Our tradition is filled with wonderful examples of women who were leaders. In fact women have held positions of respect and responsibility in Judaism since biblical times. They took the risk. They took the initiative. They mentored others. Today’s women must do no less. It is Sarah, our first matriarch, who sees that Isaac is […]
For the Sake of the Righteous Women: Leadership Then and Now Read More »
I will never forget the first time I saw a woman wearing a tallit. I was 27 years old, living in Israel and attending the first International Conference on Women and Judaism. I arrived early, stumbled upon the “wrong” room and came upon a room full of women praying. Many had on tallitot, tefillin and
The Road to Wearing a Tallit: Why an Orthodox Woman Wears a Tallit Read More »
Tefillah is an issue that Orthodox feminists have discussed endlessly. Here I make a distinction between tefillah and the synagogue experience. The latter is being addressed with some success in several communities. Mechitzah specifications, placement of the ark that holds the Torah, placement of the podium, women’s voices being heard during kaddish, the calling up
Yearning to Connect: Women and Synagogue Prayer Read More »
One of the key goals of the Women’s tefillah movement is to provide observant Jewish women with the liturgical knowledge, regular opportunities, and communal acceptance so that each woman can “pray as a Jew,” to borrow the title of Hayim Halevy Donin’s useful book. The premise is not that Orthodox women try to pray like
To Pray as a Jewish Woman: A Personal Perspective Read More »
The following letters were received in response to our last issue, “From the Other Side of the Mechitzah.” Compassion and Sensitivity in Pesak Halakha Considering our differing positions, it was not unexpected that my contribution to this summer’s JOFA Journal should immediately follow that of Rabbi Professor Daniel Sperber. My respected friend and colleague argued
Letters to the Editor Read More »
I run into a bind every time I try to describe Darkhei Noam. I say that it is a minyan on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with a mechitzah, at which a woman leads pesukei dezimrah and the tefillot surrounding kri’at hatorah, a man leads shacharit and musaf, and both men and women layn
Meaningful Prayer: A New Community Read More »
In this era of third-stage feminists, cultural feminists, and post-feminism, I often find myself feeling that I am of an older, out-dated generation. Many women today glorify the “women-only” experience. They value the opportunity to create new women’s prayers and religious experiences, while feeling that the liturgy and ceremonies created by men were created for
Separate but Equal? Feminism and Post-Feminism in Birkat Hamazon Read More »
This issue of the JOFA Journal is devoted to the subject of prayer. Maimonides believed that prayer once a day, every day, is a Torah based obligation, and one that is required of men and women alike. Prayer is a topic that we, as Orthodox Jews, often find difficult to discuss. Many of our halakhic
Let There Be No Stumbling Block… 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 »
Memorial Day 2009 was a milestone in the life of our family. My wife and I had chosen that Monday as the date for our daughter Eliana’s bat mitzvah, for two main reasons. First, it would obviate concerns about Saturday travel by our non–Sabbath-observant relatives (and any time Jews have the opportunity to relieve ourselves
My Bat Mitzvah Lesson Read More »
