Will Orthodoxy retain the devotion of all its members if it is perceived as discriminating against women? How do we challenge, resist, and adapt tradition to foster new rituals that adhere to halakha but belong to women as well as men? How do we keep our spiritual selves vibrant in an Orthodox environment where halakha is valued above all else? Do Orthodox feminists have a distinct viewpoint that can aid the fight for social justice?
These questions helped frame the meaningful conversations at the heart of this year’s JOFA Conference, held at Columbia University on Saturday evening, March 13th and Sunday, March 14th. It was attended by over 1,000 women and men and featured more than sixty sessions.
At the opening plenary on Sunday morning, Rabba Sara Hurwitz, Lisa Schlaff, Laura Shaw-Frank, and Erin Leib Smokler shared their visions and reflections on the conference’s four “pillars”: Women in Leadership, Expanding Ritual Opportunity for Women, Spirituality, and Social Justice. These dynamic young women leaders provided a meaningful frame for the day’s conversations and energized attendees as they moved on to the individual sessions. The leadership pillar included sessions on whether women’s leadership will change the system and what the future holds for women in Orthodox communal leadership positions. Using JOFA’s Ta Shma: Come and Learn halakhic source guide series, the ritual inclusion pillar featured sessions on women touching a Torah scroll, saying kiddush, and reciting kaddish. Other topics included women reading Torah, the inclusion of women’s names in legal documents, challenges to the traditional wedding ceremony, and an exploration of Bat Mitzvah practices. Sessions about prayer, mikveh, and finding one’s own covenantal texts were included in the spirituality pillar. The social justice pillar had sessions on the Women of the Wall, modern-day sex slavery, and many sessions on the agunah crisis. Twelve lunch sessions, featuring diverse discussion groups and text studies, provided attendees with additional ways to network with like-minded individuals.
Many world-renowned activists, scholars, and rabbis participated in the day’s conversation. For the first time at a JOFA Conference, the president of Yeshiva University, Richard Joel, addressed participants, speaking about Jewish education for the next generation. Blu Greenberg spoke passionately about the need for halakhic justice for the agunah. Rabbi Dov Linzer discussed the mehitza and its meaning for marginalization and membership. Professor Tamar Ross challenged participants regarding their ways of thinking and talking about God. And Rabbi Daniel Sperber questioned whether the Rambam’s views on women’s leadership are applicable in today’s world of learned women.
In planning this conference, many efforts were made to reach out to younger attendees. Significant discounts were offered to students and those under thirty. A first-ever Middle School Track was organized. (See the article on the opposite page.) Two sessions focused on high school students, and a lunch session was organized for them so they could meet each other. At another session three college students discussed being Orthodox women on campus, and there was a lunch session specifically for college students. On the Shabbat before the conference, students organized the first JOFA Shabbaton for college women; it was held at the Hebrew Institute at Riverdale where the students were able to hear from, talk with, and be inspired by Blu Greenberg and Rabba Sara Hurwitz.
Saturday evening featured JOFA’s first film festival, “Chick Flicks Redefined.” Thirteen films—documentaries, dramas, and comedies of different lengths—touched on issues relevant to JOFA’s mission and constituency. More than 400 people filled the halls on a stormy night, enthusiastically discussing the films they had seen and participating in Q & A sessions with three of the filmmakers.
JOFA appreciates the contributions of our seventy presenters and all the committee members that made this conference so successful, so inclusive, and so enjoyable. We look forward to continuing the conversation.