Rabbi Sally Priesand is America's first female rabbi ordained by a rabbinical seminary, and the second formally ordained female rabbi in Jewish history, after Regina Jonas. After her ground-breaking ordination she served first as assistant and then as associate rabbi at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City, and later led Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls, New Jersey from 1981 until her retirement in 2006. In addition to her rabbinic roles, Priesand has served on the board of each of the major institutions of Reform Judaism, including the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Union for Reform Judaism and the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
This exchange is in honour of a new anthology, The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate, of which Rabbi Priesand is a contributor. Part 1 can be found right here.
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Dear Rabbi Priesand,
In the last round we discussed the different ways in which female rabbis have influenced Judaism. Your answer focused on the positive strides that have been made toward a more compassionate and inspiring Jewish leadership. Now I'd like to ask you about the current challenges facing female rabbis.
In your contribution to The Sacred Calling you mention the importance of the early support you received from a number of male rabbis at the beginning of your career, back when a female rabbi seemed like a novelty to many community members, even in the Reform movement. While things have clearly changed on that front, do you believe there are still biases and stigmas facing female rabbis in progressive Judaism (say, Jewish men who are reluctant to be led by female rabbis)? Are there any special concerns or plights which people are unaware of that female members of the clergy, as a group, still need to deal with?
Yours,
Shmuel.
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Dear Shmuel,
Although female rabbis are no longer a novelty, there are several areas in which progress still needs to be made. I was surprised when a recent survey indicated that female rabbis were being paid less than male rabbis. That this is so is absolutely contrary to the Reform Movement’s commitment to equality and social justice. The best way to deal with this challenge is to educate our congregations. I suspect that many of them are ignorant of the problem and will be as surprised as I was when they read Chapter 37, “Women Rabbis and the Gender Pay Gap” by Michael J. Gan and Joshua Scharff in The Sacred Calling.
The slogan “equal pay for equal work” that we hear so often in secular society is equally valid in the Jewish community and demands our attention. The responsibility for changing this inequity, however, lies not with female rabbis alone but with congregations themselves and with the Reform Movement as a whole. Female rabbis should be trained how best to bring up these issues when negotiating their contracts, and lay leaders must be educated about the official policies of the Reform Movement and how any kind of discrimination, whether intentional or not, is morally indefensible. I have no doubt that Reform Jews are well-represented among those who champion equal pay for women in secular society. I am confident that when they learn the facts they will treat their female rabbinic leaders with the dignity and respect they have earned. After all, those who serve the Jewish people as rabbis, whether women or men, do the same work and fulfil the same responsibilities and deserve equal compensation.
The gender pay gap is also reflected in Jewish communal life where there are far fewer female executives than there should be, and in those organizations where they do exist, surveys show that they too are often paid significantly less than their male counterparts. This gender gap goes beyond compensation and can also be found at conventions and seminars and on boards of trustees. My unscientific study of programming in the Jewish community reveals panels and programs in which the speakers are primarily male. Sometimes, at these events, there isn’t even one woman on the dais. In today’s world, I refuse to believe that no matter what the topic no women could be found to engage in the conversation. Until and unless this changes, real equality will not be established.
One final area of concern I want to mention is that of maternity leave which, when handled properly, will ultimately lead to family leave for male rabbis as well. If we embrace the importance of family life for our people, then we must make certain that the way we treat our rabbinic and cantorial leaders will serve as a role model for others. In facing this challenge, lay leaders and senior rabbis play an important role. Let me share an example.
Although I never worked with an assistant rabbi during the twenty-five years I served Monmouth Reform Temple, I did face this issue when our female cantor requested maternity leave. Believing as I did (and still do) that synagogues have an obligation to provide paid maternity leave, I took the lead and worked with our cantor to present a joint proposal to our lay leadership that would provide for the needs of the temple during the cantor’s absence. I also volunteered to take over the cantor’s b’nai mitzvah duties for three months, even though that meant spending time at the temple during what was supposed to be my vacation. When lay leaders and clergy work together to meet the needs of the temple, a lesson is taught about doing the right thing, and as a result everyone benefits. Never underestimate the importance of setting expectations.
How will we know we have been successful in facing these challenges and levelling the playing field? I prefer to keep in mind the words of Regina Jonas: “I hope a time will come for all of us in which there will be no more questions on the subject of ‘woman’: for as long as there are questions, something is wrong…. God has placed abilities and callings in our hearts, without regard to gender. Thus each of us has the duty, whether man or woman, to realize those gifts God has given. If you look at things this way, one takes woman and man for what they are: human beings.”
L’shalom,
Sally
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