A work in progress Women, feminism & Jewish life high holy days supplement 2021 / 5782 EDITOR 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: ‘ 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 , 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 and cantors came Rabbi Naamah Kelman is the dean of the 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 , 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. times a year and for significant life cycle events. Perhaps in another 20 years the diversity on the On the other hand, Plus61JMedia is running this fringes will sit at the centre of our community. One I gave in and I regret it still. Playing it safe that first column and I do not doubt would run the woman But the synagogue remains one of our keystones of the many positive results will be full participation year allowed me to remain in the editor’s chair and shofar image. I choose to write for a Jewish media and it serves a deep-seated symbolic function of women in our community. But it is not the Jewish do what I could to push the discourse. But I wish outlet that has less coverage than the AJN, but it in Jewish life. The exclusion of women from the way to depend on miracles. We have work to do. I could write that I had stood on the barricade and represents a kind of diversity that offers hope for a won some small change then. more inclusive and progressive community.

Reflecting on this experience for another Diversity on the fringes is, I believe, the most Rosh Hashanah, 22 years down the track, it hopeful change we have seen in the past 20-odd is disheartening how little has changed. Our years. mainstream Orthodox congregations continue to ignore half their congregants for ritual purposes and Media diversity, both professional and social, has sideline them in most lay leadership, too. enabled new voices to gain a platform and to question the ingrained habits of our community, Our Progressive congregations subscribe to full of which the exclusion of women is the most egalitarianism in ritual but are still dominated egregious but certainly not the only problem.

6 7 Equality in our daily lives but not in our Jewish lives

Sharon Berger Sharon Berger is Program Manager at the New Israel Fund, Australia. Sharon is a former journalist for The Jerusalem Post, Reuters, the Economist and the Australian Jewish News.

EWISH MOTHERS GET a bad rap in popular learning Jewish law is so threatening to the male culture. They are portrayed as overbearing, hierarchy. Knowledge is power and I hope more J complaining, loud, overprotective and guilt women and girls will be encouraged to embrace it. inducing. Often depicted with strong New York accents, they have been typecast, usually For thousands of years this has largely been the do- negatively, in countless movies and TV shows. main of the men, and some are so firmly entrenched in “tradition” that they are not willing to embrace the Yet underneath all the nagging they are strong, change that is happening under their feet. determined women who speak their minds. They call the shots and their often brow-beaten In more enlightened Orthodox communities, female husbands are seen as weak, bumbling fools who spiritual leaders have been appointed and the world do whatever they are told. has continued spinning. In Progressive Jewish communities this situation has been normalised for Yet the fiercely strong female control portrayed some time. in the Jewish home struggles to cross over to communal and public borders. While women We shouldn’t act as a silent in general are making huge strides in breaking through the glass ceiling, the Jewish community majority placidly accepting voice. I encourage you to not only call out the norms and practices continue to be carried down remains resistant to true gender equality. what men decide is in our organisations hosting them, but to stop attending. to the next generation? This is exacerbated by the rising extremist best interest. We give our Women are more than 50 per cent of the population. Traditionally the idea of Jewish heritage being tendencies, most evident in Israel, where not only We have many male allies. If we spoke with our passed through matrilineal descent recognised do ultra-Orthodox parties refuse to field female power away too easily, feet, I am convinced organisations would address the pivotal role of the mother in passing these candidates but increasingly women are being our concerns. We give this power away too easily, traditions from generation to generation. deliberately erased from the public eye. reluctant to ruffle feathers. as we have often been taught not to challenge the status quo or are reluctant to ruffle feathers. Within my family there is a legacy of strong While more apparent in Israel, it’s also In the meantime we as a community shouldn’t Jewish women who I feel connected to, none happening across the Jewish world more act as a silent majority placidly accepting what Let’s embrace the positive aspects of the Jewish more so than my own mother, who passed broadly. In June, a well-respected teacher at the these men decide is in our best interest. Their mother stereotype and stand up for what we believe away recently. She was opinionated, tough as School of Jewish Studies (LSJS) had her delegitimisation of our choices, whether to study, in. We have been raised to believe men and women nails, and spoke her mind. She grew up in a fellowship revoked because she received smicha or pray (at the Western Wall or elsewhere), to are equal in our non-religious lives, yet when it time before feminism existed yet believes in (rabbinic ordination) and took on the title of cover our hair or not, to get divorced, or dress comes to our Jewish norms there is a major lag. gender equality. I feel lucky to have such a Rabba after three years of study. UK the way we would like should motivate us all to Just as we all believe in equal pay, let’s also advance great role model. Ephraim Mirvis, who is also President of LSJS, harness the power we have. equal opportunity within our communities. said she had “stepped beyond the boundaries of We have much to learn from the inspiring women mainstream Orthodoxy.” An obvious example in the Australian Jewish “Is he/she Jewish?” is a standard mantra of the around us. Don’t forget to take a moment during community is the prevalence of manels (all male Jewish mother’s lexicon upon meeting a child’s these days of reflection and gratitude to tell your Although she was subsequently reinstated after panels). I no longer attend such events where potential partner. At its core it’s tapping into what mother, wife, partner, sister, daughter, friend how an outcry, it’s important to question why a woman no effort has been made to include a female is a family’s legacy. Will the family’s traditions, much they enrich your life.

8 9 How to make women’s ritual innovations take root

Vanessa Ochs

Dr. Vanessa Ochs is an American scholar of religion at the University of Virginia, an ordained rabbi and an important figure in the fields of Jewish feminism and Jewish ritual

