Women & state rabbinic exams: Joy & trepidation

First of all, I would like to wish a big mazal tov to the first three women in Israel to sit for State Rabbinate exams, despite all the obstacles that it placed in their way: the Rabbaniot Yaara Vidman Samuel, Ruth Agiv, and Rachel Tzivon.  In addition to the immense Torah knowledge you obtained, you have achieved a historic accomplishment and inspired generations of women, setting a precedent for those who wish to sit for similar exams in the future. The glass ceiling has been raised to another level. Despite my support of this step and any step that increases women’s opportunities to become Torah scholars, I do have a few theoretical concerns about this process:

1. I am worried that this victory will allow us to ignore the work that needs to be done. If we want taking rabbinic exams to be a realistic option for women, we need to invest in quality text study for women, including Talmud and halachic literature, for girls, starting in elementary school and high school – just as we do for boys. Without that foundation, women find themselves forced to play catch-up, investing years of study as adults, when they have the financial pressure of supporting themselves, in order to attain the level of text study that men have after only a few years of yeshiva.
2. I am worried that this victory institutionalizes a system where women can attain the same credentials as men, but still be denied the same title -rabbi. This is because the Supreme Court Case was very clear that the State has to offer exams and give women who pass the same benefits accorded to men, but it does not have to recognize them as rabbis or call them by that title. A recent Kolech study showed that a lack of clear titles was a major stumbling block to women pursuing Torah careers. When someone says “Rabbi”, it’s clear what their credentials are. Now, we have so many titles – “Rabba/Rabbanit/Morat Halacha”, etc., including women with high levels of Torah scholarship who use no title at all. When someone says “Rabbi” everyone understands what the person’s credentials are. Because women might use the same title -such as “Rabbanit” when they have very different Torah study backgrounds, there is no clear title that denotes a clear educational trajectory. This acts as a challenge for communities and institutions making hiring decisions about women. Furthermore, by institutionalizing a system where women have the Torah education of a rabbi but are denied the title, we disrespect both the women and the Torah that they studied.
3. I am worried that this victory defangs the revolutionary power of a force of Torah outside of the State Rabbinate. Until now, women Torah scholars, by definition, couldn’t be under the auspices of the State Rabbinate, because they weren’t allowed to be. This opened room for a new type of Torah, led by women, that was free from the confines of institutional power. Since the opening of State Rabbinate tests to women, a number of programs are opening up to train women for these tests. This is a welcome development, because it will increase women’s Torah opportunities. However, it also points to the normalization of State Rabbinate tests as the qualifying criteria for women wishing to pursue a rabbinic career -and in doing so, changes the quality of women’s Torah that is by definition beyond the confines of the State Rabbinate, to one that is regulated by it.
4. I am worried that women working in the field will, within a few years, find their credentials to become irrelevant, as communities seek women who have passed the State Rabbinate exams, as opposed to women who studied Torah before those exams were offered for women. 

I believe that there are ways to address these concerns: Our communities can invest in women’s Torah education from the time they are children, and not be lulled into a false sense of complacency by this victory. Our communities can choose to address women Torah scholars as rabbis, even when the State Rabbinate does not recognize them as such. Our communities can make more room for different models of rabbinic leadership outside of State Rabbinate auspices, from people of all genders. Our communities can choose to uphold women whose Torah paths were before the State Rabbinate exams were offered to women, even as it supports those women who do choose to take the exams now that they are available. None of these solutions need to come at the expense of pursuing women’s opportunities to take the State Rabbinic exams -and creating programs that train them to do so -but can exist as parallel processes that strengthen each other.

The more women become Torah scholars, the more we gain as an entire community, because we are exposed to a vibrant Torah coming from a multiplicity of voices and experiences. The three brave women who sat for State Rabbinate exams this week, despite all the ways in which it tried to stop them, will have  their names remembered in history:  the Rabbaniot Yaara Vidman Samuel, Ruth Agiv, and Rachel Tzivon.