Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is
complementarian. Opinions vary among Orthodox Jews concerning these principles. Most claim that men and women have different roles and bear different obligations. This is most visible in the development of the
Bais Yaakov system. Orthodox women have been working to expand women's learning and scholarship, promoting women's ritual inclusion in worship and promoting women's communal and religious leadership. Some rabbinic leaders oppose such changes, claiming that women are motivated by sociological reasons rather than religion. For example, Orthodox rabbis discourage women from wearing a
kippah,
tallit, or
tefillin. In many Orthodox synagogues, women are not entitled to deliver
divrei Torah—brief discourses on the weekly Torah portion—after or between services;
shiurim are typically limited to men. Orthodox synagogues have physical barriers (
mechitzot) dividing the left and right sides of the synagogue, with the women on one side and the men on the other. Historically, many Orthodox synagogues restricted women to balcony seating while men sat on the main floor. Formally, a
mechitzah of over four feet or so (ten handbreadths) suffices, even if the men can see the women, though such a small separation is not ideal. A typical
mechitzah consists of wheeled wooden panels, often topped with
one-way glass to allow women to view the
Torah reading. ;Chabad-Lubavitch women’s outreach (20th–21st centuries) Contemporary Hasidic perspectives note the distinctive outreach structure developed by the
Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Beginning in the late 1950s, the movement’s leader,
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, encouraged married couples to settle worldwide as equal partners in
shlichut (religious emissary work), formally granting women the parallel title
shlucha. Today, more than 4,000 such emissary women gather annually in New York for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Women Emissaries, regarded as the largest regular assembly of Jewish women in the world. These
shluchot direct educational programs, run community centres and teach Torah, often in locations lacking other
Orthodox infrastructure. Scholars of
modern Orthodoxy cite the model as a significant expansion of women’s communal authority within a halakhic framework while maintaining traditional ritual roles. the importance of modesty in dress and conduct is particularly stressed among women and girls. Most Orthodox women wear skirts and avoid trousers, and most married Orthodox women
cover their hair with a scarf (
tichel),
snood, hat, beret, or wig.
Halakhic advisor Under Jewish Law, Orthodox Jewish women refrain from bodily contact with their husbands while they are
menstruating and for 7 days afterwards, and after the birth of a child. The Israeli Rabbinate allows women to act as
yoatzot,
halakhic advisers on matters considered sensitive and personal such as
niddah.
Modern Orthodox Orthodox leader Rabbi
Joseph B. Soloveitchik discouraged women from serving as presidents of synagogues or other official leadership positions, from performing other
mitzvot traditionally performed by males exclusively, such as wearing a
tallit or
tefillin. One reason is that tefillin are believed to help men avoid thoughts considered impure, while women are believed not to have such thoughts. Soloveitchik wrote that while women do not lack the capability to perform such acts, there is no
mesorah (Jewish tradition) that permits it. In making his decision, he relied upon Jewish
oral law, including a
mishnah in Chulin 2a and a
Beit Yoseph in the
Tur Yoreh Deah stating that a woman can perform a specific official communal service for her own needs, but not those of others. Women's issues garnered more interest with the advent of
feminism. Many
Modern Orthodox Jewish women and Modern Orthodox rabbis sought to provide more Jewish education for women. Modern Orthodox communities promote women's secular education. A few Modern Orthodox Synagogues have women serving as clergy, including
Gilah Kletenik at
Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun. In 2010,
Sara Hurwitz became the first woman to be ordained as a "Rabba", the female equivalent of a rabbi, when she started serving as an
Open Orthodox spiritual leader. In 2013,
Yeshivat Maharat, located in the United States, became the first Orthodox institution to consecrate female clergy. The graduates of Yeshivat Maharat typically receive the title
maharat rather than rabbi. However, in 2015, Yaffa Epstein was ordained as a rabba by the institution. Also in 2015,
Lila Kagedan was ordained as a rabbi at Yeshivat Maharat, the seminary's first graduate to take the title. She became the first female Modern Orthodox rabbi in the US in January 2016. In 2013,
Malka Schaps became the first female
Haredi dean at an Israeli university when she was appointed dean of
Bar Ilan University's Faculty of Exact Sciences. Also in 2013, the first class of female
halachic advisers in the US graduated from the North American branch of
Nishmat's
yoetzet halacha program.
