In the book of Esther, after killing Haman and his family and putting Mordecai in a position of power, King Ahasuerus turns to Queen Esther and asks, “What is your wish now? It shall be granted you. And what else is your request?” (Esther 9: 12). Often, when I voice concern to male colleagues in […]
Mentoring: The Next Feminist Challenge Read More »
I teach rabbinics in the middle school of the Jewish Community Day School of Boston (JCDS), a pluralistic school just outside Boston that runs from kindergarten to eighth grade, with nearly two hundred children whose religious affiliations range across the spectrum of Judaism. I have been involved with JCDS for the past twelve years, since
Pluralism in Practice Read More »
That my mother was driving me to the airport that brisk autumn morning in October of 1976 was already curious—my father was the standard driver to the airport. My mother at the wheel meant “keep noise to a minimum and allow for concentration.” My father at the wheel meant that traffic laws were optional and
Five years ago, my husband and I embarked on a journey westward, far from our beloved East Coast Jewish community and batei midrash. After searching for the right pulpit for my husband, we landed in the San Francisco Bay Area, home of the Gold Rush and arguably one of the largest, yet most highly unaffiliated,
“Striking Gold” Out West Read More »
For me, the brit of my firstborn son was, first of all, a celebration of the start of my family. I didn’t have a wedding to celebrate: I had never married, and my pregnancy had been achieved using the sperm bank. The beginning of the pregnancy was something too private to celebrate in public. The
A Single Mother by Choice Approaches Brit Read More »
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 from the britot of my own three sons that I had been pretty much a
On Being a Sandakit Read More »
I have always loved the mitzvah of brit milah. As a woman, this might seem surprising, as I have heard from many friends how terrified they were at their sons’ britot. However, for me, my three sons’ britot provided some of the most spiritually significant moments of my life. One of the reasons I have
Brit Milah: A Daughter’s Perspective Read More »
My wife, Sharon, and I were blessed in 1974 with the birth of our first—of four— daughters. Two weeks later, among family and friends, we celebrated Micole’s birth with a simhat bat ceremony. My article describing our simhat bat (“An Orthodox Simchat Bat”) appeared in Sh’ma magazine and was subsequently reprinted in a booklet compiled
From Generation to Generation: Simhat Bat Comes of Age Read More »
It’s a sweet irony to be thinking about how the simhat bat ceremony got its name as I help the daughter for whom the name originated as she prepares for the brit of her newborn son. This new little boy’s four-year old sister came home from school the other day, visibly troubled by one of
How Simhat Bat Got Its Name Read More »
I loved being pregnant. Not just because I could stop worrying about my bulging midriff—though that was nice too—but because I felt that I was engaged with God in an essential act of creation. Every ultrasound revealed to me another step in the master plan, every kick and turn, another miracle. Nurturing the life inside
