“But where will you sit?” That was the very first question I was asked by the very first reporter to interview me after I was hired to serve as a member of the clergy at Shaar Hashomayim, my Montreal synagogue. This first question was not about my job function, nor about my role in life-cycle […]
The Maharat Behind the Mehitzah Read More »
The history of Orthodox women’s organizations in America is as old as Orthodox settlement on these shores. The earliest groups were created as auxiliaries, sisterhoods, and benevolent societies of synagogues and religious schools for boys. Yet, their work went far beyond service to their host-and primarily male-institutions. The women’s groups modeled themselves on the chesed
Women’s Organized Tzedaka and Chesed in America A Historical Perspective 1 Read More »
Leil Shavuot in Jerusalem is a magical experience, an evening when young and old eagerly imbibe the mayyim hayyim of Torah. Everyone is in pursuit of wonder. Shavuot is the holiday for falling in love with Torah all over again. For the last seven years, TAL TORAH has held a Tikkun Leil Shavuot for women
Tikkun Leil Shavuot in Jerusalem 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 »
JOFA’s Sixth International Conference on Feminism & Orthodoxy took place on February 10th and 11th at Columbia University. The conference, entitled, V’Chai Bahem: Passion and Possibility, also marked the celebration of JOFA’s 10th anniversary. Attended by close to a thousand women and men, this year’s gathering was filled with an energy and excitement that was
JOFA’s 10th Anniversary Conference Read More »
As an active member in the Orthodox community at the University of Maryland for the past two and a half years, I have learned that college students have the chance to influence the culture of the college they attend and lend their voices to the decisionmaking process in the campus religious community in a way
Women, Shabbat, and the College Community Read More »
My se’udah shlishit group was born about eight years ago on a long, summer Shabbat afternoon. My children were out and about, and I had already read, walked, and napped. I was restless. I had been reading a provocative book about the rabbinic treatment of women in the Talmud and I wanted to discuss it
Se’udah Shlishit in Denver Read More »
We asked JOFA Board members, Pam Scheininger and Idana Goldberg to answer a number of questions about how they strive to balance feminism and motherhood on Shabbat. Both are busy professionals. Pam, who is also on the Journal editorial committee, is an attorney. She and her husband, members of the Netivot Shalom congregation in Teaneck,
Some biblical episodes have generated reams of literary response, but Proverbs 31 is not one of them. Perhaps this is because, rather than being a psychologically compelling or suggestive portrait of a woman, Eshet Hayil offers a picture of someone who seems to have no flaws, no down moments, no doubts. Who can relate to
Hava Shapiro: A Modern Literary Response to Eshet Hayil Read More »
As a young girl aged five or six, I accompanied my father to shul in New York every Shabbat – in the evening, morning, and afternoon. Whether I was sitting in shul learning to daven with my father or playing bottle caps in the hallway while the men ate se’udah shlishit, I was never treated
The Evolving Phases in the Life of a Female Shul-Goer Read More »
