, forgetfulness and bias. As the Rema explains both halakhah and tradition dictate that one may not rely upon or encourage others to rely upon the conclusions that emerge from one s personal analysis of the Law until one has received explicit permission to do so from one s teacher.be that as it may the essential point here is that the core of any given act of hora ah is the process of Torah study upon which it is based and from which it emerges, and that this process is equally accessible to competent men and to competent women. Judgment, or psikat din, on the other hand, derives its validity not from the process that produces it but from the stature of the one who issues it. Judgment is, by its very nature, an act of governance (s rarah) and an exercise of personal authoritative leadership rather than the outgrowth of a specific act of talmud Torah. In this sense, serving as a judge is more akin to receiving the original form of semikha that was conferred from Rabbi to student from the days of Moshe Rabbenu until persecutions led to its discontinuation during the Talmudic period 13. Rabbi Aharon Feldman: Halakhic Feminism or Feminist Halakhah- Review of Jewish Legal Writings by Women Tradition A more substantive reason that this book cannot be considered a serious contribution to halakhic tradition is the uneven quality of its scholarship. This is not surprising. While many of the contributors are engaged principally in Jewish studies in one form or another, the majority have other occupations. Statistician, family therapist, social worker, student, academic, historian, attorney, computer engineer, and pediatrician all are honorable professions, but hardly the stuff that makes for Talmudic expertise.

5 5 14. Rabbi Aharon Feldman: Response to Criticism in Tradition In Jewish tradition, women have never been trained to be rabbinical authorities. This is not because women are considered less intelligent than men; on the contrary the Sages say that women have more bina (a form of intelligence) than men. Rather, the reason is, as Rambam (Talmud Torah 1:13) puts it, because most women's minds are not attuned (mekhuvanot) to this study. This codification, which there is no dissenting opinion, is based on an explicit passage in the Talmud (Sota 21b), and I find it difficult to understand how so many modern leaders can cavalierly dismiss it. It appears that Jewish tradition has known for millennia what Harvard psychologist Carol Gilligan has ascertained in recent years. In studies that have been widely accepted by the academic community, she has shown that women's mode of thought is contextual and narrative while men's is formal, linear, and abstract...anyone who has dealt with halakhic decision making knows that the latter qualities are precisely those required to arrive at an accurate halakhic conclusion and that approaching halakhic decisions from a contextual and narrative perspective will result in distorted rulings. Training women to be halakhic authorities (which a certain institution in Israel has recently undertaken amidst a heavy public relations blitz) is this a reckless venture, and one which, although politically correct and likely to be popular with the unlettered and with feminist philanthropists, is fraught with danger to the halakhic process. Training those whose hands quiver to be brain surgeons would be a boon for the status of the handicapped, but would be a tragedy for those who would rely on their services. 15. Rabbi Nati Helfgot: Response to R. Feldman Tradition 2000 Prior to the late 1960s and early 1970s, no full-time college or post college yeshiva or institute existed where serious, committed women in the Orthodox community were afforded the opportunity to study Talmud and halakha at the highest levels. Even with the growth of women's learning on the high school, college and part-time adult education levels in the last twenty five years, communal support for the type of institutions that can and will produce truly learned women of the highest caliber is still sorely lacking. There is, of course, the pioneering Drisha Institute for Jewish Education, an independent and non-denominational institution of Torah learning in New York City. However, there still does not exist even one post-college full time makhon or yeshiva for women devoted to rigorous study of Torah she-be'al peh, under Orthodox denominational auspices, in the entire United States. (And this, notably close to twenty years after maran harav zt l delivered the inaugural shiur at the Stern College bet midrash on the first sugya in Massekhet Pesahim.) This disturbing fact redounds to the collective discredit of modern or centrist Orthodoxy and its educational institutions here in the United States. In Israel, there currently exist three or four institutions, at most, which offer