Women rabbis
Comments: I note that in Rabbi Raymond Apple’s recent article discussing the reasons for the Rabbinical Council of America not accepting the ordination of women as community spiritual leaders (“Women as spiritual leaders,” September 8), there is no argument presented based on merit.
Hence this disqualification is the result of the end point of their halachic analysis and not as a result of women being less qualified to do the important job of spiritual leadership.
If one is wondering if our communities are currently getting the best spiritual leadership one doesn’t have to look far for an answer.
For example, in Australia, like Israel, the rabbinical authorities have beclowned themselves through their lamentable responses to the abuse of children in their community, either through enabling the perpetrators or silence.
This alone should qualify for strong evidence that we do not have the absolute best people acting as the spiritual leaders of our communities and we must seek new and diverse pools of talent.
If you had a disease (heaven forbid), would you not want the most qualified doctor treating you? If you had a life-changing court case, would you not want the best lawyer? Are not spiritual leaders at least as important than these? Is there a professional field that a woman is not qualified for?
The current message from those who continue to disqualify women from spiritual leadership is that the position of rabbi is just not important enough to get the best qualified person, and hence is not deserving of the same level of professional respect as say a doctor or lawyer.
The RCA can make endless halachic arguments why a woman should be excluded from spiritual leadership, but the net result is that respect for rabbinic authority will continue its decades long decline in the eyes of the greater Jewish community. This is especially true with younger generations who are much more comfortable with women in positions of professional leadership.
One can argue that approximately half the Orthodox communities do not have the best person qualified for spiritual leadership because half the population is immediately disqualified for reasons other than merit.
So as you listen to your rabbi guide your community do you wonder, is he from the B team? ANTONY KASPI Melbourne