The role of women in Judaism is determined by the Hebrew Bible, Oral Law (rabbinic literary corpus), by adat, and by non-religious cultural factors. Although the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic literature cite various female role models, religious law treats women differently under different circumstances.
Gender has a connection with family lines: In traditional Judaism, Jews are inherited through the mother, although the father's name is used to describe sons and daughters in the Torah, e. g., "Dinah, daughter of Jacob".
Video Women in Judaism
Bible Times
Relatively few women are mentioned in the Bible by name and role, suggesting that they rarely are at the forefront of public life. There are some exceptions to this rule, including Matriarks Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, Miriam the prophetess, Deborah the Judge, Huldah the prophetess, Abigail, who marry David, Rahab, and Esther. In the Bible record, these women do not meet conflicts for the relatively public presence they have.
According to Jewish tradition, a covenant was established between the Israelites and the God of Abraham on Mount Sinai. The Torah tells us that both Israeli men and women of Israel were present at Sinai; however, the treaty is told in such a way as to bind men to act in accordance with their requirements, and to ensure that their household members (wife, children, and slaves) meet these requirements as well. In this sense, women are bound by agreement as well, though indirectly.
Marriage and family law in biblical times is preferred to men rather than women. For example, a husband can divorce a wife if he chooses, but a wife can not divorce a husband without his consent. The practice of excommunicated marriage is applied to widows of husbands who die without children, not widowers who have no children; though, if he does not approve of marriage, another ceremony called chalitza is done, which basically involves the widow taking off his sister-in-law's shoes, spitting on it, and declares, "This is what happens to someone who will not build his brother's home!". Levirate marriage is not done in our day. The law on the loss of female virginity does not have male equality. These differences and other gender differences found in the Torah show that women were subordinate to men during biblical times; however, they also suggest that biblical society views the continuity, ownership, and unity of the family as the most important. However, men have a special obligation they must do for their wives. This includes the provision of clothing, food, and sexual relations to their wives.
Women also have a role in ritual life. Women (as well as men) are required to make pilgrimages to the Temple in Jerusalem once a year (men each of the three main festivals if they can) and offer the Passover sacrifice. They will also do it on special occasions in their lives such as giving todah ("thanksgiving") after childbirth. Therefore, they participate in many major public religious roles that non-Levite men can, albeit less frequently and on a somewhat smaller and generally wiser scale.
Michal, one of David's first wives and Saul's daughter, received the orders of tefillin (only during pure menstruation, doing so contrary to Halacha) and tzitzis to himself, the latter as a redemption for his criticism of her husband to dance "too" wild around the Ark on his way to Jerusalem. This is due to a false opinion in his father's personal philosophy that he was until then accepted.
Women depend on men economically. Women in general have no property except in rare cases inheriting land from a father who did not bear a son. Even "in such cases, women will be asked to remarry in tribes so as not to reduce their ownership of the land".
According to John Bowker (theologian), traditionally, Jews "men and women pray separately.This goes back to ancient times when women can only go as far as to the second palace of the Temple." The reason is that men do not look at women (who can naturally become sin) and distract from their prayers. Technically, however, physical barriers of more than four feet or more (ten handbreadths) are sufficient, even if men can see women, even if they are not favored. A typical mechitzah consists of wheeled wood panels, often topped with one-way glass to allow women to see the Torah reading.
Maps Women in Judaism
Talmud Time
Women are required by halacha to do all negative mitzvot (that is, a command that prohibits actions like "Do not commit adultery"), but they can not do most of the time - permanent, positive < i> mitzvot (that is, a command that prohibits ritual acts to be performed at certain times such as hearing shofar about Rosh Hashanah). Halacha also provides women with material and emotional protection that most non-Jewish women do not enjoy during the first millennium of the General Era.
The literature of classical Jewish rabbis contains quotations that can be seen as praise and contempt for women. The Talmud states that:
- Greater is the reward given by the Almighty to the (pious) woman than to the (pious) man
- Ten steps to talk down to the world; women take nine
- Women are bright on raw knowledge - i. e., they have more intuition
- A man without a wife lives without joy, blessing, and kindness; a man must love his wife as himself and respect him more than himself
- When Rav Yosef b. Hiyya heard his mother's footsteps he will say: Let me appear before the approach of divine presence
- Israel was redeemed from Egypt by virtuous women (Israel)
- Men should be careful not to speak to their wives because women tend to cry and are sensitive to errors
- Women have greater faith than men
- Women have a greater discerning ability
- A very gentle hearted woman
While some women are mentioned by name in rabbinic literature, and no one is known to have written works of rabbins, those mentioned are described as having a strong influence on their husbands. Every now and then they have a public persona. Examples are Bruriah, wife of Tanna Rabbi Meir; Rachel, wife of Rabbi Akiva; and Yalta, the wife of Rabbi Nachman. Eleazar ben Arach's wife, Ima Shalom, advised her husband by taking over the leadership of the Sanhedrin. When Eleazar ben Arach was asked to act as Rice ("Prince" or President of the Sanhedrin), he replied that he must first consult his wife, which he did.
