By the time you read this article, I will have stepped back from the presidency after 6 years and welcomed my successor, Carol Newman.
Carol was a founding member of JOFA and served as vice-president and member of the executive committee since its inception. She has been a major force in making JOFA the organization it is today. Carol co-chaired the program committee of our last two international conferences, which produced the stellar programs for which JOFA is known. She has chaired or sat on numerous other committees including the JOFA calendar, JOFA Watch, Shabbat T’lamdeini, the Tu B’Shvat Seder and more. She has been an active member of the Journal committee; with Esther Farber’s illness, Carol stepped in and single-handedly produced this issue. She brims with ideas. Her great strength is that she sees the big picture yet is also totally hands-on in every project she undertakes. JOFA will grow, flourish and take new turns under her leadership, and on behalf of my colleagues on the board, I offer her our congratulations and full support.
Six years is not a long time in the history of an organization but it is JOFA’s entire life and a good deal of my own during this past decade. JOFA was born, as most Jewish organizations are, in the intimacy of a dining room. Flushed with the success of our first conference on feminism and orthodoxy and beginning to plan the second, a small group of women discussed the idea of creating an organization to continue the work and to create an address for others struggling with these issues. Being married to a man who built and carried several organizations in his life, and aware that the burdens grow in direct ratio to the enthusiasm, I, like others, was a bit hesitant. But thankfully, a force greater than ourselves decreed that we go forward. In retrospect, JOFA was inevitable. If this small band of women had not created it, some other band would have. It was simply the right moment in history to work for an historic tikkun within Orthodoxy, the full dignity of women in Torah and tradition.
Sitting in my small office now, with its precious view of the Empire State Building turret, looking through my files and dealing with correspondence, I reflect on the last six years with a jumble of emotions: wonderment, that so much has happened in the community in a relatively short time, a good deal of it catalyzed by JOFA; pleasure, as a flood of memories of the activities and contacts that go into building an organization wash over me, the thousands of conversations and meetings, plans carried out and plans aborted, the inner workings of a board with strong personalities, the loyalty and talents of professional staff, the wonderful surprise as people step forward on their own initiative with ideas, interest and support; anxiety, over the never ending tasks of fund-raising; and painful recall of my mistakes which, knowing myself, will probably stay with me longer than the successes.
“In restrospect, JOFA was inevitable.”
Like most presidents who step down, I must admit to certain feelings of ambivalence. Though I never intended to stay beyond one two-year term, somehow it stretched into three terms. Yet, even though the transition is long overdue, I am leaving with a combined sense of regret and relief. Regret, because there is so much more I wanted to do during my tenure, and because being president of an organization that always seems to be flying forward is actually quite a heady experience. Relief, because I know that every institution needs new energy and talent to keep it growing, fresh, and relevant. Relief again, because personally, I have long wanted to return to my writing. Being among those who need clear space and time for the sustained process of writing books, I have longed for a week or month uncluttered with organizational matters. With the death of my beloved son, JJ, I now feel an even greater urgency to write, though the decision to step back from the presidency long preceded his untimely death.
It is tempting here to look back. But keeping faith with the mission of the Journal – to serve as a place for exchange of ideas – I want to look forward at what I personally believe are the four major challenges to JOFA in the years ahead:
- Defining the paradigm of equality in Orthodoxy. I see this as the most significant challenge, perhaps so because I am the classic transition woman: conditioned in my youth by both halakha and society to very clear gender role delineations, then powerfully informed in adulthood by the culture’s new definition of equality as sameness or interchangeable roles. What are we, as Orthodox Jewish feminists, women and men, moving towards in the construction of our relationships and our institutions? What are the limits? For me, the paradigm has always been one of allowing for ‘distinctive-but-equal’ roles. I continue to believe that as long as it does not serve as cover for inequity, distinctive-but-equal is a unique feminism that halakhically shaped Orthodox feminists can contribute to society,. But increasingly, I must admit that the boundaries are unclear, that many of the differentiations I once thought secure or unyielding seem to be falling away; also that many other committed Orthodox women and men whom I respect think quite differently about role distinctions. So I must ask myself and my friends the question that has been often asked of me during the past three decades, “How will Orthodox feminism be different from general feminism in, say, 25 years?î No longer are the answers I have given in the past adequate
The second part of the paradigm question is this: if Orthodox feminism pulls forward at a particular speed, will it be pulling away from community at the very moment that the center of modern orthodoxy has come to accept the basic tenets of this revitalizing movement within its ranks.
