First Woman Orthodox ‘Rabbi’ Is Hired by Synagogue
Trailblazing Orthodox rabbi Lila Kagedan. Image by Yeshivat Maharat
The first graduate of Yeshivat Maharat to take the title “rabbi” said she has been hired by an unnamed American Orthodox synagogue.
Lila Kagedan, who was ordained this summer by the seminary created by Open Orthodox Rabbi Avi Weiss to train Orthodox female clergy, told the London-based Jewish Chronicle this week that she was recruited to join the staff of a congregation she declined to name.
Graduates of the New York seminary have so far eschewed taking the title rabbi, though the school is explicit that its mission is to train female Orthodox “clergy.” Most have taken on the title maharat, an acronym that translates roughly to female spiritual leader. Kagedan reportedly is the first graduate to call herself a rabbi.
In the interview with the Jewish Chronicle, Kagedan, a native of Canada, acknowledged that “change is difficult and frightening. We are very much used to a certain aesthetic when we say ‘rabbi.’”
This fall, the Rabbinical Council of America, the main modern Orthodox rabbinical group, formally adopted a policy prohibiting the ordination or hiring of women rabbis.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
