נשים אתן חשובות, אבל מה לעשות שהאל הוא גבר...

במסגרת עבודה באוניברסיטה הגעתי לשני ההצהרות שלהלן – שתיהן מסבירות בתוקף למה פשוט אי אפשר שנשים ישמשו בקודש כמנהיגות רוחניות באופן רשמי. ובאופן לא ממש מפתיע, שתיהן מגיעות מגופים דתיים מוכרים מאוד בארצות הברית: הכנסיה הקתולית (מוכרת יותר) והיהדות האורתודוקסית (גם מוכרת, אמנם לרוב בצורה של חסידות חב"ד). רקע קצר – ב2010 היו מספר ניסיונות למנות נשים ככוהנות דת (priests ordain as) בכנסייה הקתולית בארה"ב, ובישוף אחד מרדן אפילו החליט, מסתבר, לקדש על דעת עצמו כמה נשים בלי להתייעץ בממונים עליו בארה"ב ובותיקן. ובקהילה היהודית, הרב אבי וייס שידרג את שרה הורביץ ממהר"ת לרבה (בקמץ ופתח) – או במילים אחרות סמך אשה כרב אורתודוקסי.

מעניין איך שתי ההכרזות תומכות ברעיון של שויון לנשים, ושוקדות להדגיש את חשיבותן המשמעותית לחיי הדת של הקהילה, אבל...

כל הכרזה (סליחה על הקטנוניות אבל כתובה, חתומה, ומוקראת על ידי גברים) מסבירה כי פשוט אין יכולת דתית למנות אותן ככוהנות-דת/רבניות. מצאו את ההבדלים

Resolution on Women's Communal Roles in Orthodox Jewish Life

Adopted Without Dissent by the 51st Convention of The Rabbinical Council of America

1) The flowering of Torah study and teaching by God-fearing Orthodox women in recent decades stands as a significant achievement. The Rabbinical Council of America is gratified that our chaverim have played a prominent role in facilitating these accomplishments.

2) We members of the Rabbinical Council of America see as our sacred and joyful duty the practice and transmission of Judaism in all of its extraordinary, multifaceted depth and richness – halakhah, hashkafah, tradition and historical memory.

3) In light of the opportunity created by advanced women's learning, the Rabbinical Council of America encourages a diversity of halakhically and communally appropriate professional opportunities for learned, committed women, in the service of our collective mission to preserve and transmit our heritage. Due to our aforesaid commitment to sacred continuity, however, we cannot accept either the ordination of women or the recognition of women as members of the Orthodox rabbinate, regardless of the title.

4) Young Orthodox women are now being reared, educated, and inspired by mothers, teachers and mentors who are themselves beneficiaries of advanced women's Torah education. As members of the new generation rise to positions of influence and stature, we pray that they will contribute to an ever-broadening and ever-deepening wellspring of talmud Torah, yir'at Shamayim, and dikduk be-mitzvot.  

U.S. Bishops’ Doctrine Chairman Welcomes Vatican Clarification On Ordination, Praises The Work Of Women In The Church   (July 15, 2010)

The seven sacraments are an integral and identifying part of the Catholic Church and the faith life of each Catholic. To feign any sacrament would be egregious. The Catholic Church through its long and constant teaching holds that ordination has been, from the beginning, reserved to men, a fact which cannot be changed despite changing times.

            All Catholics are called to Christian service. Women have responded with extraordinary generosity. Historically, women have had an essential role in the life of the Church. This is true especially through their volunteer work in parishes, their professional service and their membership in religious communities, lay movements and other organizations, where they serve in a range of areas such as health care and education.

            Today women serve in Church leadership positions at all levels. Women hold nearly half of diocesan administrative and professional positions—a fact that compares favorably to the U.S. workforce as a whole. Women also hold about one-quarter of the top diocesan positions, such as chancellor, school superintendent or chief financial officer. About 80 percent of lay parish ministers are women.

            The Church’s gratitude to women cannot be stated strongly enough. Women offer unique insight, creative abilities and unstinting generosity at the very heart of the Catholic Church. Their activity and determinative participation explains much of what makes the Catholic Church the powerful force for goodness and holiness that it is.  

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"Important Policy Decisions Taken at the Annual, 2010 Convention of the Rabbinical Council of America", , http://www.rabbis.org/news/article.cfm?id=105551.

"U.S. Bishops’ Doctrine Chairman Welcomes Vatican Clarification On Ordination, Praises The Work Of Women In The Church", http://www.usccb.org/news/archived.cfm?releaseNumber=10-140.