More Orthodox women rabbis?

May 24, 2009 at 1:14 AM | Posted by Rabbi Joshua

The prospect of more women serving as Orthodox rabbis is just around the corner. A recent article in The Forward discusses the opening of a new yeshiva that plans to train women as Orthodox clergy. Interestingly, however, graduates will not yet be called "rabbis." According to Sara Hurwitz, one of the program's founders:

We’re training women to be rabbis ... What they will be called is something we’re working out.

The program is partly a brainchild of Rabbi Avi Weiss, who has long been an advocate for what he calls "Open Orthodoxy," and is the founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, an "Open Orthodox" rabbinical school based in NYC.

Rabbi Weiss stressed that the halachic limitations on women would be observed, and thus some functions would still need to be performed by men. But that does not mean that women will fulfill any less of a leadership role, he stresses.

“The Orthodox model is not the Conservative and Reform model, where the roles of men and women in general and in leadership are identical,” Weiss told the Forward. “In Orthodoxy, the roles significantly overlap, but there are very clear distinctions.”

The issue of women rabbis is still hotly debated within Orthodoxy, and Weiss has long drawn criticism for his positions.

Despite the controversy of the topic, most people are not aware of the history of women within Orthodoxy, nor of the fact that there are already a small number of women who have received Orthodox smicha. Despite your position on the issue, it will be interesting to observe how these women clergy will be received in the Orthodox world.

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What do young Jews want out of Jewish life?

May 21, 2009 at 3:53 PM | Posted by Rabbi Joshua

A recent article posted on Synagogue 3000's website discusses one of the most engaging (and successful) programs aimed at 20 & 30 Somethings. The article's author, Rabbi Jeremy Morrison, conducted a whole new approach to ascertain the needs of young, unaffiliated Jews in Boston. The entire article is great (and recommended reading), but for this post I want to focus on what unaffiliated young Jews expressed as their needs and desires:

We met with unaffiliated Jews living in the neighborhoods in which we have now established circles, and we asked the participants about their connections to Judaism, their reluctance to become affiliated with a synagogue, what of Judaism they would like to try, where they would like to try it, what we could do to help, and similar questions. Participants responded that they were seeking Shabbat meals and services in an intimate setting, serious learning about Judaism, and social action projects. They wanted to start with activities in their own neighborhoods, and they sought a mix of ages and types (e.g. married and single, older and younger; interfaith couples) to join together. Additionally, participants wanted any social connections to flow from these activities, rather than focusing on the social or dating aspect.

The older "model" of congregations and synagogues does not necessarily meet the needs of younger Jewish professionals who are seeking more intimate, spiritual, and engaging communities. If we are to have any success in engaging the next generation, we need to rethink our models we are often so married to, and come back to the drawing board.

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Where have all the Jews gone?

at 12:48 AM | Posted by Rabbi Joshua


A good friend of mine, Derek Leman, today posted an entry titled "Who let the Jews Out." It is an excellent critique of the direction Messianic Judaism has taken in the last 10 to 15 years. His post has led to a lengthy discussion on the role of non-Jews, and the future direction of the Movement.

Many of his points echoed thoughts I wrote about in an article for Kesher in its Summer/Fall 2006 issue. I observed that despite the seeming success of the modern Messianic Jewish Movement in America, it has failed to reach Jews:

Although much attention is often given to the growth of Messianic Judaism since its inception in the 1960's and 70's, there is also a failure to recognize the fact that the Messianic Movement has not been as successful as it claims in reaching out to the larger Jewish community. Although Messianic congregations are springing up around the world, very few of these congregations have sizable Jewish numbers, and tend to be quite small.

As Derek argues in his blog, if Messianic Judaism is ever to become what many of us believe it should be, it must overcome its current crisis of identity and address the causes of this phenomenon. Our position is that until the movement as a whole (or at least a substantial sector) comes to agreement on the purpose of our existence, these issues will remain.

Stay tuned as we share our own thoughts on the purpose and goals of a Yeshua-infused Judaism.

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First African-American woman rabbi should challenge us

May 19, 2009 at 3:23 AM | Posted by Rabbi Joshua

On June 6th, Alysa Stanton will become the first African-American woman to be ordained as a rabbi and will lead a congregation in North Carolina. Stanton, a convert to Judaism, is a mother to an adopted 14 year old daughter and a trained psychotherapist who specializes in trauma and grief.

Since ordaining its first female rabbi in 1972, Hebrew Union College (HUC) has ordained 582 women rabbis. Reconstructionist Judaism ordained its first female rabbi in 1974, and the Conservative movement began ordaining women as rabbis in 1985. Since then, a number of Orthodox women have also received Orthodox smicha.

The ordination of the first female African-American rabbi should spark further discussions about the ordination of women rabbis within a Messianic Jewish context. The Messianic Jewish movement remains one of the only branches of Judaism that still does not officially ordain woman as rabbis. But this is not for a lack of previous discussions and debate.

A number of debates, including a recent one hosted at Toward Blog, highlight the growing call for Messianic Judaism to move forward in this matter. Many of us younger Messianic Jews do not even understand what is holding us up from moving forward on this issue, and are continually growing restless with all the foot dragging. In the meantime, many gifted and talented young women are voting with their feet and leaving our movement for spiritual communities in which their talents are valued. In a day and age when women can be and do anything, it seems absurd that what they CANNOT be is a Messianic rabbi.

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Is it kosher now?: Answering to a higher authority

May 18, 2009 at 2:44 AM | Posted by Rabbi Joshua

Voices within the Jewish community are calling for an evolution in kashrus. "From Kosher to Eco-Kosher to Righteously Kosher, Jews are amplifying the notion of the sacredness of food to include care for workers and the environment," states a recent article at Religion Dispatches. In the wake of various scandals involving the kosher food industry, and particularly the Agriprocessors fiasco, many Jews are asking whether or not kashrus needs a moral and ethical overhaul.

According to the article's author, Rabbi Benjamin Weiner:
If rabbinic supervision as it is currently constituted...is concerned only with ascertaining the purity of meat according to the letter of the law, and does not provide the moral foundation to militate against flagrant social abuses, then a revaluation of the concept of kashrut itself is in order.

We are called to be holy and to partner with HaShem in infusing the world with holiness. A kosher diet is a "diet for the soul," and brings holiness to the otherwise mundane process of eating. As such, higher standards should be placed on the food that passes our lips. If the meat is shecht (ritually slaughtered) properly - but employees are mistreated, animals are treated inhumanely, and unethical business practices are employed - then the slaughter, processing, purchase, and consumption of that meat has failed to impart holiness into the world.

New standards are needed. Proposals include:
  • promoting eco-kosher standards and the humane treatment of animals
  • an additional heksher (kosher certification symbol) denoting a company's commitment to righteous business practices, and
  • more transparent kashrus procedures
As Jews who care about Torah, and the mitzvah of ve'ahavta lera'eicha kamocha - of loving our neighbor as ourselves, we must speak out in support of such changes. There is an expression that "we are what we eat." Let's make sure that when we do eat, that we can be assured that all aspects of holiness and integrity are involved.

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