SAR High School began allowing girls to wrap
tefillin during
Shacharit (morning prayer) in an all-female prayer group, the first Modern Orthodox high school in the US to do so. In 2014, the first-ever book of
halachic decisions was published by women ordained to serve as
poskot (Idit Bartov and Anat Novoselsky) in Israel. They were ordained by Rabbi
Shlomo Riskin after completing
Midreshet Lindenbaum's women's course and passing examinations equivalent to the rabbinate's requirement for men. In the fall, the
Agudath Israel of America denounced moves to ordain women, and declared Yeshivat Maharat,
Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, and Open Orthodoxy, in general, as having rejected basic tenets of Judaism. The
Rabbinical Council of America passed a resolution which stated, "RCA members with positions in Orthodox institutions may not ordain women into the Orthodox rabbinate, regardless of the title used; or hire or ratify the hiring of a woman into a rabbinic position at an Orthodox institution; or allow a title implying rabbinic ordination to be used by a teacher of Limudei Kodesh in an Orthodox institution." Also in 2015,
Jennie Rosenfeld became the first female Orthodox spiritual advisor in Israel. In 2016
Ephraim Mirvis created the job of ''ma'ayan'' by which women would be advisers on Jewish law in the area of family purity and as adult educators in Orthodox synagogues. This required a part-time training course for 18 months, the first such course in the United Kingdom. In 2017, the
Orthodox Union adopted a policy banning women from serving as clergy, from holding titles such as "rabbi", and from performing common clergy functions even without a title, in its US congregations.
Women's prayer groups . In Germany, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, women's prayer groups were led by female cantors. Rabbi
Eliezer of Worms, in his elegy for his wife Dulca, praised her for teaching the other women how to pray and embellishing the prayer with music. The gravestone of Urania of Worms, who died in 1275, contains the inscription "who sang
piyyutim for the women with musical voice". In the
Nurnberg Memorial Book, one Richenza was inscribed with the title "prayer leader of the women". Orthodox women more recently began holding organized women's
tefila (prayer) groups beginning in the 1970s. While Orthodox legal authorities agree that women are prohibited from forming a
minyan (prayer quorum) for the purpose of
regular services, women in these groups have read the prayers and study Torah. A number of leaders from all segments of Orthodox Judaism have commented on this issue, but it has had a little, although growing, impact on
Haredi and
Sephardi Judaism. However, the emergence of this phenomenon has enmeshed
Modern Orthodox Judaism in a debate which still continues today. There are three schools of thought on this issue: • The most restrictive view, held by a few rabbis, rules that all women's prayer groups are absolutely forbidden by
halakha (Jewish law). • A more liberal, permissive view maintains that women's prayer groups can be compatible with halakha, but only if they do not carry out a full prayer service (i. e., do not include certain parts of the service known as
devarim shebikedusha that require a
minyan; for example the recital of
Kaddish or reading from the Torah), and only if services are spiritually and sincerely motivated, as is usually the case; they cannot be sanctioned if they are inspired by a desire to rebel against
halakha. People in this group include Rabbi Avraham Elkana Shapiro, former British Chief Rabbi
Immanuel Jakobovits, and Rabbi
Avi Weiss. This is the generally followed view. • A third view argues in favor of the acceptability of calling women to the Torah in mixed services, and leading certain parts of the service which do not require a
minyan, under certain conditions. In 2013, the Israeli Orthodox rabbinical organization Beit Hillel issued a halachic ruling which allows women, for the first time, to say the
Kaddish prayer in memory of their deceased parents.
