Episode Details

For years, women in Israel could study halakha at the highest levels, teach Torah, and answer complex religious questions, yet they were barred from taking the state rabbinical examinations open to men. Rabbi Sarah Segal-Katz helped lead the landmark legal battle that finally changed that.

In this episode of Women's Gallery, Joanne Greenaway speaks with Sarah about her journey into Torah scholarship, the long struggle to open Israel's rabbinical exams to women, and why access to religious knowledge and authority matters far beyond titles or recognition. They also explore the evolving place of women in Orthodox leadership, the relationship between feminism, halakha, and the State of Israel, Sarah's work creating religious language in response to October 7, and her hope for a future in which women serving as rabbis and religious authorities is no longer remarkable, but simply normal.