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"The Rabbinate exams aren't Halakhic, they're administrative." said Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz
Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz on Galei Tzahal: We can't afford to take offense. We choose proactive action for all women seeking halakhic recognition
Finally, women like me can take the Rabbinate’s exams in Jewish law * The Supreme Court has ruled that a policy of ‘only men’ is discriminatory, but will Israel’s Chief Rabbinate uphold that decision?
Ahead of the activity week of Israeli Rabbinate, dedicated this year to the theme “Torah, Leadership, and Choice,” Rabbanit Sarah wrote about the frustrating reality of the past six months: it has simply been impossible—for both men and women—to register for the Halachic examinations of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. This situation began not long […]
Ditzah Rotem-Lev and Dr. Yahel Kurlander interviewed Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz on ther broadcast "The Political Voice" about Dinah Week and Activism
Israel’s High Court rejected the Rabbinate’s request to reopen the case and reaffirmed: women must be allowed to take all rabbinical exams, without restriction.
In a Gluyat Einayim interview, poet Yitzhak Gvilli reflects on writing as a vital need, on war memories shaping his art, and on moral responsibility, depth, and compassion.
To mark the publication of her debut poetry collection, “What Determines Is the Gaze”, we spoke with poet and clinical psychologist Ora Barkan about language, creativity, migration, and belonging. An Israeli living in California, Barkan writes from a dual vantage point—between presence and distance, between the concrete and the poetic. She describes writing as an […]
Op-ed: Rabbanit Sarah on the Rabbinate’s stay and rehearing in HCJ: Exams aren’t just ordination; opening them to women is a civic duty.
Chief Rabbinate seeks a further HCJ hearing and a stay, while offering women only partial exam access. Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz urges full compliance.
Interview with Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz on the Rabbinate’s plan to open only two exams to women: “If women can sit some exams, why not the others?”
Radio interview: Rabbanit Sarah and Rabbi Eliezer Weiss on the HCJ order requiring the Rabbinate to let women take exams, and on the Rabbinate’s rehearing bid
The Chief Rabbinate seeks a further hearing and stay of the ruling mandating women’s access to its exams, proposing a narrowed track; dispute continues.
After the HCJ ordered the Chief Rabbinate to let women sit its exams, the Rabbinate seeks a further hearing and a stay. With responses from Atty. Yair Mivorach-Shaag, Atty. Dr. Elad Caplan, and Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz.
In a Gluyat Eynayim Interview, poet Adi Segal Weissberger explains how anger, sorrow, and fear are transmuted into poems, and speaks about #Shira_Gluya and her debut book Between Innocence and Abyss.
Sukkot falls on October 7—calendars collide. In Riverdale I shared a dvar Torah holding mixed emotions and the urgent longing for the hostages’ return.
On Yom Kippur and the Shalosh Regalim, Yizkor is recited. This reflection urges all to remain in the shul, sharing loss in solidarity with those who pray.
As Moses steps down, he blesses Joshua with courage. Read in the Ten Days of Repentance, Vayelech stirs us to choose wisely—between life and death, blessing and curse.
“My poetry is deeply about memory, resisting the urge to forget” — an interview with Martin Herskovitz on using art to process trauma and shape living memory.
Tracing nearness and distance—Torah not in heaven nor beyond the sea—reflecting on pain since Oct. 7 and on hope for renewal and healing.
She was the first woman to publish in Techumin and continues with halakhic writing — an interview with Rabbanit Chamutal Shoval
Parashat Ki Tavo column in Times of Israel: hearts, eyes, and ears opened anew—between collective trauma and a search for light and hope as Deuteronomy and the Hebrew year draw to a close.
She is a poet and therapist, publisher and editor. Kama Shir reflects on moments of her literary path and on poetry as an existential necessity in the present.
Presentation delivered at the Association for Israel Studies conference. The presentation examined the intersection between rabbinic authority and women's bodily experience in the "law of sensation" (din hargashah) in niddah laws.
Biblical teachings on not ignoring suffering applied to social ostracism in schools, featuring poetry and the Kanfei Dror intervention method.
