by R. Gil Student
Let’s say the OU were to expel a synagogue, or 4, what practical difference would it make?
Insider politics within the Orthodox Jewish community is abuzz with discussion of whether the Orthodox Union (OU) will expel four member synagogues that have hired women clergy. This debate misses the essential nature and the very structure of the Orthodox community today.
In response to developments on the left fringes of the Orthodox-affiliating community, the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) has issued three resolutions opposing the ordination and hiring of women clergy. The OU convened its own rabbinical panel, consisting of leading rabbis and roshei yeshiva, to which it posed these two questions:
- Is it halachically acceptable for a synagogue to employ a woman in a clergy function?
- What is the broadest spectrum of professional roles within a synagogue that may be performed by a woman?
No respected halachic authority has concluded to the contrary regarding women clergy…
Continued on the Jewish Press.