Medieval
Since Jews are seen as second class citizens in the Christian and Muslim worlds, it is increasingly difficult for Jewish women to establish their own status. Avraham Grossman argues in his book Pious and Rebellious: Jewish Women in Medieval Europe that three factors influence how Jewish women are perceived by the communities around them: "biblical and talmudic heritage, the situation in the Jewish Society where the Jews living and functioning, and the economic status of the Jews, including the role of women in supporting the family. "Grossman used all three factors to suggest that the overall status of women during this period actually increased.
During the Middle Ages there was a conflict between the religious expectations of the noble Jewish woman and the reality of the society in which these Jewish women lived; this is similar to the life of Christian women in the same period. This encourages the Kabbalistic work of Sefer Hakanah to demand that women meet the mitzvot in the same way as men.
Religious life
The development of religion during the medieval period included the relaxation of the prohibition of teaching the women of the Torah, and the emergence of women's prayer groups. One of the places where women participate in Jewish practice in public is the synagogue. Women may learn to read the liturgy in Hebrew. There is evidence that in the fifteenth century some Ashkenaz communities, the rabbin's wife wore the tzitzit just like her husband.
In most synagogues, they are given their own share, most likely a balcony; some synagogues have separate buildings. The separation of the men was created by the Rabbis at Misnah and Talmud. The reason behind Halacha is that a woman and her body will distract the men and give them dirty thoughts during prayer. Because of this rabbinical interpretation, scholars have seen the role of women in the synagogue as limited and sometimes even absent. However, recent research shows that women actually have a larger role in the synagogue and society in general. Women usually attend synagogues, for example, on Sabbaths and public holidays. Depending on the location of women in the synagogue, they may follow the same services as men or they do their own services. Because the synagogues are great, there will be a designated woman who will be able to follow the singer and repeat the prayers aloud for the women. Women always attend devotions on Shabbat and holidays, but starting in the eleventh century, women become more involved in their synagogues and rituals. Women who sat separately from men became the norm in the synagogue around the beginning of the thirteenth century. However, women do more than pray in the synagogue. One of the main jobs for women is beautify the building. There are curtains of the Ark of the Torah and the lid of the Torah stitched by women and survive today. The synagogue is a common place for men and women places of worship, learning, and community activities to take place.
The rise and increase in popularity of Kabbalah, which emphasizes the shechinah and female aspects of the divine presence and the divine-human relationship, and which sees marriage as a sacred covenant between partners rather than civil contracts, have a great influence. Kabbalis describes the phenomenon of menstruation as an expression of a demon character or a sin of menstruation. This change is accompanied by an increase in pietistic stricture, including greater requirements for simple clothing, and greater strictures during the menstrual period. At the same time, there is an increase in philosophical and midrastic interpretations that describe women in a negative light, emphasizing the duality between matter and the spirit in which femininity is associated, negatively, with the earth and matter. Gentile societies are also seen as a negative influence on the Jewish community. For example, it seems that the Jews will analyze the politeness of their Gentile neighbors before formally moving to a new community because they know that their children will be influenced by the local Gentiles.
After the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, women became the only source of Jewish ritual and tradition in the Catholic world in a phenomenon known as crypto-Judaism. The Jewish-Crypto women will slaughter their own animals and make sure to keep as much of the Jewish dietary laws and life cycle rituals without arousing suspicion. Sometimes, these women are sued by Inquisition officials for suspicious behavior such as lighting candles in honor of the Sabbath or refusing to eat pork when offered to them. The Inquisition targeted crypto-Jewish women at least as much as targeted to crypto-Jewish men as women were accused of perpetuating Jewish tradition while men only allowed their wives and daughters to organize the household in this way.
Home life
Marriage, domestic violence and divorce are topics discussed by the Jewish sages of the Medieval world. Marriage is an important institution in Judaism (see Marriage in Judaism). The wise men of this period discussed this topic at length.
Rabbeinu Gersom instituted a rabbinic edict (Takkanah) which prohibits polygyny among Ashkenazic Jews. At that time, Sephardic and the Jewish Mizrahi did not recognize the validity of the ban.
