Kudos to Rabbi Shai Held on his insightful Opinion piece, “Halacha and Innovation Not Mutually Exclusive,” (May 28).
Those of us who believe in Torat Chaim (a living Torah) know that the halachic process is a dynamic one, which has accommodated itself to the reality of the human, and Jewish, condition throughout the ages. It is astonishing that so many in the Orthodox world see halacha as being so rigid as to be incapable of accepting the possibility of women’s ordination. This view is not only shortsighted, but risks the permanent alienation of some of the best and brightest minds in the Jewish world today, both male and female.
It is reassuring to know that there are those, like Rabbi Held, who see the situation differently, and who give hope to those of us who yearn to see a day when leadership in the Jewish community is determined by ability, not gender.
Englewood, N.J.
