Despite Ban, These Orthodox Jewish Clergywomen Are Determined To Serve Not even a ban from the religious establishment will stop these women from fulfilling their calling.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/orthodox-women-clergy_us_5898a60be4b0c1284f2711e3

"The Orthodox Union, one of the largest networks of Orthodox Jewish synagogues in America, recently adopted a policy that bans women from serving as clergy. 

Opinions about whether women should be allowed to serve as clergy have caused some division within America’s Modern Orthodox Jewish community. The religious establishment, including the OU’s counterpart, the Rabbinical Council of America, is strongly opposed to women’s ordination. On the other hand, some OU synagogues have embraced the idea of women clergy.

The new policy attempts to clear up the confusion. But despite the enforcement of this glass ceiling, Orthodox women who have felt the pull to serve as spiritual leaders aren’t backing away from their calling. 

Rabba Sara Hurwitz is the co-founder and Dean of Yeshivat Maharat, an Orthodox Jewish seminary that ordains women as clergy. The school has graduated 14 female clergy and 28 others are currently students. Hurwitz told The Huffington Post that nine of the their graduates are currently employed in synagogues. She said students remain committed to “learning, teaching, being a pastoral presence for people in their time joy and vulnerability, and being a role model for others.”

“Their reaction [to the policy] is to keep marching forwards, fulfilling their passion to become clergy,” she wrote in an email..."