January 25, 2016: Are we seeing an evolution in Orthodox Judaism?

By Michael Regenstreif

“Will 2016 be the year of the female Orthodox rabbi?” was the headline of a JTA feature about six stories in the Jewish and wider world to watch in 2016.

The question arose because two Orthodox institutions – Yeshivat Maharat in New York and Yeshivat Har’el in Jerusalem – have been ordaining women as Orthodox clergy, despite the opposition of such groups as the Rabbinical Council of America, the organization representing most modern Orthodox rabbis in North America, and Agudath Israel of America, an umbrella group representing haredi Orthodoxy (not to be confused with Agudath Israel, a Conservative congregation here in Ottawa).

The non-Orthodox Jewish movements in North America began ordaining women in the 1970s and ‘80s, and now the concept of women rabbis is taken for granted in the Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist and Jewish Renewal movements.

But, until very recently, the idea that a woman could be an Orthodox rabbi was still unheard of – and remains a taboo in most of the Orthodox world.

However, the concept of Orthodox women clergy in North America has taken hold through a still-developing, and still very small, movement known as “Open Orthodoxy” centred around several institutions associated with Rabbi Avi Weiss, the New York Orthodox rabbi who founded Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, a rabbinical seminary for men, in 1999, and Yeshivat Maharat, an equivalent seminary for women, a decade later.

According to Rabbi Weiss, Open Orthodoxy is about inclusivity: “encouraging women to become more involved in Jewish ritual and Jewish spiritual leadership”; welcoming those in LGBTQ relationships “as full members in our synagogues”; embracing and giving a forum “to those who struggle with deep religious, theological, and ethical questions”; reaching out “to converts with love and understanding”; decentralizing rabbinic authority to include local rabbis who may be more aware of how Halacha “should apply to their particular communal situations and conditions”; and, being “prepared to engage in dialogue and learn from Jews of other denominations, and, for that matter, people of all faiths.”

The women ordained by Yeshivat Maharat have been free to choose the title they will go by. Most have chosen “Maharat,” an acronym for the Hebrew words manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit Toranit indicating a female leader trained in Halacha, spirituality and Torah. Others have used “Rabba,” a feminized version of Rabbi, or “Morateinu,” Hebrew for our teacher. No matter which title chosen, these women have received the same rigorous level of training and education as their male counterparts in Orthodox rabbinical seminaries.

Lila Kagedan, who grew up in Ottawa and still retains ties to our community, was ordained by Yeshivat Maharat in 2015, and made headlines as the first Yeshivat Maharat graduate to take the title “Rabbi.”

When Rabbi Kagedan was in Ottawa in November, she told me she took the title of “Rabbi” to dispel any confusion about her training and qualifications. But she is well aware of how controversial her role as a rabbi is in the Orthodox world.

Rabbi Kagedan was back in the news this month because an Orthodox synagogue in New Jersey hired her to be part of its spiritual leadership team.

And that brings us back to the question posed by JTA. “Will 2016 be the year of the female Orthodox rabbi?”

According to Rabbi Weiss, Jewish movements are not “announced” or “proclaimed.” They “evolve” over a period of time. The correct question, I think, is whether we are seeing the beginning of an evolution in Orthodox Judaism? It will be fascinating to see whether Open Orthodoxy becomes a major force in the Orthodox world and whether we’ll ever come to take Orthodox women rabbis for granted as we do in the non-Orthodox denominations.

It’s definitely a story to watch.

December 7, 2015: Canada still stands resolutely in support of Israel at the UN

By Michael Regenstreif

I wasn’t in attendance, November 21, when Gil Hoffman, the Jerusalem Post’s chief political correspondent and analyst, spoke at Young Israel of Ottawa.

Hoffman’s advertised topic was “Peace, Politics and Palestinian Violence: An Insider’s Look at the Mayhem in the Middle East,” so I was surprised when I received reporter Diane Koven’s report on Hoffman’s lecture that he also used the opportunity for some Canadian political analysis.

