Elon Moreh, Israel – Rabbi Bans Women from Public Office

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    FILE - An ultra orthodox woman casts her vote at a polling station in the Beitar Illit settlement on election day. Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, chief rabbi of the Elon Moreh settlement in Samaria, has prohibited female residents from running for public officeElon Moreh, Israel – Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, chief rabbi of the Elon Moreh settlement in Samaria, has prohibited female residents from running for the office of community secretary.

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    The elections for the position are scheduled for Wednesday, but so far not a single woman of the 750 eligible adult residents of the settlement has announced candidacy.

    One woman, who remains anonymous, sent a letter to Rabbi Levanon asking whether she could run for the position. “I am a young woman and I think I have the desire and energy to do things. I also believe there is a benefit to making a woman secretary, because it’s not right for men to be the only ones deciding how to run the community,” she wrote to the rabbi, asking his opinion.

    But in his weekly column in the settlement’s newspaper Levanon wrote that the position of secretary was not fit for a woman, according to the teachings of the Rav Kook. He said women could participate in various councils, but not as secretaries.

    “The first problem is giving women authority, and being a secretary means having authority,” he wrote. “The second problem is mixing men and women. Secretary meetings are held at night and sometimes end very late. It is not proper to be in mixed company in such situations.”

    The rabbi added that women who desired to affect public opinion should do so through their husbands. “Within the family certain debates are held and when opinions are united the husband presents the family’s opinion,” he wrote.

    “This is the proper way to prevent a situation in which the woman votes one way and her husband votes another.”

    But many residents of Elon Moreh and its surroundings objected to the rabbi’s decision. Daniela Weiss, former council head of the settlement of Kedumim, said women had once been prophets and held distinguished roles in Jewish society.

    “It is in times of trial that women have proven themselves capable of standing up and getting through,” she said.

    Nurit Tsur, who heads the Israel Women’s Lobby, said the rabbi’s decision was anti-democratic and medieval. “Its place is in a halachic state and not a democratic one,” she said.

    “When things like this are taken out of the sphere of mere talk and made into a clear order for the Jewish female public in Israel, I expect leaders of the religious public to decry them and clarify that women’s place in local and national political discussion is necessary and vital,” Tsur said.


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    68 Comments
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    formally
    formally
    13 years ago

    wow beck to the past a dark past

    charlie hall
    charlie hall
    13 years ago

    This was the subject of a widely-publicized dispute between Rav Kook and Rav Uziel about 90 years ago. Essentially, Rav Uziel’s position was universally accepted until this. Can an orthodox rabbi reopen settled halachic questions?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Does this Rabbi also hold that women should not be taught to read and write? We might get dangerous ideas if we actually can think for ourselves!

    shlomo zalman
    shlomo zalman
    13 years ago

    This position is poorly translated as Secretary and better translated as Managing Director. Even so, Rav Levanon is proving that just because someone is a religious zionist doesn’t mean he’s not pathetically narrow minded and obscurantist. This is a typical knee-jerk psak form someone who may be a lamdan but not a wise man. The days of prohibiting women from holding positions of influence are long gone and should never return.

    James Dean
    James Dean
    13 years ago

    It is Halachic decisions like this that lead to a Rabbah.

    I am sure that he would have Banned Devorah from running for the position of Shofet.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    There were some exceptional women but most were not judges, prophetesses, etc… However his reasoning that “women cannot be given authority” is way off. Maybe he doesn’t want to be constantly working in such close proximity to a woman.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    He’s a Jewish Taliban.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Too bad males are so insecure Females should not hold back when wanting to do
    something. She should not ask males if she can or cannot do something. Males will always say no because they need to be superior. A wife should not have to go thru
    her husband She is an individual and most likely smarter then the husband.
    Rabbis should start telling women to ” go for it” especially since they are
    supporting husbands and children
    Rabbis should stop saying what a female and or cannot do It is not their
    busisness Arlene

    gadolwannabe
    gadolwannabe
    13 years ago

    He is just following the psak of Pesach Lerner of the Young Israel who banned women from being president of YI shuls. Chosid Shoteh!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Did anyone tell his wife that she has no authority?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Rav Levanon demonstrates a profound ignorance of halacha and relies upon the views of rav Kook whose opinions have been rejected by most contemporary poskim. He shows himself to be insecure and wishing to subordinate women from contributing directly the kehilla (except through their husbands). The tragedy is that this woman felt the need to even raise this shaylah anonymously to Levanon rather than simply announcing her candidacy.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    I think this “rabbi” is a insecure person who will never understand how jews are supposed to treat women. The sad part is that so many gullible students will follow without question this fatwa

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    The woman asked her Rabbi a sheiloh whether she should run for public office. He answered no because of tznius. Perfectly understandable. AJewish woman’s place is not in politics, but in the home where her husband and children need her. The secular media added the “authority” part.

