”Rabbi Avi Weiss has conferred semikha upon a woman, has made her an Assistant Rabbi at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale where she carries out certain traditional rabbinical functions, and has now given her the title of Rabbah (formerly Maharat).  He has stated that the change in title is designed to “make it clear that Sara Hurwitz is a full member of our rabbinic staff, a rabbi with the additional quality of a distinct woman’s voice.
”These developments represent a radical and dangerous departure from Jewish tradition and the mesoras haTorah, and must be condemned in the strongest terms.  Any congregation with a woman in a rabbinical position of any sort cannot be considered Orthodox.” – press release from Agudath Israel

At a time when Orthodox Jews with names like Rubashkin, Kolko, Tropper, Elon, Dwek and Eisenmann and so many others don’t get this sort of condemnation. Leave it to the “Council of Torah Sages” to come down hard as if their world is going to become unrecognizable should a woman be given rabbinic ordination.
Rabbi Aharon Feldman, Ner Israel’s Rosh Yeshiva, didn’t sign the April 11, 2007 Rabbinical Council of Greater Baltimore statement entitled “Abuse in Our Community. But he was one of the 10 signatures on the bottom of the above Agudath press release. Mr. Eisenmann lives on his very campus. It’s as if sexual molestation or the out right embezzlement of Orthodox Jews doesn’t merit the condemnation of the “sages.”
Rabbi Weiss’s move is of course controversial. Isn’t it something to discuss instead of something to condemn? I mean, aren’t “sages” people who go back and forth with one another and discuss. Don’t we see even in Talmud where sages disagree at times with one another?
Orthodox Jews, including rabbis, are facing charges of molestation to hedge fund extortion. Yet, there are no press releases with signatures condemning these acts. An article in the New York Jewish Week reports that recent arrests and violations could harm the Orthodox community’s standing and power base.
That should be a worry. That should be the concern. The “sages” should sign a public memo calling on all of us to check our behavior, to live by the very midot we teach our children.
Instead, the focus goes overboard towards Rabbi Avi Weiss and Rabbah Sara Hurwitz.
Aren’t the problems we face of unemployment, agunot and trauma so much more important than a full-court public press for the ordination of a woman as an Orthodox rabbi? I know of a man with 11 children who worries each day about feeding them. I got an email this week from another man who is on the cusp of homelessness, about ready to be evicted, because he lost his job. I know of three Orthodox women, personally, who still haven’t gotten their gets. Why aren’t “sages” condemning that?
Not saying that a woman as an Orthodox rabbi isn’t the topic for a debate in process. And I can understand why it gets a visceral reaction. But the visceral reaction of the “sages” is inconsistent, and they should know that.
Condemnation?
Condemn hunger. Condemn unemployment. Condemn family violence. Condemn childhood sexual abuse. Sign your name to something of relevance.
Come on “sages,” we need more than this from you.
A woman as an Orthodox rabbi?
Men, we’ve had our chances to lead. So much abuse. So much arrogance.
Maybe it’s time to let a woman try.
Just saying.

Thanks Ed,

My issue was not with the JT for not editing but with Phil for not editing his own piece. I think the post was submitted on the fly without much thought and he would have done himself a service, and all of us who were subjected to his rant, by looking over his piece a few times before hitting the submit. He may have a right to publish whatever he wants, but I would expect much more from a professional than letting it all hang out.

@Sam - while I personally disagree with Phil regarding this subject, the question of whether or not this blog is edited is inane. It is a blog. It is opinion. If the JT were to edit it because it wasn’t PC, it would be a sad and troubling day. Just as you (and I) have the right to disagree with Phil about the meat of the matter, he has the right to his opinion and the right to broadcast that opinion.

I blog for the JT. They have never edited my comments. If anything Neil Rubin beats me up for not publishing on a more consistent basis. If he did tell me that they were going to edit my submissions, I would tender my resignation as a blogger for them.

I personally think that the Rabbi who conferred smicha on the woman in question was out of bounds of normative Torah observant Judaism. I think that Phil’s argument about molesters and embezzlers has no bearing on the argument about smicha for women. But I absolutely believe that Phil has the right to believe and publish what he believes. That is what is great about this country. At least for now, we have the right of free speech. If it gets to the point that they take that away from us, it’s time to find another place to live.