According to Hoffman, “Canada mattered” while former prime minister Stephen Harper was in power, but we have totally lost our relevance in the world under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

I’ve no idea how much research went into Hoffman’s analysis, but it seems to me that two weeks into a four-year term is a little too quick to come to that kind of conclusion.

I suppose Hoffman’s comments had to do with Harper’s unquestionably strong support for the State of Israel. But I think it needs to be pointed out to the likes of Hoffman that none of the official Canadian government policies in regard to Israel, the Palestinian territories, West Bank settlements, the status of Jerusalem, or support for a negotiated two-state solution to Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians changed under Harper. Nor will it under Trudeau.

After the election, there was some speculation that Canada’s strong support for Israel at the United Nations during Harper’s tenure (which was actually a continuation of the support for Israel at the UN begun by the previous government under Liberal prime minister Paul Martin) would change once Trudeau took office. And perhaps that speculation is what Hoffman’s analysis was based on.

But, in the spate of annual anti-Israel resolutions that come before the UN like clockwork every year, our new government stood as resolutely in support of Israel as did our previous government.

“So far, with final plenary or initial committee votes on 19 of the 20 annual anti-Israel resolutions, Canada’s voting record is entirely unchanged from last year,” reported UN Watch, on November 25.

According to UN Watch, the new Canadian government is “on track to continue without change Canada’s prior policy of firmly opposing repetitive, disproportionate and one-sided resolutions … designed to delegitimize Israel, the Middle East’s only democracy.”

November 23, 2015: Israel takes small steps toward Jewish religious pluralism

By Michael Regenstreif

In my column in our July 27 issue, I argued against the hegemony of the haredi Orthodox Chief Rabbinate in Jewish religious affairs – including such matters as marriage, divorce and conversion – and the control of Israel’s religious services ministry by the haredi Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.

I pointed out that we live in a religiously pluralistic Jewish world, that some of us are very religious, while others are not at all. I said we must respect all Jewish denominations – haredi Orthodox, modern Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist and Reform – as equally legitimate and that Israel, as the homeland of all Jewish people, needs to respect the legitimacy of each of our denominations.

I wrote that column in reaction to a shocking statement, “a Reform Jew, from the moment he stops following Jewish law, I cannot allow myself to say that he is a Jew,” that Religious Services Minister David Azoulay said in an interview on Israeli Army Radio.

The next day, Azoulay rose in the Knesset to clarify his opinion. Reform Jews, he admitted, while sinners, are still Jewish.

There have since been some steps – albeit very small steps – to begin the process of addressing Jewish religious pluralism in Israel. In a speech to the Jewish Federations of North America annual General Assembly, November 10, in Washington, D.C., Netanyahu said he would strengthen the rights of non-Orthodox Jews in Israel.

“As prime minister of Israel, I will always ensure that all Jews can feel at home in Israel – Reform Jews, Conservative Jews, Orthodox Jews – all Jews,” he said.

Netanyahu said the government had formed a roundtable group of representatives of the different religious movements and government ministries in order to address the movements’ concerns. (JTA, the Bulletin’s wire service, reports the roundtable, though first announced months ago, has yet to meet formally.) A couple of days after Netanyahu’s speech at the General Assembly, it was announced that the Jewish Agency for Israel’s annual funding to the Reform and Conservative movements in Israel – $1.09 million each – would be matched by funds from the Prime Minister’s Office.

It’s a beginning, but there is still a long way to go before the non-Orthodox movements attain equal legitimacy in Israel’s religious affairs. Despite being doubled, the funding for the non-Orthodox movements is still very modest and it is coming from the Jewish Agency and the Prime Minister’s Office, not from the religious affairs ministry. But at least Netanyahu recognizes there is a problem that must be addressed.

However, Netanyahu heads Israel’s government by virtue of a numerically weak coalition and, as long as the Knesset seats (currently 13 of 120) controlled by the religious parties – Shas and United Torah Judaism – are enough to put a coalition into power, the government will not take the big steps necessary to effect real change.