The Israeli Supreme Court’s historic ruling required the Chief Rabbinate to allow women to sit for the rabbinical certification exams. Yet the Rabbinate chose to block registration—harming men as well as women preparing for the tests. For now, an important legal victory in the name of equality, freedom of profession, and the rule of law has been obstructed. Rabbi Sarah Segal-Katz is one of the petitioners and winners in this case, together with the ITIM organization, the Rackman Center, and Kolech.
Poet Mashi Peretz Dror discusses how a family experience led her to express the inexpressible, and how memory, forgetting, and language shape writing.
Wedding season is here, and what seems to be present at every chuppah also raises a question: What is the source of the custom of wearing a veil, and what is the contemporary perspective in terms of values like choice, renewal, and feminism? Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz was interviewed alongside Dr. Nurit Sirkis Bank and Rabbanit Dr. Michal Tikochinsky on this topic.
This article explores the gap between halakhic exemption of minors from mourning and their lived grief, proposing Jewish rituals for bereaved children—tragically urgent since October 7.
Dvar Torah on Parashat Re'eh 5785: Choosing between blessing and curse, Levinas' "difficult freedom," individual and collective responsibility.
Dvar Torah for Parashat Eikev 5785: On life alongside rupture, the connection between physical break and spiritual tear, and living with memory.
Merav Livneh first began writing at 35. She speaks about her debut novel The Girls and how the tension between the personal and national drives her work.
New English blog by Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz on The Times of Israel: weekly Torah portions, Jewish calendar, current events, social initiatives, and poetics.
'Davar' report on Supreme Court ruling on women's rabbinical certification exams and the Rabbinate's response to the Court's mandate for equal testing access across all halakhic subjects.
Our petition asserts: this is not "the master's house" — it is our house. It is not a house that consumes us, but the source of intellectual and spiritual life.
Women gain access to rabbinic path. Historic win: Rabbi Seth Farber and female pioneers reflect on the fight to open rabbinic exams to women.
929’s Kabbalat Shabbat reflected on Zelophehad’s daughters, vows, memory, and a new ruling granting women halakhic exams—between fracture and hope.
Orthodox Jewish women say Israeli rabbinate exam ruling creates opportunities. JERUSALEM (RNS) — Once men and women take the same exam, ‘every community can decide for themselves what kind of teacher or leadership model they want,’ said Michelle Shelemay Dvir, a religious student at the Bradfield Institute.
The Hadassah Foundation proudly celebrates Israeli women rabbis, Maharat graduates, who together with various organizations - Itim, the Rackman Center, and Kolech - won their Supreme Court petition for women's right to take halakhic examinations at the Rabbinate institution. The Foundation supports Yeshivat Maharat and the Rackman Center.
Israel's High Court of Justice's ruling against gender-based discrimination in rabbinic ordination exams fostered a sense of hope for women.
The exposé on The Source (=Hamakor) highlights the silence of schools around abuse and warns how religious language and community bonds can shield perpetrators.
Unanimous vote: Landmark verdict rules women can take Rabbinate exams. The women spent years studying the necessary halachot for the exam.
The opening of the rabbinate to women is not merely a legal matter. The ruling marks an important step, yet the path remains long—through rabbinical courts, religious councils, public offices, and all arenas where women are still excluded.
Blessings revealed: Reflections on Yeshivat Maharat’s Semicha 2025, by Rabba Sara Hurwitz, Co-Founder of Yeshivat Maharat.
An interview by Naama Morel with Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz in the “Et Psika” column: on the role of women’s halakhic rulings, their communal and educational impact, and the challenges vis-à-vis rabbinic institutions.
A landmark High Court ruling opens rabbinic exams to women. In a TikTok, Rabbanit Sarah recalls when Rabbi Soloveitchik was silenced—just for teaching women Talmud.
High Court: Women must be allowed to take Chief Rabbinate exams. A landmark ruling advancing equality and opening new professional and spiritual horizons
The Supreme Court ruled that barring women from rabbinical exams constitutes unlawful discrimination. The decision is historic, even if it directly affects only a small number of women at this stage. Reported in Haaretz on the landmark ruling.
Supreme Court allows women to take rabbinical exams, granting certificates equal to academic degrees with salary benefits for teachers of religious studies.
