The issue of women serving as mashgichei kashrut, kashrut supervisors, for the Rabbanut has been an open case for a couple of years now. The Emuna organization has even field a lawsuit against the rabbanut for not allowing women to serve as kashrut supervisors and for continued delaying tactics.
Those days are now over. The Rabbanut has appointed its first female mashgiach.
While some might expect that the women in the eye of the storm would be a feminist activist, maybe someone who is associated with Reform or Conservative Judaism... It turns out that the first woman mashgicha is a mother of 7 from beitar Ilit named Avivit Revia. Beitar is not exactly a bastion of Reform Judaism nor a hotbed of feminist activity, so I think it is safe to say that she is probably an Ultra-Orthodox woman.
According to Srugim, the Rabbanut has finally responded to the Supreme Court saying they have decided to reform the system and allow any organization to run a course to train mashgichim, rather than the previously limited list of approved courses. This decision will de facto open the doors for women to be certified as kashrut supervisors. they can now take a course and the exam just like everyone else.
Revia told Srugim that naturally women are more involved with food, as politically incorrect as that sounds, and she expects her new position with the Rabbanut will be especially significant.
While I am not quite sure why it was such a big deal in the first place, while perhaps not overly common, it was never uncommon for women to serve as kashrut supervisors both in the US and less commonly but also in Israel for private organizations, I would note that I think Chief Rabbi Lau has shown anybody who was afraid of him as being too haredi or promoting the hard-core Haredi positions because they supported him as Chief Rabbi that they have nothing to fear. With Rabbi Lau's declared position on hetter mechira and now being the first to allow female kashrut supervisors, he is not exactly the extreme-haredi rabbi some people expected. As a matter of fact, he seems to be far more liberal than many expected, and I would not be surprised if some of his original supporters (during the election period) are even a bit miffed by some of his positions...
As this post was about to go online I saw that Rav Shlezinger, rav of Gilo and one of the leading rabbonim in Jerusalem and heavily involved in the Rabbanut, said that halachically there is no problem with women serving as kashrut supervisors, but in general women are not so appropriate for the job. Rav Shlezinger said religious and Haredi women are normally very timid, and part of the job of mashgiach is to be a policeman and to be strong and suspicious... so while it is not a halachic problem, usually women are not appropriate for such a job.
(source: Kikar)
While Rav Shlezinger might be right and such a timid woman should not be hired as a mashgiach kashrut, I don't know that such a rule is appropriate. There are aggressive women, in the frum community too, just like there are aggressive men, and there are timid men just like there are timid women. Whether hiring a man or a woman for the job, for any job, it would be prudent and best to hire one that is appropriate for the work involved.
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