Community and Ambiguity: A Response from a Companion in the Journey

Two themes, community and ambiguity, stand out for me in reading Judith Plaskow's collected essays in The Coming of Lilith: Essays on Feminism, Judaism, and Sexual Ethics, suggesting what is distinctive (and distinctively Jewish) in Judith's feminist theological voice. While some of us might say that feminism means embracing certain ideas and feelings—such as a commitment to women's equality or a new appreciation of the female body—Judith understands feminism as becoming a self in the feminist community. For Judith, feminist theology is foremost the process of women becoming selves in religious communities.

This understanding of feminism is clearly represented in the story "The Coming of Lilith," which depicts the excitement and possibility inherent in real meetings among women—but does not give us the outlines of a new feminist theology or feminist vision of the world. In this context, Judith was right to have been "amazed" at Rosemary Radford Ruether's reading of the story in terms of the feminist chestnuts of "male insecurity" and "suppressed (female) power" (82). Reducing the story of Eve and Lilith to feminist ideas is to miss its point: the story is about the possibility of changing the world in ways that we have not yet imagined.

In the beginning, Judith may have idealized feminist community, but she was soon forced to confront its anti-Semitism. Later, she saw that she had failed to consider the experience of women of color in her own work. Recognizing that she herself, and the feminist community as a whole, had not been as inclusive as she could have been was difficult for Judith, but as critical of herself as she was of others, she continued to struggle for a more inclusive feminism. We would all do well to consider being "as critical of myself as I am of others" in honor of Judith as we create our own feminist theories and theologies.

Judith's understanding of feminism as becoming a self in community opened her to a renewed understanding of the importance of community in Judaism. Before experiencing the process of becoming a self in the community of women, Judith had read that Judaism is a way of life and that for Jews life is with people. The experience of becoming a self in feminist community gave Judith a deeper appreciation of Judaism's understanding of community as the place where selves and ideas develop. Yet because she was a feminist, Judith could not idealize Jewish community. She knew that feminism—not Judaism—had provided her with the context in which she could develop into a self as a woman (35). She knew that communities sustain and support life, but that they can also close off its possibilities. Thus when Judith renewed her commitment to Jewish community, she understood that her role would be to question, to wrestle, to work together with others to create a more inclusive Jewish community. As a Jewish feminist, she has remained open to dialogue with the larger Jewish community—including progressive and traditional men and nonfeminist women, and, ultimately, God.

For Judith, being a feminist theologian is not about getting the synagogue or church or any other group to accept a set of preconceived ideas about theology, worship, law, or ethics (except in the most general sense of becoming more inclusive of women). Rather, accepting the feminist challenge means entering into a process that involves speaking into silence, sharing thoughts and feelings, experimenting with worship, and acting and reflecting together in situations in which the ultimate outcome really is unknown. Judith's commitment to communal process is one of the reasons she so often asks questions instead of providing answers. Frequently, she presents a variety of options and indicates her partial dissatisfaction with them. Sometimes, I want to shout, "Come on, provide us with a vision!" but I recognize that Judith's unwillingness to do so reflects her sense that community must provide answers that the individual cannot.

The second theme that stands out for me in The Coming of Lilith is ambiguity. Judith's understanding of both feminist...