Studies and Responsa

Published in 1988, The Ordination of Women as Rabbis: Studies and Responsa (ed. Simon Greenberg, The Jewish Theological Seminary) contains papers written by the faculty of JTS during the years leading up to the decision to ordain women. It is a historical record of both the halakhic and emotional arguments that eventually resulted in the admission of women to The Rabbinical School.

The first excerpt is the final report of the Commission for the Study of the Ordination of Women as Rabbis, a body formed by the Rabbinical Assembly in 1977. After holding an extensive series of meetings, during which the leadership of the Conservative Movement, rabbis, lay leaders, community members, and the faculty of JTS convened to present opinions and concerns related to the issue of women's ordination. In 1979, this report, written by Rabbi Gordon Tucker, was submitted to the Convention of the Rabbinical Assembly.

Other excerpts include Rabbi Joel Roth's much-cited halakhic analysis of the question of women's ordination; Dr. Anne Lerner's article urging the Rabbinical Assembly and the faculty of JTS not to further delay the vote to admit women into The Rabbinical School, on the grounds that the Conservative Movement was ready for that important step to be taken; and Dr. David Roskies' brief essay on the creativity of interpretation that women would bring to the rabbinate.

The Ordination of Women as Rabbis: Studies and Responsa,
ed. Simon Greenberg, The Jewish Theological Seminary, 1988
Available for purchase.