New Jewish Feminism – Probing the Past, Forging the Future. Edited by Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, Jewish Lights Publishing.
In this provocative and timely book, 37 feminists: rabbis, cantors, scholars, congregational leaders as well as chaplains from the United States, Canada and Israel address the varied and complex issues that confront Jewish women.
The authors of the articles reflect the views of the Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist and Jewish Renewal movements.
In her foreword to the volume, Anita Diamant (well-known as the author of The Red Tent) indicates that this is the first time in Jewish history that women’s voices have been added to the public discourse about everything: about God and Halachah, about the governance of our synagogues, about marriage and how we educate our children, about our money, about the substance and fire of our lives.
For Diamant, feminism is nothing less than a profound expression of Judaism’s mission and part of the Torah’s mandate for justice and the sanctification of life.
The book organizes its material into seven main areas: theology; ritual and Torah study; the synagogue; Israel; gender, sexuality and age; the denominations; and leadership and social justice.
It wasn’t until 1972 that the Reform movement ordained the first female rabbi. The Conservative and Reconstructionist movements eventually followed suit. But the response of Orthodoxy has been more cautious and much slower.
Sara Hurwitz who serves as religious mentor in an Orthodox synagogue, writes, “There is no doubt that the advent of women in rabbinic positions has already [caused] and is likely to continue to cause a stir within the Orthodox community. Some even suggest that it will cause a major split in the Orthodox movement. If this were to happen, I believe that the modern Orthodox movement would be making great strides to sustain itself as a distinct and vibrant movement.”
One widespread concern about the growth and influence of religious feminism is that many male congregants prefer not to attend services led by women. Liberal synagogues have experienced a growing phenomenon of some men simply not showing up.
A review of enrolment figures for Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, the Reform rabbinical seminary, indicates the ratio of female-to-male first-year rabbinic students is now approaching 70 percent women to 30 percent men. The figure of 80 percent female and 20 percent male is often quoted when it come to the expected attendee demographics at a local temple adult education program. Although the synagogue used to be dominated by men and reinforced patriarchal authority, in liberal circles, it is now often characterized by men’s absence.
Whether this problem will grow or become less acute in the future, as women’s role in synagogue life becomes more normative and as younger congregants engage in synagogue practice, remains an unresolved question.
This broad-ranging compendium is edited by Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, director of Kolel: the Adult Centre for Liberal Jewish Learning in Toronto. She is also the editor of several other volumes dealing with feminism and the Jewish tradition and a CJN columnist.
In her introduction, she emphasizes that the book is meant to spur discussion, intended to open up a dialogue between the early Jewish feminist pioneers and the young women shaping Judaism today.
Well-planned, readable and informative, this multi-voiced collection should be read by everyone concerned with Jewish life, the changes it is undergoing and how it will be practised by both men and women in the future.