    And Devorah hanavieh did not run for office.

    Thinker
    Thinker
    13 years ago

    There is no clear ruling anywhere in Chazal about what public position a woman may hold. It is quite clear in Shass and all the major poskim that women cannot be dayanim, chazzanim etc. Not that ch”v they are considered inferior, just different.
    Indeed, until the Beis Yaakov movement started in Poland after WW1 – i.e. less than 100 years ago – most frum women couldn’t read or write. The reasons for this are complex and with a few isolated exceptions there were no women, jewish or non-jewish, in high positions. Of course what they did then and should do now is support their husbands, including those in high office (ezer kenegdoi).
    It is true that now things are entirely different but anything involving yiddishkeit must obviously be paskened by a rov. Preferably the Moroh D’Asro rather than one of the gedolim who will not necessarily be familiar with the particular shaaloh.

    David
    David
    13 years ago

    The man’s afraid of women. It’s just that simple. If a woman was incapable of succeeding in a leadership position, then nobody would ever vote for them. The only reason to ban them is that they might do a better job, and make certain rabbis look… well, inadequate.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    With all due respect to this Rabbi, does he live in this day and age or does he live 200 years ago?? Does he have electricity and running water or does he use a well for water?? Since women do not have to learn how to read, how would they learn to cook? I rest my case!! I hope VIN posts this.

    Steve
    Steve
    13 years ago

    Could someone please explain the Rav Kook vs R Uziel thing from the beginning? I dont know to what this refers….

    Shmuel
    Shmuel
    13 years ago

    Women are not invited to the meeting in our shuls, are not even allowed to vote in our shuls, and certainly are not allowed to be elected to any shul’s boards or any other positions. And nobody seems to have a problem with any of it. So why such invective against the posek whose psak is no different from our ‘facts on the ground’?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Let the women decide everything, they do anyway…

    Mike
    Mike
    13 years ago

    You know, I just noticed something. The women in question wanted to remain anonymous. Why do you suppose that would be? Does that tell you something?

    Funny
    Funny
    13 years ago

    Reading many halachic topic comment trails is mamash the kosher entertainment I am looking for. Not that it doesn’t make me said if I contemplate on how Yidden think today, but entertaining it is.
    To let you in on my perspective, the argument usually goes down like this.
    There is an article, reasonably accurate stating some halachic position. Commenting starts either attacking or defending the opinion. Sometimes completely illogically the guy who was machmir becomes a meichel and vica versa from topic to topic.
    I think I figured it out.
    It’s the Yetzer Hara talking. I mean everybody has one, and it’s different from people to people. And it’s funny, except that it’s not.
    Like here, people are arguing saying ‘It’s a different day and age” etc. Don’t any of them realize, it’s a halachic dispute, and their opinion on the modernity of the Rav or the psak is at best irrelevant? Why don’t they scream “It’s too Sunny today?” That has the same relevance. Because the YH has to r a t i o n a l i z e its position so they can lean back (Charlie Hall) and be so very content with their wise comment.
    I also have a YH, it made me write this comment 🙂

    As A Married Woman
    As A Married Woman
    13 years ago

    I have a single friend whose father died – she can do want she wants. Most elected officials have problems, either with their zippers, their egos, their power, etc. The only problem female politicians have is that they did not pay social security tax on their illegal nannies. Are we concerned of an average woman holding power of the decision of the Rabbi’s or a bright woman who is an oveid hashem only listening to Rabbi A and not Rabbi B. A woman’s place is raising her children, that is why females were created and while most of these meetings are at night, as with any job offer you look to see how it will affect you, your family and your environment. Having satisfactory answers to that, the only other concern is the breach of Tznius of a woman putting herself forward either for votes or favors from other politicians (asking for things), there are capable woman, who would do well and others that would lose there chein. If this woman asked the Rabbi anonymously I don’t think the answer applies to her and general statements that are not directed from the Torah are always left up to interpretation, regardless of Rav Kook’s feelings.