First Female Named Rabbi

In the world of Orthodox Judaism, the role of rabbi has always gone to men, but Lila Kagedan of Randolph, New Jersey has recently broken that tradition and has been appointed rabbi at her local synagogue.

Kagedan has wanted to become a rabbi since she was very young, but the position, traditionally, was a man’s job and there were no rabbinical schools for women.

Growing up the only model of rabbi in the Orthodox world were men,” Kagedan says in an article from CNN. “So in some ways this really didn’t feel like an option.”

Although she studied bioethics for some time, she stuck to her dream of one day becoming a rabbi by studying Jewish texts on top of doing her other work. Almost nightly, she would study with her father, who, although cautious, encouraged her to go for her ambition.

“I wouldn’t say that he told me that there were no barriers — I would say that he had no idea how this would come about,” Kagedan says in the same article. “His message to me was to arm myself with the rabbinate texts, to know them intimately. But he cautioned me not to be angry. And if I was feeling angry about exclusion to take that anger and do something very productive with it.”

 

Reflecting on the opposition to her appointment, CNN states, “The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), an organization made up of Orthodox rabbis, passed a resolution in October 2015 in response to Kagedan’s school, Yeshivat Maharat, ordaining women as rabbis, calling it ‘a violation of our mesorah [tradition]’ and saying the school’s decision to do so was ‘a path that contradicts the norms of our community.’”

This story is also relevant to some Jewish people here at Williston.

When asked about whether or not this was a step forward for Judaism, Abbie Foster ’16 writes, “This is a great step forward for Judaism because it will give little girls the opportunity to set goals for themselves and to pursue their dreams, without feeling like there were barriers put in place when they were born.”

She continues, “Although this is important for Jewish people, I believe that such strides extend far beyond religion, and we should continue working to increase gender equality in all working fields.”

Katie Most ’18 also shares her opinion and writes, “The news of the first Orthodox female rabbi makes me especially proud that my religion is one that empowers women. Of all my Jewish education, it’s evident that women are valued. I think that it’s really important that standards of religion are changed to fit what’s happening in the current world.”