In a historic ruling, the Supreme Court determined that the Chief Rabbinate must allow women to sit for the rabbinical ordination exams under the same conditions as men. Hanan Greenwood reported on this victory in the petition filed in 2019 by the organization Itim, led by Rabbi Dr. Shaul Farber, together with six rabbanit petitioners […]
Jofa ED Rabba Daphne Lazar Price and Rabbanit Segal Katz, petitioner in the recent Israeli Supreme Court ruling permits women to take Rabbanut halakhic exams.
Israel’s High Court ruled women must be allowed to take rabbinical exams, The story was reported on Polskie Radio’s website.
The anthology “And This Child Is Us” was launched in Beit HaKerem as part of Israeli Rabbinate Week. Since its release in September 2024, it has accompanied dozens of educators in addressing bullying and social exclusion.
Panel offering a comparative perspective on developments and challenges in Jewish feminism in three central spheres of influence in the Jewish world titled
A bilingual Hebrew–French Passover anthology. A call for the hostages’ freedom, Passover values, and action against suffering.
Opening remarks for the anthology Ḥerut | Liberté for Passover. This bilingual Hebrew–French collection calls for the full freedom of the hostages, in the spirit of the Festival of Freedom and with a focus on the values we all share.
At the Jerusalem launch of HaNa’arot, Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz reflected on silence, feminism, and morality in stories of girlhood in the West Bank.
Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz joined 929’s Israeli Kabbalat Shabbat with Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau and live music, sharing insights on Parashat Vayishlach and Dinah.
Dinah’s rape in Parashat Vayishlach echoes the painful reality of sexual violence today. Faith communities face the challenge of creating safe, protective spaces.
Biblical commentators do not address Dinah’s desires or the harm she endured. The Shabbat on which her story is read offers an opportunity to amplify the voices of survivors.
Speech by Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz at the “Shared Home” rally in Jerusalem, calling for the return of the hostages and a voice against silence.
How do we find words when words are kidnapped? Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz on yearning for clarity amid fog, choosing to let light grow from within
Dvar Torah on Parashat Tazria 5784: On feminist reading of "purity and impurity", women's testimonies in niddah laws, and religious feminism.
In her book Rabbot Ve'Tovot, Prof. Amia Lieblich presents the personal stories of 29 women rabbis in Israel, across all denominations. Among them is Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz.
Kibbutz Alumim member Raya Ofner speaks about resilience, the loss of her son, and choosing good. The interview took place a month after October 7.
An English translation of a prayer written by Rabbi Tamar Elad-Applebaum and Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz on the 50th day of the war. This prayer was originally composed for the “Dinah Gathering” held in Jerusalem in November 2023. Since then, it has been embraced by communities on yahrzeit observances and other sacred occasions.
Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center coordinator Yonina Flanberg on sexual trauma and communal responsibility: "Some times, major values enable the abuse."
Parshat Vayishlach calls us to stand alongside Dinah and every trauma survivor, acknowledging our responsibility to protect and support them.
The story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah, highlights the enduring relevance of confronting sexual abuse and violence rather than remaining silent.
"Poetry was inside me, waiting for its moment to break free." Poet Adva Magal Cohen on poetry, writing, and her artistic journey.
“Writing Is Simply Another Manifestation of Life” – An interview published in Gluya Magazine’s “Eyes Wide Open” section with poet Ouri Perez on writing, creativity, and inspiration. Perez discusses, ahead of publishing his first book “Ella, Sarah, Itay” his choice to write in the feminine voice: “I seek to accept my whole self, the man […]
On the publication of her edited aging anthology "Winter of Spring," poet Hagit Zohar Mendrowski discusses the creative process, writing, and insights on aging.
Rabbanit Shlomit Flint on seeking God's name and the evolving Halachic world. "The challenge is finding personal examples, not just larger-than-life figures."
Rabbanit Shlomit Flint on seeking God's name and the evolving Halachic world. "The challenge is finding personal examples, not just larger-than-life figures."
CEO of Beit Hillel organization Rabbanit Shlomit Piamenta on education, Torah study, and women's place in sacred spaces.
Dr. Michal Prins on body, sexuality, their place in our lives, and the cultural guidance shaping the field. “It became clear we still lack another stage as a society.”
