One can scarcely do justice to the topic of Jewish women and leadership without discussing Devorah, perhaps the most famous female leader of the Bible. The Book of Judges tells us that Devorah was a judge and a prophet.1 She led the Children of Israel during a time of war, and under her leadership, the
From Under the Palm Tree: The Model of Devorah Read More »
On March 23, 2006, I atypically left my husband, son and daughters at home, on a weeknight, to attend a screening of Mekudeshet. I watched this documentary portrait of three agunot, women ‘chained’ to husbands unwilling to give them a Jewish divorce, with my blood beating unnaturally and a growing physical revulsion. To force myself
Responses to the Agunah Issue: Tarnished Holiness: On Viewing Mekudeshet 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 »
Until the mid-nineteen eighties, modern Hebrew literature was dominated by men. There were some fine women novelists in Israel, but their works were generally considered minor. Veteran author, Amalia KahanaCarmon, once said, “Just as Jewish women were exiled to the balcony of the synagogue, Israeli women novelists were relegated to the peripheries of Israeli literature.”
Orthodox Israeli Women Novelists Read More »
In the mid-nineteen seventies, a few years after the Yeshiva University Museum opened, Hebrew calligraphy was on the way to becoming a serious art-form, ceramic artists and metalworkers were designing and creating modern ceremonial Judaica objects, and a small handful of fiber artists had begun to fashion Judaic textiles such as Ark curtains and Torah
Women Artists Inspired by Torah Read More »
The striking change in our generation—that Limmud Torah (the learning of Torah) has become part of the lives of many women, began as a quest on a personal level, but has since become a broad social phenomenon. The ramifications of this change vastly exceed the achievements of one woman Torah scholar or another, and have
Women in Religious Leadership Today Read More »
Congregational Intern—an odd title if you think about it. Are these women preparing to become congregations? Rabbis? Are they preparing for any future at all? When I served as the intern at Congregation Ramath Orah in Manhattan, I was given many titles by my congregants—congregational intern, shul intern, Drisha intern, rabbinic intern, rabbi intern who
Congretional Interns: What Does the Future Hold? Read More »
I am a to’enet (female rabbinic advocate) in Israel. To’anot study for three intensive years to pass the six arduous exams required by the Beit Din in order to be licensed as a to’enet. After licensing, they may represent either a man or a woman in a divorce case in the rabbinical courts. During the
Kol Isha: A New Voice in the Courtroom Read More »
sofer: scribe (m) sofer STa”M: scribe of texts of Torah scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot soferet: scribe (f) safrut: scribal arts “Would you like me to fix it?” a female congregant offered. I replied, “It is in such bad shape that I don’t think there is time to fix it before Purim.” Our synagogue’s Megillat Esther
Women and Safrut: Can a Woman Be a Scribe? Read More »
From afar, we have witnessed public outrage over the long history of clergy misconduct in the Catholic Church. The church’s egregious denial and calculated covering up of priests’ sexual abuse of congregants and children was staggering in its scope, the blanket of silence over its victims unfathomable. How much harder is it for us to
WHEN SACRED TRUST IS BREACHED: Responses to Rabbinic Sexual Misconduct Read More »
