Home › Forums › Bais Medrash › Why Can't Women Get Modern Smicha and Become Rabbis? › Reply To: Why Can't Women Get Modern Smicha and Become Rabbis?
I think a yoetzet halacha is limited to certain areas of halacha. If a yoetzet halacha is indeed certifiably knowledgeable in all areas of halacha that a MAN with semicha is then I am fine with that. I don’t care what name you want to call it. A Yoreh Yoreh Semicha is not a license to be a dayan. Maybe you could argue that we shouldn’t give women Yadin Yadin semicha because that would be more geared towards becoming a dayan as opposed to people asking halachic questions. But even there3 I’m not sure I would agree. There is much that can be done with knowledge of Choshen Mishpat outside of dayanus. As for whether a woman can actually be a dayan it is not so pashut. Granted the Shulchan Aruch rules that she is pasul, but I quoted a couple of daios in the rishonim who disagree, and I also quoted several sources that if they are mekabel her then she can be a dayan. But it’s very simple – if you hold that it is assur for a woman to be a dayan then put out a proclamation that it is assur for a woman to be a dayan. There is no need to make a proclamation that women can’t be certified as halachically knowledgeable. Anyone who listens to your proclamations will not have women dayanim and anyone who doesn’t listen also won’t listen if the proclamation is against certification.