Women as witnesses Traditionally, women are not generally permitted to serve as witnesses in an Orthodox
Beit Din (
rabbinical court), although they have recently been permitted to serve as
toanot (advocates) in those courts. Women are also permitted to provide evidence under oath, and their statements are considered to be fully credible in ritual matters. The exclusion of women as witnesses has exceptions which have required exploration under rabbinic law, as the role of women in society and the obligations of religious groups under external civil law have been subject to increasing recent scrutiny. The recent case of Rabbi
Mordecai Tendler, the first rabbi to be expelled from the
Rabbinical Council of America following allegations of sexual harassment, illustrated the importance of clarification of
Orthodox halakha in this area. Rabbi Tendler claimed that the tradition of exclusion of women's testimony should compel the RCA to disregard the allegations. He argued that since the testimony of a woman could not be admitted in
Rabbinical court, there were no valid witnesses against him, and hence, the case for his expulsion had to be thrown out for lack of evidence. In a ruling of importance for Orthodox women's capacity for legal self-protection under
Jewish law,
Haredi Rabbi
Benzion Wosner, writing on behalf of the
Shevet Levi Beit Din (Rabbinical court) of
Monsey, New York, identified sexual harassment cases as coming under a class of exceptions to the traditional exclusion, under which "even children or women" have not only a right, but an obligation, to testify, and can be relied upon by a rabbinical court as valid witnesses: :The
Ramah in Choshen Mishpat (Siman 35, 14) rules that in a case where only women congregate, or in a case where only women could possibly testify (in this case, the alleged harassment occurred behind closed doors), they can, and should, certainly testify. (Terumas Hadeshen Siman 353 and Agudah Perek 10, Yochasin) :This is also the ruling of the
Maharik,
Radvaz, and the
Mahar"i of Minz. Even those
Poskim that would normally not rely on women witnesses, they would certainly agree that in our case ... where there is ample evidence that this Rabbi violated Torah precepts, then even children or women can certainly be kosher as witnesses, as the
Chasam Sofer pointed out in his
sefer (monograph) (Orach Chaim T'shuvah 11) The
Rabbinical Council of America, while initially relying on its own investigation, chose to rely on the Halakhic ruling of the
Haredi Rabbinical body as authoritative in the situation.
Orthodox approaches to change Leaders of the
Haredi community have opposed many changes to the role of women. Many have argued that religious and social constraints on women are timeless, and are not subject to change. Many have argued that giving traditionally male roles to women would detract from both women's and men's ability to lead fulfilling lives. Haredim have perceived arguments for liberalization as stemming from antagonism to Jewish law and beliefs. More liberal variants of Modern Orthodox Judaism tend to view proposed changes in the role of women on a case-by-case basis, focusing on arguments regarding the religious and legal role of specific prayers, rituals and activities individually. Such arguments focus on cases where the Talmud and other traditional sources express multiple or more liberal viewpoints, particularly where the role of women in the past was arguably broader than in later times. Feminist advocates within Orthodoxy generally stay within the traditional legal process of argumentation, seeking a gradualist approach. Nevertheless, a growing
Orthodox feminist movement seeks to address gender inequalities.
Military service in Israel In modern Israel, the question of women's military service has been a central social and religious issue. While the
Israel Defense Forces conscript women as part of mandatory service, religious authorities differ on the permissibility of such enlistment, with many encouraging alternative frameworks of national or community service. Organizations such as
Aluma assist young religious women in navigating options for military or civilian service while maintaining their religious commitments.
Agunot Agunot (Hebrew: "chained women") are women whose husbands refuse to give them a divorce contract (a "get"). The word can also refer to a woman whose husband has disappeared. In Orthodox Judaism, only a man is able to serve a "get". In order to prevent a husband from such a refusal, many couples sign a
prenuptial agreement that forces the husband to serve a get or else be reported to the Jewish court.
Conservative Judaism Although the position of
Conservative Judaism toward women originally differed little from the Orthodox position, it later minimized legal and ritual differences between men and women. The
Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) of the
Rabbinical Assembly issued decisions and
responsa on this topic. These provide for women's active participation in areas such as: • Publicly reading the
Torah (''ba'al kriah'') • Being counted as part of a
minyan • Being called for an
aliyah to read the Torah • Serving as a cantor (
shaliach tzibbur) • Serving as
rabbi and halakhic decisor (
posek - an arbiter in matters of religious law) • Wearing a
tallit and
tefillin A rabbi may decide which particular rulings to adopt for the congregation; thus, some Conservative congregations became more or less egalitarian than others. Areas where legal differences remain between men and women include: •
Matrilineal descent. The child of a Jewish mother is born Jewish; the child of a Jewish father is born Jewish if and only if the mother is Jewish. •
Pidyon Ha-Bat, a proposed ceremony based on the biblical redemption of the eldest newborn son (
Pidyon Ha-Ben). CJLS stated that this ceremony should not be performed for women. Other ceremonies, such as a
Simchat Bat (welcoming a newborn daughter), should instead be used. A Conservative Jewish
ketuba includes a clause that puts a husband and wife on more equal footing when it comes to marriage and divorce law within
halacha. CJLS reaffirmed in 2006 the obligation of Conservative women to observe
niddah (sexual abstinence during and after menstruation) and
mikvah (ritual immersion) following menstruation, although liberalizing certain details. In 1955, the CJLS of the
Rabbinical Assembly allowed women to have an
aliyah at
Torah-readings services. In 1973, the CJLS of the
Rabbinical Assembly voted, without issuing an opinion, that women could count in a
minyan. A commission appointed by the Conservative movement to study the issue of ordaining women as rabbis, met between 1977 and 1978. It consisted of eleven men and three women: attorney Marian Siner Gordon,
Assyriologist Rivkah Harris, and author
Francine Klagsbrun. In 1983, the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTSA) faculty voted, also without accompanying opinion, to ordain women as rabbis and as
cantors. which provided a religious-law foundation for women counting in a
minyan and explained the Conservative approach to the role of women in prayer. Continuing the Orthodox approach remained acceptable. Individual Conservative rabbis and synagogues were not required to change, and a small number did not.
