The striking change in our generation—that Limmud Torah (the learning of Torah) has become part of the lives of many women, began as a quest on a personal level, but has since become a broad social phenomenon. The ramifications of this change vastly exceed the achievements of one woman Torah scholar or another, and have had profound effects on Jewish religious leadership.
Now, we are facing the results of the process of change and pondering: Where is this process leading us? How should we define our expectations for the future? Will the results of this drastic change in women’s Torah study result in an upper echelon of learned women who will develop a new agenda in their positions as mothers, educators, and community leaders? Will an entire dynasty of female Talmidot Chachamim evolve? What status will these new women scholars have?
A Talmid Chacham is defined as one whose Torah knowledge determines his status as arbiter, commentator, judge, and community leader. Will women scholars reach this capacity? The obvious answer to this question should be “Yes,” for all indepth, sincere Torah study leads its pupils to the level of Talmidei Chachamim. In theory, as women continue their pursuit of knowledge, society must accept that soon Talmidot Chachamim will be qualified to lead alongside male scholars. In the religious community, where leaders are chosen on the basis of Torah expertise, the eligibility of women scholars must be taken into account. The implications are of great magnitude!
However, do the religious communities presently take women’s advanced Torah learning sufficiently into account? In this area, there is a need for a major change. While women are active in the religious life of their respective communities, those communities tend to limit them, and in many cases the women tend to limit themselves, to specific issues that are labeled as appropriate for their intervention. However, as the number of learned women increases, women will no longer be content to dabble in limited predefined issues. Study will lead to action, and the natural place for women to put their knowledge and spiritual skills into practice is in the wider community. Moreover, it is clear that women scholars can enhance the spiritual and social lives of the members of their respective communities. Working together with local rabbis, the contribution of these women may help alleviate some of the confusion and chaos that plague young and old alike in today’s modern world.
To achieve this, a major step must be taken. There is need for recognition that excellence in Talmud Torah leads its achievers, regardless of gender, to positions of poskim or poskot and religious leaders. That there is no halakhic prohibition against women being poskot or morei halakha (teachers of halakha) is clear. If a woman knows the right answer, she can answer questions of halakha. (For sources, see Sefer Hahinukh (no.152), Tosafot (Shavuot 29b), the Hida (Birkhei Yosef to Hoshen Mishpat 7, para. 12) and Encyclopedia Talmudit Vol. 8, p. 494, esp. note 109).
We have moved beyond the dispute about whether women are allowed to study or allowed to be poskot. Now we have to struggle for recognition and legitimacy, as one only becomes a true posek when recognized and accepted. Therefore, the voices of women scholars should be heard in our communities, not exclusively in their separate batei midrash. We must strive to develop an ongoing, open dialogue between women scholars and their respective communities, giving validity to the female voice in the Torah world. Talmud Torah of women will gain significance if this dialogue exists, and it will not achieve it if women remain in their own “corners.” Communities can no longer rely on age-old habits, merely out of convenience or convention. The new voice of women scholars must be heard and incorporated into the foundations of a just and caring society promoting higher levels of spirituality and religious observance. Such innovative change is needed not only to satisfy the desire of the women (“la’asot nachat ruach lanashim”) or to validate their study, but rather for the sake of our coping with the religious challenges that are of concern to all members of society, male and female.