Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Modern Orthodox Evenly Split On Female Rabbis: Survey

Roughly half of Modern Orthodox Jews think that women should have “expanded roles in the clergy,” according to a new survey out yesterday from Nishma Research.

The even split is yet another indicator of the stakes of the Orthodox Union’s impending decision on what to do about synagogues that continue to buck its new rule banning female clergy, which the Forward reported on yesterday.

The survey also found that 38% of Modern Orthodox Jews support expanded roles for women in clergy and titles that signify “rabbinic authority.” Those titles have been a subject of deep controversy in recent years, as female clergy have taken titles like “Maharat” and “Rabba.”

Meanwhile, 75% believed that women should be allowed to hold the position of synagogue president — something that the O.U. has long permitted, though remains rare in Orthodox communities. Only 46% said that they thought that the Torah should pass through the women’s seating section in addition to the men’s section after the Torah service.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected] or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.