• This Week's Torah Portion

On my first Shabbat as the newest student rabbi at Temple Beth Ha-Shalom, a small Reform congregation in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, I introduced myself, began learning names, and met congregants for the very first time. As I was speaking with some members, I heard a young boy exclaim to his father: “Dad, the rabbi is a man!  I thought only women could be rabbis?” Before my time in Williamsport, all the student rabbis had identified as female.  I was the first student rabbi who identified as male that this child could remember. That shocked me to my core! A generation before, a young girl could have asked her mom a similar yet completely different question: “Why are there no women rabbis?”  In a relatively short amount of time, the perception (at least in this community) of rabbis, Jewish leadership, and gender had changed dramatically. Rabbi Jennifer Clayman shares the impact Rabbi Sally Priesand, the first woman ordained as a rabbi in the United States, had on her and so many others’ rabbinic journeys in “The Torah: A Women’s Commentary:”

Because of you, Sally, and those who came after you, I was never told that a woman can’t be a rabbi. Because of you and those who came after you, my rabbi was able to stand up on the bimah at my bat mitzvah and tell me that he thought I should be a rabbi. And because of you and those who came after you, my colleagues and I have been blessed by the presence of rabbinic mentors, both male and female.

But this was not always the case. In this week’s Torah portion, Tzav, only men had specific religious leadership roles regarding sacrifices in the Mishkan. Concerning the meal offering, we read: “Only the males among Aaron’s descendants may eat of it” (Leviticus 6:11).    This is similar to the stipulations surrounding the sin offering: “Only the males in the priestly line may eat of it; it shall be eaten in the sacred precinct; it is most holy” (Leviticus 7:6). In ancient Israel, these sacrifices were the closest connection our ancestors had to the Divine. They were also only available to men. Even wives and female relatives of the priests were rarely permitted to eat these holy sacrifices. Over and over again, the Torah reiterates that the individuals who oversaw the sacrificial system were men. This is constantly repeated.  At least half a dozen times in Leviticus 6, we hear the refrain: “Aaron and his sons.” This serves as a reminder that daughters were not included in these sacred rituals. Not only were women in priestly families excluded, as was the general population, the Torah also teaches that those who had become ritually impure were also unable to eat the sacrifice: “When a person who is unclean eats from the Eternal’s sacrifice that person shall be cut off from his kin” (Leviticus 7:20).  If those who were ritually contaminated partook in the ritual offerings, they would be cut off from the community. These individuals could be ostracized or excluded solely because of their perceived spiritual contamination. During biblical times, very few individuals served as religious leaders. Only the kohanim, men who were deemed spiritually fit, were able to oversee these rituals and eat these offerings. It has been almost 20 years since I served as a student rabbi in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Though so much has changed over the decades, much else has remained the same. Our Reform Movement actively works to create a space of belonging for every single member of our communities. In 2022, the Central Conference of American Rabbis celebrated the 50th anniversary of women in the rabbinate. Just weeks ago, the CCAR celebrated 35 years of ordaining gay and lesbian rabbis. Over this past 100 year, our ideas about who leads our Jewish community has expanded.  We have increased the chairs at the table to make sure that more people in our diverse community can lead and guide us. That said, we still have a long way to go.  We as a community have helped broaden the tent of inclusion, but are we truly being equitable and making sure that every person can rise up into leadership roles?  Our role in this fragile time is to make sure that those of every gender expression and those of every ability can rise up to leadership as rabbis, cantors, and Jewish professionals.  As inclusion and diversity work is being attacked around the world, may we continue to work together to ensure that all capable members of the Jewish people are afforded the opportunity to serve as spiritual leaders in the years to come.