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Though obviously overshadowed by the hostilities currently engulfing our region and the disruption of normal – or is it the “new normal” – life here in Israel, that March 8 was recognized to be International Women’s Day should not be overlooked. And while the achievements of women are being honored throughout the world, the 2026 theme – Give To Gain – acknowledges that there still remains much discrimination and bias, and encourages action that focuses on challenging and eliminating them.

Boomers like me undoubtedly remember the time when what today would be regarded as politically incorrect, sexist and chauvinist stereotypes defined our generation. Women, then, were secretaries and receptionists while men were the executives and managers. It was, in other words, understood and accepted that women nursed while men doctored, women distributed snacks and meals to airline passengers while men did the piloting and navigating, and women washed the uniforms that men wore when they went to war.

Things, I think it’s fair to say, have changed.

Gender-specific roles and occupations throughout most of the world are no longer the norm. It’s been a while since I reviewed help-wanted ads, but I suspect the standard, legally required disclaimer specifying that the position being recruited for is available for both men and women no longer appears, or at least does not have to; society has reached a point where gender nondiscrimination has become a given.

Whenever I see a woman driving a bus or read about a woman as part of a team training to walk on the moon, I instinctively think back to 1993 when then-Israeli President Ezer Weitzman disparagingly mocked a young woman, Alice Miller, who applied and successfully sued for unprecedented admittance to the Israeli Air Force (IAF) flight training course. Intentionally slighting Ms. Miller by referring to her as meidele (young, unmarried lady in Yiddish), he asked if she ever saw a woman who was a surgeon or orchestra conductor, adding that she might be better off darning socks than thinking about being in the cockpit of fighter aircrafts. The young woman, thankfully, ignored the president’s unjustified bigotry and pushed open a door that for the first 45 years of Israel’s statehood had been the exclusive domain of one gender only.

The glass ceiling was not merely broken, it was shattered. Throughout Israel, women engaging in traditionally male roles are no longer regarded as anomalies; on the contrary, they have achieved distinguished recognition in such diverse areas as security and law enforcement, high tech, construction, national defense and intelligence, and science and medicine. President Weitzman, in 2026, would not have so freely expressed his patriarchal perspective on roles and responsibilities as they currently exist.

For the most part, that is.

Though proudly defined as a democracy, it would be a blatant falsehood to claim that in Israel religion and state are regarded as two separate, independent entities. On the contrary, issues involving the administration or management of religious institutions as well as formulation and implementation of religion-related legislation and policy are often determined by secular bodies such as the Knesset, local municipalities, and the courts. Religious laws, statutes, and regulations are not infrequently in conflict with others that have been specifically designed to ensure a just and civil society, which include equal opportunity for all regardless of gender or sexual orientation. A conflict that has been growing exponentially since Alice Miller ventured into territory where no woman had gone before.

Throughout my four decades in Israel, I’ve seen women who unhesitatingly define themselves as Modern Orthodox pursuing – and being given – greater acceptance and involvement in religious activities and environments that were not that long ago regarded as “male only”. The days in which women were seen strictly as the guardians of the ritual bath (mikvah), kiddush organizers, or fund-raising coordinators have long passed. It is no longer a rarity for women to be members of religious councils, or to supervise the kashruth of food shops or eateries, or to provide halachic-related counsel on such matters as family purity, marriage, and divorce.

Making matters even more confusing for traditionalists is that in a number of cities throughout Israel there are “egalitarian” Orthodox synagogues designed to reflect this religious gentrification. Under rabbinical supervision and approval, these houses of worship, using out-of-the-box thinking and creativity, have enabled women to assume more active roles in the rituals and practices of the synagogue services, including reading from the Torah and leading certain portions of the service. Is there reason to be frightened or concerned that the physical as well as metaphorical mechitza is gradually diminishing in size and significance? Maybe, particularly in light of the latest challenge to the paradigm with which I’m most familiar and comfortable.

I’m not the only one, I’m sure, feeling uncertain about the Rabbinate’s recent decision to open semicha (rabbinical certification) exams to women. The argument that this is merely a way to ensure that women receive the academic credit and benefits that they are qualified for is spurious at best. The long-range impact – or, perhaps, consequences – are troubling to say the least.

On the one hand, there is absolutely no reason why women should not have the opportunity to prove and benefit from their commitment to serious study of Torah-based sources and literature and to demonstrate their comprehensive understanding of the complex material required for certification. On the other hand, victories such as these are not infrequently a catalyst for other changes. It is what those changes might potentially be that I am more than a little wary of. It is not by no means a simple matter to dismiss ingrained perceptions of what are now sexist stereotypes, or to distinguish between what is halachically – and socially – acceptable and what is not.

Nor am I particularly pleased that this controversy was adjudicated in a secular court of law. I understand the court’s reasoning in giving itself jurisdiction in this matter, but as a practicing democracy, Israel should at least try and adhere to the idea of separating religion and state. As I indicated earlier, what the courts do next is anybody’s guess.

Let’s, though, set all that aside for now and wish all – and I do mean all – who will be sitting for the upcoming certification exam the best of luck. I’m not familiar with the structure or breakdown of the exam, but I do hope that, for the written parts at least, the candidates will be named through an identification number or some other genderless code. We would not want the ladies taking the exam to be victims of graders’ bias, would we?

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)