In the minds of many, Presidents’ weekend had become Orthodox feminist conference time. But, as your “dancing women” magnet reminds you, our next conference will take place February 20-21, 2000. The Board’s decision, to skip over ’99 and concentrate instead on building JOFA, was not an easy one — especially with memories of organizing conferences 1 and 2 still fresh.
Those were heady times. I often wished I had had a recorder chronicling the planning meetings, for the discussions seemed to me a history in the making. At times I felt as if I were listening in on a conversation that Jews could have had in the 3rd or the 16th or the 19th century as they struggled with the challenge: how to live as rabbinic Jews when encountering new ideologies and societal norms.
No less stirring was the process of creating the program — every week a new idea would crop up, a new voice would be discovered. And, finally, the conference itself with the spirit and energy of 2,000 participants.
Yet, for all that planning a conference is exhilarating, it ends. Building an organization may be less glamorous, but its steady pace and permanent address enable the real work to get done. A conference can create a movement; an organization sustains it, implements its goals and vision, widens its arc and nourishes new leadership.
Though mine was a minority vote “yes” for ’99, I now appreciate the wisdom of the majority, especially as I consider the many projects we have set for ourselves. Let me share some of them with you:
- Conference 2000, now calling for papers and framing an agenda.
- The newsletter, being published quarterly.
- Shabbat T’lamdeini, which will reach deeply into the Orthodox community. (See article on left).
- Agunah tasks, including convening forums for study of various halakhic solutions, organizing grass roots activism and meeting with different leaders working on this issue.
- Networking with other organizations on feminist issues such as domestic violence, trafficking of women and women’s health.
- A statement on pluralism. As we learned much from our sisters without compromising our Orthodox way of life, we wish to articulate a positive model for others.
- Education and gender sensitivity programs: how day schools and other Orthodox institutions can increase their inclusion of women in halakhicly permissible ways.
- A speaker’s bureau listing learned women and men who can speak on women’s issues in Orthodoxy.
- A resource center — linked to other such centers — which will include a teshuva repository as well as models of halakhic ceremonies for women and girls.
- A web site with recently published articles, annotated bibliographies, and frequently asked questions.
- A hotline to answer questions ranging from how to organize community support to places for a woman to study Talmud in Israel.
I could go on: an intergenerational women’s chevruta, the Niddah Information Center, an Orthodox feminist calendar, a study of innovative Orthodox synagogue architecture. . . .
Yes, an organization is where the tasks multiply even as the work gets done. We welcome your participation and support in this worthy enterprise.