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Communal prayer has always been
a central component in Jewish life.
Traditional Orthodox services are
structured around spatial and functional
separation of men and women.
In this book, introduced by Professor Tamar Ross, Rabbi Daniel Sperber presents a halakhic
justification for expanding the role of women in
communal prayer services.
Building on work by Rabbi Mendel Shapiro (included in the volume) in which the legal sources are examined and interpreted to permit women to lead parts of the service and participate in Torah reading, Rabbi Sperber highlights the pivotal importance
of kevod ha-beri’ot (human dignity)
in encouraging fuller participation
of women in communal prayer.
Because of the relevance and timeliness of the topic, two articles that express opposition to Rabbi Sperber’s position are included —
one by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
and one by Professor Eliav Shochetman.
This anthology represents an example of a vibrant dialogue between leading scholars on a
current issue and highlights the dynamic
nature of the halakhic process.
This book is available for sale on Amazon. To purchase the book
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
Deborah E. Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies, Emory University
This book bravely lays out the issues involved in the debate over women’s participation in the Torah service….
It shows the seriousness with which this issue is taken by many Rabbinic scholars.
Moreover, it is a sign of the energy, commitment, and creativity extant in this segment of the Orthodox world.
Samuel C. Heilman, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Harold Proshansky Chair in Jewish Studies, Queens College, City University of New York
...the question of whether or not women may chant and be called up to the Torah in public is … far from settled.
In fact, it serves as key to discovering how Jewish law and changing social and cultural norms interact in important ways, while it shows us that examining women’s relationship to the Torah scroll opens the door to a wealth of ideas about their role in today’s Jewish life and the changing nature of congregational prayer.
Blu Greenberg, author and founding president of JOFA
The rise today of women to fuller, more equal participation in Jewish religious life is of historic significance and is, indeed, the eschatological dream of Judaism…
every evolutionary path has its transformative moments and watershed experiences along the way, and this book is one of them.
With his learning, his courage, his total grounding in the sea and l
anguage of halakha,
Rabbi Daniel Sperber connects the enterprise of
partnership minyanim almost seamlessly to the tradition... he honors the struggle of Orthodox women as one that enhances community – a machloket le’shem shamayim…