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. Parts 1 and 2 can be found here and here.
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Dear Rabbi Priesand,
In the previous two rounds we discussed the effect female rabbis have had on Judaism and the challenges still facing them. In both rounds the answers and examples tended to describe the state of female clergy in your denomination – the Reform Movement. In this round I'd like to ask about the attitude you and other progressive rabbis have towards the revolution taking place in the Orthodox world, where many females are beginning to demand leadership roles and to be ordained by several institutions.
My question: How is this process viewed by female rabbis in progressive Judaism? Is there just camaraderie and support, or is there also a measure of skepticism about the possibility of achieving real gender equality within the orthodox framework?
We'd like to thank you once again for participating in this exchange.
Best Regards,
Shmuel
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Dear Shmuel,
I have not encountered any skepticism on the part of my female colleagues in Progressive Judaism as to the possibility of achieving gender equality within the Orthodox framework. Jewish tradition has never been static, and there have always been opportunities in every generation for growth and change. In fact, The Sacred Calling includes stories of women whose leadership and learning were recognized and revered during the rabbinic era and later on throughout the Chasidic world.
Ever since entering rabbinic school, I have been inspired by the story of the daughters of Zelophechad found in the Book of Numbers. Torah tells us that these women were not afraid to stand up and be heard and demand that their father’s land be given to them. We know that this is an important story because the daughters’ names – Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah – are actually listed in the Torah text, something that rarely happens in the Bible where women are often invisible characters, known by the relationship they have to their father or husband or brother, but usually not by their own names.
Clearly these women understood the importance of land at that time in history. Land was necessary for survival and self-respect. People made a living from the land, and their worth as human beings was enhanced by owning it. So the daughters of Zelophechad stood up in front of the whole community and said: “This law is unfair and unjust. Give us our rightful inheritance.” They were strong, determined and unafraid, and from their actions we learn an important lesson about how to affect change in society. Change comes about only when those who are being discriminated against demand it. The opportunities that exist for women today in Jewish communities around the world came about because in every generation there were women who were not afraid to stand up and demand their right to participate.
What is so interesting to me about the biblical text is that God agreed with the daughters of Zelophechad! As a result, the law was changed. God said: “If a man dies without leaving a son, you shall transfer his property to his daughter.” It is comforting to know that God approves of correcting mistakes when there is a gap between the law, as stated in Torah, and the case to which it is applied. When an unjust result might occur, as in the case of Zelophechad’s daughters, the Torah does not hesitate to change the law for the sake of justice. This story, then, is not just a story in which feminists can rejoice, but also one in which we are reminded that if Torah itself is willing to adapt the law for the sake of fairness and equality, then how much the more so should we, as a religious community, be willing to alter and adjust our traditions as new and different circumstances arise.
A growing number of Orthodox women are acting in the true tradition of Zelophechad’s daughters. They are demanding their right to participate, to be part of the community in whatever way they find meaningful. I salute their courage and commitment, and although I know that this is their battle to fight, even as it was my battle when I arrived at HUC-JIR in 1964, I will always stand with them, support their mission and embrace them as welcome rabbinic colleagues.
The Rabbinical Council of America can continue to issue proclamations prohibiting the ordination and hiring of female rabbis, but I doubt they will ever be able to stop the progress being made by institutions like Yeshivat Maharat whose first ordination ceremony I was privileged to attend. The very fact that congregations have welcomed its graduates speaks volumes about the changing landscape of Orthodox Judaism.
What is most important is that all options should be available for every member of the community, both men and women, and that every synagogue, Jewish organization or institution should be able to shape its own identity according to the values of our tradition as they evolve and are interpreted in every generation. There is enough room for different threads of Jewish experience as long as we remember that, like the strands of a Havdalah candle, in the end we are bound together as one, each contributing to the brightness of the whole.
When I was ordained, an Orthodox rabbi in Israel said that I would be little more than a footnote in history. Others said: “gam zeh ya-avor – this too shall pass.” And still others warned that my ordination would mark the beginning of the end of the Jewish people. None of these pronouncements came true, and I hope that my Orthodox sisters take strength in knowing that their journey toward positions of leadership and authority in the Jewish community will bear fruit and serve as an example of what can be accomplished when we are not afraid to stand up and demand what is rightfully ours.
Thank you, Shmuel, for inviting me to have this conversation and to draw the attention of your readers to the recent publication of The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate. May the year 5777 be a year of health and joy, wholeness and harmony for you and all you hold dear, for the Jewish people and the state of Israel, and for all humanity. L’shana tova!
L’shalom,
Sally
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