opportunities for the type of serious learning that encourages the growth of scholars. Moreover, the few women who are not discouraged by such obstacles do not see a clear career path that beckons and offers them teaching opportunities and communal Torah responsibilities. Even the average lamdan, ben Torah or rabbi does not simply emerge out of a vacuum. Such people are shaped and formed by a combination of many years of serious torah study coupled with access to mentors who take them under their wings and show them how things are done: e.g. How one builds an eiruv, checks a mikve, looks at a ketem, deals with an aguna sh'ela, prepares a habura or a teshuva etc. Do the standard respected Torah journals such as Moria, Beit Yitzhak, Or hamizrakh, Yeshurun or even the Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Soceity permit, let alone encourage the publication of Torah articles by budding women Torah students and scholars? By encouraging the submission of articles and bringing women into the equivalent of the peer review process (which can only serve to sharpen the level of Torah scholarship of women) our communal institutions would be taking a

6 6 significant step in supporting and increasing the engagement of benot Torah in the wonderful world of milhamta shel Torah... R. Feldman notes, in critical tones, that almost all of the authors of this volume are not full time Talmud scholars. How could they be, with few opportunities for talented, creative women to express themselves in the areas of advanced talmud Torah? Top-notch talmudic scholarship requires critical masses of people, infrastructure, broad based support and learning opportunities. I recall with sadness, the dozens of talented, committed young women whom I have taught over the years, who have opted for an academic Jewish studies track or medical or law school because they realized that the Torah institutions they sought did not exist, nor were their concerns on the radar screen of the communal agenda of institutional Orthodoxy. 16. Devorah Zlochower: Reflections of a Rosh Beit Midrash JOFA Journal 2006 While the modern Orthodox community has begun to recognize that low salaries and low prestige dissuade many young people from choosing Jewish education as a profession, the unique barriers facing the budding female Torah scholar have not been sufficiently recognized. Coeducational high schools are, by and large, not hiring women to teach Talmud to their male and female students and there are too few girls' only high schools to hire all the qualified applicants. Moreover, from a larger cultural perspective, advanced Torah learning is not idealized for women as it is for men. Women who pursue advanced learned do not, as a rule, receive affirmation from parents and peers and may experience great ambivalence about their choice.... The culture ideal of talmud Torah keneged kulam (the supreme value of Torah study) and the prestige granted the talmid chakham or the rosh yeshiva are currently unattainable for women....women's learning institutes are not termed yeshivot and in fact, are often more akin to high schools and universities where emphasis is placed on completing a set curriculum and following a schedule of classes rather than the ideal of vi-hagita bo yomam va-laila (devotion of all one's time to study). Additionally, a newly arrived yeshiva student finds peers and older, more learned colleagues in his beit midrash; there are many stages to be mastered in the path from student to maggid shiur or gemara teacher. In contrast, for women, anyone who has spent a number of years studying is already a teacher. 17. New York Times: An Orthodox Jewish Woman, and Soon, a Spiritual Leader August 21, Those who are pushing for female rabbis in the Orthodox movement are sowing the seeds of schism, said Rabbi J. David Bleich, a professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University, the flagship institution for the Orthodox movement. ''A lot of people focus on the now without being terribly concerned about the future,'' he said. ''That's being shortsighted.'' Although he said he agreed that as a matter of Jewish law a woman might be able to play the roles the congregation has delineated for Ms. Najman, he said the crucial question was one of competency. ''There is right now no real program that would enable a woman to become competent, certainly no formal program,'' he said, adding that he saw no need for such a program. But Rabbi Dov Linzer, the academic dean at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, a Manhattan rabbinical school that falls on the more liberal end of the Orthodox tradition, and who has known Ms. Najman for years, said he considered her eminently qualified. ''She can do a better job than a large number of rabbis just coming out of rabbinical school,'' he said.

