Reply To: Why Can't Women Get Modern Smicha and Become Rabbis?

Applesauch,

You are missing my point. Rabbi Avi Weiss is not considered a great Torah Sage or Halakhic scholar. Rabba Hurwitz was not a well known, respected woman of Torah learning. There is no doubt that her ordination was in part to advance feminism and pluralism in Orthodox Judaism. I don’t think that is the proper basis for ordaining a woman.

If however, you have a respected woman of well known Torah learning, who wants to start a shul (maybe for her talmidos and their husbands), and the Rabbi granting the semicha is a great scholar, then the ordination would be fine and good. And the Moetzes would not say a word.

Don’t take a political statement by the Moetzes as psak halacha.