[Avodah] Tzeni'us and gender roles

[David Riceman]

Micha Berger wrote:
> I think it could be
> argued that there is nothing about being a Maharat that is inherently
> different than being a yoetzet, or just being a knowledgable neighbor
> who I call when I am stuck on something.
This strikes me as an argument in favor of calling knowledgeable women 
"Rabbis".  Here's why.

My impression is that long, long, ago, rabbis knew a lot more than they 
know now.  It's hard to believe that 150 years ago anyone would consider 
me qualified to be a rabbi.  I've met Reform rabbis who can't read 
unvocalized Hebrew, and Haredi rabbis (native speakers of English) who 
think that the English word for unvocalized is "unvowelized" (see 
Sanhedrin 5b).  So the title "rabbi" implies less skill and knowledge 
than it used to.

It's not as though there's a fixed amount of kavod, and spreading it 
around merely distributes less of it to more people.  Instead, by 
removing restriction, we reduce the actual amount of kavod involved 
(think of Groucho's remark that he wouldn't want to join any club that 
would accept him).  By reducing the value of the term "rabbi" we are 
reducing the total kavod.  At some point "rabbi" will degenerate to the 
point that "mister" is at already, and will have no honorific value.  
Isn't that what you're after?

David Riceman