7 7 Ms. Najman lives in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, but will occupy an apartment within walking distance of the synagogue two weekends a month. She has studied at Drisha and at Nishmat, a Torah study center for women in Jerusalem. She has also taught extensively on Jewish law. Over the years, she has developed a special interest in bioethics and researched questions of Jewish law for the Halachic Organ Donor Society. 18. Dr. Erica Brown: JOFA Journal 2006 When the movie Yentl came out during my last year of high school, a group of us went to see it. I felt bad that a frustrated Barbra Streisand did not go to my co-ed high school and thought little of her anguish. The film seemed quaint and dated. In my first year of yeshiva in Israel, I even wrote a Purim shpiel called Mentl about a boy who wanted to go to a girls' yeshiva. It was funny (or so I thought), and its underlying assumption was that we have come so far as Orthodox women that a reverse scenario seemed almost likely. Boys would want to study in our beit midrash. By the time I was a senior in college, however, the movie came out on TV. I sat alone, watching it in our family room and crying. Progress was not an illusion, but nor could we sit back and laugh about it either. This confusion continued throughout my long career search. While I loved teaching and writing, when I was old enough to take these skills on the road, I had no clear destinations. Not sure that I wanted to teach high school students, I had no other obvious place to go professionally while staying within the Orthodox community. In college, I dual majored in philosophy and Judaic studies and pushed myself to take all the advanced classes in Judaic studies that Stern College offered. But at the time, there were no women heading co-educational Orthodox day schools, nor were there clear professional roles in synagogues for women. Sadly we have not moved all that much since I started teaching almost twenty years ago I worked for years on various projects, taught many classes for different institutions, kept up my graduate work, and mothered my children working hard but not feeling that I had a career. To me, a career implies a structured profession with an understandable pay scale and ladder of promotion that involves a discreet set of skills and training. Thus, I reveled under the safety net of graduate school where I would not have to answer the question: What do you do for a living? The vision that I had of the Red Sea splitting and the career path magically appearing was fading. I was nearing thirty, had two children and one on the way, owned a home, and had been teaching for close to ten years but was no closer to describing the job I wanted...i came to realize the falsity of the claim I heard buzzed in my years again and again namely, that a PhD for women was the equivalent of smicha for men. The disciplines are very different; the methods, objectives and outcomes, completely incomparable. 19. Rabbi Aryeh Klapper, From Jewish Values Online Query About Female Rabbis To concretize: Most segments of Orthodoxy at this point agree that there are no restrictions as to what parts of the Tradition women may learn, although only Open, Modern, and Centrist Orthodoxy generally encourage women to learn Talmud, commentaries and codes at a high level. Most segments of Orthodoxy also agree that in theory women who achieve proficiency in those studies should disseminate their opinions in matters of halakhah and should have those opinions treated no differently than those of equally proficient men. However, there is much less support in Orthodoxy for women taking on positions in the congregational rabbinate The irony is that the congregational rabbinate certainly and perhaps primarily involves many roles, such as social worker and institutional administrator, that women play throughout the Orthodox

8 8 community. Furthermore, as noted above, there is little disagreement in principle with the ability of women to issue halakhic positions. Yet somehow the conjunction of the two raises hackles. I think there is something of a chicken and egg question here, or perhaps a catch-22. It is not unreasonable, although perhaps unfair, for the rabbinic community to ask women seeking new roles to demonstrate that they are as qualified as exceptional men, not just that they meet a bare minimum standard, and to ask that they demonstrate a fundamental willingness to function within the existing system, even if it rejects their positions on issues important to them, before they are given influence within it. However, until women are given a clear economic path to such influence, i.e. an expectation of good jobs and broad communal respect, they have many excellent reasons not to invest the massive time and energy necessary to reach that standard within Orthodoxy. But so long as there are at best very few women who reach that standard, the issue does not seem terribly pressing to the majority of the male rabbinate To sum up: the barriers to women developing the tools necessary to be (great) rabbis, and then to becoming full and active participants in the development of Halakhah, are largely sociological rather than halakhic, in the sense that the halakhic positions necessary to enable this already exist and enjoy broad acceptance within mainstream Orthodoxy. But sometimes sociology is properly normative, and the intuitions of the observant community should never be dismissed out of hand. I support the cautious approach, so long as it is coupled with full respect for the person and scholarship of women who study Torah, with a commitment to giving such women opportunities to teach Torah commensurate with those given to equally knowledgeable and capable men, and with a vigorous effort to develop women who embody the kind of Torah scholarship that mandates great respect and influence. 20. Rabbi Norman Lamm: Interview in YU Commentator, 2010 There are certain things that are acceptable only in the long run. I approve of the idea of increasing the role of women in religious life and think it is an important one. It is just not true that they cannot think straight. They can. We have crooked ideas if we think otherwise. At the same time, things have to be done gradually. To have a woman learn Gemara a generation or two ago like women learn Gemara today would have been too revolutionary. But with time, things change; time answers a lot of questions, erodes discomfort, and helps. So my answer, when I was asked by a reporter about what I think about women rabbis, was, basically: It s going too fast. I did not say it was wrong, I did not say it was right. It just has not paced itself properly. I was criticized, of course. People asked, You mean that al pi din they re allowed to become rabbis? My response: I don t know. Are you sure they re not allowed to? 21. Rabbinical Council of America Statement, April ) The flowering of Torah study and teaching by God-fearing Orthodox women in recent decades stands as a significant achievement. The Rabbinical Council of America is gratified that our members have played a prominent role in facilitating these accomplishments. 2) We members of the Rabbinical Council of America see as our sacred and joyful duty the practice and transmission of Judaism in all of its extraordinary, multifaceted depth and richness halakhah (Jewish law), hashkafah (Jewish thought), tradition and historical memory. 3) In light of the opportunity created by advanced women's learning, the Rabbinical Council of America encourages a diversity of halakhically and communally appropriate professional opportunities for learned, committed women, in the service of our collective mission to preserve and transmit our heritage. Due to our aforesaid commitment to sacred continuity, however, we cannot accept either the ordination of women or the recognition of women as members of the Orthodox rabbinate, regardless of the title.

