Orthodox Jewish women in the US are being trained to assume leadership roles in synagogues that are similar to those of a rabbi; in fact, the controversy begins when such women are actually called “rabbis.” This was evident in a recent controversy when an Orthodox rabbi in New York decided to call a woman on his staff a “rabba,” which is the term for a female rabbi.
Richard Cimino is the founder and editor of Religion Watch, a newsletter monitoring trends in contemporary religion. Since January 2008, Religion Watch is published by Religioscope Institute. Website: www.religionwatch.com