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Orthodox Feminism and the Next Century Blu Greenberg Q How will a broad coalition of feminists inspire and transform the religious, cultural, emotional, and intellectual demeanor of Jewish life? Orthodox Feminism and the Next Century Blu Greenberg n numerous occasions over the past years, I’ve women whose thinking has gone beyond mine. been asked: how far can Orthodoxy go in re- So the future scenario is unclear. If the changes 0sponding to feminism? Sometimes thm’s a bit that have been wrought during the past decades of goading behind the questiox What do orthodox femi- are any indication, the element of surprise may be nists really want? What‘s yow real agenda? But often the a surer bet than any predictions I might offer. Who questioner comes with genujne intemt. How far can Or- would have imagined 30 years ago Orthodox thodoxy accommodate theneeds women studying and teach- of the new Jewish woman with- ing Talmud in places like out losing its Orthodoxy? Drisha or Midreshet There are also myriad spe- How will these Lindenbaum? Who would cific questions: Will every girl in have believed that women the community be expected to changes affect would serve on Israeli reli- study Talmud? Will Orthodox gious councils, or as congre- women become rabbis, make relationships, the gational interns in Orthodox halachic decisions as yoatzot, family, definitions shuls? Who would have pic- advisors, or poskot, decisors? tured a woman reading the Will they be dayanot, judges in of sexuality, and Torah portion at a women’s the rabbinic courts of law, pre- tefillah group? siding over matters of divorce? Jewish values? When I was growing up in Will the gendered language of the 1940s and 1950s, even the the prayerbook undergo trans- word bat mitzvah was off-lim- formation or will the original language be preserved, its in Orthodoxy, signaling the celebrant as Reform with commentary and caveat sensitive to kavod hatzibbur, or Conservative. Today, no self-respecting modern the honor (of women) in the congregation?And most of Orthodox family would refrain from marking its all, who will prepare for Pesach? (Just kidding.) daughter’s Jewish maturity with a bat mitzvah cel- These are but a few of the questions that grow ebration. While changes in Orthodoxy may not naturally out of a 30-year engagement of feminism and seem as stark as changes in the more liberal denomi- Judaism. Some of these questions I would like to have nations, they are more remarkable in some ways answered. Others upset my Orthodox equilibrium, al- because they represent a greater shift from the sta- though they may seem legitimate to some Orthodox ias quo. In only one generation, Orthodox women’s INSIDE Hava Th-Samuelson: Against Dogmatic Skepticism ... 9 Blu Greenberg: Orthodox Feminism ............................. 1 Book Reviews ................................................................. 10 Tamara Cohen: An Unfinished Revolution.................. 3 Alice Shalvi: Nish’rna ..................................................... 11 shoshana Gugenhh Women Writing a Sefer Torah ...... 4 Judith Plaskow: 21st Century Judaism ....................... 12 Lori Hope Lefkovitz: Assuming the Privileges ........... 6 Jewish Feminist Visions ................................................ 13 Laura Levitt: Jewish Feminist Studies .......................... 7 Letter from the Editor ................................................... 16 Sh‘ma January 2000 0 ‘http:/ /www.shma.com roles have shifted from exclusively private to in- gence lies. How will the changes affect relationships, creasingly public, from the household and rnikvah the family, the ways we raise our chilhn, the defini- to houses of study and prayer, and religious courts tions of sexuality, and ultimately the Jewish future? of law. What is the staying power of women in traditionally The extent to which change will occur in the com- nurturing roles? Perhaps biology counts for more than ing decades depends on a number of variables above feminismhas allowed, and there is a reason that soci- and beyond the to-be-determined agenda of Ortho- ety has not restructured itself to accommodate the new 1 dox feminists. Not the least of these variables is the ideology. We are the first generation to write the book attitude of the large body of mainstream women in on new gender relations, and we want to write and the Orthodox community. While the numbers of read it at the same time. Orthodox feminists (includingthose who eschew the Oddly, I feel a measure of comfort in not know- label) have grown, the majority of Orthodox women ing. Years ago I thought everything had to be equal; remain skeptical or antagonistic, even though they that less than equal meant sexism, discrimination, have integrated gender equality values into all other hierarchy, and