3 women take Chief Rabbinate exam for first time in history, after delay ended by court order |
For the first time in Israel’s history, and thanks to a High Court emergency injunction that ended a delay of several hours, three women took the rabbinical exam administered by the Chief Rabbinate on Monday.
The Rabbinate begrudgingly allowed women to take the test, which is given to men seeking rabbinical ordination, after a landmark High Court decision in July, following a years-long legal battle. The exam, which focused on the laws of mourning, is part of the series of tests on Jewish law taken by rabbinical candidates.
The Chief Rabbinate, which is Orthodox, does not offer ordination to women, but those who pass the tests are eligible for other state benefits.
The test for female candidates was due to begin at 10:30 a.m., but was initially delayed due to what the Rabbinate described as “technical problems.” Meanwhile, the male candidates, who were taking the test in a different venue in Jerusalem, began their exam without delay.
The delay prompted the religious rights group ITIM to file an emergency motion at the High Court of Justice.
The Court gave the Rabbinate until 3 p.m. to respond. According to a response to the Court shared with The Times of Israel by a Rabbinate spokesperson, the female candidates were given their exam sheet at 2:55 p.m., and allowed to begin taking the test.
The Chief Rabbinate also said that while, usually, a member of the testing staff remains in the room to answer the questions of the test-takers, no staffer would be present in the room with the women, but the questions would be answered by Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber via telephone, and might need to be grouped.
The Chief Rabbinate administers tests in the major areas of halacha (Jewish law), including kashrut, niddah (family purity laws), Shabbat, mourning, and marriage laws. Candidates who wish to be eligible to receive rabbinical ordination need to pass a certain number of those tests. Six are enough to achieve the level of........