Mendel Shapiro is a

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

lawyer and

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

Rabbi. He is the author of a

halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

analysis arguing that women could be called to read from the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

in prayer services with men on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

under certain conditions. His minority viewpoint, which contravened both tradition, and according to many poskim Halacha itself, became the subject of extensive dispute within the

Modern Orthodox Jewish Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

world. Gidon Rothstein wrote in the

Rabbinical Council of America The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union (OU). It is the main pr ...

's flagship journal ''Tradition'' that :Both for its inherent interest as an attempt to mine sources creatively and for its impact on the current Orthodox world, R. Shapiro's analysis deserves serious consideration. However, Rothstein went on to critique all of Shapiro's core arguments, saying they have "conspicuously weak textual support," and concluded that Shapiro's analysis "has not meaningfully succeeded". Shapiro holds B.A. and M.S. degrees from

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universit ...

and a J.D. from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

. He received

Semicha Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...

(Rabbinic Ordination) from the

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan S ...

of Yeshiva University.

References

Mendel Shapiro, “Qeri’at ha-Torah by Women: A Halakhic Analysis” (Edah 1:2, 2001)
(pdf) * Gidon Rothstein
"Women’s Aliyyot in Contemporary Synagogues."
''Tradition'' 39:2, Summer 2005. (Critical analysis published in the Orthodox

's official journal) * Eliav Shochetman. ''Sinay'' 135-136 (2005), pp. 271–336 (Article by Hebrew University Law School professor criticizing Mendel Shapiro's analysis ) *http://www.edah.org/backend/JournalArticle/1_2_henkin.pdf *http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=6937&print=yes *http://www.cjnews.com/pastissues/02/nov21-02/international/int2.htm *http://www.jta.org/page_print_story.asp?intarticleid=12072&intcategoryid=5 *https://web.archive.org/web/20070704154035/http://www.kehilathadar.org/Aboutus/jewishweek08-02-02.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Mendel Judaism and women American Modern Orthodox rabbis Jewish feminists Living people Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary semikhah recipients Columbia Law School alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Rabbis in Jerusalem 21st-century American Jews Lawyers from Jerusalem

See also

References