The Curious Case of Rabbi Steven Leder

Earlier this week, Women's Day magazine appointed its first-ever rabbi-in-residence, Rabbi Steven Leder of California. He will write periodically about items of Jewish interest. Women's Day reaches 20 million readers each month through its print edition and online presence. That’s quite an audience. 

What could be wrong with that? Rabbi Leder, while certainly not a household name, is among America’s most successful Rabbis. As the long time Senior Rabbi of the Wilshire Temple in Los Angeles, one of the largest Reform synagogues in America, he leads a synagogue of 2400 families, 3 different campuses, and recently concluded a multi-year capital campaign that raised over $200 million. That's right - $200 million. I may not have liked those "Top Rabbi's in America" lists that Newsweek magazine published several years ago (maybe because my name wasn't on it?) but there was a reason why Rabbi Leder's was included.  He earned it!

By the way, did I mention that he is also a gifted writer whose work has uplifted thousands of Jews and non-Jews alike? His most recent book, The Beauty of What Remains was on both the Amazon and New York Times bestsellers list last year.  Believe me, he is good.

It was actually as a result of Rabbi Leder's brilliant writing that he came to the attention of the editor of Women's Day, who invited him to participate in some online programming that the magazine sponsors, and then invited him to start writing for the magazine.

What could be bad? Just wait...

I learned about this story from an article written by a colleague who used his newsletter to criticize Rabbi Leder for having accepted this position at the magazine. In a post titled Rabbi Leder: Please Resign and Advocate for a Woman Rabbi, Rabbi Hayim Herring, who himself is highly respected and influential among many American Rabbis (including me!) makes the following statement. "Rabbi Leder, I ask you to please inform the person who offered you this position that you are resigning and advocate for one of the many qualified woman Rabbis we know."

Rabbis generally don't do that kind of thing in public. So, as you might have imagined, I couldn't wait to read what was next. And what followed was a stinging indictment of the "male Jewish power establishment," accompanied by Rabbi Herring's own mea culpa for not having advocated more forcefully for gender equity in the past, as well as a reminder that we must advance more women into volunteer and professional executive leadership roles throughout the organized Jewish world.

This criticism of Women's Day and Rabbi Leder's acceptance was echoed by several prominent women Rabbis, who felt that Rabbi Leder's acceptance of this position was a step in the wrong direction, and sent the wrong message about what it means to be an ally to women's advancement in Jewish life.

Frankly, I am surprised by the negative reaction to Rabbi Leder's acceptance of this position, especially when each of those who have criticized him acknowledge his leadership, erudition and brilliance demonstrated throughout a Rabbinic career of 35 years. Certainly, there is more that could be done to advance women in Jewish communal life. But I would be remiss in my responsibilities to the community if I failed to highlight the amazing advancement that women have achieved in organized Jewish life in the past 30 years. Right now, I will concentrate solely on women’s advancement in religious life in Jewish America. Currently, and for the past several years, the majority of students enrolled in non-orthodox Rabbinical ordination programs are women. Each of the non-orthodox seminaries in America have had women in positions of senior leadership. Currently, the chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and the Deans of the Academy for Jewish Religion, Hebrew College in Boston, and Reconstructing Judaism (the Reconstructionist movement’s official name) are women. Indeed, one of Rabbi Leder's most vocal critics herself occupies a position of leadership and administration at Reconstructing Judaism.

Let’s examine women leaders in the Conservative Movement. As I mentioned, the current chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is Dr. Shuly Rubin Schwartz, a world-renowned Jewish historian (as well as the mother of our first Rabbinic Intern, Moshe Schwartz, who served with us from 2001-2003). The new Dean of the Rabbinical school at JTS is Rabbi Ayelet Cohen, and the longtime Associate Dean is also a woman, as is the current interim Dean, Rabbi Jan Uhrbach. The previous CEO of the Rabbinical Assembly was Rabbi Julie Schonfeld. And while I'm concentrating just on the Conservative movement now, each of the other major non-orthodox seminaries can similarly boast outstanding female leadership at the highest levels of administration and policy making. I'm not exactly sure why that point is lost on Rabbi Leder's critics. It may not be perfect, but to deny the advancement that women Rabbis, scholars, and activists have achieved in the last generation is irresponsible. And to use the appointment of an outstanding colleague like Rabbi Leder to make their case is dishonest.

Having said that, while I reject their criticism, I understand their concerns and even bitterness. But ask yourself: should only women write for a magazine that caters to the interests of women? Or for that matter, can only men write for publications that have historically catered to male interests? Does that make sense to you? Is the best way to achieve greater equity for women in Jewish life to deny the success that a man has achieved?

I believe that Jewish tradition begs to differ. After all, did our Rabbi's not teach " Who is wise? The one who learns from all people, as it is said: “From all who taught me have I gained understanding” (Psalms 119:99)." (Pirkei Avot 4:1)   I would hope that my colleagues, as well as my dear readers take this wisdom to heart.