Ethan Tucker. The kehunah—the Jewish priesthood—anchors the Jewish people in antiquity through its unbroken line of male descent. Even as Judaism moved away from the centrality of the priesthood towards a more meritocratic model that prized scholarship and observance of mitzvot, the kehunah has remained an important symbol for many, until the present day. But it is also unmistakably patriarchal. In an increasingly gender-equal environment, the maleness of so many aspects of the Jewish priesthood are glaringly out of step.