OM. CAP & GOWN Cl o. GRADUATION caps, gowns and more will lead the class down the aisle of / our annual Cap & Gown special section on Friday, May 15, 1998. ■■■ ••••".." Don't miss the mark to send your message to our 60,000 readers! SPACE DEADLINE IS MAY 8 CALL YOUR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE TODAY 248.354.6060 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE UNITED JEWISH FOUNDATION Notice is hereby given that the Annual Meeting of the United Jewish Foundation of Metropolitan Detroit will take place on Thursday, June 11, 1998 at 4 p.m. at Temple Shir Shalom, 3999 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield. The following individuals have been appointed by President Robert Slatkin to serve on the 1998 Nominating Committee: STACEY A. CRANE CHAIR BARBARA S. COOK LEO S. EISENBERG MERTON J. SEGAL Petition Candidates: Other persons may be nominated for member- ship on the Board of Directors by petition signed by not less than twenty- five (25) members of the United Jewish Foundation and filed with the Secretary not less than thirty days prior to the date of the Annual Meet- ing. Only one person may be nominated in each petition, and no nomi- nations shall be valid unless the nominee shall have consented to be a candidate in writing either in the petition or in a separate written docu- ment filed with the Secretary not less than thirty days prior to the date of the Annual Meeting. Filings should be sent to: United Jewish Foundation Robert P. Aronson, Secretary P.O. Box 2030 Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48303-2030 our Ask about P reventive 24 Hour Emergert. 30 Vehicles • Radi Quality In stallatio ► 4/17 1998 86US (248) 3 MADE MOOCH WEATHER' of Metropolitan Detroit While the adversity faced by his female colleagues unquestionably exists, RA Executive Vice President Rabbi Joel Meyers attributes it to the fact that they just haven't been around long enough or in great enough num- bers to make members of the move- ment at ease with their presence. He relates a story of the first time he saw a female police officer on the street. "I did a double take because I just wasn't used to seeing women in that role," he said. Lewittes said initially the novelty was coupled with the movement's neglect to aggressively inform the con- gregants of the ordination decision, the result of which left some congre- gants in the dark as to the mere exis- tence of female Conservative rabbis. While the Halachic debate raged, the sociological implications were given little weight or further consider- ation. Instead, the female rabbis, through their exposure to the public in lectures and in daily existence, have had to take on the role of defending their . presence, an uncomfortable task for some and a welcome challenge for others. "I think it is a burden I am willing to take on because it is part of an edu- cation process," Orenstein said. To ease the transition for the female rabbis and the congregations, the Rab- binical Assembly has pushed for women to take on more prominent roles or to have a presence on its com- mittees and organizations. The Assem- bly also tries to keep a handle on the activities of synagogue hiring commit- tees through the interview process, in part to check for unfair hiring prac- tices. "We ask that the congregations interview all candidates for rabbinic positions," Meyers said. "Then we debrief the rabbis after their interviews to gauge what is going on." The measures, however, only go so far, he acknowledged. While women have made gains and contributed greatly in the fields of education, chaplaincy and ritual, a glass ceiling still exists in the field of pulpit rabbis. In the 12 years since ordination began, no major congregation the size of a Congregation Shaarey Zedek or an Adat Shalom Synagogue has been headed by a female rabbi. This is in part due to the fact that to apply for these positions, a rabbi must have at least 10 years of experience, Meyers said. But that doesn't explain why only a small fraction of the women lead even medium-sized congregations. Kamin is the rabbinic head of a congregation of 500 families in a suburb north of Chicago, the largest Conservative shul with female leadership on the planet. "My female colleagues are mostly in assistantships or are with smaller con- gregations. They are ready to move on and move up and they are having a hard time finding congregations who want them," Kamin said. "The men are moving up faster than the women." The seminary itself also has moved slowly. Of the 57 full-time, tenured faculty members, 12 are women; of the 110 total teaching faculty (assist- ing, part-time, visiting, etc.), about 25 percent are women. And while all public seminary events have been egalitarian in the Female rabbis have influenced Jewish law on issues ranging from healing to mourning rites. past year, the non-egalitarian minyan continues to exist, a sticking point with many of the female rabbis. "The seminary as a whole did not embrace women as rabbis," Lewittes said of her time as a rabbinic student in the late 1980s. "And the seminary today does not, as a whole, embrace women as rabbis." Struggles and challenges aside, however, not a single female rabbi interviewed for this story would have chosen a different career path. On the contrary, they are happy to have been a part of a historical change in Con- servative Judaism. "Being a rabbi is so rewarding, so gratifying. You are with people in all different times of their life," said Kamin. "It is exciting and heartwarm- ing and sometimes tragic. "My husband, Daniel Kamin, always tells me that I am a pioneer and compares me to Jackie Robinson," she said. "I guess someone always has