OU CAN PROBABLY name some of the That the details of how and who get quickly Now it is very new practices and ceremonies that address forgotten or were never publically known in the possible that we Y women’s exclusion from the public face of first place doesn’t worry me. are unconsciously Judaism and crafted ritual responses to previously and yet purposefully unmarked events in women’s lives. Bat Mitzvah, Here’s why: Jews tend to speak and teach allowing the real check. Women’s Seder, check. Baby naming about beloved ritual practices and ceremonies narratives about the new ceremonies for daughters, check. in simple, mythical ways. Even innovations that women’s’ rituals and ceremonies have changed dramatically over time and places to grow fuzzy, in the name of You may not know what occasioned the creation of and those that have been debated by rabbis of letting simple and easy-to-remember any innovation especially relevant to women or how the past and present are given straight forward, explanations emerge which will speak to honored place for women, you can include an it came about. What did the creators discuss as they rudimentary explanations that could satisfy a child. future adaptors. orange on your Seder plate. debated and then finalised their ideas? What were their strategies for introducing the innovation? How A good many of the explanations fit the Ideally, the emerging explanations would It’s a small and easy gesture to make (far easier did rabbinical authorities, communities and family familiar “we suffered, but then we survived” authenticate the Jewish innovations and practices than locating a shank bone or fresh horseradish, members push back when the status quo was template. Hence: We light a Chanukah along the lines of the old ones, those we think especially during a pandemic) and it effectively challenged, and how long did general acceptance (if menorah because we returned to the of having been in place since the beginning of telegraphs your intentions to recall that while we it ever came) take? desecrated Temple and there was enough Jewish time. no longer have to fight for women’s spiritual rights oil to last eight nights. We eat matzah and in Judaism quite as aggressively as we did the last horseradish because we were slaves and now One of the new ritual practices, putting an orange decades, the work is by no means done. If we hope to see them as we are free. The explanations answer the on a Seder plate, already has an explanation enduring, let us try to come up questions “What does it mean?” or “Why are that seems to do the job effectively. “We put an So here is the task at hand: If we hope to see we doing this?” by offering some narrative orange on the Seder plate because once there some or all of the contemporary Jewish women’s with explanations that will have (usually fabricated) and a little theology was a rabbi who said to a feminist theologian, innovations enduring, let us try to come up with continuing resonance “A woman belongs on the bimah as much as an explanations (ideally ones that are historically These explanations offer sufficient rationalisation orange on a Seder plate.” accurate) that may have continuing resonance. Why Not surprisingly, few can name the individuals or for continuing the practice. They go beyond do we have women’s Seders? Why do we put a small groups behind Jewish women’s innovations. expositions of commandments and rules for As many well know, that never happened. There cup out for Miriam on the Seder table? Why have a There are exceptions: the first women rabbis, the Jewish living found in the Torah, Talmud, and was no such rabbi. The earliest Passover ritual rosh hodesh (new moon) groups? Why do women first Bat Mitzvah. Some might recognise the names subsequent texts, such as Maimonides’ Mishneh that eventually led to the orange emerged among come to pray together at the Western Wall? of Rivka Haut, Bonna Haberman, Anat Hoffman for Torah, which organised and distilled Jewish law, or lesbians and the item for inclusion was not their roles in women’s group prayer at the Kotel. a later code, Yosef Karo’s Shulchan Aruch. an orange (or a tangerine, the fruit theologian And what if we can’t come up with satisfying Susannah Heschel proposed) but bread. explanations? It may be because, even in our time, But which woman first showed up at morning Speaking both as a scholar of Jewish innovations any given innovation may have served its purpose minyan wearing a tallit or tefillin? Who first referred and a participant in Jewish feminist innovation, But I can see why this bogus explanation is of repair and no longer needs to be continued to God in Jewish communal prayer as “She?” Who I can testify that I am no fan of the rudimentary so satisfying and keeps getting repeated. It because Judaism itself has been transformed. Not first called together friends to find Jewish ways to explanations. But I know that they matter a great suggests that if you are a Jew who wants just for women, but for all people, regardless of celebrate a pregnancy or heal after a miscarriage? deal to teach, motivate and remind. to stand up against misogyny and create an how they identify.

10 11 a central role in the women’s organisations’ marked the beginning of her long collaboration with Architects who shaped early campaign for modernisation of the domestic five major Zionist women’s organisations. sphere and the kitchen in particular. From the mid-1940s through the early years of Jewish society in Palestine In 1923, Cohn designed the first agricultural school Israel’s statehood, Averbuch planned for these for women in the village of Nahalal, which is 35km organisations youth villages for Holocaust refugee from Haifa. The project was initiated by Hanna children. Maisel, an agronomist, feminist and Zionist, and Sigal Davidi financed by WIZO. Few people are aware of the After planning the first two buildings (1924; important role women architects Dr Sigal Davidi is an architect and an architectural historian. Her recent book Building a New Land: Women 1933), Cohn became the architect of WIZO’s Architects and Women’s Organizations in Mandatory Palestine (open University Press), was published in 2020 Nahalal Agricultural School, designing its five played during the British buildings (1924-46). In Tel Aviv, she designed two Mandate period projects for WIZO: the WIZO Kitchen, a workers’ HE ZIONIST PROJECT is associated Yisrael, WLI (Women’s League for Israel), and restaurant with a training kitchen, which opened with massive building and impressive MWOA (Mizrahi Women of America). in 1931, and a Mothercraft and Child Welfare These establishments are an expression of T community development. While women Centre in Kerem HaTeymanim (the Yemenite holistic female creation, with women initiating, played a significant role, their stories were not These bodies advocated a feminine agenda of quarter) that opened in 1933. financing, planning, and managing modern properly told. In my recent book I focused on these advancing women by introducing modernisation social establishments for women, and they important women architects who were, literally, into the household. To that end, they established The WIZO Kitchen was the first public kitchen in represent pioneering social action by the women’s state builders. The first architect was Lotte Cohn, modalities that reflected the modernist ideology. Palestine equipped with electrical appliances. While organisations and the women architects. who emigrated from Berlin to Palestine in 1921 to Seeking to help women adapt to their new land and offering inexpensive nutritious meals to workers, become the first woman architect in the country. providing for their needs by creating a supportive it gave women an opportunity to practice using an This expression of modernism that was affected women’s community, they set out to build electric stove and managing a large public kitchen. by social changes was realised through this Although women were not prevalent in the autonomous modern establishments that were collaboration between professional modern women profession of architecture either in Palestine or the planned and managed by women for women. Gidoni undertook her first project as an and women’s organisations that contributed to the world in general, by the late 1930s there were 17 independent architect in 1934, winning a WIZO advance of women and shaped the image of the women architects who worked in all fields and on In the 1920s, the revolution toward the competition for designing the Domestic Science emerging Jewish society. all scales of planning. Most of them graduates of professionalisation and modernisation of the and Agriculture School in Tel Aviv. This competition technical universities in Germany and Vienna, these domestic sphere promised to ease the load of marked the beginning of a productive cooperation women left a distinctive mark on the planning, housework. Notions of the “scientific household” between Gidoni and the women’s organisations. designing and building of the new Jewish society were embraced enthusiastically by the Zionist and the state of Israel. women’s movements, headed by WIZO, and During her five-year residence in influenced the establishment of their goals and Palestine before moving to the From the 17 women I studied, three are highlighted their activity patterns for the benefit of women in United States in 1938, Gidoni here: Cohn (1893-1983), Elsa Gidoni Mandelstamm Palestine. designed six buildings for (1899-1978) and Genia Averbuch (1909-77). All institutions initiated by three had a major effect on the assimilation of The women’s groups formulated a complete and women’s organisations. modern architecture in Palestine. All three ran indubitable belief in the contribution of rationalism They included the Women successful architectural firms of their own, stood in the domestic sphere to the proper development Pioneers’ House (Beit out among the architects in Palestine, and won the of Jewish society in Palestine in general. This belief Hachalutzot), apartments appreciation of the local architectural community placed the woman, who is responsible for the and workshops for single and the public at large. domestic sphere, in a significant and essential role new immigrant women, for preserving the health of the nation and regarded and the WIZO House – its Among their notable achievements were projects her domestic work as contributing to building the headquarters, alongside a initiated by Zionist women’s organisations for nation and its strength. women’s club and training the welfare of women and children, laying the kitchen, both in Tel Aviv. foundations for Israel’s socialist system based on In the new establishments, with their new and modernistic ideas. innovative planning and functionality, the scientific Averbuch won an household was studied and modern culture architectural competition They planned extensively for four Zionist women’s was instilled into the women’s life. The modern for designing the Women organisations in Palestine, all founded in the 1920s: architecture helped structure the national identity Pioneers’ House in WIZO, General Council of Women Workers in Eretz of the new woman of Eretz Yisrael and played Jerusalem in 1939. This

