One of the great debates during my engagement to a rabbi fifteen years ago was how I would be addressed by his congregation. I did not plan to change either my first or my last names after my wedding, but how would this decision be interpreted by my fiancé’s congregants? The world seemed clearly divided
And the Rebbetzin will Keep Her Name Read More »
Despite their relatively few numbers, women play a significant role as name-givers in the Hebrew Bible. Of the approximate forty-seven instances in which a namegiver is specified, twenty-nine involve women.1 From the time of Eve, the right to name children has belonged primarily to wives and mothers. This authority rests likewise in the hands of
The most valuable sources for exploring the names and lives of Jewish women in the past are tombstones, and what is often most significant is to see how the women are described. In many cases, honorifics such as isha hashuva (an important woman), or isha raka beshanim (a young woman, “soft” in years) are added
The Generosity of Our Foremothers Read More »
As is clear from Professor Bar-Ilan’s article in this issue (p. 24), women served as the mekonnenot, the traditional public mourners and lamenters in biblical times, and this continued in the rabbinic period. The Mishna in various places starts from the assumption that women are the mekonnenot. In Ketubot (4:4), Rabbi Judah is cited as
The Laments of Women Read More »
There are many precedents for women’s readings of Eikha and kinot (the mournful elegies that are recited) on Tisha B’Av. This is apparent from numerous sources including the medieval Kol Bo, which describes the laws and practices of Tisha B’Av. And therefore they extinguish all the lamps and the cantor begins to recite the lamentations
Two years ago, our Cherry Hill, NJ Women’s Tefilla Group held its first reading of Eikha, the book of Lamentations, which is read on Tisha B’Av, the day of mourning which commemorates the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. This reading has since become an annual ritual. A number of factors motivated me to initiate
Eikha Through the Voices of Women Read More »
The awareness of authorship is quite a modern concept. Only once did the rabbis of the Talmud disclose their opinion concerning the authorship of biblical books (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 14b–15a), and there was no debate among them on matters of authorship. This lack of debate is in contrast to their discussions on the development
Who Wrote the Book of Eikha? Read More »
A fairly well-known rabbi gave a shiur to my class a few weeks ago. Like any good speaker, he began with a hook. He told my class about a discussion regarding Shabbat he had led at Camp Moshava a few summers ago. When asked what was the first word that came into their minds in
Emerging Voices: It’s Not About The Don’ts: Shabbat Possibilities Read More »
We asked JOFA Board members, Pam Scheininger and Idana Goldberg to answer a number of questions about how they strive to balance feminism and motherhood on Shabbat. Both are busy professionals. Pam, who is also on the Journal editorial committee, is an attorney. She and her husband, members of the Netivot Shalom congregation in Teaneck,
This month marks the second anniversary of Yavneh, a partnership-style minyan that meets once a month on New York’s Upper East Side. Our stated purpose is to create a “Makom Tefilla,” a place of worship where all people, at all levels of observance, can come and explore their relationship with God, prayer, and their community.
Makom Tefilla: Counted and Counted On Read More »
