0

dox community a Woman — or women- who would push the
envelOpe to even think about a woman `rabbi, much less actu-
ally realize that goal.
"My. image of Orthodox women was 'that they were, smart, - ,
well-educated members of their comnittnity, but they were
content with their role. This new idea blew me away; and
Sara Hurwitz, when I heard her, turned out to be a modest,
well-spoken woman — not a wild-eyettbbundaries breaker,"
-
Birnholtz added.
SAJE officials, who declined to cdiiMeirt on the record, did
acknowledge that bringing Hurwitz to 'Speak in Detroit was
not without controversy. A few community leaders, includ-
ing members of the rabbinate, were concerned that Hurwitz's
"rabba" title could offend sortie in theOtthodox‘community;
they pressured SAJE to'alter its plaritP .:publicize the lecture.

r,f7

4

am:

Hurwitz's story begins in apartheid South 4.kfrica, -where she
was born and lived until just after her bat mitzvah. In 1989,
Hurwitz's parents made the decision to depart for the United
States, both to give their children a "better life," explained Hur-
witKondbecanse,afft, pol4ic4situatiop., in
whe
n her SM.-
Hurwitz recalls in vivid detail the scene when
gathered, only one year later, to watch Nelson Mandela's
release from prison on television.
"My parents werq sobbing because they wanted to be part of
this revolutionovanted to be part of this magnificent change
that was taking place in their country," she said. "Again, it sent
me that message of 'what's possible.'
While Hurwitz does not describe herself as arevohitioriary,
she agrees that She has, to some extent,-internalized the mes-
sage of her birthplace. At a very early age, my parents sent me
the message of tolerance and equality," she says. "They gave me
this notion that all people deserve to have equal rights and that
we should be accepting of others — no matter who they are
When asked whether she ever had an "aha" moment about
her decision to become a.rabbi, she instead responded Mlier
'''' way: _ "I just kind of gravitated toward it."
typically understated
Before entering coilege rHurwitz took a vocational test at her
parents' insistence, the results of which indicated that she was
best suited for clergy.
"At the time, We all laughed because there was no such thing
as Orthodox women in the clergy," she says.
While her family alWays affiliated with the Orthodox Move-

s irtelkiWerlifeTait Titrrierselfbtoneitorepbservant
of Halachah (Jewish law) and ensconced herself deeply in the
Orthodox community and in Jewish learning.
After high school, Hurwitz attended Midreshet Lindenbaum
in Israel, then Barnard College in New York. She became active
M a number of Jewish organizations, often as a teacher.
After graduating from college, she wori.a fellowship to study
religion at the Drisha Institute's ScholatS - Circle program in
New York. Upon completion of her post=graduate studies,
Hurwitz began interning at the Hebrew Institute of River-'
dale, in the Bronx, after, a conversation with the synagogne's
spiritual leader, Rabbi ANA Weiss:Never known to shrink from
controversy, Weiss is often cited as one of America's most
prominent rabbis and outspoken activists.
"I had my foot in the door, I was beginning to work in a
, , synagogue and I loved it," declares Hui*itz.
After she had been working at HIR for .about a year, Hur-
witz and Weiss "started dreaming about. what it would take
for a woman to be accepted as a full member- of the [Ortho-
dox] Clergy"
"I don't think either of us k.w what it looked like," Hurwitz
says, "but one thing we were both certain about — I needed
to have a certain number of years of learning under my belt
before I would be accepted as an authority."
For the next seven years, Hurwitz devoted herself to the
study of Jewish texts while she ,also continued her work at
HIR. "I got lots of on-the-Job.*Mirie Hurwitz quip's.
In 2009, Hurwitz had sucCeSSfully completed all of the
relevant semichah (ordination) testing that was required of her
male counterparts. Weiss announced his protege was capable
of doing "95 percent of what other rabbis do" and, in a confer-
ral ceremony ("we were very careful about language," Hurwitz
emphasizes), named her a maharat, a Hebrew acronynithat
describes a religious, spiritual and scholarly leader.
"The reaction to the title "maharat" was very quiet:' Hur-
witz remembers. One year later, Weiss decided to confer upon
Hurwitz the title "rabba.." "This will make it clear to everyone
rabbinic staff,' a --
that Sara Hurwitz is a full member of
rabbi with the additional quality of adistinct woman's voice,"
--- BOB DYLAN, "THE TIMES THEY .diR.EA-CHA • G
he said.
.17,-Iugyitz agreed. "Having it clear that.' can be.a rabbinic
preAide helps me fulfill my role — I could be more present
for people if my title was more rabbinic-sounding;' she says.
"That's when the controversy really arose."
=Ian's 1964 lyrics, penned a rist the backdrop of America's
civil rights movement and escalation in Vietnam, continue
to resonate even today. At present, Riverdale, N.Y., is the
THE7MAE1STROM COMETH
PerhAps not surprising, it didn't take long for critics to decry
epicenter of an ongoing debate over what role women can
WeiSs' Conferral of "rabba" on Hurwitz. First to step forward
— or should — play in thfi rabbinate; a debate spurred by
was theMbetzes Gedolei HaTorah, part of the Agudath Israel
the entree of a woman who has inadvertently challenged
of Ainerica, both of which are rabbinic policy-making councils
the status quo.
associated with the country's premier religious institutes of
The controversy; which, primarily (although not exclu-
higher learning, or yeshivahs, as well as related haredi (ultra-
sively) has taken up residence in the New York Tri-State
Orthodox) organizations.
area, made its Way to Detroit when SAJE (Seminars for
The council issued a statement that read, in part: "These
Adult Jewish Enrichment) began making plans for Rabba
developments represent a radical and dangerous departure
Sara Hurwitz, the first OrthPdox woman to be conferred
from Jewish tradition," and "Any congregation with a woman
as "rabba" (the female form ofthe masculine title, "rabbi")
in a rabbinical position of any sort cannot be considered Or-
to speak in April at the Jewish Community Center in West
thodox."
Bloomfield.
The (Orthodox) Rabbinical.Council of America's (RCA) re-
"Her story was so surprising," remembers SAJE co-chair Sue
sponse also could be summed up in two words: absolutely not.
Birnholtz, who first heard Hurwitz speak in New York several
years ago. "I had no idea there might exist within the Ortho-

Come gather 'round people wherever
you roam, and admW.that the waters
around you have -gro swn and accept it
that -soon you'll be &lynched to the bone

22 May 2011 I

ITD TilltrilD

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