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Guest Columnist
Editorial
Elevate More Women Rabbis
To Jewish Leadership Roles
0
n a recent trip to Berlin
with a dozen other
Conservative rabbis, we
made certain to stop at the apart-
ment building that Regina Jonas
once called home. I had never heard
of Jonas, but to the four female rab-
bis in our group, she was a hero.
In 1935, she became the first
woman in the world to
be ordained as a rabbi.
My colleague, Rabbi Gesa
Ederberg, hosted our
group at her beautiful
Berlin synagogue during
our visit and doubled
as a knowledgeable tour
guide. We also had the
opportunity to meet
with rabbinical students
at the Abraham Geiger
College, where in 2010
Rabbi Mina Treiger
became the first woman
to be ordained in Germany since
Jonas.
Today, there are hundreds of
inspiring, smart and passionate
female rabbis who have followed in
the steps of Regina Jonas.
As another "rabba" will soon be
ordained, American Jews are just
getting used to the idea of female
rabbis in the Modern Orthodox
world. However, in the more pro-
gressive streams of Judaism, female
rabbis have been on the scene for
decades and are now part of the
fabric of everyday Jewish life. In
fact, one funny anecdote demon-
strates that for some of the young-
est members of the Jewish commu-
nity, female rabbis are the only form
of rabbi that exists.
A female colleague tells the story
of introducing her 5-year-old son
to a male rabbi. He reacted in shock
and said, "But, Mommy, I thought
only ladies can be rabbis." Out of
the mouths of babes.
Newsweek magazine's recent
ranking of the top U.S. rabbis for
this year listed many more women
at the top. Among these superstar
rabbis were women who are leading
institutions and large congrega-
tions, as well as highly sought-after
authors and entrepreneurs who
have launched their own communi-
ties.
22
June 9 2011
Growing Numbers
Like other professions in which
women were once not welcome
to join, the rabbinate has been
forced to learn how to accept
female rabbis into the ranks.
Certainly this acceptance is
most challenging for the oldest
generation of rabbis who came
of age in the old boys
network — a rabbinate
sans women. Rabbis
now in their middle
age were the first to
welcome women into
the profession, but also
have memories of the
controversy that took
shape around the semi-
nary doors opening. But
for younger rabbis — I
include myself in this
cohort even though
my doctor tells me I'm
aging a bit each day — there have
always been female rabbis, and we
wouldn't want it any other way.
I recall the first time I jumped
into a New York City cab and
noticed that my driver was a
woman. I did a double take, but
then things progressed as usual.
She got me to my destination, and
I paid the fare and her tip, said
thanks and was on my way.
Rich Benefits
Not so with female rabbis, how-
ever. There are noticeable dif-
ferences between the sexes, and
we shouldn't pretend they don't
exist. Having women as rabbis has
added immensely to all aspects of
Judaism, and female rabbis have
helped shape the conversation.
Female rabbis have added beau-
tiful new rituals to our tradition.
They have introduced spiritual
rituals that most men wouldn't
have dreamed up, like prayers for
fertility, teachings at the mikvah
and meaningful customs follow-
ing a miscarriage.
Female rabbis have brought
naming ceremonies for our
daughters to the meaningful level
of the brit. They can relate to the
teenage bat mitzvah in ways that
male rabbis never could or would
never even try. Their commentary
But we should
embrace the
changing face
of the American
rabbinate. Men
and women
are different
creatures, and so,
too, it is in the
rabbinate.
on the Torah and Talmud is fresh,
and they can provide voices to
the hidden personas of the many
female characters of our rich text
that have been missing for gen-
erations.
When I was in rabbinical
school, I gained new perspectives
from my female peers who, at the
time, numbered just one-third
of the student body. I cherish
the wonderful professional and
personal relationships I have with
our female rabbis in town. They
offer so much to our community,
and I feel sorry for the previous
generations who missed out on
the female rabbinic voices.
Many women might yearn for
the day when we no longer use
the term "female rabbi" or when
the Forward doesn't publish a list
of the top 50 female rabbis. But
we should embrace the changing
face of the American rabbinate.
Men and women are different
creatures, and so, too, it is in
the rabbinate. It will only be to
Orthodoxy's benefit to welcome
more women into rabbinic leader-
ship roles. Regina Jonas would be
proud. LI
Rabbi Jason Miller of Farmington
Hills is director of Kosher Michigan,
a kosher certification agency, and
president of Access Computer
Technology, a tech support and social
media marketing company.
Lesson Of Shavuot:
Embrace Freedom
S
havuot, the birthday of the Jewish people,
recounts spring turning into summer and
freedom ripening through law. Israel's
struggle to secure its standing in the unsettled
Middle East underscores the difficulty of striving to
thrive as a democratic state in a region fraught with
theocratic regimes.
On the two-day holiday of Shavuot, this year
June 8-9, we renew our acceptance of God's giv-
ing of the Torah, our most sacred text and our
guidepost for living. God, in partnership with us,
"re-gives" the Torah. In an exchange of oaths, God
swears eternal devotion to us and we pledge ever-
lasting loyalty to God – a spiritual marriage.
At Mount Sinai 3,300 years ago, God gave the
Torah to Moses on behalf of the Hebrews – the
Israelites of Egyptian slavery times. The recipients
vowed to follow the Torah's ethical rules and, by so
doing, serve God. The moment of giving, and the
resulting human-Divine relationship, was when the
Hebrews became Jews.
We call Shavuot Hag ha-Katzir, Festival of the
Grain Harvest, and Hag ha-Bikkurim, Festival of
the First Fruits. On Shavuot, which this year began
at sundown Tuesday, the fifth of Sivan, Jews and
others who yearn for rain to water their crops may
celebrate fulfillment of the promise of spring. The
Book of Ruth is read in deference to King David
who died on Shavuot and who was a descendant
of Ruth the Moabite. This book tells us that how
we live is what's most important. A good and holy
person lives by rules that condemn evil. For Jews,
these rules are found in the Torah.
It is through principles of moral law that we dis-
cover our higher possibilities and responsibilities.
Those of us who clear hurdles and defy demons in
pursuit of enriching opportunities and Jewish val-
ues find what it means to be truly free.
Like all Jewish festivals, Shavuot is rooted in
nature. It means "weeks" and marks the start of
the barley harvest seven weeks after Passover. On
Shavuot, two loaves of bread, made from the newly
harvested wheat, were brought to the Temple.
Along with the first fruits, they were sacrificed to
God in honor of the Divine gift of the Torah.
Shavuot is a lesson in the power of the human
spirit. Together, God and people bring forth earth's
goodness. People provide seed, skill and labor; God
provides sun, rain and soil. Together, God and the
people make law come alive. God supplies the law,
Jews accept it. God points the way to a righteous
life; Jews live that life through the guidance of the
Torah.
A Shavuot custom is all-night study (tikkun leyl
Shavuot) of the Torah, Talmud and other sacred
writings. Key to the Shavuot morning service, typi-
cally held in a sanctuary decorated with trees,
leaves and first fruits, is the reading of the Torah,
especially the Ten Commandments.
Shavuot – a reminder of the vibrant partnership
between God and Jews, and between Jews and
their ancestral homeland of Israel. II