Second Conference on Feminism and Orthodoxy

Announcing that "we are not on the fringe," Blu Greenberg, chairing the conference, began her invocation by celebrating the successes of Orthodox feminism. She defended the movement against claims by its detractors that it would destroy the Jewish family and the fabric of Orthodoxy. In connection with the movement’s advances, Mrs. Greenberg spoke of a "profound transformation" of the meaning of "kola k’vodah bat melech p’nima," (roughly translated) the honor of the king’s daughter is private, from implying that women must remain inside the home, to celebrating their presence inside the shuls and courts.

Addressing the issue of agunot, Greenberg demanded an end to the man’s absolute power in Jewish divorce law. In keeping with a theme that she stressed throughout the conference, she urged rabbis to reinterpret the law so it that it remains connected to the qualities of ethics, justice, and mercy.

Blu continued in this vein, stating that every detail of Halacha is part of a just system, and must be perceived in that light. In line with her oft-voiced opinion "where there is a rabbinic will, there is a Halachic way," she claimed that those who "hold the Halachic keys" have failed in their overall mission when they refuse to aid Orthodox women in Halachic distress by finding a helpful p’sak. She urged the women in attendance to press their claims vigorously.

Greenberg ended her opening address on a somewhat surprising note. She proclaimed a wider vision for Orthodox feminists than simply influencing Orthodox Judaism, stating that after Orthodoxy, the group’s next causes should include the environment, tikkun olam, and peace in Israel.

A plenary session on "Gender and Traditional Texts" featured Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, Rabbi of Kehilas Jeshurun ("KJ") and Principal of the Ramaz day school; Dr. Susan Shapiro, a professor who teaches modern Jewish thought and philosophy of religion at Columbia University; and Dr. Tamar Ross, a professor of philosophy at Bar-Ilan University who also teaches at Midreshet Lindenbaum.

Rabbi Lookstein began his address by stressing the Halachic limits on changing liturgy, that he feels he has to comply with as an Orthodox Rabbi. He explained that those prayers formulated in the Talmudic era were immutable according to the halachic injunction against changing the "matbeia she-tav’u chachamim," the specific formulation of the Sages. However he suggested several possible changes: saying the blessing "she-lo asani isha" quietly, mentioning the mother’s name in naming a child of either sex and in the ketubah, and women saying birchat ha-gomel in shul. However, he brought the crowd back to earth saying that he would never "chas v’shalom" put the mother’s name in a get, as a get is simply "too critical".

Dr. Shapiro attempted to link the Rambam’s use of women as the metaphorical representation of matter/body (as opposed to the male form/soul) to his statement in the Mishneh Torah that a woman should be physically disciplined for not fulfilling her wifely duties.

Dr. Ross, in a complex lecture, began by admitting to a necessary lack of objectivity in the matter of changing texts to filter out "gender bias." She attributed this lack of objectivity to her "dogmatic belief in the Torah as ‘d’var Hashem,’ " the word of God. In addition to this caveat regarding the Torah itself, she spoke of a distaste for tinkering with liturgy that had been "hallowed with the sweat and tears" of countless generations of Jews. Ross pointed out that the language of Hebrew itself resists such tinkering, as it does not possess a neutral gender (the default gender is male). After allowing for some minor tinkering with liturgy, she concluded her address by encouraging women to realize that the language in Tanach used to describe God is "experiential, not ontological"- that is to say, that it attempts to relate an (often male) image, but this should not be confused with reality (God is neither male or female).

"Rabbinic Ordination for Women", a session many expected to stir up controversy, was viewed by many who attended as somewhat of a disappointment. Dr. Adena Berkowitz, an attorney who serves on the board of Rabbi David Weiss-Halivni’s Union for Traditional Judaism, gave an overview of Jewish female leaders from Devorah the prophetess to the Ludmir Maidele (a Hasidic leader). Rabbi Adam Mintz, rabbi of Lincoln Square Synagogue, then took the lectern and explained the nature of his appointment of a woman as a "congregational intern." An interesting moment occurred at the end of R’ Mintz’s speech, when Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, the former rabbi of Lincoln Square and current rabbi of Efrat, asked a question from the floor. R’ Riskin stated that we should be providing a training program for women that is even more intense than the programs which produce toanot (women equipped to argue in religious courts in Israel).

Rav Henkin, speaking at lunch, stressed the need for a strong commitment to Halacha, specifically mentioning the Halacha requiring married women to cover their hair. However, he managed to convey the genuine enthusiasm he felt for women’s Torah learning and for their general involvement in Jewish life to the fullest, earning him a lengthy standing ovation at the conclusion of his speech. He expressed his hope that next year’s conference would be about "Feminism in Orthodoxy."

