In an unprecedented step, the religious Zionist Ramban Shul of Yerushalayim’s Katamon neighborhood became the first Orthodox shul in Israel to appoint a female assistant “rabbanit.” Karmit Feintuch, a mother of five, was unanimously selected by a committee and approved by over two-thirds of the community’s 140 members to help spiritual leader Rabbi Benny Lau conduct his day to day tasks.
Although Chief Rabbi of Efrat Rabbi Shlomo Riskin already appointed Dr. Jennie Rosenfeld as communal spiritual leader of his town last year, unlike Feintuch, she was not placed in charge of a shul.
Rabbi Lau decided to appoint a female assistant months ago, pointing out at the time that at least fifty percent of the community was comprised of woman. If people wanted to criticize, he wrote, what of it? People also criticized when women began reading Megillas Esther ten years ago, when female mourners began saying Kaddish, and when women began saying divrei Torah in shul.
David Steger – Matzav.com Israel