Reform Judaism - Some Questions and Answers

11. Is it true that a lot of Reform rabbis are women?
There is actually no halakhic (traditional legal) objection to women as rabbis. Nevertheless, there have been women rabbis within the Reform Movements in Britain, America and Israel for only 30 years. It is one of Reform Judaism’s major achievements and we are delighted that applications to the Leo Baeck College, our rabbinic training college at the Sternberg Centre in North West London, are equally split between women and men.

As in other professions women and men bring both some of the same and slightly different qualities to their rabbinate and this is deeply enriching. There are still people who find the idea of a woman rabbi difficult – interestingly, women as well as men. But then, some people found the first women doctors and barristers difficult to adjust to. Change is never easy but in this case it is not only just but extremely beneficial.

Acknowledgement: ‘What is Reform Judaism' by Rabbi Tony Bayfield.