Camp was over, the children were being picked up by their anxious parents, and we, the exhausted staff, were finally relaxing a little. “So what are you up to now?” asked my fellow madrikh (counselor). We had been so busy running after restless teens that we had not discussed our future projects. “I’m going to
Torah Lishmah: For Women’s Sake Read More »
As a psychotherapist, I am the instrument of my work. In addition to my degree and education, my In addition to my degree and education, my own personal experiences and the work I’ve done with myself are what I bring to the individuals and couples who entrust me to help them with their pain and
Last Summer at Nishmat: How Torah Learning Refreshed My Soul Read More »
“I don’t know when window shades were invented, but clearly that isn’t an option the Gemara is considering here,” I found myself saying to a class of fifteen college-aged students. At the time, I didn’t realize this would be a life-altering observation, tossed out nonchalantly in the middle of my course on “Hilkhot Roommates.” But
Opening a Window: How Tech Can Elevate Women’s Voices on Torah Read More »
Women’s Torah learning, teaching, and leadership are booming in Israel today. The number of beit midrash programs that exist and the number of women studying in them have increased significantly over the past few years. The most significant stride has occurred in the study of halakhah. Training in hilkhot niddah (family purity law) may have
Strength in Numbers: What’s New in Women’s Torah Leadership in Israel Read More »
In the Bible, there are many important female figures—although many fewer than the male figures—occupying a variety of roles far beyond the traditional domestic ones, including judge, queen, warrior, and “wise woman.” If Proverbs 31:10–31—the Eishet Hayil— can be taken as a description of the ideal wife, she is far from a meek homebody. If
When people learn that I have conducted research on reproduction among ḥaredi (ultra-Orthodox) women in Jerusalem, their first questions usually are: “Do they use birth control?” “Do they get abortions?” and “Will they use fertility treatments?” These questions are understandable. People generally know that ḥaredi women have a high birthrate, even by Israeli standards, and
How Haredi Women Embody Reproductive Authority Read More »
I didn’t expect to say Kaddish with any regularity. When my father, Morris Robinson, died in late January 2020, I intended to recite only the three Kaddishes at the end of the Shabbat davening each week and, instead, focus on helping raise my three young children. At the shivah minyanim at my parents’ house, however,
Kaddish, in Retrospect Read More »
The Women’s Tefillah Group of Raritan Valley, based in Highland Park and Edison, New Jersey, has been meeting regularly for more than thirty years. Most of our current membership has been a part of the group for at least a decade, and we are a close-knit and supportive bunch. We love to celebrate together, and
A Women’s Tefillah Group Faces the COVID Year Read More »
After moving to a new city during a pandemic as a single twenty-four-year-old woman, I have grown to see the incredible gifts that Judaism has given me. With all the chaos around the world, I have needed the Jewish community more than ever to provide light at the end of a very dark and winding
Lifting Up Our Voices During a Pandemic Read More »
At the “To Be a Jewish Woman” religious feminist conference, sponsored by Kolech in Jerusalem in 1999, I interviewed Blu Greenberg, the founder of Jofa, about her vision for the “bloodless revolution” she had described at the conference. She asked for my thoughts about the conference and the issues raised, and I shared my concerns
Gender Awareness and Jewish Education Read More »
