Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal, and social status of women within Judaism and to open up new opportunities for religious experience and leadership for Jewish women. Feminist movements, with varying approaches and successes, have opened up within all major branches of Judiasm. Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ...

In its modern form, the movement can be traced to the early 1970s in the United States. According to Judith Plaskow, who has focused on feminism in Reform Judaism, the main issues for early Jewish feminists in these movements were the exclusion from the all-male prayer group or minyan, the exemption from positive time-bound mitzvot, and women's inability to function as witnesses and to initiate divorce. ^[1] Judith Plaskow Judith Plaskow is a Jewish feminist theologian and a professor of religious studies at Manhattan College. ... Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest denomination of Judaism in America and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th Century Germany. ... A minyan (Hebrew: plural minyanim) is traditionally a quorum of ten or more adult (over the age of Bar Mitzvah) male Jews for the purpose of communal prayer; a minyan is often held within a synagogue, but may be (and often is) held elsewhere. ... Mitzvah (Hebrew: מצווה, commandment; plural, mitzvot; from צוה, tzavah, command) is a word used in Judaism to refer to (a) the commandments, of which there are 613, given in the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) or (b) any Jewish law at all. ... Judaism considers marriage to be the ideal state of existence; a man without a wife, or a woman without a husband, are considered incomplete. ...

Origins of the movement

Jewish feminism
Writers
Rachel Adler Blu Greenberg Tova Hartman Paula Hyman Judith Hauptman Susannah Heschel Judith Plaskow Tamar Ross Mendel Shapiro Daniel Sperber Trude Weiss-Rosmarin
Groups
JOFA Shira Hadasha
Issues
Agunah Jewish view of marriage Minyan Mitzvah Partnership minyan Role of women in Judaism
Category
Judaism and women

According to historian Paula Hyman, two articles published in 1970 on the role of women in Judaism were particularly influential. "The Unfreedom of Jewish Women," published in the Jewish Spectator by its editor, Trude Weiss-Rosmarin, criticized the treatment of women in Jewish law, followed in 1972 by an article by Rachel Adler, then an Orthodox Jew and currently a professor at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, called "The Jew Who Wasn't There: Halakhah and the Jewish Woman," published in Davka a countercultural magazine. ^[2] Image File history File links Schild_davids_transparent. ... Dr. Rachel Adler is Associate Professor of Modern Jewish Thought and Judaism and Gender at the School of Religion, University of Southern California and the Hebrew Union College Rabbinical School at the Los Angeles campus. ... Blu Greenberg Blu Greenberg is a Jewish American writer specializing in Orthodox Judaism and womens issues. ... Tova Hartman Halbertal is a Professor of Education at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specializing in gender studies, and author of books on the role of women in Judaism. ... Professor Paula Hyman is the Lucy Moses Professor of Modern Jewish History at Yale University and president of the American Academy of Jewish Research. ... Judith Hauptman. ... Susannah Heschel holds the Eli Black Chair in Jewish Studies and serves as associate professor in the Department of Religion at Dartmouth College. ... Judith Plaskow Judith Plaskow is a Jewish feminist theologian and a professor of religious studies at Manhattan College. ... Tamar Ross is a professor of Jewish Philosophy at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem She has scholarly expertise is in the thought of Abraham Isaac Kook, the modern Musar movement and the ideology of Mitnaggedism, and Judaism and gender. ... Mendel Shapiro, a Jerusalem lawyer and Modern Orthodox Rabbi, is the author of a halakhic analysis [1] (pdf) permitting women to read from the Torah in prayer services with men on Shabbat under certain conditions. ... Daniel Sperber is Professor of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. ... Dr. Trude Weiss-Rosmarin Trude Weiss-Rosmarin (June 17, 1908–June 26, 1989) was a German Jewish writer, editor, scholar, and feminist activist. ... JOFAs logo, evoking the waters of Miriams well The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) was founded in 1997 with the aim of expand[ing] the spiritual, ritual, intellectual, and political opportunities for women with the framework of halakha, or Jewish law. ... Kehillat Shira Hadasha, the halakhic egalitarian minyan of Jerusalem, was founded in 2001 by a group of Jerusalem residents, including Tova Hartman. ... Agunah, according to Jewish law, is a woman who wishes to obtain a divorce from her husband, but whose husband is either unable or unwilling to grant her a halachic bill of divorce, or Get. ... Judaism considers marriage to be the ideal state of existence; a man without a wife, or a woman without a husband, are considered incomplete. ... A minyan (Hebrew: plural minyanim) is traditionally a quorum of ten or more adult (over the age of Bar Mitzvah) male Jews for the purpose of communal prayer; a minyan is often held within a synagogue, but may be (and often is) held elsewhere. ... Mitzvah (Hebrew: מצווה, commandment; plural, mitzvot; from צוה, tzavah, command) is a word used in Judaism to refer to (a) the commandments, of which there are 613, given in the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) or (b) any Jewish law at all. ... The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) defines a Partnership Minyan, as a prayer group that is both committed to maintaining halakhic standards and practices and also committed to including women in ritual leadership roles to the fullest extent possible within the boundaries of Jewish Law. ... The role of women in Judaism is determined by the Hebrew Bible, Talmud (oral law), tradition and by non-religious cultural factors. ... Professor Paula Hyman is the Lucy Moses Professor of Modern Jewish History at Yale University and president of the American Academy of Jewish Research. ... The role of women in Judaism is determined by the Hebrew Bible, Talmud (oral law), tradition and by non-religious cultural factors. ... Dr. Trude Weiss-Rosmarin Trude Weiss-Rosmarin (June 17, 1908–June 26, 1989) was a German Jewish writer, editor, scholar, and feminist activist. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... Dr. Rachel Adler is Associate Professor of Modern Jewish Thought and Judaism and Gender at the School of Religion, University of Southern California and the Hebrew Union College Rabbinical School at the Los Angeles campus. ... Orthodox Judaism is the stream of Judaism which adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmud (The Oral Law) and later codified in the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law). It is governed by these works and the Rabbinical commentary... Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (also known as HUC or HUC-JIR) is the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors and educators in Reform Judaism. ...

