The first graduating class at Yeshivat Maharat may
not have the title, but they do have jobs at Orthodox synagogues
By Batya Ungar-Sargon
On
June 16, three Jewish women will be ordained as Orthodox members of the clergy
in the inaugural graduation ceremony of Yeshivat Maharat, which bills itself on
its website as “the first institution to ordain Orthodox women as Spiritual
leaders and Halakhic authorities.” But even though Yeshivat Maharat also claims
to be “actualizing the potential of Orthodox women as rabbinic leaders,” its
female graduates will not be granted the title of “rabbi.” Ruth Balinsky
Friedman, Rachel Kohl Finegold, and Abby Brown Scheier will instead be ordained
with the title of “maharat,” a Hebrew acronym for manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit
toranit, or female leader of Jewish law, spirituality, and Torah.
While the Reform, Reconstructionist, and Conservative movements of Judaism have been ordaining women since 1972, 1974, and 1985, respectively, the Orthodox community has resisted this development, except in a few unofficial cases in Israel. Orthodox women have completed courses of study in Torah and Jewish learning but they have typically been granted nonclerical titles, such as yoetzet halakha—halakhic adviser.
Sara Hurwitz, dean of Yeshivat Maharat, was the first Orthodox woman to be ordained in the United States. In 2009, Hurwitz received smicha from Rabbi Avi Weiss, founder of both Yeshivat Maharat and the Modern Orthodox Yeshivat Chovevei Torah as well as leader of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in the Bronx, and Rabbi Daniel Sperber, a professor of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University and president of the Ludwig and Erica Jesselson Institute for Advanced Torah Studies. Originally, Hurwitz was also ordained with the title maharat, but Weiss changed her title to rabba—a feminization of rabbi—in February 2010, incensing the Orthodox rabbinical community. Weiss is known as a figure who courts controversy, but the brouhaha in this case was short-lived. By March, the Rabbinical Council of America issued a statement about “discussions” that members of the Orthodox RCA had with Weiss: “We are gratified that during the course of these conversations Rabbi Weiss concluded that neither he nor Yeshivat Maharat would ordain women as rabbis and that Yeshivat Maharat will not confer the title of ‘rabba’ on graduates of their program.” Hurwitz continues to use the title of rabba, but no future graduates will have that option.
Continue reading.
On
June 16, three Jewish women will be ordained as Orthodox members of the clergy
in the inaugural graduation ceremony of Yeshivat Maharat, which bills itself on
its website as “the first institution to ordain Orthodox women as Spiritual
leaders and Halakhic authorities.” But even though Yeshivat Maharat also claims
to be “actualizing the potential of Orthodox women as rabbinic leaders,” its
female graduates will not be granted the title of “rabbi.” Ruth Balinsky
Friedman, Rachel Kohl Finegold, and Abby Brown Scheier will instead be ordained
with the title of “maharat,” a Hebrew acronym for manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit
toranit, or female leader of Jewish law, spirituality, and Torah. While the Reform, Reconstructionist, and Conservative movements of Judaism have been ordaining women since 1972, 1974, and 1985, respectively, the Orthodox community has resisted this development, except in a few unofficial cases in Israel. Orthodox women have completed courses of study in Torah and Jewish learning but they have typically been granted nonclerical titles, such as yoetzet halakha—halakhic adviser.
Sara Hurwitz, dean of Yeshivat Maharat, was the first Orthodox woman to be ordained in the United States. In 2009, Hurwitz received smicha from Rabbi Avi Weiss, founder of both Yeshivat Maharat and the Modern Orthodox Yeshivat Chovevei Torah as well as leader of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in the Bronx, and Rabbi Daniel Sperber, a professor of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University and president of the Ludwig and Erica Jesselson Institute for Advanced Torah Studies. Originally, Hurwitz was also ordained with the title maharat, but Weiss changed her title to rabba—a feminization of rabbi—in February 2010, incensing the Orthodox rabbinical community. Weiss is known as a figure who courts controversy, but the brouhaha in this case was short-lived. By March, the Rabbinical Council of America issued a statement about “discussions” that members of the Orthodox RCA had with Weiss: “We are gratified that during the course of these conversations Rabbi Weiss concluded that neither he nor Yeshivat Maharat would ordain women as rabbis and that Yeshivat Maharat will not confer the title of ‘rabba’ on graduates of their program.” Hurwitz continues to use the title of rabba, but no future graduates will have that option.
Continue reading.
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