Nussbaum Cohen interview Rabbi Sperber, Talmud professor at Bar Ilan and author of Women and Men in Communal Prayer:  Halakhic Perspectives (2010), upon a recent visit to New York.  He argued that the controversy surrounding the term for a female rabbi is political rather than substantive.  In Israel, for example, the term “rabba” is associated with a Reform or Conservative, female rabbi “which could be a source of confusion.”  In any case, he sees no reason why dedicated and Jewishly learned women should not serve in as rabbis if they understand the limitations – not able to officiate at weddings or function in all aspects of synagogue activities.

The change in the status of women in the Modern Period has not been recognized, halachically, by the Orthodox rabbinic establishment, which remains in the control of men and cut off from the contemporary context.  In order to cope with the great challenges present for both men and women in religious communities, which are imbedded in a patriarchal tradition, Hannah Kahat urges the development of rabbinic, spiritual, and feminine leadership.

Kolech, the Israeli equivalent to JOFA, intends to train women to serve in the future as dayanim (rabbinical court judges). The organization is also calling to create an independent rabbinical court system staffed by dayanim more sensitive to women's needs and more in touch with modern Orthodoxy. http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=124989