Maharat becomes Rabbah
Avi Weiss' office just issued a statement saying that Sara Hurwitz, who was ordained with the unusual acronym Maharat last year (shorthand for leader in legal, spiritual and Torah matters), would henceforth be known as "rabbah."
Here's the statement in full.
It is almost a year since Sara Hurwitz was given the title Mahara”t at a conferral ceremony. I indicated at that time that Sara Hurwitz is a full member of our clergy staff.
Over this past year, I have, on numerous occasions, in talks and symposia around the country, said as clearly as I could that Mahara”t means rabbi, and that Sara Hurwitz has received semikha. Having studied the same curriculum as any man would study for ordination, she has achieved this goal.
We decided when Sara Hurwitz was conferred that we would be assessing whether the title Mahara”t has taken hold in the community. After a year, what we have seen is that it has gained traction within our own community, at the Bayit.
But outside our community, when Sara Hurwitz has officiated at funerals or visited hospitals or when the title Mahara”t appears in newspapers, it has not resonated. Moreover, at times the term Mahara”t has been used inappropriately in a disrespectful way.
And so, after consultation with Rabbi Daniel Sperber, who is signing the klaf with me, we have decided that Sara Hurwitz’s title will now be Rabba. This will make it clear to everyone that Sara Hurwitz is a full member of our rabbinic staff, a rabbi with the additional quality of a distinct woman’s voice.
Share
Facebook
4 Comments
Avi Weiss,
orthodox,
Orthodox,
rabbis,
Sara Hurwitz
Comments RSS Feed Reader Comments
From a letter which appeared in the June 11 ‘letters to the editor” section of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent. . .
There’s a Better Title to Honor Women ‘Rabbis’
. “
The title bestowed by the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale was the awkward Maharat, an artificial Hebrew acronym.
I have a much better suggestion.
The Hebrew letter bet (the letter “b") is the first letter of the first word of the first chapter of the first book of the Torah, Bereshit. It is, of course, about beginnings—the creation of something brand-new.
Many midrashim comment on this, and on the significance of the bet.
So why not take this “b” and affix it to the word rabbi, forming the neologism “BRAbbi”? It’s a perfect fit!
Moreover, when considered against the backdrop of the overwhelmingly patriarchal and, indeed, androcentric nature of rabbinic/Orthodox Judaism, can one even remotely conceive of a more pointed, symbolic representation of an individual’s commitment to nourish, support, shape and uplift the system?
For further research, naturally enough, the place to start is the Torah, in the portion called TITzaveh (Exodus: 28:20-30:10).
S.R. Cohen
Baltimore
What’s interesting is that Sara Hurwitz was already using the title “Rabba” on her blog back on Dec. 29, 2009 ( see a tweet here: http://ow.ly/116xz )
PS. The article headline seems to be incorrect using the title “Rabbah” instead of “Rabba”.
Leave a Comment
To leave a comment, you must first be logged in to JTA. If you are not registered, please click here.
Already a JTA member?
Need to know? Get JTA's free e-newsletters!
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Claude S. on Connecting the dots: Susan G. Komen, J Street and Bill Clinton
- Yaakov Cohn on Connecting the dots: Susan G. Komen, J Street and Bill Clinton
- Herbert Kaine on Times travel writer on Israel: ‘A politically iffy burden’
- Lloyd Trufelman on Netanyahu doth protest too much?
- ASC on Times travel writer on Israel: ‘A politically iffy burden’
leroy oakmont
01/27/10 06:41 PM
From a letter which appeared in the June 11 2009 ‘letters to the editor” section of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent. . .
There’s a Better Title to Honor Women ‘Rabbis’
. “
The title bestowed by the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale was the awkward Maharat, an artificial Hebrew acronym.
I have a much better suggestion.
The Hebrew letter bet (the letter “b") is the first letter of the first word of the first chapter of the first book of the Torah, Bereshit. It is, of course, about beginnings—the creation of something brand-new.
Many midrashim comment on this, and on the significance of the bet.
So why not take this “b” and affix it to the word rabbi, forming the neologism “brabbi”? It’s a perfect fit!
Moreover, when considered against the backdrop of the overwhelmingly patriarchal and, indeed, androcentric nature of rabbinic/Orthodox Judaism, can one even remotely conceive of a more pointed, symbolic representation of an individual’s commitment to nourish, support, shape and uplift the system?
For further research, naturally enough, the place to start is the Torah, in the portion called Titzaveh (Exodus: 28:20-30:10).
S.R. Cohen
Baltimore