Religion: Women Rabbis?

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Conservatives move forward

By long tradition in Judaism, men dominated the synagogue. Customs have been changing, though, and the Reform branch of the religion ordained its first female rabbi in 1972. Now the middle-of-the-road Conservative branch seems to be moving toward the same decision. Last week, after long and hot debate, the annual convention of Conservative rabbis endorsed the ordination of women.

That would have been that, except for one detail. The certification of new Conservative rabbis is handled in the U.S. by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. The seminary faculty has grave doubts about whether to ordain women as rabbis. Not, as it happens, for religious reasons, but because they feel that fierce opposition by faculty traditionalists would divide and hence weaken the seminary. The faculty senate last December therefore decided to table action on the matter indefinitely.

They may not be able to hold out that long. In addition to calling for women rabbis, last week's rabbinical convention demanded that the seminary professors vote on the question "with all deliberate speed." Even if the seminary agrees to admit women to rabbinical training, many synagogues may not permit female rabbis to sign marriage contracts or lead prayer services. In traditional practice, such tasks, customarily performed by rabbis, are reserved to men alone.