The Brit Emunim Conference (June 2023) gathered rabbis, leaders, and professionals to address emotional and sexual safety in Israeli Jewish communities.
The “Brit Emunim” initiative launched with a covenant for ethical leadership in faith communities, promoting safety and support for survivors.
On the wilderness journey as life metaphor, God's presence in the cloud, dealing with difficulties, and communal responsibility to ease others' burdens.
“There’s No Such Thing as a Person Without a Voice – There Are People Whose Voice Isn’t Heard” – An interview published in Gluya Magazine’s “Eyes Wide Open” section with Hamutal Gouri on the power of stories in therapy and the inner voice within each of us. Gouri is a spiritual guide who facilitates workshops […]
Hamutal Gouri is a spiritual guide. A conversation on the power of stories, inner voice, and spiritual guidance tools as engines for social change.
Radio interview on the Brit Emunim initiative, training religious leadership to address sexual abuse, ahead of a conference for Israeli Jewish communities.
Interview with Yaniv Rotem Torem, illustrator and designer – on questions that have accompanied him since youth, translating his inner world into his book "Helech," and the current stage in his dialogue between Israeliness and Judaism.
On the publication of her book "Singles (Working Title)," poet and designer Noga Baums on the connection between poetics and taking action, and printing poetry.
Naama Sadan connects Torah and beauty through bridal adornments and floral design, weaving Kabbalah, poetry, and aesthetics into a spiritual experience.
Interview with poet Ahrale Admanit on influential figures in his life, his quest for honesty, slow infatuation with literature and poetry, and the experiences that inspired his own poems.
Rabbi and spiritual caregiver, Mike Schultz explains the end-of-life accompaniment and his rabbinical role, and the lessons and insights from the process.
A lecture on Parashat Vayera offered new perspectives on the Akedah, its meaning for faith, parenthood, and family life, while engaging philosophical and feminist-religious readings on the tension between tradition and contemporary values.
On Hoshana Rabbah, Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz taught on halakha, kabbalah, and piyyut, unveiling pitqa tava as a meeting of judgment, prayer, and inner openness.
Yaffa Zukerman on her work in healthy sexuality, her book "Uri Learns How Babies Come into the World," and the benefits for children and parents from dialogue.
Interview with Tali Rosenbaum on holistic therapy, supporting couples, trauma, vulnerability, and the social messages shaping women.
Dr. Yocheved Debow, researcher and parent educator in healthy sexuality, discusses the need for the right balance between openness and dialogue.
Therapist Hananel Ross discusses masculinity, similarities between Halacha and therapy, and the need to confront wrongdoing as a path to truth and good.
Rabbanit Rachel Reinfeld-Wachtfogel on her Halachic work and spiritual guidance tools: "I find in all the pathways of Torah an internal dialogue that speaks to me"
The non-formal status of the Upsherin ceremony—a traditional Jewish ritual of a boy’s first haircut, held when he turns three—allows those who wish to do so to develop its elements into a symbolic expression of the child’s unique life transition.
We wanted to celebrate our daughters’ entry into the “age of education” – the age from which the halakhah requires a child’s parents to begin educating him or her in mitzvot – and create a meaningful, significant ceremony comparable to the traditional ḥalakeh (or upsherin) ceremony – the Kabbalist-Hasidic custom of giving little boys there first haircut at age three, accompanied by a celebration – we had held for our eldest son. We began this tradition when one of our daughters turned three and continued it for her sister when she too reached three years of age. We hope that sharing the ceremony we created will help other parents who wish to celebrate their daughters’ transition into the age of education.
An interview with poet Cheli Tal Shalem on creative balance, silencing the inner critic, and her poetic journey: "For as long as I can remember myself, I felt alone.
Poet Ariella Nidam-Peretz discusses being labeled a "patient," writing as a lifeline, highlighting daily injustices against the vulnerable.
Cultural childhood memory, a book read twice, somone to swap places with for a day. Tamar Perlstein Kashdan interviews Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz
In a 2021 interview, Rabbanit Sarah Segal-Katz reflects on women’s halakha, feminist faith, and her vision for inclusive, transformative rabbinic leadership.