There has been an interesting discussion on Areivim regarding the issue of Semicha, rabbinic ordination. Can a woman get Semicha?
In response to a comment, one poster put it this way:
“Huh? Are you implying that the reason the rabbanut is closed to women is because we can't LEARN enough? I'm pretty sure that there are already a few women out there who are learned enough to pass the rabbanut smicha exams, and I expect that the number of such women will grow exponentially every decade. So we had better find a better reason than our limited education for keeping women out of the rabbinate. Oops - I guess the improper hashkafos from my Conservative upbringing are showing :-)”
I don't think it is about temperament, capabilities, knowledge, or intelligence. I totally believe that women are capable of passing the toughest Smicha exams. It is about how the gender roles are defined by God.
God in His infinite wisdom has told us what the male and female roles should be. A culture has therefore evolved whereby men do the bulk of the learning and women are in charge of the family. There is currently no environment for women that has the depth and breath of Torah study anywhere near that available to men. There is for example no Mir, Lakewood, or REITS for women.
But that does not mean they couldn't rise to the occasion if they had such an environment. Many of the incentives that men have are not available to women. They are not Metzuveh V'Oseh. They are not allowed to become Rabbis. And they are generally discouraged from spending the kind of time it would take to develop as Poskim in any case. That doesn't mean that the occasional highly motivated woman can't rise to the occasion. Obviously there are plenty examples of it. But it is the exception rather than the rule which, as I said is predicated on the will of God.
And how much value does Semicha have in our day anyway?
As another poster put it:
“The whole concept of "semicha" continues to become cheapened:
I know someone who actually did a correspondence course ( I believe via the internet and e-mail etc), where he was provided study materials with guided questions that he had to answer and submit, together with exams done the same way. The Yeshiva was in Yerushalayim (don't know the name). The whole course of study consisted of Hilchot Taarovot in YD. At the end, he flew to (Jerusalem) took a final exam, and was given "semicha" at a ceremony at the Kotel.
And, of course, back home, he's now a "Rav".”
This is true, especially in Right Wing Yeshivos (e.g in a Yeshiva like Lakewood). Getting Semicha is considered at best a waste of time. Over the years Semicha for various reasons has become almost a joke to them for many reasons. Among them:
There are and were many Poskim who do not have actual Semicha ( the Chafetz Chaim did not get one until after he wrote the Mishne Brurah!). On the other hand, there are many Musmchim (ordained rabbis) who are clueless!
I am pretty sure that Chaim Berlin does not give Yoreh Yoreh. If you have learned there long enough and have shown yourself to be adept at it and fairly knowledgable, they will officially call you rabbi if you wish and you can go apply for Jobs as one.
Lubavitch (I'm told by some Shelichim I know) has a similar approach. When they go out to outlying communties they can call themselves Rabbi without ever getting Semicha. I realize that Lubavitch does give a real Semicha, but a Shaliach without Semicha often identifies himself as a Rabbi to those communities in which he is do Kiruv.
In fact many Yeshivos have such a policy. They give "Rav uManhig" to any afternoon school teacher who learns in the yeshiva and needs to be called 'rabbi' by his students.
Add to this that many people have been given Smicha in the past who are relatively ignorant... and that there are so many Semicha factories in Israel that will give it to just about anyone who wants one with minimal effort …which has the added attarction for someone to say "I received Semicha in Israel!" (sounds even better than getting Smicha in the US doesn't it?)... and Semicha has been totally cheapened. Is it any wonder why so few Right Wing students pursue it today?
