A Work in Progress Women, Feminism & Jewish Life High Holy Days Supplement 2021 / 5782 EDITOR Rabbi Naamah Kelman Co-EDITOR Dr Elan Ezrachi Editorial Board Dr
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A work in progress Women, feminism & Jewish life HIGH HOLY DAYS SUPPLEMENT 2021 / 5782 EDITOR Rabbi Naamah Kelman CO-EDITOR Dr Elan Ezrachi EDITORIAL BOARD Dr. Shahar Burla, Contents Michael Visontay, Uri Windt GRAPHIC DESIGN Rachel Platenik ILLUSTRATIONS Avi Katz For all enquirires please contact: [email protected] This supplement may be republished with the follwoing acknowledgement: “Reprinted with permission from Plus61J Media (www.plus61j.net.au)” 04 10 14 18 22 26 NAAMAH KELMAN VANESSA OCHS YAFA BENAYA LEA MÜHLSTEIN JUDITH ROSENBAUM TAMARA R. COHEN Introduction How to make women’s Between traditionalism Feminism and Zionism – a Weaving a richer tapestry Empowering feminist ritual innovations take root and feminist activism work in progress from the vault of our teens – and being achievements empowered by them 06 12 16 20 DEBORAH STONE 24 29 Where is the front page SIGAL DAVIDI KIM RUBENSTEIN JOANNE FEDLER with a woman blowing Architects who shaped My journey to leadership: ‘Judaism demands RACHEL AZARIA DEBORAH STONE the shofar? early Jewish society in ‘If I am only for myself, compliance: I can barely Exclusion of women (Yiddish version) Palestine what am I?’ follow a recipe’ from public life can’t be Where is the front page tolerated with a woman blowing 08 the shofar? SHARON BERGER Equality in our daily lives but not in our Jewish lives Introduction NAAMAH KELMAN Editor When the Australian Plus61J team asked Bimah, at the lectern, in the highest offices of me to co-edit the supplement for this year’s Institutions and organizations. It is staggering High Holy Days that would be devoted to to think about the centuries of lost participation Jewish feminism, I initially baulked. For many of women and the lack of recognition of their years, I have rejected joining panels or doing contribution to our civilisation. presentations on Jewish women and Jewish feminism. We still face deep traditions of patriarchy and discrimination. Many of these first pioneers I often answer: I am happy to teach “Judaism” faced terrible treatment, outright dismissal, and Jewish texts (that include women) but and rejection. Yet over these decades we defining me solely by my gender does not have discovered the women we didn’t even serve the greater cause. That cause, born know were lost in our great Jewish story. We some 50 years ago, aimed to transform Jewish invented and reinvented Jewish rituals for girls life and Judaism as we knew it. and women and for all Jews. We sought out injustices to fight for others, women of Mizrachi Yet, after this Covid period with so much traditions, the LGBTQ community, women in the uncertainty, reassessment of our lives, military and more. Some of the early feminists of examining community life and upending so many the liberal orientations gave courage to Orthodox assumptions, I paused to think that this may be, and traditional women to examine their position indeed, a good time to take a long, good look at in society, now being quite prominent. some 50 years of Jewish feminism. This publication does not cover all the critical What has been the impact? What have we A NOTE FROM THE CO-EDITOR issues, but it is rich in its geographical and cultural changed? Where have we failed or stumbled? range, the denominations, age, and ideologies. I am happy to take a back seat in this special supplement. I had Did we transform Jewish life? I say 50 years, We apologise to those voices we may have left the privilege of editing the Plus61J special High Holy Days’ because in our Biblical tradition, it is a moment out and we invite you to write the next chapters. supplements of recent years. What I enjoyed most was the to “restart”. ability to reach out and then edit the works of thoughtful people I am particularly proud that I am co-editing this I welcome the call to ask some tough questions from all over the world. Each supplement had a unique character, publication with my husband, Elan Ezrachi. He and offer some great answers. This year, in content and in form. Many people around the world noted how never set out to be a Rebbetzin, but he knew my Seminary, the Hebrew Union College- the material enriched their reflections in receiving the new year. he was marrying a vocal feminist, who rejected Jewish Institute of Religion, will mark the 50th the traditional roles of our families of birth. He It was only natural that when a supplement would be dedicated Anniversary of the ordination in America of the understood that for this supplement dedicated to the issue of women I will not serve as the chief editor. Luckily, first woman rabbi: Sally Priesand. Her clarion call to women, he would play a supporting role and my