The rabbis instituted legal methods to enable women to petition a rabbinic court to force divorce. Maimonides decides that a woman who finds her husband "disgusting" can ask the court to force a divorce by lashing a stubborn husband "because he is not like a prisoner, to be associated with someone he hates." Furthermore, Maimonides decides that a woman can "think of her as divorcing and remarrying" if her husband is absent for three years or more. This is to prevent women from marrying a traveling merchant into a collateral if the husband never returns.
The rabbis also instituted and tightened the prohibition against domestic violence. Rabbi Peretz ben Elijah decided, "The cry of our people's daughters has been heard about the sons of Israel who raised their hands to beat their wives, but who gave the husband the authority to beat his wife?" Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg decided that, "Because it is the way of the Gentiles to behave in such a way, but Heaven forbids that every Jew should do it, and the man who beats his wife should be ostracized and forbidden and beaten." Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg also ruled that a beaten wife could petition a rabbinic court to force a husband to grant a divorce, with a fine of money owed to him on a regular note. These decisions occur in the midst of communities where wife beatings are punished sanctionally and routinely.
Education
Jewish women have limited education. They are taught to read, write, run the household. They are also given education in religious law which is important for their daily lives, such as keeping halal. Both Christian and Jewish girls are educated at home. Although Christian girls may have male or female teachers, most Jewish girls have a female teacher. Higher learning is not common for Christian and Jewish women. Christian women can enter a convent for higher education (See Women's Education in the Medieval Period). There are more sources of education for Jewish women who live in Muslim-controlled lands. Middle East Jews, on the other hand, have many literate women. Geniza Cairo is filled with written correspondence (sometimes dictated) between family members and spouses. Many of these letters are pious and poetic and express the desire to be in closer or more frequent contact with loved ones far enough to be achieved only by written correspondence. There are also records of wills and other personal legal documents and written petitions to officials in cases of spousal or other conflict between family members written or dictated by women.
Many women get enough education to help their husbands get out in business or even maintain their own business. Just like Christian women who run their own business, Jewish women engage in their own work and help their husbands. Jewish women seem to have lent money to Christian women across Europe. Women are also copyists, midwives, spinners and weavers.
Views on women's education
From certain contexts of the Mishnah and Talmud it can be revealed that women should not learn the Mishnah. There are Tannaitic Torah female scribes such as the wife of Rabbi Meir, daughter of Rabbi Meir, and daughter of Haninah daughter of Teradion Haninah are mentioned again as wise men in the text of the Treaty of Semahot verse 3 non-Talmud 12:13. Rabbi Meir's wife is credited with teaching her how to understand some verses from Isaiah. In Misnah there are also references to certain women who teach the Torah from behind the curtain, so that no one will be offended.
A yeshiva , or school for Talmud studies, is an "exclusive masculine environment" in the absence of women from this study.
Bruriah
Bruriah is one of the few women cited as a wise man in the Talmud. She is the wife of Tanna Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Hananiah Ben Teradion's daughter, who is listed as one of the "Ten Martyrs". He is greatly admired for his vast knowledge in matters relating to halachah and worship, and is said to have learned from 300 rabid halachots on a cloudy day (Tractate Pesachim 62b). His parents were sentenced to death by the Romans for teaching the Torah, but he continued their inheritance.
Bruriah was deeply involved in halachic discussions of his time, and even challenged his father on the issue of ritual purity (Tosefta Keilim Kamma 4: 9). His comments there were praised by Rabbi Judah ben Bava. In another example, Rabbi Joshua praised his intervention in the debate between Rabbi Tarfon and the sage, saying "Bruriah has spoken properly" (Tosefta Keilim Metzia 1: 3). He is mentioned at least four times in the Talmudic discourse concerning his law which established the first Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 10a in Tosefta Pesahim 62b in Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 53b-54a and Babylonian Talmud Avodah Zarah 18b. In one case, he gave an interpretation of the religious meaning ("paskins din") of the rare Greek word "klaustra" referring to the "door-bolt" in the Talmud. However, Rabbi Yehudah Hanassi does not believe that women can be credited with "Easter". Because, as the saying goes, 'do not talk too much to women' (Tannah Rabbi Jesse the Galilean), he praises the law for Rabbi Joshua, who may be considered his father.
But Beruryah is actually remembered with great respect in the Talmud where he is praised for being considered a genius to study "three hundred Halachots of three hundred wise men in just one day" (Pesachim 62b). This praise clearly contradicts the general command of women who study the Torah.
