It is incredibly easy to start a group on Facebook. A few clicks of the mouse, a name and an icon, maybe a picture selected for the top of the page, and there you have it. I did this myself one night, upon the realization that I had a few friends with similar interests, and […]
Emerging Voices: Teen Feminists Find Facebook Read More »
A crisp fall morning. A march of beautiful, resonating voices. Joyous celebratory dancing. Tears; tears of both simchah and longing for more. One Torah reading by women, for women. For the first time ever, this year my shul held a for-women-by-women Torah reading for Simchat Torah. Practicing with the Torah the day before yom tov,
Emerging Voices: One Small Step for a Feminist, One Giant Leap for Womankind Read More »
“From Zion will go forth Torah” (Isaiah 2:3). Today, a new kind of Torah—women’s Torah—is coming out of Israel from an impressive array of high-level batei midrash (study halls) for women. Over the course of Jewish history, only a handful of women have been cited as interpreting Jewish law. The daughters of Zelophehad, who requested
Manhigot: Models of Women’s Torah Leadership in Israel Read More »
Naama Shafir is easy to spot when she is playing point guard for the Elitzur Ramla women’s basketball team: She is the only player wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt under her basketball jersey. Shafir made headlines in Israel in 2011 when, as a member of the Israel’s national women’s basketball team playing in Europe, she insisted
Can a Religious Woman Play Premier League Basketball? The Naama Shafir Story Read More »
Nurit Jacobs-Yinon is an independent filmmaker and owner of Aluma Films, in which she focuses on documentary projects, new media, and video-arts. Nurit’s artistic work has a unique point of view on the Orthodox–feminist–art nexus. In addition to filmmaking, Nurit is an artistic director, judge, and lecturer at various film festivals throughout Israel. She also
Orthodox Feminist Activism Through Film: An Interview with Nurit Jacobs-Yinon Read More »
Maggie Anton’s latest novel, Enchantress, may be set in ancient Talmudic times, but it grapples with modern feminist themes. It is the story of Hisdadukh rising in her profession as a harasheta (sorceress), negotiating difficult relationships with other women in her field, as well as with her strong-willed husband, Rava. Hisdadukh and Rava struggle with
Enchantress: A Novel of Rav Hisda’s Daughter Read More »
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the Spring 2012 issue of the JOFA Journal. When my daughter had her first child, a boy, sixteen years ago, she called and asked me to fill the role of sandak, or, in my case, sandakit. I was excited to take part in this ceremony, as I remembered
On Being a Sandakit Read More »
I held up the etrog, inspecting it not only for the black spots that my father taught me would render it unkosher, but also for an overall esthetic appearance that would appeal to me personally. (Bumpy, hourglass shaped, green, and pitomless are my preferences.) And so it went with the branches of the lulav, the
Doing Hoshanot from the Women’s Side of the Mehitzah Read More »
Six mornings a week, rain or shine, a diverse group of women in central Israel, aged thirty to fifty, gather together for forty-five minutes to study Talmud. Each of the participants brings her own unique perspective to the table. One member of the group is an interior designer who always finds the aesthetic beauty in
Women Learn Daf Yomi from a Woman Read More »
Author’s note: This article has been updated and expanded from a piece I wrote nearly a decade ago. I will never forget the first time I saw a woman wearing a tallit. I was twenty-seven years old, living in Israel, and attending the first International Conference on Women and Judaism. I came early, stumbled into
The Road to Wearing a Tallit: Why This Orthodox Woman Wears a Tallit Read More »