12 13 Yet Mizrahi women directly experience the issues with the personal and social need of women to Between traditionalism of marginalisation of class, gender and ethnic be full partners in Jewish practice in general and and feminist activism positions, known today as intersectionality. in prayer in particular. Rituals and ceremonies In our community, women are counted in the Minyan; they lead services and read from the We are also restoring traditional women’s Torah. The doors of the community are open to ceremonies that were celebrated in the East. For all who wish to come. Men and women from example, the ceremony Eid El-Banat (the holiday the entire spectrum of religious and ethnic Yafa Benaya of girls, in Arabic) that was celebrated at the first backgrounds, as well as the spectrum of gender Yafa Benaya is a lecturer at the Ono Academic College in Kiryat Ono and a research fellow at the Shalom of the month of Tevet in many communities of the identities, are welcome. Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Muslim countries, as a mark of feminine heroism, has been reclaimed. This is a model of the “Sephardi spectrum.” All our members are somewhere on the spectrum HE TRADITIONAL Sephardi-Mizrahi The women of Beit Midrash Arevot define Today, in Israel, we create rituals for women who of faith, observance and commitment to identity – the identity of Jews from Muslim themselves as traditional, but the place is also wish to participate actively in weddings, Hina the tradition. We believe that this model is a T countries – is not always understood. It does open to women who wish to gain familiarity with ceremonies, birth, as well as mourning rituals; all connector, a healing force. not correspond to the range of Jewish identities the Sephardi Jewish tradition. In reality, the Beit as communal traditional experiences. In this way, that emerged in Europe as part of their encounter Midrash is also attended by Ashkenazi women as we explore and continue the Torah passed from The egalitarianism is not only expressed in the with modernity. In our world there are no Orthodox, well as women from the Ethiopian community, our mothers and grandmothers, a Torah that was domain of gender. It is also in the inclusion of Reform or Conservative denominations. religious and secular alike. essentially oral. those who are skilled in prayer and those who are The Sephardi world does not recognise these The openness of the Arevot group brings out Knowledge and not, empowering denominations, nor the conflicts between them. a fundamental Jewish value of Hachnasat learning children to lead They are not part of the history of Jews from Orchim (welcoming guests). The goal is to elements of Islamic countries. build communities that exemplify what we had We study, the service, experienced in our countries of origin, to restore an research and and ensuring As a result, the encounter with modernity in these inclusive model of multiplicity without division. write about that every countries bred a different type of Jewish identity path-breaking woman and and a different model of community. This identity The activity in the Beit Midrash concentrates on women in man feels does not accept the dichotomy between religious several areas: Torah study with a focus on Mizrahi the Sephardi- that they and secular. On the other hand, the Jewish feminism and Islamic feminism. Here, we combine Mizrahi world, are partners community in these countries became a universe the study of Talmud and Halacha (Jewish Law), with the goal in Jewish of diversity without division. ancient Jewish texts as well as social and feminist of restoring living. sources. the legacies of Happily, Traditional feminine identity adapted with women whose Degel flexibility between feminism and tradition, based These are two initiatives that try contribution Yehuda has on an approach that seeks to fix rather than to change the patriarchal traits has been become a take apart. This is an approach that recognises erased and model and the patriarchal characteristics of the Jewish of the Jewish tradition and forgotten by inspiration for tradition and the role of women within it, while the role of women within it - history We are egalitarian Sephardi at the same time aspiring to gradually change it inspired by their communities in Israel without taking it apart. without taking it apart reclaimed leadership. We and around the world. The issue of social class is very present in our provide training modules for women who wish I will present two initiatives that serve as learning, reflecting the history of pre-ascribed to conduct rituals in their communities, and The two initiatives described are based on the examples for this model. The first is Beit discriminatory roles, and the differential power by doing so, we re-build the chain of tradition aspiration for Tikun Olam, namely, advancing Midrash Arevot – Women Weaving Tradition, structure between Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews in transmitted from women to women. social justice for the ger (the stranger among where I am a partner and leader – which has Israel. We believe in the notion that Judaism is a us), the orphan and the widow, as commanded served traditional women since 2017. The second system of social justice. Degel Yehuda is an egalitarian, Sephardi-Mizrahi by our tradition. But just as the Jewish tradition is Congregation Degel Yehuda, a Sephardi congregation, the first (and the only one so far) relies on the legacy of past generations, it egalitarian community in Jerusalem that has Jewish life needs to be updated to meet our that exists in Israel. Based in Jerusalem, Degel operates with responsibility to the generations been around for more than 15 years. times. At its root, it is a system of social change. Yehuda combines a commitment to the tradition of the future.

14 15 My journey to leadership: ‘If I am only for myself, what am I?’ Kim Rubenstein Kim Rubenstein is Co-Director of the 50/50 by 2030 Foundation and a Professor in the Faculty of Business Government and Law at the University of Canberra.

AM OFTEN asked what led me to law, to Major Archibald Clunes Innes, in whose academia and, more importantly, to human “service” he remained for six years. In June I rights and gender equity advocacy? 1839, Cohen requested a pardon, supported by Clunes Innes, and by the following February he There are many drivers but my Jewish identity has was given a “leave ticket” but had to remain in always been central. As a sixth generation Jewish Port Macquarie. Australian, my story is an unusual one. His service did not prevent him having two more My ancestor, Henry Cohen, was indicted at the children in Port Macquarie, in 1834 and 1837, and profoundly shaped my commitment to the role of This has been heightened over the past 18 London Old Bailey on March 20, 1833, for receiving Elizabeth kept a clothing store in the centre of town. law as a means of protecting human rights and months in our Covid world and I draw on my stolen “promissory notes.” His indictment is promoting social inclusion. Jewish experiences when discussing these accessible on the Old Bailey website, as are the Cohen eventually received a conditional pardon public policy issues. In the Sydney Morning Crown’s witness statements, which make for and by 1845 the Sydney Morning Herald reported Added to my Australian Jewish heritage, my Herald, I recalled being a law student and fascinating reading. him thanking the “settlers for their support” and experience as a Jewish school captain of writing to a Russian refusenik. The freedom resigning the management of the store to his sons. Presbyterian Ladies’ College in Melbourne in to leave was such a touchstone of democratic Cohen’s defence is rousing: “Gentlemen, I have the 1980s was formative in my journey. Indeed, liberty. But without any apparent irony, our taken these notes in my business, and I am entirely As borders close, nations and reflecting on that period has been part of my government is now preventing Australians innocent of any guilty knowledge.” Naturally, “had states huddle, exclude and banish life for the past 28 years, as I have been writing leaving the country. [I known they were stolen] I would not have gone the biography of Joan Montgomery, my school to Messrs. Masterman and Co. (the bank) where strangers, Hillel’s famous words principal and an inspiring leader. The book was Equally, Australian citizens are stranded I must have been well known, having paid at that resound to me louder by the day launched on her 96th birthday. overseas, their passports of little value as house monies at different times to a large amount, their country of citizenship has effectively for bills of exchange accepted by me.” He was pardoned fully in 1847. My experience as a Jewish girl in a non-Jewish closed its borders to them. My work on school environment not only framed my own dual citizenship (including section 44 of the Only a court with a heart of stone would stand Knowing I am part of a small group of Cohen’s sense of place in Australia, and the sense that as Constitution and its implications for Jewish unmoved by his request to be restored “to my wife descendants still living a Jewish life has been a woman there should be no barriers to what I use members of Parliament) has also been spurred and ten helpless children.” But no such luck, at significant to me and relevant to my continuing my skills towards, but the fight over her role as by my devotion to active citizenship. least in England. Cohen was found guilty and at the interest in legal and social questions about principal soon after I finished high school was my age of 43 was transported (for 14 years), arriving in membership and citizenship. first experience of power trumping reason. That, While being solely an Australian citizen myself, Sydney on December 18, 1833. too, is another influence on my desire to resist I recognise and cherish the cosmopolitan world My lengthy Australian heritage spared me and improper exercises of power in all that I do. in which we are all members, no matter whether Thanks to Rabbi Dr John S Levi AC, we know my direct family from the Holocaust. But what solely an Australian citizen like me or a Jewish Cohen’s wife Elizabeth and 10 children (and two of Jew living anywhere has gone unaffected by the Hillel’s statement: “If I am not for myself, who will person with multiple citizenships. their servants) travelled to Australia on a separate murderous events that so decimated European be for me, but if I am only for myself, what am I? ship, arriving three days after the convict ship that Jewry and placed a haunting yellow star in the And if not now, when?” speaks to me and my drive As borders close, xenophobia rises, nations and transported Cohen. psychology of Jews everywhere? to be an active citizen and to encourage others states huddle, exclude and banish strangers, to be so as well. How can each of us make the Hillel’s words resound to me louder by the day: Cohen was sent to Port Macquarie, about I knew that if I had been born in Europe it would communities in which we live stronger and more “If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not 400km north of Sydney. He was “assigned” have been me and mine, and that realisation inclusive is a question that lives with me always. now, when?”

