We salute the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregation of America for its policy statement barring women from serving as clergy in its member synagogues.
The Orthodox Union convened a panel of Talmudic and halachic experts to study the permissible roles of women in Orthodox life and the policy statement released by the organization reflects the findings of that panel, reaffirming that female clergy are halachically impermissible, in terms of both title and function.
It couldn’t have come at a more propitious time. The Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist movements have for years endorsed the notion of female clergy and the Open Orthodoxy movement has more recently argued that women serving in rabbinic roles is consistent with halacha.
While it was certainly never in doubt that the OU would reaffirm the halachic impermissibility of women serving as rabbis, the panel went further and outlined the kinds of significant synagogue-related activities that are not halachically closed to women.
We live in a time of growing realization that resources for Torah teaching and serious scholarship have been unavailable to synagogues and their programs due to unnecessary restrictions on the full participation of women. And the frustrated voices of those unable to find suitable outlets for their talents were growing louder and louder.
All in all, the OU statement as a signal event for the Orthodox community.
