A 1981 ruling at Seattle's Congregation Beth Shalom sparked intense debate by creating a novel religious hierarchy among Jewish women based on their maternal status. Rabbi Ira Stone's controversial decision exempted mothers actively raising children from positive time-bound mitzvot while requiring full religious participation from single women and those with older children. Through ethnographic observation of the rabbi's announcement and in-depth interviews with two dozen congregants in their homes, deep congregational divisions emerged. Some members threatened to leave or boycott services, while others cautiously embraced the change. The ruling's attempt to accommodate modern family pressures within traditional halakhic frameworks inadvertently heightened tensions over gender equality and religious authority. By differentiating women's religious obligations based on their caregiving roles, the decision crystallized broader conflicts between feminist principles and Conservative Jewish practice. The case illustrates how individual rabbinical efforts to modernize Jewish law can fragment communities and challenge assumptions about gender, tradition, and religious innovation.