16 17 Feminism and Zionism – “The fact is: the Zionist dream has not delivered gender stereotyping and the importance of for women.” Just as the Zionist dream did not doing this work even, or maybe especially, in a work in progress fully deliver for Israeli women, I discovered that organisations that consider themselves egalitarian. it similarly had not delivered for women in the organised Zionist establishment. It has inspired me to be more conscious of elevating women’s voices in all my rabbinic work: Lea Mühlstein When I first become active in the World Zionist in my sermons and articles, in my theological Organization, the absence of women in leadership thinking and in my work on liturgy. I follow a self- Rabbi Lea Mühlstein is Senior Rabbi at The Ark Synagogue, London and speaking roles was astounding to me and imposed rule that each of my written or spoken even our Reform delegation included many more works which includes a quote must contain at men than women. least one quote by a woman.

HATE HAVING to introduce myself with my community centre showed young men and women When I was elected to be the international chair of And it has taught me the value of being the pronouns. I have no problem with people working side-by-side as equals. Arzenu, the political voice of Reform, Progressive annoying person who points out that there is more I wanting to be able to choose their own and Liberal Religious Zionists within the World work to be done. pronouns, but when asked who I am, there are And yet, religious leadership in Central Europe, Zionist Organisation, in 2017, I became the first other aspects of my identity that matter more to even in Progressive congregations, remained until woman rabbi to serve on the Executive of the And so, my request to anyone inviting me to speak me: I am a rabbi, thinker, liturgist, social activist and recently the exclusive domain of men. Jewish Agency for Israel since its founding in 1929. is, please don’t ask me to introduce myself with my politician. In the first few years of my rabbinate, pronouns, but rather with what truly defines who I this is probably where my list of identity markers During the first years of my rabbinate, I often I realised there were additional aspects of my am so that I can respond instead: “I am Rabbi Lea would have stopped. avoided getting involved with women’s topics. I identity that I had to contribute to my Zionist work Mühlstein and I am unapologetic about wanting to didn’t want to be pigeonholed as a woman rabbi. - I am a woman and a radical feminist. dismantle the patriarchy.” While the ordination of women is no longer This worked well for our rabbinic team as I am something rare, becoming a rabbi was barely fortunate to be working alongside a wonderful While at first my efforts were largely met with imaginable in the community in which I was male colleague who is much better than me in annoyance and ignorance – “what’s the point of raised. Four rabbis were present at my Bat what became the female areas of the rabbinate - counting how many men and women spoke and who Mitzvah in June 1997 in the small Liberal Jewish services for children and pastoral work. was and wasn’t interrupted?” - I was astonished community, Beth Shalom, in Munich, Germany, how quickly others began to take notice. and not a woman was among them – what is My work has taught me the more, none of us noticed. Right at the start of my tenure as Arzenu power of naming gender chair, I remember rejecting a search process Jewish women had been at the forefront of injustice and of doing it that produced an all-male shortlist. I asked many European women’s movements in the us to reflect on the criteria by which we late 19th and 20th century and the first woman especially in organisations that assessed suitability and qualification. For rabbi, Regina Jonas, was ordained in Germany see themselves as egalitarian example, were we too focused on prior in 1935 (and killed in Auschwitz in 1944) but, positional power and experience and thereby as the French sociologist Beatrice De Gasquet Perhaps because my own movement, Liberal simply entrenching the patriarchy? observed, the Holocaust was a major break: Judaism in the UK, is at the forefront of egalitarianism, it took my work in the international I was lucky to find wonderful female and “Unlike the United States, where feminism and Zionist movement to kindle my feminist activism. male partners willing to join me in bringing a ‘return to one’s roots’ went hand in hand, in about change. We decided to make targeted Europe religious revitalisation was accompanied I inherited from my father a passionate interest in investments into women’s leadership and by conservative discourses on gender, for the communal politics and followed in his footsteps in attract talented women. In less than collapse of liberal German Judaism led to the advocating for religious pluralism - in his case in four years, we have almost doubled the expansion of .” Germany, in my case in Israel. Remembering the number of women engaged in our work. posters of my childhood, I expected to find the And our efforts have caught on well When I grew up in the 1980s, women were Zionist movement to be fully egalitarian. beyond the Progressive movement. represented in leadership positions in Munich’s Jewish community and posters of the early Zionist But as the American author, journalist, and social My Zionist work taught me the power of pioneers prominently displayed in the Jewish activist Loretta “Letty” Cottin Pogrebin put it: naming gender injustice, not just defying

