In a historic breakthrough, three women were allowed to sit for the Israeli rabbinate’s competency exams earlier this week.
The tests, which drill on a variety of topics in Halacha—traditional Jewish law—were previously only available to men seeking rabbinic ordination. But Israel’s Supreme Court ruled last year that the rabbinate must open up exams to women.
The exam didn’t go off without complications. The women were brought to a separate venue far from the male test takers and waited nearly five hours on Monday until an emergency court order forced the rabbinate to administer the exam.
