Women in Judaism have affected the course of Judaism over millenia. Their role is reflected in the Hebrew Bible, the Oral Law, by custom, and by cultural factors. Although the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic literature present various female role models, religious law treats women in specific ways. According to a 2017 study by the Pew Research Center, women account for 52% of the worldwide Jewish population.
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch, is a branch of Orthodox Judaism, originating from Eastern Europe and one of the largest Hasidic dynasties. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations in the world. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and it caters to secularized Jews.
Agudath Israel of America is an American organization that represents Haredi Orthodox Jews. It is loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel. Agudah seeks to meet the needs of the Haredi community, advocates for its religious and civil rights, and services its constituents through charitable, educational, and social service projects across North America.
Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to make the religious, legal, and social status of Jewish women equal to that of Jewish men in Judaism. Feminist movements, with varying approaches and successes, have opened up within all major branches of the Jewish religion.
The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) is an Open Orthodox Jewish organization providing educational services on women's issues, with the aim of expanding "the spiritual, ritual, intellectual, and political opportunities for women within the framework of Halakha." It was incorporated on April 14, 1998, with Jewish-American writer Blu Greenberg as its first president. It is active in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School (YCT) is a Modern Orthodox yeshiva, previously self-described as Open Orthodox, founded in 1999 by Rabbi Avi Weiss.
Open Orthodox Judaism is a Jewish religious movement with a commitment to following halacha, increased emphasis on intellectual openness, and a more expansive role for women. The term was coined in 1997 by Avi Weiss, who views halacha as permitting more flexibility than the normal practices of Orthodox Judaism.
Haviva Ner-David is an Israeli feminist activist and Open Orthodox rabbi.
Women rabbis and Torah scholars are individual Jewish women who are recognized for their studies of the Jewish religious tradition and often combine their study with rabbinical ordination. Ordination of women has grown since the 1970s with over 1,200 Jewish women receiving formal ordination. The majority of these women are associated with Progressive Jewish denominations. In Orthodox Judaism, the matter of ordination is more complex. Although a significant number of Orthodox women have been ordained as rabbis, many major Orthodox Jewish communities and institutions do not accept the change. In an alternative approach, other Orthodox Jewish institutions train women for various Jewish religious leadership roles and may entail training in Jewish Law although no formal rabbinic ordination is granted. Instead, alternate titles are used. Yet, despite this alteration in title, these women are often perceived as equivalent to ordained rabbis.
Orthodox Jewish feminism is a movement in Orthodox Judaism which seeks to further the cause of a more egalitarian approach to Jewish practice within the bounds of Jewish Law. The major organizations of this movement is the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) in North America, and Women of the Wall (WOW) and its affiliates in Israel and internationally, known as The International Committee for Women of the Wall (ICWOW). In Israel, the leading Orthodox feminist organization is Kolech, founded by Dr. Chana Kehat. In Australia, there is one Orthodox partnership minyan, Shira Hadasha, in Melbourne.
Sara Hurwitz is an Orthodox Jewish spiritual leader aligned with the "Open Orthodox" faction of Modern Orthodox Judaism in the United States. She is considered by some to be the first female Orthodox rabbi. She serves at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale as Rabba and she is the president and co-founder of Yeshivat Maharat, both in Riverdale, New York.
Mimi Feigelson is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, scholar, educator and spiritual leader.
Sir Ephraim Yitzchak Mirvis is a British Orthodox rabbi who serves as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. He served as the Chief Rabbi of Ireland between 1985 and 1992.
This is a timeline of women rabbis:
Gilah Kletenik is an academic and Open Orthodox rabbi.
Malke Bina is the founder and first teacher of Matan Women's Institute for Torah Studies. She has a master's degree in Hebrew Bible from Yeshiva University. She is married to a rabbi and is called by the term Rabbanit, which is less common in Modern Orthodox circles. Bina does not consider herself a rabbi and, at a 2004 conference of Orthodox Jewish Feminists, emphasized her focus on Talmud study. She was interviewed by JOFA in 2006 and serves on its Council of Advisers. She also pioneered women's reading of Megillat Esther on Purim.
Alissa Thomas-Newborn is an American Orthodox Jewish spiritual leader who became the first Orthodox female clergy member to preside in the Los Angeles, California area when she assumed her post as a spiritual leader at B’nai David-Judea Congregation (BDJ) in August 2015. The announcement of her appointment came on May 2, 2015 from the pulpit by the lead clergyman of the synagogue, Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky.
Yeshivat Maharat is a Jewish educational institution in The Bronx, New York, which is the first Orthodox-affiliated yeshiva in North America to ordain women. The word Maharat is a Hebrew acronym for phrase manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit Toranit, denoting a female "leader of Jewish law spirituality and Torah." Semikha is awarded to graduates after a 3- or 4-year-long program composed of intensive studies of Jewish law, Talmud, Torah, Jewish thought, leadership training, and pastoral counseling. The ordination functions as a credentialed, albeit controversial, pathway for women in the Orthodox Jewish community to serve as clergy members.
Lila Kagedan is a Canadian-born Jewish rabbi who in 2016 became the first woman with the title rabbi to be hired by an Open Orthodox synagogue. This occurred when Mount Freedom Jewish Center in New Jersey, which is open Modern Orthodox, hired Kagedan to join their "spiritual leadership team." She is currently the rabbi at Walnut Street Synagogue, an Open Orthodox synagogue in Massachusetts.
Dina Najman is the rabbi of the Kehilah of Riverdale, a synagogue in Bronx, New York City, founded in 2014, which describes itself as "an Orthodox Jewish Congregation dedicated to creating a serious and meaningful tefilah for our kehilah, committed to learning Torah and living by its values and seeking to promote individual and communal acts of chesed (kindness)" and as "supporting spiritual and lay leadership irrespective of gender."