18 19 ‘Judaism demands

her) is the story that came to be told of her I’ve stumbled on something close to an answer compliance: I can barely temptation. Whose agenda did her obedience in the diaries of a young Dutch Jewish woman serve? And what ever happened to Lilith, penned between 1941-43. Ettie Hillesum is one follow a recipe’ Adam’s first wife? of our greatest treasures yet inexplicably remains largely unknown. When I teach storytelling, I invite students to Joanne Fedler recast the tale of Little Red Riding Hood from the I read Ettie’s life as the inverse of Eve’s. With perspective of a little girl, huntsman, grandmother, a drastic act of self-inclusion in the fate of Joanne Fedler is the Sydney-based author of 12 books, the most recent of which is Unbecoming; she is also a wolf, even the basket of goodies. the Jewish people, she volunteered to go to mentor and retreat leader Westerbork labour camp, refusing opportunities Writers uncover complexity, errors of parallax, which could have saved her from her death at competing versions and silenced voices. A roving Auschwitz in 1943. WAS 12 when I staged my first feminist Stung by Judaism’s exclusions, point of view dislodges the dogmatism of a single protest by refusing to recite the morning I sought my faith elsewhere. official narrative, determining who we deem as She wrote, “… everyone who seeks to save I prayers at school. Why did boys get to say, the protagonist, hero; what meaning we make. himself must surely realise that if he does not go, “Thank God I was not born a woman”, and the girls Feminism beckoned another must take his place … had to supplicate with, “Thank you for making me Once we grasp that stories are cultural just as I am”? As my feminism quickened, I recoiled from expressions of power, Eve’s insubordination “I want to be sent to every one of the camps that anaesthetising explanations of gender inequality gleams as a celebration of human imagination and lie scattered all over Europe, I want to be at every And why couldn’t I be counted for a minyan? Why and became loosened like a wobbly tooth in the autonomy. In the emergency of self-realisation, front. I don’t ever want to be what they call ‘safe.’ did girls have to sit in the gallery in synagogue? jaw of my religion. It was another branch of the her defiance is a rasp of survival. I want to be there … I want to understand what is Why couldn’t we read from the Torah? patriarchy, under a yarmulka. happening and share my knowledge with as many In Autobiography of Eve, contemporary American as I can possibly reach.” The head of Jewish studies said women were But the fate of uppity women is well documented. poet Ansel Elkins gives Eve her own voice: Let naturally closer to godliness because we could The price of disobedience is expulsion, a myth it be known: I did not fall from grace. I leapt to Shepherded by Ettie’s insights and courage, I have babies. Men were burdened with spiritual deeply veined in our collective archetypal freedom.” The German philosopher Hannah Arendt am ushered back to the rich tradition of Jewish tasks. In fact, being excluded was to be exempted subconscious. Stung by what I perceived as asked: “To what extent do we remain obligated to poets, storytellers, philosophers and thinkers – and this, he claimed was “an honour”. Judaism’s exclusions, I sought my faith elsewhere. the world even when we have been expelled from who have complicated and interrogated what it Feminism beckoned. it or have withdrawn from it?” means to be a Jew. I knew gaslighting long before there was a name for it. Until then, I’d been a devout prayer reciter As a young women’s rights activist, I learned to As a nation of Chosen People, designated and mitzvah-chaser, on track to Eshet Chayil-dom discern hidden hierarchies of power and privilege, as a light unto other nations, we have (from the poem in Proverbs that describes the like shadows on an X-ray. Every blurry injustice work to do on excavating our shadow, qualities of an ideal Jewish woman), with a price clicked into sharp focus like a lens in those which includes the troubling questions beyond rubies. optometry frames which turns an O into a D. of gender. We have so much to learn from the rebels in our midst. But something soured when I crossed the line I spotted objectification everywhere, like hidden from girl to woman. Judaism suddenly forked wildlife in the bush – not only of people based on With anti-semitism rising like a into a “his” and “hers”, underscored with a liturgy gender, sexuality, race and religion, but of animals, dark cloud around us, we may of rituals, fearful of menstruation, replete with a the earth and all its flailing resources. never, as Ettie expressed, “be lexicon of shame-inducing hygiene. I slammed what they call safe”. up against its gendered inhospitalities like a bird Feminism troubles the very notion of narration; against a pane of glass. an idea exquisitely phrased by the Nigerian author Yet the most radical act of Chinua Achebe, who wrote: “Until the lions tell collective disobedience we Judaism demanded modesty and compliance. I their own story, the story of the hunt will always can undertake is to refuse can barely follow a recipe, let alone 613 mitzvot. glorify the hunter.” expulsion from humanity: to Never, I swore, would I acquiesce to fashion survive, not by falling, but by advice from bearded men, erotophobic projections The eviction from Eden aside, the more ruinous leaping to a new iteration of to curb male fervour for the female body. injustice done to Eve (and every woman since freedom.

20 21 Weaving a richer tapestry

the challenges inherent to the human experience: From women who have run businesses and from the vault of our jealousy, judgment, loss, misunderstanding. built institutions, like Helena Rubinstein or Henrietta Szold, we learn about the achievements That women play a central role in these texts also creativity and ingenuity it takes to navigate serves as an invitation. If the rabbis assembling systems and make change, especially from our liturgy centuries ago could perceive and lift behind the scenes. Judith Rosenbaum up the lessons of women’s lives, we, too, must expand our perspective by listening to the stories Judith Rosenbaum, PhD, is an educator, historian and writer, and CEO of the Jewish Women’s Archive. She lives We are only just starting to that are not generally centered in our narratives, with her family outside of Boston. such as the stories of women. expand the Jewish story to include women’s voices and value As an historian of women’s lives, and the CEO or the past 18 years, I have chanted To the rabbis, Hannah becomes the paradigm of of the Jewish Women’s Archive (JWA), I am their essential contributions the haftarah for the first day of Rosh spontaneous prayer. To me, she’s an exceptional acutely aware of how rare it is for women’s F Hashanah, which tells the story of case of a woman’s story centered in our liturgy, lives to be recognised as touchstones of power From activists, like Pauline Newman or Judith Hannah. Barren and bereft, despite the love of her spiritual life held up as a model and the and leadership. Heumann, we learn about the insights that her husband, she prays so fervently that the transitions of her motherhood acknowledged as come from the margins, and the bravery and high priest, Eli, mistakes her for a drunkard. essential human experiences. Twenty-five years into JWA’s work, with thousands risk-taking of those who have everything and Her wish for a son is granted and Samuel is of Jewish women’s stories documented and nothing to lose. born. The haftarah does not end with this happy The liturgy of the High Holidays focuses, in part, made accessible to people all over the world, fulfillment but goes on to detail her weaning on failures – ours and those of our ancestors – to we are only at the beginning of expanding and From scholars, artists, healers and spiritual of Samuel and delivery of the young boy to remind us that we all miss the mark, and that we transforming the Jewish story to include women’s leaders – women like Asnat Barazani, Gertrud Temple service – the “deal” she made in her must try to do better. The texts at the center of voices and to value their essential historical Bodenwieser, Helena Kagan and Regina desperate negotiation with God. the holidays, like the story of Hannah, highlight contributions. Jonas – we learn about what it takes to work within societal restrictions, and what it takes I became a student, and later a scholar, of history to challenge expectations and break new because I am interested in how individuals, ground. We learn to see the world through families, and communities work to make change in different eyes and to expand the range of the world. I am drawn to women’s stories because role models we can turn to when we need I love the surprises they offer and the untapped advice and support. resources for learning about where we come from and where we might be headed. In the midst of constant change, there is comfort in what remains the same: each year As a woman, I enter the High Holy Day experience at Rosh Hashanah we encounter anew familiar in a deeper way when I hear Hannah’s voice (and stories – both those in the liturgy and our own as the chanter, give literal voice to her story). But life experiences. We are not alone in missing it is not enough to hear the story. We must also the mark; the founders of our people were heed the lesson that she teaches us: to listen to themselves imperfect, deeply flawed, seeking the voices that we might initially be inclined to ways forward. Just as we continue to work dismiss, to seek insight from experiences (public on ourselves, year after year, we will never be or private) that have not traditionally been part of finished writing and rewriting the Jewish story. our narratives of human experience, spiritual life and communal leadership. Hannah, with her quiet but insistent prayer, invites us to listen more carefully, to attend to When we listen to the stories of women like women’s voices more fully, and to carry the our mothers and grandmothers, we learn about thread of women’s experiences throughout resilience and how families have been built, loved, time, creating a richer historical tapestry with protected, and held together in times of violence the potential to hold us, teach us and heal us in and prosperity, continuity and upheaval. good times and bad.