Feminism in Conservative Judaism

In 1972, a group of ten New York feminists calling themselves Ezrat Nashim (the women's courtyard or the women's section in a synagogue), took the issue of equality for women to the 1972 convention of the Conservative movement's Rabbinical Assembly, presenting a document on March 14 that they named the "Call for Change." The rabbis received the document in their convention packets, but Ezrat Nashim presented it during a meeting with the rabbis' wives. This article refers to Conservative (Masorti) Judaism in the United States. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... A mechitza (מחיצה--means partition, from the Hebrew word divide) is a physical divider placed between the mens and womens sections in Orthodox synagogues and at celebrations. ... Lesko synagogue, Poland A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ... This article refers to Conservative (Masorti) Judaism in the United States. ... Originally set up as the alumni association of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), the Rabbinical Assembly (RA) is the official, international body of Conservative rabbis, with some 1400 members. ...

The "Call for Change" demanded that women be accepted as witnesses before Jewish law, be considered as bound to perform all mitzvot, be allowed full participation in religious observances, have equal rights in marriage and be allowed to initiate divorce, be counted in the minyan, and be permitted to assume positions of leadership in the synagogue and within the general Jewish community. Paula Hyman, who was a member of Ezrat Nashim, wrote that: "We recognized that the subordinate status of women was linked to their exemption from positive time-bound mitzvot (commandments), and we therefore accepted increased obligation as the corollary of equality." ^[3] Eleven years later, in October 1983, the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), the main educational institution of the Conservative Movement, announced its decision to accept women into the Rabbinical School. Hyman took part in the vote as a member of the JTS faculty Mitzvah (Hebrew: מצווה, commandment; plural, mitzvot; from צוה, tzavah, command) is a word used in Judaism to refer to (a) the commandments, of which there are 613, given in the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) or (b) any Jewish law at all. ... A minyan (Hebrew: plural minyanim) is traditionally a quorum of ten or more adult (over the age of Bar Mitzvah) male Jews for the purpose of communal prayer; a minyan is often held within a synagogue, but may be (and often is) held elsewhere. ... The Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, known in the Jewish community simply as JTS, is the academic and spiritual center of Conservative Judaism, and is the movements main rabbinical seminary. ... The Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, known in the Jewish community simply as JTS, is the academic and spiritual center of Conservative Judaism, and is the movements main rabbinical seminary. ...

Feminism in Orthodox Judaism

In 1997, Blu Greenberg founded the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance to educate and advocate for women's increased participation in Orthodox Jewish life and to create a community for women and men dedicated to such change. ^[4] Orthodox Judaism is the stream of Judaism which adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmud (The Oral Law) and later codified in the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law). It is governed by these works and the Rabbinical commentary... Blu Greenberg Blu Greenberg is a Jewish American writer specializing in Orthodox Judaism and womens issues. ... JOFAs logo, evoking the waters of Miriams well The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) was founded in 1997 with the aim of expand[ing] the spiritual, ritual, intellectual, and political opportunities for women with the framework of halakha, or Jewish law. ...