Princess Rashi
Rashi did not have sons and taught the Mishnah and Talmud to his daughters, until they knew it wholeheartedly as the Jewish tradition taught; they then transfer their knowledge of the original Mishnah comments to the Ashkenazi men of the next generation.
Maimonides
When Maimonides wrote a response about women, he tended to increase their status above what was commonly done in the Middle Ages. For example, Maimonides allowed women to study the Torah despite the fact that other legal opinions from time and time were not.
Haim Yosef David Azulai, AKA' The Hida '
Hida, writing (Tuv Ayin, No. 4) women should learn the Mishnah only if they wish. 'We can not force a woman to learn, as we do to boys'. However, if he wants to learn, then not only can he do it himself, but men can teach him from the beginning, and he can then teach other women if they so choose. According to Hida, the prohibition of teaching women does not apply to women or women who are motivated. Other Rabbi Mizrahi denied this with him.
His response to critics is that in fact, there is a prohibition to teach the Mishnah to any student - male or female - who knows not being properly prepared and motivated. This response refers to the talmid she-eino hagun (Shulhan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah 246: 7). Babylonian Talmud Berakhos 28a which connects that Rabban Gam (a) liel will announce that any student who is not pure enough so that 'outer self like himself' should not enter the study room. While this approach, which requires absolute purity, is rejected by other ancient rabbis, for example 'he who is not for God's name, will be for the name of God', and the approach is being adopted by the Jews as a standard. If one has knowledge that a particular Mishnayot student is bad then he or she may not be taught. Gam (a) liel claims that 'it seems to women there are higher standards and he should be motivated to get permission to learn' in his response to the Mizrahi tradition.
Yisrael Meir Kagan
One of the most important Ashkenazic rabbanim of the last century, Yisrael Meir Kagan, popularly known as "Chofetz Chaim", supported the education of the Torah for women against the usual French "settlement school" in his day for bourgeois daughters.
"It would seem that all [sexist laws] are meant for the previous generation when everyone dwells in the place of their family's ancestral home and ancestral traditions are very strong among all to follow their father's path... in such circumstances we can maintain that a woman did not study Mishnayos and, for guidance, depended on godly parents, but today, because of so much of our sins, the ancestral traditions have become very weak and it is common that people do not live close to the family home, and especially the women who are devoted to master the language of the region, surely it is a great mitzvah to teach them the Scriptures and the ethical teachings of our wise men like Pirkei Avos, Menoras Ha-Ma'or and the like so that they will internalize the sacred Faith for [if we do not do it] they tend to forsake the way of the Lord and violate all the principles of [our] faith. "
Joseph Solovetchik
Rabbi Yoseph Solovetchik "changed" the teachings of Hafetz Haim. Rabbi Solovetchik teaches that all Ashkenazi Jews are religious with the exception of the hard-line Hasidim, not only must, or solely if they show motivation, but must teach their daughters as Gemic School Boys. He, inter alia, fully instituted the teachings of the Mishnah and the Talmud for girls, from his autobiography to himself by Rabbi Mayor Twersky called "A Glance at Rav" in R. Menachem Genack ed., Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik: Man of Halacha, Man of Faith , page 113:
"Halakha which prohibits the study of Torah for women is not haphazard or completely comprehensive.There is complete unanimity that women are obliged to learn halakhot associated with the mitsvot in charge of them... The prohibition of teaching the Torah-Ba'al Pe Torah for women deals with optional studies. If circumstances have dictated the study of Torah sh-Ba'al Pe necessary to provide a strong foundation for faith, such studies become mandatory and are clearly beyond the limits of any prohibition. "Undoubtedly, Rav recipes are much broader than Hafets Hayim and others. But the big difference should not obscure their fundamental agreement [on changes in Halachic attitude].
Today
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism is based on a gender understanding of Jewish practice - i. e, that there is a different role for men and women in religious life. There is a difference of opinion among Orthodox Jews about these differences. Most claim that men and women have complementary, yet different, roles in religious life, resulting in different religious obligations. Others believe that some of these differences are not a reflection of religious law, but rather to cultural, social, and historical causes. In the field of education, women have historically been freed from studies beyond the understanding of the practical aspects of the Torah, and the rules required in running Jewish households, both of which have an obligation to learn. Until the 20th century, women were often discouraged from studying the Talmud and other advanced Jewish texts. In the last 100 years, Orthodox Jewish education for women has grown very rapidly.
