I am periodically asked how it feels to be married to the president of JOFA. Do I feel excluded or marginalized? Do I feel threatened? Do my wife’s activities take away from the quality of the religious life of our family? The answer to these questions is no, no and no. About twenty years ago, Carol asked me if I understood women’s desire to participate more fully in public Judaism. I told her that intellectually I understood, but emotionally I did not feel their hunger. Carol’s involvement in religious Jewish feminism has allowed me to “get it.” I now feel their hunger. Indeed, living with a partner who is so involved in this issue has led me to conclude that accommodating the desire of women to be more active participants in all areas of Jewish life is one of the greatest challenges facing modern Orthodoxy today. In that JOFA addresses these very issues, I believe it should be embraced and supported, not feared.
The day school movement is now educating its third and fourth generations of students. Moreover, the number of students attending day schools has grown dramatically. Many young women who have performed as the equals of boys from kindergarten through high school, and who have been entering elite professional schools in numbers equal to or greater than their male counterparts, are seeking similar access in the Jewish sphere. This desire for access represents a profound threat to the status quo and, as such, has naturally generated heated emotional reactions from those on both sides of the issue. But, from the perspective of one in the front row of the men’s side of the mechitzah, I sense an evolution in the camp of change, from initial anger and impatience, to hope and a determination to stay the course. What may have started as a revolution has turned into an evolution, with an acknowledgement that change comes slowly.
For young women graduating from a day school today, there are options for advanced Jewish study that were unavailable even twenty-five years ago. Institutions such as Drisha, MaTaN, Nishmat and Midreshet Lindenbaum now offer women the ability to study Jewish texts at the highest level. Because of our long-standing association with Drisha, Carol and I have had the privilege and pleasure of meeting many of these young women on a regular basis. They are an impressive group—enthusiastic, energetic, sincere and smart. Their ability to enhance and enrich the Jewish world is limitless. Unfortunately, their opportunity to do so is not. It is our community’s collective responsibility to create more institutions to meet the demand of women thirsting for deep Jewish knowledge, but that is not enough. We must also provide employment opportunities so that these learned and capable women can use their talents for the benefit of us all. The failure of the community to take on this responsibility may lead these women to choose other careers and discourage future scholars and leaders from even embarking on this path. We must not allow this to happen.