Commission Recommends Ordination of Women in Conservative Judaism

The recommendation that “qualified women be ordained as rabbis in the Conservative Movement” was submitted tonight to the 79th annual convention of The Rabbinical Assembly, the international organization of Conservative rabbis. The recommendation was contained in the Final Report of the Commission for the Study of the Ordination of Women as Rabbis, composed of 14 members representing the range of background and opinion of the Conservative Movement in Judaism.

Dr. Gerson D. Cohen, Chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, reported on the conclusions of the Commission, which he had convened in 1977 at the request of the Rabbinical Assembly, and which he has led as chairman during the intervening two years.

MAJORITY RECOMMENDATIONS

According to the 29 page report, which includes both a majority and minority opinion, the majority recommendations supported by 11 of the 14 Commission members are:

“That the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America revise its admission procedures to allow for applications from female candidates and the processing, there of for the purpose of admission to the ordination program on a basis equal to that maintained here to fore for males.

“That this revision of policy be accomplished as quickly as possible, preferably so as to allow applications from women for the academic year beginning in September 1979.

“That The Jewish Theological Seminary of America take steps to set up appropriate apparatuses for the recruitment, orientation, and eventually, career placement of female rabbinical students.

“That the major arms of the Conservative Movement immediately begin discussion of procedures to be followed to educate the community concerning issues raised in this report so as to insure as smooth and as harmonious an adjustment to the new policy as possible.”

In making these recommendations, the report stated, “The Commission is making no recommendation in regard to traditional practices relating to testimony, and no implications concerning such practices should be drawn on the basis of this report.

MINORITY OPINION

The minority opinion stated that “Although the signatories to this section are in sympathy with many of the arguments and sentiments expressed by our colleagues on the Commission, and embodied in the majority opinion given above, we remain opposed to the ordination of women as rabbis in the Conservative Movement.” The “motivations for arriving at this recommendation” were, in part.

“Our main thrust has to do with certain halachic problems which cannot in our opinion be separated from the question of ordination but flow from it almost inexorably. Not all congregations accept the view that women may be counted in a minyan, receive aliyot, or lead the service in liturgical prayer as a surrogate for others. Many more congregations and many Jews outside our Movement may be affected by practices in connection with testimony relating to marriage and divorce, where the laws are restrictive in the case of women. You cannot within the present climate of the Conservative Movement, ordain women and expect that they will not at some point infringe on these halachic restrictions in the performance of their rabbinical duties.

“We fear the possible disruption of the unity of the Movement. One of the consequences of a decision to ordain women might very well be the violations of halachic principles adhered to by others in the Movement, which in turn would result in the untenable position of individual rabbis being unable in good conscience to recognize the validity of marriages, divorces, and conversions supervised by one of their colleagues….

“Finally, we are concerned that at a time when American Jewish youth seems to be turning more toward traditional values, and to an authentic halachic lifestyle, this would seriously compromise the traditional image of the Conservative Movement, and The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as an authentic halachic institution. We feel strongly that such matters of symbolism must be taken as seriously as possible, for a wrong decision on an issue of this magnitude will, in our opinion, alienate many more halachically committed people than it will attract.”

For these reasons, the minority report concluded, “we recommend to the leaders of the Conservative Movement that appropriate roles be created for Jewish women short of ordination so that their commitment and talents may be a source of blessing and not of unnecessary controversy.

VOTE DUE MAY 30

The Commission report makes no recommendations concerning other traditional sex-role distinctions in Jewish ritual. For example, women, including women rabbis, will, in the eyes of many Conservative Jews, remain ineligible to serve as witnesses in judicial proceedings.

The recommendations now will be submitted to the faculty of the Seminary, the institution which trains rabbis for Conservative congregations, and would, according to the report, be called upon to admit women to its Rabbinical School. The faculty of the Seminary is considering the report and plans to vote on the recommendations of the Commission on May 30.

Speaking of the significance of the Commission’s recommendations, Cohen alluded to Conservative Judaism’s historical commitment to equal education for women. The recommendations, he said, give formal recognition to the fact that “Conservative Judaism has always offered both men and women the same intensive education in the classical texts of the tradition.” They further reflect, he continued, “our movement’s endeavor to respond creatively to the challenges of modernity by allowing and encouraging the development of Jewish in situations within the parameters of Jewish law.

EMPHASIS OF BOTH OPINIONS

The Commission report reviewed the halachic ethical, pragmatic, and symbolic issues involved in its decision. The majority view emphasized that Judaism differs from many religions in the role assigned to the religious leader. The rabbi is in no sense an intermediary between man and God, but rather, in the words of the report, has “a wide variety of functions….Among these are teaching, preaching, counselling, officiating at religious ceremonies, representing the Jewish community, etc.”

Thus, while the majority opinion counsels an innovation in Jewish practice, its recommendations were made in strict accordance with the Commission’s “commitment to the nation that legitimacy within Conservative Judaism must be measured first and foremost by an halachic standard.” It concludes that “signing a ketubah (marriage contract) or get (writ of divorce) as a witness are not among these essential functions (of the rabbi). There is no direct halachic objection to the acts of training and ordaining a woman to be a rabbi, preacher, and teacher in Israel.

Considerations of Jewish law were supplemented by testimony from a variety of social scientists and other experts, and by a sampling of public opinion, gathered at open hearings held in Vancouver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Chicago, Washington, New York and Toronto. According to the report, “It was felt to be a fundamental principle of Jewish practice that any decision concerning Jewish usage, even an halachically based decision, must take account of what will be reasonably acceptable to the community.”

Also decisive was the ethical argument derived from Conservative Judaism’s proud history of equal education for girls and boys. The report states that “the Commission” felt that it was morally wrong to maintain an educational structure that treats males and females equally up to the final stage (l. e. Rabbinical School); but distinguishes between them at that stage without a firm and clearly identifiable halachic reason for doing so.