22 23 Exclusion of women from public At that point we no longer needed the support of The push to exclude women from life can’t be tolerated the Supreme Court. We were convinced that we had won. We were sure this pattern would not the public sphere in Israel, driven reappear. However, the proponents of exclusion had other plans. by conservative religious forces, must be confronted head-on Rachel Azaria Exclusion returned, and this time it appeared in gender separation in higher education and Any kind of “sensitivity” that involves exclusion of Rachel Azaria is a social activist who served as deputy mayor of Jerusalem and as a member of the . in cultural events. There were many cases of women harms all women. Any kind of exclusion Her book, Guided Revolution, was published in 2020. pictures of women being ripped from public signs, sends out a statement that women are not in Jerusalem and in other places. legitimate in the public sphere. This battle is not about being considerate or sensitive to others; it quality for women is a revolutionary On the same day of the court decision, I was The peak was when I was a member of the is a deeper case regarding the status of women in idea that defines a watershed divide elected to the City Council of Jerusalem. Knesset. A proposal by the Orthodox parties the public sphere. E between liberal and conservative positions. was submitted to allow such exclusion based It is one of the values that all liberals can agree The story could end there, but I was troubled by on the argument with a misleading name of The debate enabled us to counter the multicultural on. As a result, when it comes to social change in this issue. I wondered how such a decision could “multiculturalism”. It took many efforts by female argument and bring the pluralistic community to Israel, and surely in the struggle between religion have been taken without public debate, and since members of Knesset together with the Ministry of rally around a clearly defined value. The campaign and state, the issue of gender equity is a change when have women been delegitimized in the Justice to quash this proposed bill. against exclusion of women enabled a process agent, where women are at the forefront. public sphere. The issue was not only manifested that would place equality of women at the centre on bus banners. We later discovered there were Why is this issue still haunting us? The answer of public debate. In recent years, one of the most challenging certain bus lines that required women to sit at the is that at the foundation of society there is a struggles for social change in Israel has been the back of the bus. deep tension between liberal and conservative Exclusion of women cannot be tolerated in exclusion of women. This battle encompasses approaches. It is not about comfort and utility, order to accommodate a competing value. the tension between pluralism and conservative Then, more such exclusions were added: banks rather it is a debate about a basic value and on the This is a direct threat to the ability of diverse values, between the Jewish and democratic that defined their working hours according meaning of multiculturalism. As we were pushing groups to exist together in one society. The character of Israel. Therefore, it remains a flagship to gender, separate job fairs for women and forward, we recognised that this was not about campaign against exclusion of women made a big of the struggles for social change. men, clinics with separate entrances for men being considerate of the Haredi sector. It was not contribution to the capacity of Israel to function as and women, even restrictions on pavements. about sensitivity to others. a Jewish and democratic state. I was exposed to this issue 12 years ago Separation and exclusion were everywhere. during my campaign for election to Jerusalem’s City Council. Like all candidates, my party We saw there was a need for a major public fight. wanted to publicise photos of our candidates Exclusion of women was a new reality that was in banners posted on buses. To our surprise, spreading rapidly. These new expressions were we discovered the banners could not include seen only from the 2000s, nothing of this nature photographs of women. had existed in Israel before.

I couldn’t believe this could happen in Israel. My Over the next four years my council colleagues party decided to bring the story to the attention and I continued to appeal to the Supreme Court. of the media and then, with the help of the Israel At some point, the mayor, , kicked me Religious Action Center (IRAC), to appeal to the out of his coalition. Together with social change Supreme Court. During the court hearings the organisations, we created a continuous grassroots judges asked the representatives of the bus campaign, with demonstrations and protests. company why they would not post my picture. The When the campaign became national, Haredi (the representatives said they feared the buses would Ultra-Orthodox) women joined as well. be vandalized or set on fire. At the end, and with pressure from then The judges ruled that a bus company must not US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the make decisions that impact on the character of Israeli legislature decided to act. The Knesset Jerusalem’s public sphere. If there was a danger appointed a special committee and formulated to the buses, the police should take action. My new policies that defined exclusion of women pictures went on the buses and we felt victorious. as violating the law.

24 25 Empowering feminist teens – is possible for teen girls. I know this because seeing among girls and non-binary Jewish teens and being empowered by over the course of this past year, I have had the and what I heard was not surprising. honour of witnessing the strength, creativity and leadership of more than 50 Jewish teens Laine spoke of more cases of campers needing them - girls and non-binary - who participated in the to be sent home than in prior years, often for Kol Koleinu feminist fellowship run by nonprofit mental health reasons and some for eating Tamara R. Cohen Moving Traditions and co-sponsored by NFTY disorders; many experiencing challenges that and USY (Reform and Conservative youth were beyond the capability of the staff to handle Rabbi Tamara Cohen is VP and Chief of Program Strategy of Moving Traditions, a US-based organisation and seemed directly related to what Laine termed whose mission is to embolden youth through self-discovery, challenging sexism, and inspiring a commitment groups in the US). to Jewish life and learning. the “attention deficit” these Jewish teens had I have been inspired by the teens who identify as experienced over this past year of the pandemic. girls and as non-binary as I have watched how, with a little support from adults and institutions Laine also reported on how many campers, s we begin a new year, many of us with – for their creativity, for their new ways of thinking, that believe in them, they have the ability and the especially girls and non-binary teens, are engaging teenage girls in our lives, families and and for the ways they will hold us accountable to our smarts to empower themselves and others. with big picture societal issues, and expressed A schools are filled with cautious hope as values and our commitments to not giving up on the some concern about how much of the younger well as anxiety and concern. Last year was not possibility of a better world. One of the Kol Koleinu teens, Laine teens’ information was coming from Tik Tok. easy for any of us but the toll on teen girls was Schlezinger, spent much of the year creating They are highly influenced by Tik Tok trends and especially heavy. My goals are relatively simple. I want Jewish an incredible resource for their school called struggle with body positivity and normative narrow teen girls of all races, classes and religious Queeriosity: An LGBTQ Resource Guide for definitions of beauty. Laine also said teens need American girls aged 13-22 accounted for 71 per affiliations – and their peers of all genders – to High School Educators. This 35-page booklet, support to cope with the upsurge of cent of all mental health claims by youth in that have the opportunity to learn face-to-face with their available online, offers teachers a powerful they are encountering online and in person. age bracket which is experiencing a 25 per cent teachers, perform experiments in actual labs, and and practical resource for ways to support the increase in anxiety, depression and adjustment take leadership on the issues they care most about. full range of students in terms of sexual and I want to conclude with one more important disorders compared to the end 2019. gender orientation in their high school classes. finding from recent research on adolescents of all genders. The strongest predictor of In the early months of 2021, according to the Let’s lessen the pressure on It offers an overview of pronoun use, gender- depression among adolescents in 2020 was Center for Disease Control (CDC), visits to Jewish adolescent girls – and on affirming language, social emotional support perceived parental criticism and unreachable emergency departments for suspected suicide and excellent ideas for teachers about how standards. I want to encourage all attempts increased by approximately 50 per cent adolescents of all genders – to to bring subject matter that brings the of us to lessen the pressure on for adolescent girls compared with the same achieve perfection. Let’s instead presence of LGBTQ people and gender Jewish adolescent period in 2019. and queer theory girls – and on make room for them to just be. into history adolescents of Of course, this isn’t the whole story. Teen girls classes, English all genders also discovered their own resilience, forged new I want them to have access to safe schools with classes, and – to achieve ways to stay connected, launched powerful online proper ventilation and PPE. I want them to have health classes. perfection. campaigns and bravely joined protests for racial the opportunity to perform solos on stage, to justice, the rights of LGBTQ and non-binary teens have the freedom to explore new interpretations of I caught up with Let’s instead and others issues they care deeply about. Torah, to create new Jewish songs. Laine recently commit to at a Jewish doing our part Yet, as we adjust to the realities of the additional I want them to have the freedom to experience summer to not pass virus variants, raging fires and flooding in the the rush of a crush – on a person of any gender camp in on our own US and around the world, growing antisemitism, that gets their heart beating without fear that they Pennsylvania, stress. Let’s and a US Supreme Court poised to overturn the will face bullying or discrimination. I want them where make room fundamental right of women to control their own to be able to define themselves using whatever they were for girls and reproductive health, in the coming year Jewish language and pronouns give them a sense of working as a non-binary teen girls will need all the support they can get. belonging and rightness. counsellor. I Jewish teens asked Laine to lead, to be I also believe that adults, who have more I know that while some of these wishes may about what powerful, and institutional power than teen girls, also need them or may not come to be, there is so much that they were to just be.

