Following years of legal battles, the Chief Rabbinate has opened registration for its upcoming rabbinical tests to women, officials said Wednesday.

A statement announcing the start of the registration period for the tests in the Hebrew month of Iyar, between April and May, was issued by a Rabbinate spokesperson, after months of uncertainty following a landmark decision by the High Court of Justice in July.

While the Rabbinate statement did not explicitly mention that women can sign up for the tests, the spokesperson confirmed to The Times of Israel that this was the case, “as the High Court ruled.”

“I’m really excited,” said Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz, who was among the group of women and rights organizations that petitioned the Court in 2019, asking for women to be allowed to take the tests. “We have been waiting for the opportunity to register since July.”

The Chief Rabbinate administers tests in the major areas of halacha (Jewish law), including kashrut, niddah (family purity laws), Shabbat, mourning, and marriage laws. Candidates who wish to be eligible to be recognized as rabbis need to pass a certain number of those tests (six are enough to achieve the level of “neighborhood rabbi,” while the title of “city rabbi” entails 11 tests).

However, the Rabbinate also grants other types of certificates to those who pass the tests, with important economic and social implications.

For example, the “Yoreh Yoreh” (“he may teach”) certificate – which is obtained after passing six tests – is, under certain conditions, considered equivalent to an academic degree in terms of salary benefits and is a prerequisite to access some public jobs.

Segal-Katz decided to petition the court after she sought to apply for the position of........

© The Times of Israel