Orthodox feminism, like its Conservative and Reform/Reconstructionist counterparts, seeks to improve the position of women in Jewish law, life, and leadership. However, it differs in several key respects. Firstly, it fundamentally accepts and is loyal to the Divinity of Jewish law. Accepting that Jewish law is G-d's, not ours, it seeks change only in a manner that can be defended as a traditional and legitimately Jewish and halakhic process, and it seeks to work with rather than against the rabbinate and the halakhic process. Therefore, in conflicts between halakha and arguments from egalitarianism, Orthodox feminists have remained loyal to halakha, even in the face of severe criticism from both anti-Orthodox feminists and anti-feminist Orthodox. Secondly, Orthodox Feminism neither requires precisely equal roles between men and women, as has been the tendency in Conservative Judaism, nor does it seek to overthrow the religious tradition and substitute new sources and traditions, as has been suggested by Reform feminists such as Rachel Adler and Judith Plaskow. Rather, accepting the possibility that somewhat different approaches may be appropriate for men and women, Orthodox feminism generally seeks support for acceptable means to improve women's halakhic (religious-legal) status, a significant presence and role within the public communal service, and new, supplemental traditions, or the reinstitution of old traditions, of importance to women's lives and worship, within what it regards as the traditional manner in which laws are interpreted and new prayers and customs adopted within traditional Judaism historically. Orthodox Feminism tends to focus on specific, practical issues, such as the problems of agunah, fostering women's education, leadership, and participation, and arguments for involvement in specific rituals. Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... Agunah, according to Jewish law, is a woman who wishes to obtain a divorce from her husband, but whose husband is either unable or unwilling to grant her a halachic bill of divorce, or Get. ...

One reason for a different agenda for Orthodox feminism is its need to focus on issues which became largely non-existent in more liberal branches of Judaism prior to the appearance of Jewish feminism in the 1970s. These issues include the agunah problem arising from a lack of legal power in certain circumstances to initiate a divorce, problems of access to advanced religious education, and matters of physical access and personal comfort in matters of tzniut (modesty), such as, for example, the construction of mechitzot which permit women to see and hear services. (See Mechitza#Proper height of synagogue mechitza) ^{[5] [6]} Agunah, according to Jewish law, is a woman who wishes to obtain a divorce from her husband, but whose husband is either unable or unwilling to grant her a halachic bill of divorce, or Get. ... Tzniut or Tznius (also Tzeniut) (Hebrew: צניעות modesty) is a term used within Judaism and has its greatest influence as a notion within Orthodox Judaism. ... A mechitza (מחיצה--means partition, from the Hebrew word divide) is a physical divider placed between the mens and womens sections in Orthodox synagogues and at celebrations. ... A mechitza (מחיצה--means partition, from the Hebrew word divide) is a physical divider placed between the mens and womens sections in Orthodox synagogues and at celebrations. ...

See also

• Role of women in Judaism
• Rachel Adler
• Blu Greenberg
• Judith Hauptman
• Susannah Heschel
• Paula Hyman
• Judith Plaskow
• Trude Weiss-Rosmarin
• Tamar Ross
• Shira Hadasha
• Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance
• Partnership Minyan
• Role of women in religion
• Gloria Steinem

The role of women in Judaism is determined by the Hebrew Bible, Talmud (oral law), tradition and by non-religious cultural factors. ... Dr. Rachel Adler is Associate Professor of Modern Jewish Thought and Judaism and Gender at the School of Religion, University of Southern California and the Hebrew Union College Rabbinical School at the Los Angeles campus. ... Blu Greenberg Blu Greenberg is a Jewish American writer specializing in Orthodox Judaism and womens issues. ... Judith Hauptman. ... Susannah Heschel holds the Eli Black Chair in Jewish Studies and serves as associate professor in the Department of Religion at Dartmouth College. ... Professor Paula Hyman is the Lucy Moses Professor of Modern Jewish History at Yale University and president of the American Academy of Jewish Research. ... Judith Plaskow Judith Plaskow is a Jewish feminist theologian and a professor of religious studies at Manhattan College. ... Dr. Trude Weiss-Rosmarin Trude Weiss-Rosmarin (June 17, 1908–June 26, 1989) was a German Jewish writer, editor, scholar, and feminist activist. ... Tamar Ross is a professor of Jewish Philosophy at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem She has scholarly expertise is in the thought of Abraham Isaac Kook, the modern Musar movement and the ideology of Mitnaggedism, and Judaism and gender. ... Kehillat Shira Hadasha, the halakhic egalitarian minyan of Jerusalem, was founded in 2001 by a group of Jerusalem residents, including Tova Hartman. ... JOFAs logo, evoking the waters of Miriams well The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) was founded in 1997 with the aim of expand[ing] the spiritual, ritual, intellectual, and political opportunities for women with the framework of halakha, or Jewish law. ... The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) defines a Partnership Minyan, as a prayer group that is both committed to maintaining halakhic standards and practices and also committed to including women in ritual leadership roles to the fullest extent possible within the boundaries of Jewish Law. ... The role of women in religion has only recently become a topic of research. ... Gloria Steinem at news conference, Womens Action Alliance, January 12, 1972 Gloria Steinem (b. ...