So the first task, as I see it, is to open the theoretical discussion of paradigm and against that backdrop, to think through every new role and its implications. Creating facts on the ground, as JOFA has been remarkably able to influence others to do, may not be enough for a solid, communally integrated future.
Implicit in these remarks is the underlying conviction – proven by history – that halakha can both inform and validate through the interpretive process. Halakha can take many paths as we walk ahead.
“More has to be done to bring men into the enterprise.”
- Creating a fair feminism. This means, primarily, the greater inclusion of men. In truth, JOFA has sought to do this, beginning with the very first conference and its abundance of male speakers and welcome of male participants. This was a conscious decision taken by its planners, not to repeat the error of slowing down the process by not partnering with men from the outset.
Still, more has to be done to bring men into the enterprise – men brought in on the discussion of paradigm, men on the board, men included as we create women’s ritual and inclusive language. I have been to simhat bat and bat mitzvah ceremonies where women have all the lines, a situation we would not quietly accept in reverse at a brit, bar mitzvah or wedding ceremony. Even at JOFA’s Tu B’Shvat women’s seder, we had not thought of including men, as the Ma’ayan Women’s Seders now do. I agree that there are occasions for separate events for genders, times for separate boards, spaces for separate rituals, but in general, the operating standard for a fair feminism as we go forward should be Hillel’s dictum, paraphrased; “Do not do unto another gender or class what you would not have done to you.” In sum, distinctive-but-equal must always work in tension with a fair feminism.
- Partnership with the rabbis. JOFA has assembled a wonderful list of what we lovingly call, “JOFA-friendly rabbis” Happily, I can report that this list contains names of the most distinguished and influential rabbis of modern Orthodoxy, and even a few of the haredi community. Still, the list is a fraction of rabbinic leadership everywhere. We must broaden our reach, finding ways of cooperating on some issues if not on others. We are a group that respects the chain of tradition. Even as we press forward for women to become an increasing part of the structures of authority, we must bend our efforts to seek broader cooperation, setting aside insult or rebuff, celebrating gains and new cohorts, keeping in mind that beneath gender issues, we all share one common desire: for Orthodoxy to survive and flourish.
- Education as empowerment. This is an obvious goal. Yet, some have tried to separate and even pit against each other women’s learning and women’s activism. But the two are inseparable, interdependent, each nurturing the other. The leadership of orthodoxy in the future will come from learned and learning women, as it has from learned men in the past. But it will also come from politically wise Orthodox women, as it is now beginning to come. And both groups must support each other and be supported by a community that understands the interface between the two. Happily, there is a small but growing number of women who have internalized both roles, and these will surely be the great leaders of coming generations. But the lesson to be gained by Everywoman is to keep learning, for learning is not only its own spiritual reward but also the means of giving credentials to women to become quality religious leaders in our community.
As JOFA is not a “dinner organization” at which inaugurations and goodbyes take place, this JOFA Journal is the place for offering my thanks. I feel great gratitude to my extraordinarily hard-working, faithful colleagues on the Board, each one of whom has become a beloved and treasured friend, and those bonds will not diminish in my changed capacity; to our amazing executive director, Robin Bodner, whose professionalism and radiant warmth make her a joy to work with; to Andrea Levin, associate director and loyal friend who carried JOFA through its hardest and best times; and to Carol Newman, for deepening her commitment to JOFA by taking on the role and responsibilities of the presidency.
Albeit inadequately, I thank my husband and children, for without their support I could never have taken on this responsibility. More than support, Yitz has been my best sounding board and greatest source of advice and encouragement all these years.
And I thank all of you, readers of the JOFA Journal, members and supporters of this organization, old personal friends among you and new ones, through this common commitment we share. You make it all worthwhile.
Six memorable years…what a privilege!