A Woman's Own: The next big thing: Orthodox women rabbis

I received a message last week congratulating Sara Hurwitz on the "historic event" in which she is being conferred the title "spiritual leader" of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, following her completion of the "required course of study in Yoreh Deah." In other words, the synagogue is making her a rabbi without the title. [Hat tip: Matthew Maryles]

First of all, I wish Sara Hurwitz a hearty congratulations on this terrific achievement, and I wish her well in her new role. HIR, under the leadership of the courageous and visionary Rabbi Avi Weiss, has always been a place that is willing to buck trends and break new ground on behalf of women. Sara Hurwitz has done some important work on gender and education in the Orthodox community, along with scholar and educator Dr. Chaya Gorsetman, also of Riverdale. I wish Spiritual Leader Hurwitz, Rabbi Weiss, and the entire Riverdale community a hearty mazal tov on this auspicious event.

I would like to note, however, that this is not exactly news. Elsewhere around the world, women "spiritual leaders" have been hired by Orthodox synagogues to perform all sort of rabbinic functions. They may not be given the title Rabbi yet (a fruitless exercise in packaging, or perhaps a new tactic for keeping women in second place? I wonder.) But change is undoubtedly happening.

More importantly, Hurwitz is not the first Orthodox woman to have passed the "smicha" exams (although whether she passed exams is unclear from the invitation). Rabbi Dr. Haviva Ner David received smicha from Rabbi Aryeh Strikovsky already several years ago after a decade of study and quite a bit of public controversy. Although Haviva lacks the pulpit that Hurwitz is now being granted, her achievement is no less noteworthy - and, it is worth pointing out that she has been given the title "rabbi" by her teacher, though everyone seems reluctant to say that publicly.

Actually, Mimi Feigelson of Yakar received smicha from Shlomo Carlebach in 1994, though she kept it a secret until fairly recently. She is a beloved teacher and has a strong Jerusalem presence, and considers herself a rabbi for all things.

Blu Greenberg, founder of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA), has been advocating for women rabbis for over two decades. In an interview in Moment magazine in 1984, she wrote:

Orthodox women should be ordained because it would constitute a recognition of their intellectual accomplishments and spiritual attainments; because it would encourage great Torah study; because it offers wider female models of religious life; because women's input into p'sak (interpretation of Jewish text,) absent for 2,000 years, is sorely needed; because it will speed the process of reevaluating traditional definitions that support hierarchy; because some Jews might find it easier to bring halakhic questions concerning family and sexuality to a woman rabbi. And because of the justice of it all (Moment Magazine 1984, 52, 74).

Orthodoxy is a strange beast. Like a massive dustball rolling in the streets, Orthodoxy has no choice but to go with the wind, wherever broad social trends take it. Yet, its "leaders" continue to pretend that they have control over these processes. They try to grab onto that ball with force, as if such a thing is possible. They say, oh, it's not really smicha, or, women are different than men so it's not the same. Meanwhile around the world, people fight to ensure that others will call them Orthodox, as if Orthodoxy is some kind of exclusive club, in which letting women become equal members is the biggest threat to men's membership. Orthodox men argue and debate over who is "in" and who is "out" based on who pretends to have the greatest control over those winds. "Our girls dress modestly," one nearby school says about itself, as if to say they are the most Orthodox. "We educate our girls to be good women, raising a family and building a proper Jewish home," the local Ulpana says. All of these Orthodox "leaders" (as if) are trying to hang on to an illusion of their own identities that may completely disappear one day. They are convinced that if they can just keep women down, then Orthodoxy will be safe.

Well, folks, the dustball is moving, and it’s not about to stop. I imagine one day, HIR will stop calling these women "spiritual leaders" and will confer upon them the title that they deserve - Rabbi. And the future of Orthodoxy? It seems to me that those who know how to run with the wind will survive, and the rest - well, they will be left holding dust.