Yaakov,

From the same article (see my emphasis in *‘s):

“Putting a woman in front of a group of men and women on a regular or ad-hoc basis is violative of tznius. *Halacha accomplishes much more than the letter of the law.* There is nothing in the Shulchan Aruch about keeping a cat in the aron kodesh. It’s technically permitted but it’s wrong to do.”

Perhaps most importantly, Weiss’s move was made without any authority, Shafran said.

“[If] Weiss had the backing of a world-class posek (halachic decisor) he would have a claim that he’s not departing [from the mesorah], but he does not have any such backings on the recognized Orthodox spectrum, chareidi or central. *He’s changing the face of mesorah without anyone of stature behind him.*”

Preservation of our Torah is EXACTLY what he says.

Sam,

You say that “preservation of our Torah” is what’s important, but that doesn’t seem to be what they’re doing.  In their own words, as reported in the Jewish Star:

“Tznius isn’t a mode of dress. It includes the idea that women are demeaned and not honored when they’re put in the public eye and put on a pedestal. The position he [Weiss] has created violated the concept,” [Rabbi Avi] Shafran said. Whether the ordination violates a specific halacha (Torah law), is unimportant, he explained. [http://thejewishstar.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/past-the-edge-of-orthodoxy/]

Dede (and Phil),

I agree that more work needs to be done to take a stand against “embezzlers, molesters, and those who protect them”, and much work is being done, just not in the form of public statements. There has been a recent awareness of these issues and much work has been underway to improve the situation in the forms of public and organizational gathering and policy setting to name a few. The issue of Smicha for women is not a threat to the Agudah, but a threat to Jewish tradition. While the crimes of “embezzlers, molesters, and those who protect them” are also a threat to tradition they’re a whole different sort than the ordination of woman Rabbis. Ordination of woman Rabbis is a public statement of rejection of our tradition and there’s a need to combat it with our own clear public statements. The crimes of individuals are not public statements of official policy, are readily understood as being against the Torah and everything it stands for, and public statements are not the constructive method of correcting the problem. Working on the problem in the field is, and that is what is being done. If you want to give constructive criticism to the Agudah and other leaders of the community, point out that more work needs to be done in the field. Public statements are not the answer.

I’ll also point out that while “embezzlers, molesters, and those who protect them” are an important issue to tackle, it’s not the only issue. There’s education, poverty, domestic violence, substance abuse, and many other concerns which are high priorities of the Agudah and the other leaders of the community.

Above all, and this is something Phil and others might not understand, there’s the concern of preservation of our Torah and its tradition that provides the backbone for dealing with all these problems and living meaningfully. G-d and Torah is not a back-burner item - it’s the fuel that provides wisdom and energy to everything. If you don’t understand that you will continue to miss the boat in your understanding of the Torah community and how it functions and your critiques will reach no one but the choir you’re preaching to. You can continue to waste your time, or you can seek to understand your audience and provide constructive criticism. Your choice.

....or, instead of attacking the posting as a “vendetta”, you could respond to the points made therein, which I think are pretty salient. Our community is in crisis in many ways and needs true leadership; this issue is where our leaders choose to take a stand? i think it’s pretty telling that the Agudah is threatened by one woman hundreds of miles away getting smicha, but not by embezzlers, molesters, and those who protect them, right under its nose.

One more thing…

As a journalist I would think you would have some sort of vetting system for the information you read and then write about. It seems to me that you believe almost everything you read on blogs and such and jump to outrageous conclusions. It’s time to turn in your journalist degree, or send in your resume to some Mom and Pop tabloid.

By the way, all those you’re trying to convince with your rant have turned you off a long time ago. I actually thought you had turned around after seeing some very positive reports about the religious community coming from your pen. I see now that I was severely mistaken. Sigh.

If this isn’t a clear sign of Phil’s vendetta against Rabbis I don’t know what is. In his obviously unedited rant he brought up completely unsubstantiated claims and falsehoods. An agenda has hijacked your good judgment sir.