The Feminine Voice in Jewish Medical Ethics Decision-Making

INTRODUCTION

In the orthodox Jewish community there has been much recent controversy surrounding the ordination of women and their authority to issue halachic decisions.¹ Notwithstanding these reservations, women Torah scholars (with and without formal ordination) have begun to issue halachic responsa. The purpose of this article is to analyze these rulings, particularly the ones related to questions in medical ethics, to ascertain whether there is a distinctive feminine voice in their approach to these complex halachic and moral dilemmas. However, before we approach these responsa, we need to better understand the progress in women’s Torah learning that produced these women halachic authorities.

Clearly, since Sarah Schenirer started the Beis Yaakov movement in 1917 with the consent of the rabbinic sages of her time, there has been a revolution in Torah learning for orthodox women. In addition to the learning of Torah in secondary schools in both the ultra-orthodox and modern orthodox world, many women now attend post-high school seminaries where they engage full time in Torah study. Professor Tamar Ross maintains that there are two models of these higher Torah learning institutions for women. One, which she calls the track of “feminine distinctiveness,” believes that, “Women’s learning should not mimic that of the men. Instead emphasis should be placed upon women’s unique sensitivities and practical wisdom even in their learning.”² This approach has an impact on the curriculum as at these institutions Talmud does not occupy a central place, replaced instead by courses in religious faith, Jewish philosophy, Bible, and practical Jewish law centered on the home and family. The mode of learning is also distinct from the men’s yeshivot as there is more emphasis placed on classroom learning with frontal teaching by mostly male rabbis as opposed to the study partner model in men’s yeshivot.

Another model, which Ross calls the “egalitarian track,”

accepts the educational ideal of the men as suitable for all, without regard to gender, and seeking equal opportunities for women in achieving an identical portion of the male share. The basic assumption of this track is that women should adopt for themselves exactly the same norms that are assumed by men, and develop equal learning skills in accordance with men’s criteria and standards. Thus the success of the female student is measured by the degree to which she can hold her own in the male discourse.³

The educational implications of this track are that Talmud study is at the core of the curriculum and many hours are devoted to chevruta [study partner] style learning. Ross maintains, “that the emphasis on musar and the development of fine character traits (middot) – such as charity, grace, and modesty that have been traditionally been attributed to women – is low keyed,”⁴ similar to what is done in the men’s yeshivot.

In assessing the impact of this educational revolution, Estie Rosenberg, the spiritual leader of one of the largest and most important institutions of women’s learning in Israel (Migdal Oz) and the daughter of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, writes:

In this area, I am sad to say that the world of women’s Torah learning has not yet produced Torah scholars of the caliber that can influence Torah scholars in their yeshivot. Unfortunately, all the attempts made in this direction have been meager, and they do not pose a true challenge in the area of learning. … . There are women who are proficientin Torah, but we have not yet produced Torah scholars in the true sense of the term. It is possible, but we have a long way to go, and in this sense we have not influenced the world of men’s Torah learning.⁵

While Rabbanit Rosenberg is implicitly comparing men and women’s learning, Professor Ross takes a different approach:

To draw a parallel, no one expected women who took up senior positions in the medical establishment to suggest different medical strategies for known diseases. Yet, as more female oncologists and gynecologists entered senior positions, they developed new alternatives to radical mastectomies and instituted changes in the facilities of hospital delivery...