26 27 Where is the front page with

?a woman blowing a shofar ֿפאַ רשײדנקײט אין דער מעדיע, סײַ ּפראָֿפעסיאָ נעלע אָ בער די שיל בלײַבט אײנע ֿפון אונדזערע יסודות און סײַ געזעלשאַ ֿפטלעכע, האָט ֿפאַ רזיכערט אַ ז נײַ ע קולות זי קומט צו נוץ װי אַן אײַנגעװאָ רצלטע סימבאָ לישע As a special treat for Yiddish readers, here is Deborah Stone’s article, translated by זאָלן האָבן אַ ּפלאַטֿפאָ רמע און אַז זײ זאָלןאָ ּפֿפרעגן די עוֿבדה אינעם ייִדישן לעבן. עס איז אוממעגלעך ֿפאַ ר .Reyzl Zylberman, Director of Jewish Studies at Sholem Aleichem College, Melbourne אײַנגעװאָ רצלטע טֿבעס ֿפון אונדזער קהילה, צװישן זײ די אונדז צו האָ בן גלײַכקײט אין אונדזער קהילה צוליב דער שרײַענדיקע אױסשליסונג ֿפון ֿפרױען כאָ טש עס איז נישט .אױסשליסונג ֿפון ֿפרױען ֿפון דער רעליגיעזער סֿפערע .די אײנציקע ּפראָ בלעם Deborah Stone אַ זמען דערֿפילט אַז עס זײַנען דאָזאַכן סװאָ ֿפרױען קענען Deborah Stone is a journalist, content creator and communications consultant. She is a former Fairfax נײַ ע מינים מנינים װאָ ס שטײען נישט צו צו טראַדיטיאָ נעלע נישט טאָן אָדער זאָ לן נישט טאָ ן, גײט עס דערצו זאַ ֿפרױען .feature writer, and former editor of the Australian Jewish News and ArtsHub ֿפרומע באַ װעגונגען האָ בן דערמעגלעכט אַז ֿפרױען זאָ לן זײַנען נישט גלײַך אָ נגעלײגט, מעכטיק אָ דער עֿפעקטיװ. .קענען אין גאַנצן אָ נטײלנעמען אין אַ ֿפרומען אײַנֿפיר אונדזערע טעכטער װעלן װײַ טער אױֿפװאַ קסן דערֿפילנדיק אַז זײ זײַנען עּפעס װינציקער װי זײערע ברידער און דאָ ס די ערשטע קאָ נסערװאַ טיװע שול אין מעלבורן, ניצן, איז ייִדישע לעבן װעט אַ לץ מער נישט גײן אין טראָ ט מיט דער ין 1999 האָ ב איך דאָס ערשטע מאָל רעדאַ קטירט ֿפון זײערע מתּפללים ֿפאַר ריטועלע צװעקן און באַזײַ טיקן בײַגעקומען דער חילוקי-דעות צװישן אָ רטאָדאָ קסישער .קולטורעלער סֿביֿבה ֿפונעם װעלטלעכן אױסטראַ ליע א די ראָש-השנהדיקע אױסגאַבע ווי דער רעדאַקטאָ ר .זײ אין דער מערהײט ֿפון לאַ יִשער אָ נֿפירערשאַ ֿפט און רעֿפאָ רמער ייִדישקײט און האָ ט דערמעגלעכט אַ ז די ֿפון די אױסטראַ לישע ייִדישע נײַ עס. מיר האָבן באַ שלאָ סן װעלכע װילן אַמין טראַ דיציאָנעלן אײַנֿפיר זאָלן קענען האָ בן אין דער זעלבער צײַט זײַנען שילן נישט די אײנציקע ערטער צוצוגרײטן צװײ באַזונדערע טעסט-הילעס ֿפאַרן צוגאָ ב: די ּפראָ גרעסיװע קהילות ֿפירן זיך אױף עגאַליטאַ ריש מיט .אַ גלײַכבאַ רעכטיקטע ברירה װּו ייִדן טרעֿפן זיך. אין די לעצטע יאָרן האָ בן מיר געזען װי אײנע מיט אַ בין און האָ ניק צײכענונג און די אַ נדערע מיט ריטואַלןאָ בער די מערהײט ֿפון זײערע אָ נֿפירער זײַנען סדאָ װעלטלעכע ייִדישע לעבן לעבט אױף ֿפון ס’נײַ און .אַ בילד ֿפון װי מען בלאָ זט שוֿפר מענער. )ראַ בינערטע ניקאָל ראָ בערטס טהאָ סוף-ּכל-סוף שירה מעלבורן ּפראָ בירט גײן צװישן צװײ ֿפײַ ערן ֿפון װערט אױסגעדרוקט דורך קולטורעלע און דערציערישע צעבראָ כן די גלעזערנע סטעליע װען זי איז געװאָ רן סידנײס איבערגעגעבנקײט צו אָ רטאָדאָקסישער אױסטײַ טשונג ֿפון אַקטיװיטעטן, אַרײַנרעכענענדיק מוזיקאַלישע ֿפעסטיװאַ לן, איך האָב געװּוסט אַז די מוזיק לערערין, אַנאַ מלינעק- ערשטע עלטערער-ראַ בײַ אין 2018, מעלבורן האָט נאָ ך ייִדישע געזעצן אַרײַננעמענדיק ֿפרױען אין ֿפירן די עֿבודה, .מוזייען און געלעגנהײטן צו לערנען זיך קלמן, האָט געהאַט אַ שײנעם שוֿפר און איז געװען אַ .(נישט געמאַכט אַזאַ באַ שטימונג לײענען ֿפון דער ּתורה און װערן אַרײַנגערעכנט אין אַ ֿפרױען געניטע שוֿפר-בלאָ זערין, בהאָ איך איר געבעטן ּפאָ זירן . טזײַ ֿפון דער מחיצה מנין אַ סך ֿפון די נײַ ע איניציאַטיװן און װאַ קסנדיקע אױף אַ ֿפאָטאָ-סעסיע. דער ֿפאָטאָגראַף האָ ט עס גוט די אױסטראַ לישע ייִדישע קהילה װערט נאָך אַלץ דאָ מינירט אינסטיטוציעס װערן אָ נגעֿפירט ֿפון קלוגע און ֿפעיקע געמאַ כט - דער לאַ נגער געבױגענער שוֿפר װאָ ס שלענגט ֿפון דער יסודותדיקער נישט-אױסגעהאַ לטנקײט ֿפון ס’רוֿב קולנו איז אַ װעלטלעכער מנין װאָס האָ ט אױסגעשטריכן ֿפרױען אָ דער אױֿפגעקלערטע מענער וועלכע אַ רבעטן זיך דיאַגאָנאַ לאין דער לוֿפט ּכמעט אין גאַ נצן דורך די ייִדןװאָס װאַ רֿפן זיך אונטער ֿפאַר דער אָ רטאָדאָ קסישע גאָט ֿפונעם סידור און האָטגעשאַֿפן אַ מין עֿבודה װאָ ס באַ .