To Be a Jewish Woman (review)

To Be a Jewish Woman The First International Conference in Israel: A Public Dialogue on Problems and Goals Facing Us Today Conference held at the Jerusalem Renaissance Hotel/ July 14-15 1 999, sponsored jointly by Kolekh: The Religious Women's Forum, and Bar Ilan University reviewed by Felicia Epstein "While the first generation of women involved in Jewish learning was satisfied with the increased level of learning," said Rivkah Lubitch, a rabbinical court advocate, "the next generation will demand greater involvement in the performance of mitzvot." Lubitch, speaking at the opening plenary session of the "To Be a Jewish Women" conference, discussed the differences between men and women and the need for woman-specific texts and ceremonies that answer the needs of Jewish women today. However, she argued that this focus on differences should not exclude women from participating more actively in existing ritual, as an expression of the ways in which women are similar to men. In her address, Lubitch outlined the fears that prevent the increased involvement of women in the ritual aspects of Orthodox Judaism, emphasizing four of them in particular: (1)fear that a greater involvement of women will move Orthodox Judaism in the direction of Reform Judaism; (2)uncertainty with regard to where such changes will lead; (3)fear that a change in women's roles will threaten Orthodox gender identity, which, in the Orthodox world, is connected with religious identity; and (4)fear that the essence ofJudaism will be lost in the process.1 Faced with the broad agenda of both giving public expression to Nashim:A Journal ofJewish Women'sStudies and GenderIssues, no. 3. © 2000257 Felicia Epstein women's emerging new roles within the Orthodox religious community in Israel and addressing these fears, the goals of the conference were many. Its main objective was to create a forum for intellectual, academic and halakhic (Jewish legal) debate, focusing primarily on the areas of women and Jewish law, personal and family issues, and Jewish religious education for women. Some eighty presentations were made in plenary and smaller group sessions by established, well-known scholars, educators, rabbis and involved lay people, They addressed a broad range of topics: women in Jewish law; the development of new rituals for girls and women, such as bat mitzvah ceremonies, Zeved habat (celebrating the birth of a daughter), Zeved ha'em (celebrating motherhood) and women's prayer groups; the involvement of women in traditionally male rituals (tefillin, talljt, kaddish); and, on a halakhic and social level, historical surveys of women's lives, the education of Jewish girls, and analyses of Jewish texts. Chana Kehat, founder and head of Kolekh: The Religious Women's Forum , which organized the conference, explained the organization's name in her opening speech, citing Song of Songs 2:14: "Let me hear your voice (kolekh), because your voice is sweet." She argued passionately that God, in this verse, calls out to woman, declaring that He hears her voice. In today's Orthodox society, by contrast, Kehat declared, "women don't have a voice." The conference aimed to begin rectifying this situation by raising women's voices in public debate. A further goal of the conference organizers was to create a large, active community of religious women in Israel that identifies with aspects of the Religious Women's Forum agenda. The conference attracted about one thousand participants, and as many as three thousand expressed an interest in attending. The high cost of the conference may have kept some women away. The majority of the participants were educated, middle-class Ashkenazi women who identify with the religious Zionist community. A significant number, including Kehat, came from religious settlements and towns in Judea and Samaria. Some communities of religious women were conspicuous by their absence or under-representation, including the ultraOrthodox , Mizrahiot, and women of lower socioeconomic status and levels of education. While many of the participants and speakers would identify themselves as feminists, others shied away from this classification, a sensitivity which the organizers were careful to take into account. 258 To Be a Jewish Woman - The First International Conference in Israel Over the last ten years, Israel has witnessed unparalleled growth in higher Jewish learning for...