life-partner, Naamah Kelman, agreed to take the captain’s role and courage brought down the barriers to allow let us lead. and keep me in the co-pilot seat. what is now hundreds of women to follow. In addition to the rabbis and cantors came Rabbi Naamah Kelman is the dean of the Jerusalem scholars and thinkers claiming their rightful place campus of Hebrew Union College. She was the first Shanna Tova, at the study table (Beit Midrash) and on the woman to ever be ordained in Israel, in 1992. Elan Ezrachi, Jerusalem Where is the front page Australia’s Orthodox congregations continue to ignore half their congregants for ritual purposes, which makes it impossible for women to with a woman blowing the have equality within our community shofar? New kinds of minyanim that do not align themselves religious sphere makes it impossible for us to have with traditional religious movements have enabled equality within our community. Deborah Stone women to participate fully in religious practice. Deborah Stone is a journalist, content creator and communications consultant. She is a former Fairfax feature If we have the sense that there are some things writer, and former editor of the Australian Jewish News and ArtsHub. Nitzan, Melbourne’s first Conservative shul, has women cannot or should not do, it follows that bridged the gap between Orthodox and Reform woman are not equally valued, powerful, or and enabled those who want a traditional style of effective. Our daughters will continue to grow practice to find an egalitarian alternative. up with the sense that they are somehow lesser Y FIRST ROSH Hashanah edition as editor by male leaders. (Rabbi Nicole Roberts finally than their brothers and Jewish life will become of the Australian Jewish News was in cracked a glass synagogue ceiling when she Shira Melbourne attempts the tightrope walk of increasingly out of step with the cultural milieu of M 1999. We prepared two test covers for became Sydney’s first female senior rabbi in 2018; commitment to Orthodox interpretation of Jewish secular Australia. the festival supplement: one with a bee and honey Melbourne has yet to have such an appointment.) law while including women in leading service, design, the other a shofar-blowing image. reading from Torah and counting in a women’s side At the same time, synagogues are not the only The Australian Jewish community remains of the mechitzah minyan. place Jews gather. Recent years have also seen I knew music teacher Anna Mylenek-Kalman had a dominated by a fundamental inconsistency in a revitilisation of secular Jewish life, expressed beautiful shofar and was skilled at blowing it, so I which the majority of Jews subject themselves Kolenu is a secular minyan which has expunged through cultural and educational activities including asked her to pose for a photo shoot. The photogra- to Orthodoxy’s medieval attitudes to women in God from its prayer book and created a style of music festivals, book weeks, film festivals, pher did an excellent job – the long curving shofar communal activity, although they accept neither service evocative of the youth groups from which museums, and learning opportunities. snaking up diagonally through most of the frame Orthodox religious law in their personal Jewish many of its members are recent graduates. It is with Anna’s face and her flowing black hair in the practice nor the marginalisation of women in other about communal and expressive rather than faith- Many of these new initiatives and growing bottom left and a lovely clear skyline for the title text. aspect of their lives. based Jewish practice and comes with an ethos of institutions are led by smart and talented women or inclusiveness that is natural to the 20-somethings by enlightened men who consciously work towards The shofar blower was clearly the superior cover, Today’s Australian Jewish News (AJN) would still who run it. equal gender representation. but staff and management asked me not to use it. be unlikely to feature a woman shofar-blower, for Picturing a woman blowing the shofar was going to the same reasons I did not in 1999. No one dares The establishment of these alternative synagogue Platforms for Jewish expression which embrace – if you will excuse the expression – blow the entire upset the powerful Orthodox-aligned hegemony frameworks is important to the advancement diversity, appreciate originality, and welcome edition. Advertisers, rabbis, and readers would which controls most of our synagogues, our largest of women within our community. Of course, boundary-pushing give us a richer and stronger inundate me with complaints. Nothing else in the schools, and significant sections of our Zionist and many Jews are not religious, some never enter a community. supplement would matter. We would be throwing a cultural organisations. synagogue and many more only do so a couple of match into a tinderbox of communal tension.