The second day of the conference opened with a plenary entitled "An Analysis of Halakhic Solutions to the Agunah Problem." Hosting the sessions were Rabbis Rackman, Riskin and Berman, and Honey Rackman, Director of Agunah Inc. Also on the dais was R’ Morgenstern, who presides over a controversial Beit Din that has been freeing agunot.

The discussion that ensued centered around different Halachic justifications for freeing agunot. R’ Rackman explained that he has merely extended the allowances made by R’ Moshe Feinstein, who would annul marriages on the basis of mental illness. He also pointed out that the Halachic dictum which states that "a woman prefers to be with another than by herself," was a sociological phenomenon, and is no longer applicable today. He asserted that three conditions must be fulfilled for women to achieve equality in marriage: There must be relief to agunot without a reduction in their benefits, batei din must achieve equality, and marriage should no longer be considered a business transaction in which the woman is "sold."

R’ Riskin mentioned several ways in which agunot are currently freed from their marriages, and that "there is a history of compassion" within the laws of divorce.

R’ Berman began his lecture by asking how many people in the audience belonged to Modern Orthodox congregations, and of those people, how many knew of agunot? A resoundingly large number of people raised their hands in answer to the latter question. He stressed that changes take a long time to occur, "50 to 100 years" and that "we must bring the rabbanut along with the process, not leave them behind."

After the morning plenary session, eight parallel sessions were offered. R’ Saul Berman, recipient of Yeshiva University’s Samuel Belkin Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement, and Dr. Sylvia Fishman, Assistant Professor of Contemporary Jewish Life/Sociology of American Jews, in the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Departments at Brandies University, hosted a lecture titled "Kol Isha: The Sounds of Silence." Berman, known for his leniency in matters of kol isha, explained the progression of rulings on kol isha, beginning with the Rishonim who discuss whether or not the voice is distracting, to the Achronim who tried to "objectify" behavior in terms of what causes lack of concentration and arousal. The Achronim thus stand in stark contrast to the Rishonim who were willing to leave the decision up to the worshipper. He summed up the question of kol isha saying, "The real issue, is how functionally to achieve Halachic goals in the context of social instability."

Dr. Fishman began her portion of the lecture by "deconstructing the Rabbinic Langugage." She explained that if you analyze the Rabbinic language you will find that it is the men who are depicted as possessing a low threshold of arousal, as opposed to women being depicted as temptresses and seductresses. She then discussed the "silencing of women" as a symbolic attempt to strip women of their soul. Fishman also pointed out that women’s issues are a symbolic attempt by the Orthodox to fight modernity.

Lunch began with a panel of several international women from London, Geneva and Zurich addressing their status within their respective Jewish communities. Rabbi Daniel Sperber, Chair of the Talmudic Studies at Bar Ilan University, exclaimed to the crowd’s delight that "these problems are not Halachic, they are sociological," and went on to give several examples of Halacha changing in response differing sociological phenomenon. He explained that most Halachic literature provides the final Halacha without an explanation of the "external forces" that caused the Halacha to evolve. However, Sperber warned, "sociological changes are quicker than the responses to those changes" and the response to those changes must be "reflective, and preserve that which is precious to us." He summed up his lecture with a simple equation: "innovation, equals change plus preservation."

After lunch, eight other sessions were offered. Dr. Deborah Weissman addressed the attendees in a lecture called "The Synagogue: Expanding Women’s Roles." She explained that Kehilat Yedidya, a synagogue she founded in Jerusalem, tries to integrate Halacha and feminism. In Yedidya, they attempt to provide the female congregants with a greater role in the services; for example: the Torah is either taken out or returned to the ark by women, little girls lead the congregation in post-prayer hymns (e.g. yigdal), women make kiddush, men are called up to the Torah with the names of both their father and mother, and some women wear talit and tefillin.

Dr. Weissman expounded the synagogue’s stance in four points. First, that man and woman were created equal – "zachar u’nekayvah bara otam." Second, that Halacha is a dynamic process which is subject to history and sociology. Third, feminism is a value lechatchila, and fourth, Halacha will catch up with religious pioneers. Nevertheless, Weissman pointed out that the main point of contention is the method through which Yedidya makes it Halachic decisions. She explained that they ask questions to a group of 10 rabbis, and then decide what to incorporate.

The final plenary session was entitled, "Feminism as Tikkun Olam." As the title intimates, the speakers articulated their beliefs that equality for women within Orthodox Judaism will provide a method for the rectification of the world’s evils.