Conservative approaches to change Between 1973 and 2002, the Conservative movement adopted changes through its official organizations, but without issuing explanatory opinions. Since 2002, the Conservative movement coalesced around a unified approach to the role of women. In 1973, 1983, and 1993, individual rabbis and professors issued six major opinions that influenced the Conservative approach, the first and second Sigal, Blumenthal, Rabinowitz, and
Roth responsa, and the
Hauptman article. These opinions sought to launch a wholesale shift in women's public roles through a comprehensive legal justification. Most such opinions proposed that Jewish women always were, or had become, legally obligated to perform many of the same '''' as men and, when performing , to do so in the same manner. The first Sigal and the Blumenthal responsa were considered by CJLS as part of its decision on prayer roles in 1973. They argued that women had always had the same obligations as men. The first Sigal
responsum used the
Talmud's general prayer obligation and examples of cases in which women were traditionally obligated to say specific prayers. They inferred from them a public prayer obligation identical to that of men. The Blumenthal responsum extrapolated from a minority authority that a
minyan could be formed with nine men and one woman in an emergency. CJLS declined to adopt either responsum. Rabbi Sigal reported to the
Rabbinical Assembly membership that many on the CJLS, while agreeing with the result, found the arguments unconvincing. The Rabinowitz,
Roth, and second Sigal responsa were considered by JTSA faculty as part of its decision to ordain women as rabbis in 1983. The Rabbinowitz responsum sidestepped the issue of obligation, arguing that a community representative was no longer needed in prayer and hence the question of whether a woman can perform
halakhic was moot. CJLS stated that an argument potentially undermining the value of community and clergy was unconvincing: "We should not be afraid to recognize that the function of clergy is to help our people connect with the holy." The Roth and second Sigal responsa accepted that time-bound
mitzvot were traditionally optional for women, but argued that women in modern times could change their traditional roles. The Roth responsum argued that women could voluntarily assume the same obligations as men, and that women who do so (e. g., pray three times a day regularly) could count in a
minyan and serve as agents. JTSA accordingly required female rabbinical students wishing to train as rabbis to personally obligate themselves. Synagogue rabbis, unwilling to inquire into individual religiosity, found this impractical. The second Sigal responsum called for a
takkanah, or rabbinical edict, "that would serve as a
halakhic ERA", overruling all non-egalitarian provisions in law or, in the alternative, adopet an approach to
halakhic interpretation independent of legal precedents. CJLS, unwilling to take either an intrusive approach or repudiate the traditional legal process, did not adopt either and let the JTS faculty vote stand unexplained. In 1993, Professor
Judith Hauptman of JTSA issued an influential paper arguing that women had historically always been obligated in prayer, using more detailed arguments than the Blumenthal and first Sigal responsa. The paper suggested that women who followed traditional practices were failing to meet their obligations. Rabbi Roth argued that Conservative Judaism should reconsider before adopting a stance that labeled its most traditional members as sinners. The issue was again dropped. In 2002, the CJLS returned to the issue and adopted a single authoritative approach, the Fine responsum, The 1983 resolution had a mixed reception in Reform Jewish communities outside of the United States. Most notably, the
Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism rejected patrilineal descent and requires formal conversion for anyone whose mother is not Jewish. A joint
Bet Din composed of Orthodox, Traditional, Conservative, and Reform rabbis, established in Denver, Colorado to promote uniform conversion standards, dissolved in 1983 due to that resolution.. In 2015, the majority of Britain's Assembly of Reform Rabbis voted in favor of a position paper proposing "that individuals who live a Jewish life, and who are patrilineally Jewish, can be welcomed into the Jewish community and confirmed as Jewish through an individual process". Britain's Assembly of Reform Rabbis stated that rabbis "would be able to take local decisions – ratified by the
Beit Din – confirming Jewish status". In
Mishkan T'filah, the American Reform Jewish prayer book released in 2007, references to God as "He" have been removed, and whenever Jewish patriarchs are named (
Abraham,
Isaac, and
Jacob), so also are the matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.) In 2015 the Reform Jewish
High Holy Days prayer book
Mishkan HaNefesh was released as a companion to ''Mishkan T'filah''. It includes a version of the High Holy Days prayer
Avinu Malkeinu that refers to God as both "Loving Father" and "Compassionate Mother". Other notable changes replaced a line from the Reform movement's earlier prayerbook, "Gates of Repentance", that mentioned the joy of a bride and groom specifically, with the line "rejoicing with couples under the
chuppah" (wedding canpopy), and adding a third, non-gendered option to the way worshippers are called to the
Torah, offering
mibeit (from the house of), in addition to the traditional "son of" or "daughter of". In 2008,
Stacy Offner became the first female vice president of the
Union for Reform Judaism. In 2015, Daryl Messinger became the first female Union chair.
