Chief rabbis accuse High Court of interfering with Jewish law

The chief rabbis of Israel, Kalman Ber and David Yosef, accuse the High Court of Justice of interfering with matters of Jewish law, or halacha, that they state fall under the Chief Rabbinate’s competence, following recent instances where the court ruled against the rabbinate’s position.

“The members of the Chief Rabbinate Council, headed by the chief rabbis, view with severity and pain the intervention of the High Court of Justice in matters that are not within its jurisdiction,” reads a rabbinate statement disseminated by a spokesperson at the end of an emergency meeting of the council.

The statement specifically refers to the court’s decision, earlier this month, to reject the request for an additional hearing regarding its July ruling that required the rabbinate to open its rabbinical tests to women.

“All matters of testing and ordination fall within the jurisdiction of the Chief Rabbinate alone, according to the tradition of ordination and halachic rulings over the generations,” the statement adds.

The rabbinate administers tests in the major areas of Jewish law. Candidates wishing to be recognized as rabbis must pass a minimum of six tests. The rabbinate also grants other types of certificates to those who pass the tests, with significant economic and social implications.

The petitioners asked the court to allow women to take tests to be eligible for the same benefits, without advocating for them to be able to receive rabbinical ordination.

The rabbinate’s statement stresses that proving sufficient Torah knowledge is not sufficient to be recognized as a rabbi, and adds that a committee that will formulate criteria for both testing and ordination will be established. The statement does not include a specific rejection of the requirement that the tests will be open to women.

A separate rabbinate announcement yesterday ahead of today’s meeting mentioned that the council had also been set to discuss the court’s decision last week to require the rabbinate to recognize the moderate Orthodox rabbinical organization Tzohar as a kashrut certifying body and a February decision to revoke the ability of rabbinical courts to rule over child support cases. However, no specific decision has been announced today on these matters.