Daughters of the King: Women and the Synagogue (A Survey of History, Halakhah, and Contemporary Realities)

WOMEN AND THE CONSERVATIVE SYNAGOGUE

Judith Hauptman WOMEN AND THE CONSERVATIVE SYNAGOGUE1 In the last two decades many women have begun to examine Jewish observances and texts from a fresh perspective. They note that Judaism, though ethically valid and spiri.tuaUy satisfying, seems deficient when subjected to feminist criteria. Judaism appears to favor men. It imposes on them myriad ritual obligations that, although demanding, make it possible for those who observe them regularly to sense God in the world and delight in God's Torah. Women, upon whom the Jewish tradition does not impose the same ritual obligations and who therefore may not participate fully and publicly in prayer and study, do not have available to them the same opportunities for religious and intellectual expression. Troubled by the realization that exemptions make life easy but shallow , Jewish women have begun asking a number of pointed questions: For what reason were women assigned fewer ritual obligations than men? Is differentiation between men's and women's roles and responsibilities an essential, divinely ordained part of Judaism? If not, is there today any halakhically defensible way to alter the status quo? To find answers to these questions, it is necessary to study Judaism in its formative period. Although grounded in Torah, the practice ofJudaism as we know it today can be traced to the period of the Talmud, approxi- 160 Halakhah mately 2000 years ago. By examining rabbinic material on the development of Jewish prayer and study and the relationship of women to these activities we may begin to understand why the system evolved as it did and whether or not it can be changed. Prayer in Ancient Judaism Berakhot. the first tractate of the Mishnah, is a good source of information about prayer. It focuses on three major forms ofprayer: Shema, a collection of biblical verses that acknowledge God's sovereignty and define the terms of God's covenant; tefillah, fixed daily supplications; and occasional blessings. Among other things, the Mishnah prescribes time parameters for the recitation of various prayers, notes the proper mental state for praying, and fixes the contents of many prayers. A dose reading of Berakhot shows that a significant feature of prayer was its communal or public nature. For instance, the Mishnah says that if a shaliah tzibbur (group representative) errs in reciting a blessing, it is a bad sign for the group that appointed him, and he must be replaced by someone else (Mish. Ber. 5:3,5). Statements like these indicate that it was standard practice for one individual to recite the prayers for others. Theologically speaking, these sources also suggest that how smoothly and correctly the leader prays affects God's response to the community's prayer. Later in the tractate, in a discussion of birkat ha-mazon ("Grace after Meals"), the Mishnah implicitly provides a reason for group prayer by prescribing a simple call to Grace if only a few are joining in the prayer, a more elaborate call with reference to God if a group of ten is to recite these blessings together, and even more elaborate calls with increasingly rich praise of God if 100, 1000, or 10,000 are present/ the Mishnah (Ber. 7: 3) suggests that the greater the number of Jews joining together in prayer, the greater the glory of God. A different, less theological, reason for advocating communal prayer is given at the end of Tosef. RH 2: 18. When asked by Rabban GamlieI why an individual is appointed to lead the congregation in prayer, the Sages respond that while those who are able to recite the prayers for themselves must do so/ the illiterate and inarticulate may fulfill their obligations through the prayers of a shaliah tzibbur. From other mishnayot, we infer that not only was group prayer the 161 Women and the Conservative Synagogue norm, it was even essential in certain instances. Aquorum often men was necessary for reciting Shema responsively, passing before the ark to lead the group in prayer, reciting the priestly blessing, and reading Torah and haftarah (Meg. 4: 3). Ten is the minimum number ofpersons required for these rituals because ten gives the sense ofan 'edah, of an assembly. Note that what all these rituals have in common is that they require a competent individual to perform them for the group or to lead the group in reciting the appropriate words. After establishing the need for a leader, the Mishnah goes on to determine...