9 9 4) Young Orthodox women are now being reared, educated, and inspired by mothers, teachers and mentors who are themselves beneficiaries of advanced women's Torah education. As members of the new generation rise to positions of influence and stature, we pray that they will contribute to an everbroadening and ever-deepening wellspring of talmud Torah (Torah study), yir'at Shamayim (fear of Heaven), and dikduk b'mitzvot (scrupulous observance of commandments). 22. IRF Resolution on Women in Communal Leadership Roles Adopted May 2010 The International Rabbinic Fellowship is thankful and grateful to the Almighty and to a cadre of visionary educators, rabbis and communal leaders of the Modern Orthodox community for the amazing growth of Torah learning for women, in all its forms, which has transformed the face of the Orthodox community for the better in the last fifty years. We strongly support the work and efforts of the myriad of Torah learning programs and institutions for women, both long-established and new, both in the Diaspora and in Israel. We hope that these institutions continue to grow and that even more opportunities for talented women who would like to continue on to the next level of Torah scholarship, involving multi-year opportunities for serious Torah learning, will emerge in the years to come. We express our support for the sincere desire of the graduates of these learning programs to contribute their spiritual talents to the Jewish people as teachers, spiritual guides and mentors. We also affirm the dedication and sacrifice of so many women in our community, and their desire to serve their congregations and their people in formal leadership capacities, while affirming the specific areas that Halakha delimits. We strongly encourage communities and their rabbinic leaders to create opportunities to discuss this important phenomenon in an open and reflective manner, in order to enable continuing progress in a spirit of shalom and communal harmony. In an effort to outline some practical guidelines that we believe our communities should consider recognizing that each community and its rabbinic leadership retain the authority to determine what is appropriate for their communal context we affirm that: Observant and committed Orthodox women who are learned, trained and competent should have every opportunity to fully serve the Jewish community: 1. As teachers of Torah, in all its breadth and depth Shebikhtav, Shebe al Peh and Practical Halakha to both men and women. 2. As persons who can answer questions and provide guidance to both men and women in all areas of Jewish law in which they are well-versed. 3. As clergy who function as pastoral counselors visiting the sick, helping couples work through relationship difficulties, taking care of the arrangements for burial, speaking at life-cycle events and giving counsel to individuals and families in distress. 4. As spiritual preachers and guides who teach classes and deliver divrei Torah and derashot, in the synagogue and out, both during the week and on Shabbatot and holidays. 5. As spiritual guides and mentors, helping arrange and managing life-cycle events such as weddings, bar- and bat-mitzvah celebrations and funerals, while refraining from engaging in those aspects of these events that Halakha does not allow for women to take part in. 6. As presidents and full members of the boards of synagogues and other Torah institutions. 23. Sara Tillinger Wolkenfeld: What s in a Title? from The JOFA Journal, vol. XI, no. 2

10 10 When my student followed me out of the room after class, I assumed she had a question about the shiur. Instead, she said, I saw something interesting on your source sheet. Can I call you rabbanit? She was referring to what I had assumed was the least important item on the handouts: In the top left-hand corner, I had recorded my name as Rabbanit Sara Wolkenfeld. Like so many women with no formal path to professional recognition, even after years of learning, I struggled to make my professional role clear. As the only non-rabbi on the educational team of the Center for Jewish Life Hillel at Princeton University, I had initially hoped that we might all drop our titles, at least on printed materials, as an egalitarian gesture. But that change was not forthcoming, and so on any class brochure or staff roster with a list of names, mine stood out. In an effort to be reassuring ( Don t worry! I know Torah, too! ) I began typing Rabbanit in front of my name for all official purposes. After all, my husband is a rabbi, so I figured I could get away with it. But I said no to my student that day. I felt it was unnecessarily self-promoting, as well as excessively formal. Since then, however, I ve changed my mind. It is unfortunate that neither my six years of postsecondary yeshiva study, nor my years as a teacher in various settings, nor even my two-year synagogue internship, qualified me for any particular title. I was drawn to learning Torah and eventually to teaching. I find Orthodox life inspiring, and I have always wanted to share that inspiration with others. I knew that mine was not a path to a particular degree, but during