MO Woman

Women in Leadership

Sha'alvim for Women just announced that they have appointed a new menahel and dean, and that they wanted the position to be filled by a Rabbi. In response, AddeRabbi shares his thoughts on the lack of leadership positions for women:

Let me begin by stating for the record that there's a real problem that there's no way to recognize a learned Orthodox woman. Before you start with the apologetics, let me state that as a recognized Rabbi, everything I pay in rent and utilities, a substantial chunk of my salary, is taxed at a much lower rate than the rest of my salary. I am eligible for a higher salary because a rabbinical degree is recognized as an advanced degree, usually on the level of a Master's. There are also a number of positions, not just rabbinical positions, open to ordained rabbis. A qualified Orthodox woman gets none of these benefits, even if her job description and education is identical to that of another rabbi, because there's no such thing as semikha for Orthodox women...

...I should note that this has nothing to do with feminism, or equality, or even women getting Orthodox semikha. It's not about granting women a certain 'status', but about finding a way to articulate their qualifications to fill certain jobs and accrue certain benefits that they are fully qualified for and entitled to. Yashrus isn't feminism, is it?

Instead of commenting on this particular case (and as it happens I know the rabbi who they have hired, he is a talented educator), I would like to follow AddeRabbi's lead and add a few thoughts on women entering leadership positions in general.

First, it is important to know that there are some Orthodox female educators and communal leaders who are now receiving parsonage. Some of the graduates of the Drisha Scholar's circle in NY received parsonage in the past and managed to receive equal pay to men who have semicha from the institutions where they worked. Also, a few synagogues have women working in a communal role (such as madricha ruchanit or congregational intern) where I believe one of them may have received parsonage. So, there are a few precedents of such a thing happening without needing to give women semicha. However, these are all individual cases.

Moreover, some women who want to continue their studies and feel that they have achieved something recognizable after their hard work, have opted for the PhD route. The truth is that you have to be interested in academic study of Judaism to follow this path, so it is obviously not for everyone.

Finally, when discussing leadership roles for women, it is also important to think about the needs of the students. Girls like to have someone to look up to. Placing talented women in school leadership positions sends a message to female students that says: Women can learn and teach Torah (or run a Jewish school) alongside being a Jewish wife and mother! It is inspiring and empowering for girls to see a significant position in chinuch available to them as a career option.

Thanks to AddeRabbi for bringing up this important issue on his blog.

New at the Orthodox Caucus

The Orthodox Caucus is expanding the "Women and Orthodoxy" section on its website and has begun a new initiative focusing on women in leadership positions, together with YU's Center for the Jewish Future (according to the CJF's recent newsletter):

As part of its ongoing commitment to creating more leadership roles for women in the Orthodox community, The Orthodox Caucus (www.ocweb.org), hosted by Yeshiva University and working in conjunction with the Center for the Jewish Future, is building a national network for women in leadership positions. The first step, reports Orthodox Caucus Executive Director Jordana Schoor, will be an online forum, followed by initiatives to piggyback onto professional conferences and to create small mentoring circles.

“The dearth of women in leadership positions hurts the Jewish community,” Schoor said. “It deprives the Orthodox community of potential talent and important opinions, and disempowers women seeking to dedicate their talents to Orthodox Judaism.” The new network, Schoor added, will provide a virtual community for “women to share their successes, challenges, and failures; then we’ll be able to cull from that forum the issues they’re facing and determine how to help them succeed.”

It is certainly noteworthy that the Orthodox Caucus itself has hired an Orthodox woman, Jordana Schoor, as Executive Director. Also worth reading is Jordana Schoor's thoughts on how women's roles within the home have quietly been transformed.

Thoughts on Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

Reading about Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's resignation today, I was reminded of how incredible it is that we have had a female judge on the Supreme Court for the past 24 years.

At first I was a little disappointed with the coverage. So much of the focus was on the details of her decisions and not about Justice O'Connor herself. Since I was only learning to read when she was first appointed, I would have liked to hear a little more background about her pre-Supreme Court days as well. I also would have liked to read more about her experience as the first female Supreme Court justice.

But then I thought again. Maybe the coverage of Justice O'Connor's resignation was actually symbolic of the incredible strides women have made in American society. The fact that the coverage was essentially no different than it would have been had this been a male justice retiring, shows that it is no longer a "big deal" that there was a woman on the Supreme Court.

Very little of the reporting discussed Justice O'Connor's personal life and motivations. But this one excerpt from the NY Times was very touching:

Several factors compelled Justice O'Connor to vacate her seat, according to her son, former clerks and friends. Her husband, John Jay O'Connor III, has suffered from Alzheimer's disease and grown increasingly dependent on his wife of more than 50 years. He often spent days with her at the court, resting in her office while she sat on the bench.

(Photo from NY Times)

Update: Follow-up NY Times article talks about the impact her career as Supreme Court Justice has had on women in the judiciary.

Orthomom's Heroines

Orthomom has a new feature called Heroine of the Day, in which she tells the story of outstanding Jewish women through history.

Gedolim's Sensitivity to Women

Bloghead and House of Hock have both written responses to Toby Katz's post on Cross-Currents which takes the position that gedolim can identify with the needs of Jewish women. She wrote:

Gedolim rise to an exceptionally high level of refinement, but all humans who are sufficiently mature and intelligent can understand the feelings of other humans.

In a way I symapthize with Toby Katz. We believe in a tradition which only permits male rabbinic leadership, hence it is essential to believe that these gedolim can serve the needs of the whole community, including the women.

However, even if it is true that the gedolei hador genuinely empathize with all members of the Jewish community, there is a separate question about whether women are comfortable fully expressing their concerns to their male leaders. The yoatzot halacha phenomenon shows that when it comes to female-related issues, such as hilchot niddah, many women prefer to consult a woman. I have heard many women say that they preferred  to be more strict than necessary in their observance of family purity laws rather than have a discussion about such intimate topics with a rabbi.

To me, this is not about feminism as much as it is about tzniut (modesty) and a sensitivity which often only comes about through shared experience. I choose to go to an all female Ob-gyn practice for the same reasons. I think that there are some areas where no matter how knowledgeable and sensitive a rabbi may be, a woman will just be more comfortable consulting another woman.