The shift in the Orthodox Jewish world toward greater stringency in halakhic interpretation and observance is obvious. The effect of this shift on Orthodox Jewish women is not obvious, and merits attention. Increasingly, stringency in religious observance has been equated with stringency regarding women. Increasingly, Orthodox communities have chosen to measure their religiosity by how […]
In the last ten years Orthodox day schools have seen unprecedented expansion and vitality. As schools grow, so do the challenges of educating Orthodox students in a pluralistic society. In an age of gender equality, how might Orthodox schools emphasize gender distinctiveness, yet still promote equality? What messages regarding gender are conveyed to our children,
Gender Sensitive Education in the Early Years Read More »
When the editors of the JOFA Journal asked me to write an article about how to educate boys to be feminists, I said that I thought that the critical question was not how to educate boys—or girls—to be feminists. I would guess that most of our sons and daughters, in fact, accept the basic assumptions
What We Should Educate For Read More »
The Jewish day school, along with the shul, mikveh, kosher butcher and kosher bakery, is a staple of the modern Orthodox community. But more than any other institution, the day school reflects the philosophy of modern Orthodoxy: a synthesis of halakhic Judaism with values of modern culture. So the Orthodox day school, the subject of
The Challenges Ahead Read More »
The halakhic system of ketubah and get was designed to protect the woman. Unfortunately, the laws of gittin have turned into a life sentence for many women in untenable marriages. We cannot hide our heads in the sand. Divorce today, even in the Orthodox Jewish community, is an growing reality, and we have a responsibility
Jewish Divorce Law: Protection or Life Sentence? Read More »
While celebrating the work of Orthodox poets, novelists and essayists of the present, it is important to remember their predecessors throughout Jewish history. Some of their writings have miraculously survived. Among poets, there exists a Hebrew poem, found in the Cairo Geniza by the wife of the famous Spanish poet Dunash Ben Labrat in the
Female Jewish Writers Read More »
I am an artist; artistic in the ways that I integrate and decode the world into my mind and soul, and in the ways I share it with others. That includes my relationship with God and Torah, my identity as a woman, and my approach as a Jewish educator. When I am presented with a
Bringing the Arts to the Community Read More »
I was describing my new video/film to a man in the Orthodox community. I told him that I was working on a piece about kashrut—keeping kosher—in America. After I described some of the segments that I had already filmed, the people that I had interviewed and what I still planned to do, he replied with
Art Should Make You Think Read More »
Seasons are tricky business in the Jewish calendar. Traditionally, our spiritual year begins in autumn in the month of Tishrei, but a case can also be made that the month of Nissan is the first month of the calendar. Spring has always represented birth and rebirth. Nowhere is this rebirth more apparent than during the
The Arts and the Prophetess Miriam Read More »
25 YEARS AGO I was not born Orthodox but my quest for a Jewish identity led me there. As a young woman, discovering her path, I lingered a great deal before passing through the gates of Orthodoxy: I worried that crossing this threshold would mean relinquishing my independence. In other words, I assumed there to
Crossing a Threshold Read More »