Notes

1. ^ Plaskow, Judith. "Jewish Feminist Thought" in Frank, Daniel H. & Leaman, Oliver. History of Jewish Philosophy, Routledge, first published 1997; this edition 2003.
2. ^ Adler, Rachel. ""The Jew Who Wasn't There: Halakhah and the Jewish Woman." Davka (Summer 1972) 7-11.
3. ^ Jewish Women's Archive
4. ^ Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance
5. ^ Greenberg, Blu. On Women and Judaism: A View from Tradition. Jewish Publication Society of America, 1981. ISBN 0-8276-0226-X
6. ^ Ross, Tamar. Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism. Brandeis University Press, 2004. ISBN 1-58465-390-6

References

• Hymen, E. Paula & Dash Moore, Deborah. (eds) (1997) Jewish Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. Routledge, ISBN 0-415-91934-7
• "Jewish women and the feminist revolution", Jewish Women's Archive
• Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA)
• Plaskow, Judith. "Jewish Feminist Thought" in Frank, Daniel H. & Leaman, Oliver. History of Jewish Philosophy, Routledge, first published 1997; this edition 2003.

Further reading

• Feldman, Emanual. "Orthodox Feminism and Feminist Orthodoxy". Jewish Action Winter 1999 (pdf)
• Adler, Rachel. "The Jew Who Wasn't There: Halakha and the Jewish Woman," in Heschel, S. (ed). On Being a Jewish Feminist: A Reader, Schocken, 1983.
• Adler, Rachel. Engendering Judaism: An Inclusive Theology and Ethics. Beacon Press, 1998.
• Adler, Rachel. "Feminist Judaism: Past and Future", Crosscurrents, Winter 2002, Vol. 51, No 4.
• Greenberg, Blu. "Will There Be Orthodox Women Rabbis?". Judaism 33.1 (Winter 1984): 23-33.
• ____________. "Is Now the Time for Orthodox Women Rabbis?". Moment Dec. 1992: 50-53, 74.
• Hyman, Paula. "The Other Half: Women in the Jewish Tradition" in E. Koltun. The Jewish Woman: New Perspectives, Shocken 1976.
• Ner-David, Haviva. Life on the Fringes: A Feminist Journey Toward Traditional Rabbinic Ordination. Needham, MA: JFL Books, 2000.
• Nussbaum Cohen, Debra. "The women’s movement, Jewish identity and the story of a religion transformed," TheJewishWeek.com, June 17, 2004
• Ozick, Cynthia. "Notes toward finding the right question" in Heschel, S. On Being a Jewish Feminist: A Reader. Schocken, 1983.
• Plaskow, Judith. "The right question is theological" in Heschel, S. On being a Jewish Feminist: A Reader, Shocken, 1983(a).
• _____________. "Language, God and Liturgy: A Feminist Perspective," Response 44:3-14, 1983(b).
• _____________. Standing again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective, Harper and Row, 1990(a)
• _____________. "Beyond Egalitarianism," Tikkun 5.6:79-81, 1990(b).
• _____________. "Facing the Ambiguity of God," Tikkun. 6.5:70-1, 1991.
• Ruttenberg, Danya, ed. "Yentl's Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism." Seal Press, 2001.
• Umansky, E. & Ashton, D. (eds) Four Centuries of Jewish Women's Spirituality: A Sourcebook, Beacon, 1992.
• Wolowelsky, Joel B. "Feminism and Orthodox Judaism", Judaism, 188, 47:4, 1998, 499-507.