Reform approaches to change Reform Judaism generally holds that the various differences between the roles of men and women in traditional Jewish law are not relevant to modern conditions and no longer applicable. Accordingly, legal arguments were not needed.
Reconstructionist Judaism The equality of women and men is a central tenet and hallmark of
Reconstructionist Judaism. From the beginning, Reconstructionist Jewish ritual allowed men and women to pray together. It was on this basis that Rabbi
Mordecai Kaplan called for the full equality of women and men, despite the obvious difficulties reconciling this stance with traditional Jewish practice. The Reconstructionist Movement always allowed women to be ordained. In 1968, women were accepted into the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, under
Ira Eisenstein's leadership. The first ordained female Reconstructionist rabbi,
Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, served as rabbi of the Manhattan Reconstructionist Congregation in 1976, and gained a pulpit in 1977 at Beth El Zedeck congregation in Indianapolis. Sandy Eisenberg Sasso was accepted without debate or subsequent controversy. In 2005, 24 of the movement's 106 synagogues in the US had women as senior or assistant rabbis. In 2013 Rabbi
Deborah Waxman was elected as the President of the
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She was the first woman and first lesbian to officially to lead a Jewish congregational union, and the first female rabbi and first lesbian to lead a Jewish seminary; the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College is both a congregational union and a seminary. The Reconstructionist Community began including women in the
minyan and allowing them to come up to the Torah for
aliyot. They also continued the practice of
bat mitzvah. Reconstructionist Judaism allowed women to perform other traditionally male tasks, such as serving as witnesses, leading services, public
Torah reading, and wearing ritual prayer garments like
kippot and
tallitot. Female Reconstructionist rabbis were instrumental in the creation of rituals, stories, and music that give women a voice in Judaism. Most of the focus has been on rituals for life-cycle events. New ceremonies have been created for births, weddings, divorces, conversions, weaning, and the onset of menarche and menopause. The Reconstructionist movement committed to creating liturgy that supports gender equality and the celebration of women's lives. Another major step: The Federation of Reconstructionist Congregations developed educational programs that teach the full acceptance of lesbians, as well as rituals that affirm lesbian relationships. Reconstructionist rabbis officiate at same-sex weddings. Reconstructionist Judaism allows openly
LGBT people to be ordained as rabbis and cantors. Prominent members of the Reconstructionist community focused on issues such as
domestic violence. Others devoted energy to helping women gain the right of divorce in traditional Jewish communities. Many have spoken out for the right of Jewish women to pray aloud and read from the
Torah at the
Western Wall in Jerusalem, particularly members of the
Women of the Wall group. When the roles of women in religion change, men's roles may also change. With their acceptance of patrilineal descent in 1979, the
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association supported the principle that a man can pass Judaism on to the next generation as well as a woman.
Jewish Renewal Jewish Renewal describes itself as "a worldwide, transdenominational movement grounded in Judaism's prophetic and mystical traditions". The Jewish Renewal movement ordains women and men as rabbis and cantors.
