Yeshivat Maharat is a Jewish educational institution in The Bronx, New York, which is the first Orthodox-affiliated yeshiva in North America to ordain women.
[2] The ordination functions as a credentialed, albeit controversial, pathway for women in the Orthodox Jewish community to serve as clergy members.
"[10] That same year, Agudath Israel of America similarly condemned Maharat, denouncing moves to ordain women, and went even further, declaring Yeshivat Maharat, Open Orthodoxy, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, and other affiliated entities to be similar to other dissident movements throughout Jewish history, in having from their perspective rejected basic tenets of Judaism.
[11][12][13] In protest of the wider Orthodox community refusing to allow the ordination of women, Rabbi Weiss abruptly resigned from the Rabbinical Council of America.
[19] The rabbinical students are divided into two tracks following an optional year of mekhina (preparation) through the Beit Midrash Program: The word "Maharat" comes from the four core values of the institution, decided upon at the semikha (originally called "the conferral") of Rabba Sara Hurwitz.