װּוסטזיניק אױף גלײַכער רעּפרעזענטירונג ֿפון די מינים רעמען ֿפונעם בילד צוזאַמען מיט סאַנאַ ּפנים און אירע מיטל-עלטערישע צוגאַ נגען צו ֿפרױען אין קהלשער טּוונג, דערמאָנט אין די יוגנט גרוּפעס און אַ סך ֿפון אירע ֿפליסנדיקע שװאַרצע האָ ר אונטן אױף לינקס און מיט אַ כאָ טש זײ נעמען נישט אָן אָ רטאָדאָ קסישע געזעצן אין מיטגלידער זײַנען טאַקע גראַדואַ נטן דערֿפון. עס האָ ט מער אונדזער קהילה װערט אַלץ רײַכער און שטאַ רקער צוליב די .שײנער קלאָ רער הימל-ליניע ֿפאַ רן קעּפל זײערע ּפערזענלעכער ייִדישער ּפראַ קטיק, און ֿפאַ רװינקלען צו ןטאָ מיט געזעלשאַ ֿפטלעכן און אױסדריקעװדיקן ייִדישן ּפלאַטֿפאָ רמעס ֿפאַ ר ייִדישער אױסדריקונג װעלכע נעמען .נישט ֿפרױען אין אַנדערע אַ סּפעקטן ֿפון זײערע לעבנס אײַנֿפיר טאַנשטאָ רעליגיעזער אײַנֿפיר און עס ברענגט אַרײַן ֿפאַ רשײדנקײט, אָ ריגינעלקײט און נעמען אױף שטױסן עס איז געװען קלאָר זאַ די שוֿפר-בלאָ זערין איז געװען מיט זיך אַן עטאָס ֿפון אַרײַננעמיקײט װאָס איז נאַ טירלעך .ֿפון דער גרענעץ די בעסערע הילע, אָבער מען האָט עס קײן מאָ ל נישט די הײַנט-צײַטיקע אױסטראַ לישע ייִדישע נײַעס װאָ לט נאָ ך ֿפאַר די עטלעכע און צװאָ נציקער וועלכע ֿפירן אָ ן מיט דער געדרוקט. נוצנדיק אַ בילד ֿפון אַ ֿפרױ סוואָ בלאָ זט שוֿפר אַ לץ מסּתמא נישט אַ רױסגעהײבן אַ שוֿפר-בלאָ זערין צוליב .עֿבודה אין 20 יאָר אַרום װעט די מאַ רגינאַלע ֿפאַ רשײדנקײט אֿפשר װאָ לט צעבלאָזן די אױסגאַ בע איבער דעם מאָס - זאָ לט איר די זעלבע סיבות װאָ ס איך האָב דאָ ס נישט געטאָ ן אין זיצן אינעם צענטער ֿפון דער קהילה. אײנער ֿפון די ֿפיל מיר מוחל זײַן רֿפאַ דער װערטערשּפיל. רעקלאַ מירערס, 1999. קײנער װאָ לט זיך ניט אײַנגעשטעלט אױֿפצוֿפרעגן די גרינדונג ֿפון די אַ לטערנאַ טיװע מינים שילן גערעמען ּפאָ זיטיװע רעזולטאַטן װעט זײַןדי ֿפולע אָ נטײלנעמונג ֿפון רבנים און לײענער װאָ לטן מיך ֿפאַ רֿפלײצט מיט טענות. די מעכטיקע די אָ רטאָדאָ קסישע-געשטימטע העגעמאָ ניע איז װיכטיק אין דער אַװאַ נסירונג ֿפון ֿפרױען אין אונדזער ֿפרױען אין אונדזער קהילה. נאָ ר עס איז נישט ייִדישלעך גאָ רנישט װאָ לט נישט אױסגעמאַכט אַ חוץ דעם. מיר װאָס קאָנטראָ לירט די מערהײט ֿפון אונדזערע שילן, די קהילה. ֿפאַ רשטײט זיך אַ זֿפיל ייִדן זײַנען נישט קײן ֿפרומע, צו ֿפאַ רלאָ זן זיך אױף נסים. עס שטייט ֿפאַ ר אונדז נאָ ך װאָ לטן אַרײַנגעװאָ רֿפן אַ שװעבעלע אין אַ צונטער-שאַ כטל גרעסטע שולן און היּפשע טײלן ֿפון אונדזערע ציוניסטישע טײל זײַנען קײן למאָ נישט ןאַרײַ אין קײן שיל און ֿפיל מער .אַ רבעט .ֿפון געזעלשאַֿפטלעכער שּפאַ נונג .און קולטורעלע אָ רגאַ ניזאַ ציעס גײען נאָר אַרײַן אין שיל עטלעכע למאָ במשך ֿפונעם יאָ ר .צוליב לעבנס-ציקל אונטערנעמונגען ֿפון דעבאָראַ סטאָ ן איך האָ ב זיך אונטערגעגעבן און איך האָב נאָך אַ לץ מעדיע די רובריק Jֿפון דער אַנדערער זײַ ט, דרוקט ּפלוס 61 חרטה. היטנדיק די בײנער במשך ֿפונעם ערשטן יאָר האָ ט און איך בהאָ נישט קײן סֿפק אַז זײ װאָ לטן גענוצט דאָ ס ֿפאַ רזיכערט אַ ז איך זאָ ל בלײַבן דער רעדאַקטאָר און טאָ ן בילד ֿפון אַ ֿפרױ בלאָ זנדיק שוֿפר. איך קלײַב אױס צו שרײַבן סװאָ איך בהאָ געקענט דורכצוֿפירן די דיסקוסיע. אָ בער ֿפאַר אַ ייִדישער נײַעס-גרוּפע װאָס האָ ט װײניקער דעקונג איך װאָ לט זײער געװאָ לט אַ ז איך זאָ ל קענען איצט שרײַבן װי די אױסטראַ לישע ייִדישע נײַ עס, רנאָ זי רעּפרעזענטירט אַ ז איך בין דעמאָ לט געשטאַ נען אױף דער באַריקאַ דע און אַ מיןֿפאַ רשײדנקײט װאָ סלײגט ֿפאָר האָ ֿפענונג אױף אַ .אַ ז איך האָ ב דערגרײכט אַ קלײנע ענדערונג אין דער צײַ ט .מער אײַנשליסיקער און ּפראָ גרעסיװער קהילה

באַטראַ כטנדיק די איבערלעבונג ראָ ש-השנה צײַט נאָ ך 22 איך גלױב אַז מאַ רגינאַלע ֿפאַ רשײדנקײט איז די יאָ ר, איז אָ ּפמוטיקנדיק װי װײניק האָ ט זיך געענדערט. די האָ ֿפענונגֿפולסטע ענדערונג װאָ ס מיר האָ בן געזען אין די ּכלל-אָ רטאָדאָקסישע קהילות ֿפאַ רזעען װײַטער אַ העלֿפט .לעצטע אומגעֿפער 20 יאָ ר

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