[Avodah] Women Learning Torah

[Ilana Sober Elzufon]

RRW:
>
> I am davka calling for 2 distinct steps over the course of a generation
> STEP 1 - allow/encourage fully learned women
> STEP 2 - see what happens as communties sort this out
>
> W/O step 1 step 2 would have to be delayed.
> By having a trained army reserve they will be battle-ready almost
> immediately.
> Or maybe the call might not come
>
> And since the call might NEVER come therefore all the learning of this
> transition generation perforce would be lishma only w/o expectations of
> being called "rebbe"


1) Did you write this post in 1980? The "course of a generation" has
happened. Learned women are already encouraged and allowed. The change is
still admittedly fairly recent, so that the vast majority of these women are
under 40 - not major-talmid-chacham age, but as old, and in some cases as
accomplished, as the young men who are getting smicha and serving as pulpit
rabbis or teachers.

2) Who is the "call" supposed to come from? Orthodox Judaism does not have a
single governing body, or a single "rabbinical seminary" whose admissions
policy defines who is eligible for smicha. R' Avi Weiss has already issued
one kind of call. R' Michael Broyde, another - see
http://hirhurim.blogspot.com/2009/07/orthodox-women-clergy.html. I prefer
the latter.

Communities are already sorting this out and qualified women are starting to
find themselves in leadership/teaching/pastoral positions appropriate to
their talents, abilities, and yirat shamayim.

3) If only it were so simple to figure out what motivates us to learn Torah
or do mitzvot - much less what motivates other people! Would you say that
all the men in yeshiva who expect to get smicha at some point are not
learning "lishmah" but only in order to gain a title and pursue a career?
Most people have very many mixed motivations and it is hard to untangle
exactly what leads us to do things.

4) It may be that what you are advocating has already happened. When my
friends and I were getting involved in learning 20 years ago, there were no
titles like toenet, yoetzet, or maharat. Most of us didn't see that these
things were coming down the road in a few years (I certainly didn't). What
made us so excited about gemara and halacha? Probably a lot of factors, some
more lishmah and some less, but I really don't think we were looking for
kavod or titles. I think many women are given kavod because their students
or members of their community recognize their level of Torah scholarship,
yirat shamayim, and commitment to avodat H'. They do not, as a rule, run
after it.

- Ilana
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