disability. I now believe that distinc- aspects of their lives - their relationships, educa- tive roles can be compatiblewith equality and equal tional goals, and professional work. dignity, and that not everything in life has to be taken In addition to a desire for change, there must also to its logical conclusion. Perhaps Orthodoxy may turn be a willingness to work for change. The fact that the out to be the best testing ground for a theology of agunah is still an unresolved issue is due, in part I distinctive-but-equalgender roles. However, to serve believe, to the fact that Orthodox women (and men) as a credible model, Orthodoxy cannot be separate are not demandjng that halachists end such injustice and unequal, neither in reality nor perception. With through reinterpretation and repair of this law. the exception of the agunah problem, which as an In addition to activism, many Orthodox women outright abuse and violation of Jewish ethics should remain diffident about adopting new and unfamil- have been resolved yesterday the slow time frame iar roles. I understand this because, although I ad- of Orthodox decision making may be advantageous vocate expanded roles, I too sometimes feel an in- to all society. ner, emotional resistance to the unfamiliar. Rabbis The path that this journey -the transformation of report that when they offer women in their congre- Orthodoxy by feminism and the modulation of femi- gations hakafot, dancing with a Torah scroll on nism under the impact of etemal Jewish values -will Simchat Torah, many refuse due to unease or fear. takeisa~~onofthein~laybetweenhalachis-ts,the While this is natural given the centuries of condi- lay community, and the sincm petitioning of feminists tioning, it is surprising to find that this resistance withjn Orthodoxy. Judaism has often adapted to inno- cuts across generational lines. vations badon the dynamic interchange between in- Anotherfactorindeterminingfuturechangeisthe dividualneedsandcommhtysensibilities,betweenthe ability of a commhty to distinguish between public questions and the answers in the halachic literature,be- poli~/comm~ty~~ilityandhala~cp~~itio~tween new societal norms and ancient traditions. The Currently, the lines are blurred. Or perhaps not so full dignity of women, as images of God, is an external blurred. Often I've heard the following rabbinic p'& idea that we must integrate into OUT heritage. "It's not against haladmh, but it's not somethingwe do." Orthodox feminists can add our voices, our While this may be the answer of the moment, distin- pleas for change, without worrying that we are too guishitl%betweenhalacJtllhand communitysensiibilities radical or too reactionary. Even as we press for- opens the door to future reevaluation. New policies will ward with our issues, we feel the reassuring cush- only emerge from new educational programs, when ion of community and halachah all around us, and models for articulating these issues and pressm from we are emboldened to speak the truth, without fear. feminists move the commhty forward. A third variable in determining the pace and ex- Blu Greenberg is President of the Jewish Orthodox tent of change is evidence. Although ultimately we Feminist Alliance and author of several books, includ- want what is best for Judaism and best for women, it ing On Women and Judaism and How to Run a may take time to discern exactly where this conver- Traditional Jewish Household. Sh'm January2000 http://www.shma.com Questions for an Unfinished Revolution Tamara Cohen didn’t attend the First National JewishWomen’s lar American socialists) and the women of Ezrat Conference in New York in 1973. My mother Nashim (who lobbied for Conservative women’s Iwanted to bring me, her two-year-old daugh- ordination). It’s time for Jewish feminists to refute ter, but the conference organizers asked her to the dichotomies of secular and religious, insisting either stay home with her baby or attend the rather that feminism is always political as well as conference alone. Although she resented the choice, spiritual. It‘s time to recognize that the liberation she went to the conference without me. that is central to Jewish feminism is seriously com- Over the years, my two sisters and I have em- promised if our commitment to our own spiritual braced a feminism that takes my mother’s feminist enrichment is not coupled with a commitment to thinking to the next step. So it is with a deep re- societal change specifically aimed at improving the spect for her, and the femi- lives of less privileged nism with which she raised women. me, that I voice the follow- How much is the social- ing, somewhat critical, ob- EZTd Nashim demanded ization of Jewish boys and servations and questions. girls changing? Are Jewish Is Jewish feminism the right Of children being
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