Lynn Gottlieb became the first female rabbi in Jewish Renewal in 1981, and
Avitall Gerstetter became the first female cantor in Jewish Renewal (and the first female cantor in Germany) in 2002. In 2009 and 2012 respectively, OHALAH (Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal) issued a board statement and a resolution supporting Women of the Wall. OHALAH's Statement of Principles states, "Our local communities will embody egalitarian and inclusive values, manifested in a variety of leadership and decision-making structures, ensuring that women and men are full and equal partners in every aspect of our communal Jewish life." In 2014 OHALAH issued a board resolution stating, "Therefore, be it resolved that: OHALAH supports the observance of
Women's History Month,
International Women's Day, and
Women's Equality Day; OHALAH condemns all types of sexism; OHALAH is committed to gender equality, now and in all generations to come; and OHALAH supports equal rights regardless of gender." Also in 2014, ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal issued a statement stating, "ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal supports the observance of Women's History Month, International Women's Day, and Women's Equality Day, condemns all types of sexism, is committed to gender equality, now and in all generations to come, and supports equal rights regardless of gender, in recognition and allegiance to the view that we are all equally created in the Divine Image."
Humanistic Judaism Humanistic Judaism ordains both men and women as rabbis; its first rabbi was a woman,
Tamara Kolton, who was ordained in 1999. Its first cantor was also a woman,
Deborah Davis, ordained in 2001; Humanistic Judaism later stopped ordaining cantors. The
Society for Humanistic Judaism issued a statement in 1996 stating, "We affirm that a woman has the moral right and should have the continuing legal right to decide whether or not to terminate a pregnancy in accordance with her own ethical standards. Because a decision to terminate a pregnancy carries serious, irreversible consequences, it is one to be made with great care and with keen awareness of the complex psychological, emotional, and ethical implications." In 2012, they opposed
conscience clauses that allowed religious-affiliated institutions to be exempt from requirements mandating the provision of reproductive healthcare services. In 2013 stated, "Therefore, be it resolved that: The Society for Humanistic Judaism wholeheartedly supports the observance of
Women's Equality Day on August 26 to commemorate the anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allowing women to vote; The Society condemns gender discrimination in all its forms, including restriction of rights, limited access to education, violence, and subjugation; and The Society commits itself to maintain vigilance and speak out in the fight to bring gender equality to our generation and to the generations that follow."
Sofrot (scribe) Sofrot is the feminine plural of Sofer. A Sopher, Sopher, Sofer STaM, or Sofer ST"M (Heb: "scribe", סופר סת״ם) is a Jewish scribe who is able and entitled to transcribe
Torah scrolls,
tefillin and
mezuzot, and other religious writings. (ST"M, סת״ם, is an abbreviation for Sefer Torahs, Tefillin, and Mezuzot. The masculine plural of sofer is "sofrim" סופרים). Forming the basis for the discussion of women becoming sofrot,
Talmud Gittin 45b states: "Sifrei Torah, tefillin, and mezuzot written by a heretic, a star-worshipper, a slave, a woman, a minor, a
Cuthean, or an
apostate Jew, are unfit for ritual use.". As
Arba'ah Turim does not include women in its list of those ineligible to write Sifrei Torah, some see this as proof that women are permitted to write a
Torah scroll. However, virtually all Orthodox (both Modern and Ultra) authorities reject the idea that a woman is permitted to write a
Sefer Torah. Yet women are permitted to inscribe
Ketubot (marriage contracts), STaM not intended for ritual use, and other writings of
Sofrut beyond simple STaM. In 2003, Canadian
Aviel Barclay became the world's first public, traditionally-trained, female sofer. In 2007
Jen Taylor Friedman, a British woman, became the first female sofer to scribe a
Sefer Torah. In 2010 the first
Sefer Torah scribed by a group of women (six female sofers, from Brazil, Canada, Israel, and the United States) was completed; this was known as the
Women's Torah Project. From October 2010 until spring 2011, Julie Seltzer, one of the female sofers from the Women's Torah Project, scribed a
Sefer Torah as part of an exhibition at the
Contemporary Jewish Museum in
San Francisco. This makes her the first American female sofer to scribe a
Sefer Torah. Seltzer is non-denominationally Jewish. From spring 2011 until August 2012 she scribed another Sefer Torah, this time for the Reform congregation Beth Israel in San Diego. On September 22, 2013,
Congregation Beth Elohim of New York dedicated a new Torah, which members of Beth Elohim said was the first Torah in New York City to be completed by a woman. The
Torah was scribed by Linda Coppleson. As of 2014, there were an estimated 50 female sofers. ==See also==