In this retrospective, I will draw on my decadeslong experience working with agunot, first as a New York City trial attorney and then as the founding director of Get Jewish Divorce Justice (GJDJ) in Los Angeles (since 2012) to analyze the emerging solutions both from secular law and from within the Orthodox or Israeli rabbinic
Solutions to the Agunah Problem: Looking Back Twenty-Five Years Read More »
Some 40 years ago, when I was about to give birth to my daughter, my husband and I asked our rabbi whether he could help us create a ritual to welcome a baby girl, similar to a brit milah for a boy. The rabbi responded: “We have enough rituals. There’s no need for any more.”
You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby? Maybe… Read More »
Twenty-five years—the blink of an eye as Jews count time. Who would have imagined so many gains in twenty-five years, building on the first twenty-five yet advancing far beyond expectations? Who would have envisioned 3,300 women in Jerusalem’s Binyanei Ha’umah joyously celebrating the Hadran, the completion of the daf yomi cycle, and representing many more
Distinctive and Equal: A Paradigm for Orthodox Feminism Read More »
As I consider the magnitude of this moment—the 25th anniversary of Jofa—I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude toward those who have fearlessly blazed Jofa’s trail, so that we may all reap the benefits. I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect on the past 25 years, from our humble beginnings around a founder’s kitchen
Twenty-Five Years: The Magnitude of the Moment Read More »
In 1997 I attended the First International Conference on Feminism and Orthodoxy in New York City. It was the precursor to what was to become the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance. I arrived with a friend and, despite all the hype, my expectations were fuzzy. But I left that groundbreaking two-day, 1,000+ attendee gathering with a
Jofa: The Next Twenty Five Years Read More »
In 2022, media outlets made much of the 100th anniversary of the first bat mitzvah. Careful editors were sure to note that the anniversary was, in fact, commemorating the first American bat mitzvah. In contrast, the term “bar mitzvah” was first used in the 14th century (while the fact that 12-year-old girls and 13-year-old boys
A few years ago, during Sukkot, I had a conversation that deeply impacted me. After struggling to fit our family into the small sukkah on our Jerusalem terrace, a non-observant relative asked, “I thought women don’t have to do this—why are you inconveniencing yourself and your daughter?” At first taken aback, I eventually replied, “When
Update: As we were going to press, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the Chief Rabbinate must allow women to take the Rabbanut’s halakhah exams. On October 7th and throughout the year and a half since then, we have heard one story after another about brilliant women in the cockpit, outstanding women fighters in tanks,
Rabbaniyot and the Chief Rabbinate in Israel Read More »
Jofa’s mission is to expand women’s rights and opportunities within the framework of halakhah, to build a vibrant and equitable Orthodox community. A key element in furthering our mission is the Devorah Scholars Program, which was incubated at JOFA in 2020 and was designed to support Orthodox shuls in North America as they hire Orthodox
Spotlight on Devorah Scholars. Read More »
For the last 75 years or so, Jewish feminists all over the world have successfully enlisted the help of legislatures and secular courts to ameliorate the “plight of the agunah”—the problem of Jewish women held in marital captivity by husbands who refuse to give them a religious divorce (a get). This maneuver has resulted in
The Problem of the Agunah: From Religious Right to Civil Wrong Read More »