the years when I was a full-time student, I did not realize what the implications of having no title would be in terms of workplace treatment, nor did I realize how much discomfort it would lead to for my students and colleagues. The Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC) offers rabbinic couples the opportunity to serve together as leaders and educators in campus communities. We teach classes, learn one-on-one with students, host Shabbat and holiday meals, and provide rabbinic and pastoral guidance. I was fortunate to also take on the role of director of education at Princeton s Center for Jewish Life, which allowed me to think more broadly about the Center s curriculum for all Jewish students interested in studying with our staff. By the time I had spent several years at Princeton, I was answering halakhic questions, teaching shiurim, delivering divrei Torah in various settings, and offering pastoral guidance. I was functioning in a way that felt a lot like clergy to me and to everyone else. My student saw what I couldn t see: Titles aren t just about the people who hold them, but are a reflection of the knowledge amassed and the job being performed. The students who introduced me as their teacher to their friends and family, who invited me to speak at campus events and on panels, who referred their friends to me in times of crisis all of them wanted some succinct way to acknowledge who I was and how I functioned in their lives. It was their vision of me as a leader that pushed me to take on the title. The world of the university is a world of titles; professors, doctors, and yes, rabbis, are all around me. Prestige, and of course salary, rise with every additional degree earned. I was comfortable being just Sara, but it did not serve my students well, who sought a way to honor the Torah that I had taught them, nor did it always serve me well in a professional context. Although my husband and I had the same job description, I had to fight for a pay rate equal to his. After working alongside him for five years, I am still not qualified for any of the jobs to which he applied during his recent, successful search for a new position. Even educational positions at non-orthodox institutions were often open only to rabbis and Ph.D.s. It is strange to become a leader almost by default. Not having a formal course of study or an institution that would train me to be clergy contributed to my ongoing sense of not knowing what I wanted to be when I grew up; there was no model, no job title, to which I could point and say: That is what I want to be. My role models were women who led and taught through the sheer power of their Torah knowledge. I aspired to something more for my students; I want all of them, men and women, to feel that their love of Judaism could set them on a professional path, no less than their academic studies. The student who challenged me that day is in many ways inspirational,

11 11 poised to acquire more knowledge and a greater command of Jewish law. It was clear to me that to downplay my own role would be to fail to provide her with the role model she deserves. I believe that identifying and naming women s leadership is one of the single most effective changes we can make in the Orthodox community. Our communal inclination to ignore the contributions of women starts at a young age: when we laud men for their davening abilities, compliment and encourage their synagogue attendance, push them to further develop their talents in yeshiva and yet too often do not do the same for women. Through my teaching at Drisha, I have seen amazing high school girls who deserve to go on to teach Torah themselves in schools, communities, or synagogues. As someone who has spent time in many synagogue women s sections reciting kaddish for my parents, I have encountered middle-aged and older women who are a regular presence at minyan, whose presence provides reassuring and informed company in the women s section, and who could easily be considered gabbai ot. In my years at Princeton, I have seen the women of our community deliver divrei Torah, organize shiurim, and coordinate chessed with an energy and ability that would be the envy of any young pulpit rabbi. It is crucial that we find a place of honor and a way to give recognition to these women in our communities. When I leave Princeton this summer, my title may not follow me. I will not be stepping into a clerical role in my new home. What I have learned from my student that day is that I know how to step up and be a leader even without a title. What I have learned from my professional experiences, however, is that we will be richer as a community when we can openly name and honor the leadership abilities of all of our members. I look forward to celebrating the many and diverse talents of the men and women in my new community. For further reading: Rabbi Hershel Schachter, Women Rabbis? in Hakirah vol 11 and Available here and at Hakirah.org Rabbi Shlomo Brody and Rabbi Michael Broyde, Orthodox Women Rabbis? Tentative Thoughts that Distinguish Between the Timely and the Timeless in Hakirah vol. 11. Available here and at Hakirah.org