After thirty years of Pelech, perhaps one may be permitted to speak of its work as an educational model in Orthodox feminism. The challenges, struggles and triumphs have produced a generation of graduates who have made their impact as religious, professional women. They are returning as educators; they are sending their daughters to us. The Pelech experience is a model that is being replicated in other communities. In a welcome relief from the trauma of recent months of terror in Israel, I am happy to share some thoughts on this educational experience.
The primary goals of Pelech, an all-girls’ high school, are to educate religious young women to confront the challenges of Judaism and modernity and to become successful, religious role models committed to values of democracy and tolerance. These goals are accomplished through a synthesis of high caliber Torah learning and modern scholarship, in an atmosphere of educational innovation, intellectual challenge and creativity. From its earliest days, feminism and Orthodox feminism have been high on the educational agenda of Pelech.
Curriculum
Pelech was the first religious girls’ high school to introduce Talmud into the curriculum. In those early years of the 1970s, Pelech was ostracized by certain rabbanim and community leaders for its insistence on teaching Talmud to girls. The growth of Torah learning for women and the overwhelming success of the women’s study house is a milestone that has roots in the pioneering tenacity of a small group of women’s educators. We have come a long way since then. Talmud is now a bona fide subject taken to the maximum Bagrut (qualifying exam) level at Pelech. In the past two years our twelfth graders requested extra hours to complete a tractate, studying eight hours weekly, lishma – just because they love it.
Pelech has an innovative curriculum on “Judaism and Feminism,” designed to investigate contemporary women’s issues within the Jewish value system. The program focuses on halakhic, philosophic, communal and professional aspects of women’s issues. It includes units on “Women in Tanakh,” “Women in Literature,” “Women in Zionism,” and “Women in Theater” in which individual artistic expression is synthesized with textual study. Students discuss articles by Jane Baker Miller, Nancy Chodorow and Carol Gilligan. They debate issues such as family and career and meet with their mothers to discuss the pros and cons of possible models. Following a vacation, a teacher told me that a student approached her with the comment: “I had no feminist feelings this entire month, I need my dose – when are we meeting?”
Role Models
Feminist education within the formal curriculum sends a clear message that a school can serve as an agent of change. Within the school environment, real role models constitute the strongest educational message. At Pelech, a woman teacher takes the position of morat halakhah in place of the traditional position of school rav, a recognized title at most religious schools in Israel. The morat halakhah answers students’ halakhic questions and writes a regular column in the school journal. Her status provides the students with an example of a talmidat hakhamim within our community.
“Hands-On” Democracy
The prevailing atmosphere outside the classroom plays a pivotal role in leadership development. School governance is democratic, encouraging girls to take initiative and responsibility. An elected student council leads the democratic process, and the school parliament, with equal studentteacher representation, meets approximately six times a year. Its decisions are binding on the entire school, including the administrative team. The disciplinary committee takes responsibility for issues that inevitably arise within a vibrant community of two hundred and sixty teenagers. These in-school institutions form an educational training ground empowering students to seek public positions of leadership in the future.
Tefillah
One of the most significant issues debated by the student council involved a proposal to implement Torah reading (without a blessing) on Rosh Hodesh. Following in-depth study of the halakhic sources and consultations with rabbinic authorities within and outside the school, the issue was debated by students at a stormy and emotional session. Following a secret ballot, the council decided against holding an official monthly reading but gave permission to an informal group to hold their reading before Rosh Hodesh prayers.
I found this outcome exceptionally interesting as a mirror of the attitude of the modern Orthodox community towards women’s Torah reading. Overall, it is neither sanctioned nor rejected. Our school community was similarly ambivalent: they did not officially adopt it, nor did they remove it from the agenda. Adolescent girls tend to be more conservative than rebellious, looking to accepted norms when making decisions. Since that memorable day over two years ago, Torah reading takes place every Rosh Hodesh before the official prayer service of the school. I have no doubt that with the passage of time the Torah reading will become part of our regular public prayers on Rosh Hodesh.
Learning from the Experience of Pelech
While we are making significant progress in setting the stage for the future, it must be emphasized that such progress will only be effective if it is simultaneously addressed within boys’ schools. It is essential that we work with teachers of these schools to ensure that the entire community – men, women, boys and girls – is engaged in rethinking established gender roles.
I believe that the process of change within our school community is a microcosm of the process of the broader modern Orthodox community. One might think that adolescence, with its particular social, physical and emotional turmoil is not the ideal time to begin a process of questioning established gender roles. However, the experience of Pelech shows that this age group is well able to deal with the complex ideas and issues affecting their developing identities as religious women. The powerful combination of innovative curricula, inspiring role models, democratic institutions of school governance, and deep probing of Jewish texts succeeds by allowing students to confront the complexities faced by the modern religious woman.