Term Paper on "Women as Rabbis the Ordination"

Term Paper 12 pages (3899 words) Sources: 12

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Women as Rabbis

The ordination of women as rabbis in Judaism engenders as much discussion as the ordination of women as priests in the Catholic Church and some opposition, usually based on history as much as on biblical prescription. Feminists would have to see Judaism as more advanced, however, for the ordination of women is not unheard of in spite of some resistance from certain groups, and women rabbis can be found in Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist groups, with a few even found among Orthodox populations. This trend has been largely a product of the Jewish enlightenment, with the greatest change over the last few decades.

A rabbi is literally a teacher, and under the tradition, a rabbi is an observant Jewish male who obeys mitzvot, knows Jewish law (halacha), can resolve halakhic disputes, and instructs the community. The role of women was long subject of debate, and the first woman was ordained as a rabbi only in 1972 in a Reform group. The role of women in Judaism as a whole has changed for many sects, and a consideration of the history of women in the Temple shows what sorts of shifts had to be made before they could be ordained.

Separation

Women have long been separated from men in public places, such as in Temple. Sources in the Bible refer to women as singers, dancers, and mourners. Certainly, women were present at communal events, and sources also show that women were participants at Temple public celebrations. The issue of the mehitzah, or barrier, is key and focuses not on the presence of women in the synagogue but on their place in the synagogue. Today, a variety of seating arrangements exist, ranging from mixed pews to balconies and separate rooms. Many Jews assume that the separate seating model follows ancient patterns, but in fact, this is uncertain. The absence of a mehitzah in a synagogue does not in itself mean that there is mixed seating, since men and women could sit separately without the barrier. Some historians believe that women did not attend synagogue in ancient times, though this is also unclear. The practice of separation did begin at some point:

Whether its origin was in biblical, late antique, or medieval times, the mehitzah has become a symbol of denominational allegiances and policies in the twentieth century.

The uncertainty over the archaeological and historical records are compounded by the equal ambiguities of the halakhic issues. Jewish law, the halakah, is based on more than 600 commandments, the mitzvahs, laid down by God and given to Moses in the Torah. This body of law is intended to control every aspect of existence for the pious Jew, and he is expected to obey every mitzvah. Yet, in the halakhic record, questions remain about the requirement that the sexes be separated for prayer as well as for public occasions. The wording of the text in the Talmud is unclear, and nowhere do the codes explicitly require a mehitzah. There are some references to the ezrat nashim, or Women's Court in the Second Temple, which according to rabbinic tradition was where women were separated, with the reason for this being the presence of kalut rosh, or light headedness, which the Sages understood as frivolous or lewd behavior. Preventing such behavior was one of the key factors in later halakhic pronouncements and developments. Maimonides in his compilation of laws dealing with the temple refers to a women's section, and other medieval texts refer to the use of a partition for public occasion. Still, no requirement for the use of a partition is found until more recent times:

It was not until the modern period, when the Reform Movement first removed the mehitzah and later instituted family pews, that responsa explicitly requiring a mehitzah for prayer services were written. Orthodox decisors today all agree that one can only pray in a synagogue with separate seating and a mehitzah. No matter what the historical record, the Temple pattern of that one day has thus been extended to the synagogue permanently.

Many who consider the role of the mehitzah in Jewish life today try to relate it to a perception of ill-treatment of women in ancient times, and yet this is a misreading both of the role of the mehitzah and of history. Dr. Joseph Herman Hertz notes one work on religion and ethics that claims that the relation of wife to husband in biblical times was that of a slave to her master, and Hertz says this is completely false and can be so demonstrated with hundreds of scriptural references to the contrary. In Jewish law, the property rights of women were clearly defined in the Talmudic period, and the legal status of the woman under Jewish law can be compared advantageously to that of contemporary civilizations. Women enjoyed respect and reverence in Judaism and still do. The earliest allusion to women in public worship is found in Exodus 38:8, which refers to the women who assembled at the door of the "tent of meeting" of whose mirrors the lavers of brass were made. The women are described as full of piety, holiness, and humbleness. Also to be found are references to the exclusion of women from the synagogue during certain seasons, though it is also noted that nearly all the authorities protested against it, many declaring that the practice was quite un-Jewish. Hertz believes that the synagogue took for its model the arrangement in the Temple and thus confined women to a place of their own, but he has no doubt that women were an important part of worship in the synagogue.

Nahida Remy notes that modern research has shown that much old Jewish thought and custom contributed to the amelioration of family life and to the social standing of women. The Bible from the beginning shows that man and woman were alike created in the image of God:

Among nearly all the ancient nations woman was considered a dependent, enslaved creature, or an object of luxury and amusement. Let us turn to the Bible and the Talmud to find how woman was treated among the Jews... The special care for woman and the reverential regard for her are remarkable, and fall nothing short of homage.

Remy finds that there was a vast difference between the independence given women in Jewish life and the condition of slavery to which girls and women of other nations were subjected during their entire lives.

The Reform Movement

Jew is one who accepts the faith of Judaism, and yet the issue of what is a Jew has been considered a difficult one to determine with any finality. The above is the religious definition, but there is also a cultural definition in that a Jew is one who considers himself a Jew or is so regarded by the community. Judaism in any case holds that mankind can most genuinely worship God by imitating those qualities considered godly, such as mercy, justice, and tolerance. There are three principal tenets in the Jewish prayer book: 1) the love of learning -- Jews long ago had a system of compulsory education, and education is a responsibility of the Jewish community; 2) the worship of God -- Jews are taught that God is to be worshiped out of love and not out of fear; and 3) good deeds -- Good deeds are those that come from the heart, and no one is exempt from obligations to his fellow human beings. Jews believe in the immortality of the soul, but the nature of this immortality is known only to God. They do not any longer accept the literal idea of heaven and hell, however, thought here was a time when that was a part of Jewish theology.

Reform Jews believe that Jewish tradition has always been in a state of flux and that Judaism itself is an evolving entity. They began in nineteenth-century Europe as Jews who had just been freed from the ghettos and tried to make premodern Judaism responsive to the changing conditions of their newly found civil status. Reform Jews emphasize the need to interpret Judaic tradition from the perspective of individual conscience and informed choice. Jews must study Jewish tradition, but they also need to adapt it to modern life.

Jews since that time have been divided into three main religious sectors, all of which are found in the United States today. These three are Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. Orthodox Jews accept the revelation of the Torah, both written and oral, by God to Moses, and they hold to the obligation of Jews to observe the commandments contained in the Torah as well as the enactments of the rabbinical courts of their own tradition. The majority of the Jews around the world are Orthodox, although the degree of observance may vary.

Conservative Jews are those whose congregations belong to an organization called the United Synagogue, and the most immediate difference with the orthodox group is that in the synagogue, men and… READ MORE

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