At a recent Jewish educators’ conference, I was sitting with two other women and two men waiting for a session to begin. An older man peered into the room. “Is this the session on teaching Gemara?” he asked, looking confused. We told him it was. “Then why are there so many women here?” A few […]
Teaching Gemara: Choices and Challenges Read More »
Talmud Torah has undergone a profound change in the last twenty years. As new batei midrash (study-halls) fill with women of all ages, the next step in harbatzat Torah, the spread of learning, has occurred. It is indeed a moment of great joy as hundreds more bear witness,מה אהבתי תורתך כל היום היא שיחתי״”, How
Reflections of a Rosh Beit Midrash Read More »
sofer: scribe (m) sofer STa”M: scribe of texts of Torah scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot soferet: scribe (f) safrut: scribal arts “Would you like me to fix it?” a female congregant offered. I replied, “It is in such bad shape that I don’t think there is time to fix it before Purim.” Our synagogue’s Megillat Esther
Women and Safrut: Can a Woman Be a Scribe? Read More »
The Torah teaches us through the dual media of its halakhic, or legal, passages and its narratives, or stories. However, the two approaches are not entirely separate. Rather, some of the events described in the Tanakh’s difficult stories propel the development of remedial halakhot. Storytelling is a powerful tool; through the telling and retelling of
Lessons from the Bible’s Rape Narratives Read More »
In Bereishit 12:5 we read the description of God’s call to Avram to leave Haran, the land in which he had built his home, and travel to an unspecified destination. Avram took along his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, their possessions, and “hanefesh asher asu b’Haran.” It is a striking phrase: “the souls they had
Having just gone through a season of giving, I suppose it may be impolitic to point out that the Torah never commands us to give money to the poor. Instead, there are numerous adjurations to lend money to those in need. The assumption throughout is that the money will be repaid. Other laws delineate gifts
Can You Spare a Loan? The Evolution of Tzedaka in Rabbinic Literature Read More »
In Exodus 19, the children of Israel prepared for three days for the giving of the Aseret Hadibrot. During this time, they were commanded to create and maintain a heightened sense of purity. Moshe told them to set up boundaries around Mount Sinai to prevent them from approaching it until they heard the sound of
Distance and Intimacy at Mount Sinai Read More »
A sensitive reader cannot fail to note that the Ten Commandments, like many other legal passages in the Torah, are addressed explicitly to men. In accordance with the verses that begin the section on Matan Torah, in which Moses instructs the nation, “Be ready for the third day: do not go near a woman,” the
For Men Only? Gendered Language in the Aseret Ha-Dibrot Read More »
The Book of Ruth interweaves many complex interpersonal relationships. It is the story of husbands and wives, of a mother-in-law and her daughters-inlaw, and finally of distant relatives appreciating and understanding their familial responsibilities. Much has been written about these relationships. One aspect that has not received a lot of attention is the choice that
A Courageous Proposal: The First Heter Agunah in America Read More »
Barely three months after the Exodus from Egypt, we encounter the Israelites encamped at the foot of God’s mountain in the wilderness of Sinai (Exodus 19). They are poised to experience redemption. The drama of the ten plagues in Egypt; the long-awaited release from the rule of the Pharaoh; the despair and jubilation at the
Miriam’s Lesson from Matan Torah Read More »
