Since the 1970s, the phenomenon of Torah study for women has developed in Israel. Today, women hold several halakhic and religious leadership positions in the wide variety of the modern-orthodox public in Israel. However, the religious establishment in the State of Israel, the Chief Rabbinate, refuses to recognize women`s halakhic training and allow them to take the formal rabbinate exams.
Even before women sought this institutional recognition, as early as 2007, Rebbetzin Hannah Dreyfus-Goodinger was appointed the first school rabbi in Israel. Her appointment led to a school discussion about the title she should carry, whether Rabbi, Rabbanit, or Rabba. The deliberation on the choice of name indicated a more profound process in modern Orthodox society in Israel - what is the status of educated Torah women? What leadership roles will they fulfill, and what public will they lead? Since then, about twenty school rabbaniot have been appointed in Israel, which is an expanding phenomenon. It should be noted that this is an official appointment within the state religious education, and therefore constitutes official recognition, even if limited to the areas of education. Although the paycheck says "school rabbi," the religious education administration calls them Judaism Female-Leader, while many of them call themselves rabbanit.
I seek to explore the new position of women as religious leaders in Modern-Orthodoxy and Religious-Zionist societies through this institutionalized role. The research is qualitative and will be based on personal interviews, meeting records and online materials such as emails and WhatsApp groups.
In my paper, I would like to propose to see this phenomenon as an essential step on the way to the institutional recognition of women`s religious leadership in its many titles and to tell from my personal point of view, as a researcher of religious feminism and a school rabbanit of the Pelech high school for girls in Tel Aviv.