A long time ago, I was criticised by a secular person for blessing a female with the standard text of the priestly blessing, because the standard text is in masculine.
My retort was "we don't change the wording of Hashem's Torah" and gave some reasons for that.
However, it's stuck in my head ever...
The Ramban, sidra Bo 13:16, writes as follows:
,וזו כוונתם במה שאמרו ז"ל (ירושלמי תענית פ"ב ה"א) ויקראו אל אלהים בחזקה (יונה ג ח), מכאן אתה למד שתפלה צריכה קול, חציפא נצח לבישה (עי' ערוך ערך חצף):
This is the intent of what the Rabbis of blessed memory have said (Yerushalmi Taanis 2:1): “And t...