There are many areas where Orthodox women have been working towards change in religious life over the last 20 years: promoting advanced learning and women's scholarship, promoting female ritual involvement in the synagogue, promoting communal and women's religious leadership, and more. Women have changed, although there is often vocal opposition by rabbinic leaders. Some Orthodox rabbis try to discount change by claiming that women are motivated by sociological reasons, and not by "true" religious motivations. For example, Orthodox, Haredi, and Hasidic rabbis prevent women from using yarmulke, tallit, or tefillin.
In most Orthodox synagogues, women do not provide d'var Torah (short sermons, generally in the weekly Torah section) after or between services. In addition, many Orthodox synagogues have mechitzot that divides the left and right sides of the synagogue (not the usual division between the main floor and the large balcony), with the female part on one side, and the male portion on the other.
Courtesy rules
The importance of modesty in dressing and behaving is strongly emphasized among women and girls in Orthodox society. Most Orthodox women wear only skirts, and avoid wearing trousers, and most married Orthodox women cover their hair with a scarf (tichel), hairpin, hat, beret or wig. Judaism regulates politeness for men and women; Male courtesy consists primarily of dressing in dignified ways (eg, trousers and collared) and wearing a shirt. Men are also encouraged to wear hats and outer suits like suits while praying and bending.
Family purity rules
In accordance with the Jewish Law, Orthodox Jewish women refrain from physical contact with their husbands when they are menstruating, and for 7 days clean after menstruation, and after the birth of a child. The Israeli Rabbinate recently approved a woman acting as a yoatzot, a halakhic adviser on sensitive personal matters such as family purity.
Modern and Orthodox Judaism
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, a highly influential leader in modern Orthodoxy in the United States, does not encourage women to serve as synagogue presidents or other official leadership positions, from performing other mitzvot (orders) traditionally performed by men exclusively, such as wearing tallit or tefillin. (However, tefilllin is aimed at men partly because tefillin helps keep them from impure thoughts Women are deemed not to need help with this.) Soloveitchik writes that while women do not lack the ability to perform such actions, there is no
Women's issues garner more interest with the emergence of feminism. Many modern Orthodox Jewish women and modern Orthodox rabbis seek to provide a larger and more advanced Jewish education for women. Since most modern Orthodox women attend lectures, and many receive advanced degrees in various fields, the Modern Orthodox community generally promotes women's secular education. Some modern Orthodox synagogues have women serving as pastors, including the Kletenik Gilah in the Congregation of Kehilath Jeshurun. In 2013, Yeshivat Maharat, located in the United States, became the first Orthodox institution to sanctify the female clergy. The Yeshivat Maharat graduates do not call themselves "rabbis". The title given is "maharat". However, in 2015 Yaffa Epstein was ordained as Rabba by Yeshivat Maharat. Also in 2015, Lila Kagedan was ordained as Rabbi by the same organization, making it their first graduate to take the title of "Rabbi".
In 2013, Malka Schaps became the first female deacon Haredi at an Israeli university when he was appointed as dean of the Barllan University College of Science. Also in 2013, the first class of female halachic advisers trained to practice in the US graduated; they graduated from the North American branch of the yacht program Halacha Nishmat in a ceremony at the Sheartith Congregation of Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in Manhattan, and the SAR School in Riverdale, New York, began allowing girls to wrap tefillin during Shacharit-morning prayer in a group prayer of all women; it's probably the first modern Orthodox high school in the US to do it.
In 2014, the first book of halachic decisions written by ordained women to serve as poskot (Idit Bartov and Anat Novoselsky) was published. The women were ordained by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, head of Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, after completing the five-year ordination course of Midreshet Lindenbaum's women in a follow-up study in Jewish law, and passed the examinations equivalent to the requirements of the rabbis for men.
In 2010, Sara Hurwitz became the first woman ordained as a "Rabba", or a woman equivalent to a rabbi, when she began serving as the spiritual leader of the "Open Orthodox" in Riverdale, Bronx, New York On June 10, 2015, Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy and Rachel Berkovits became the first two women ordained as the Modern Orthodox Jewish Rabbas in Israel.
In June 2015, Lila Kagedan was ordained by Yeshivat Maharat and in accordance with the more recent policy, given the freedom to choose his own title, and he chose to be called "Rabbi". He officially became the first Modern Orthodox Women rabbi in the United States when the Modern Orthodox Center of Mount Freedom in Randolph, New Jersey hired him as a spiritual leader in January 2016.
In the autumn of 2015, Agudath Israel of America denounced the movement to ordain women, and went so far as to say Yeshivat Maharat, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, the Open Orthodoxy, and other affiliated entities to be similar to other dissident movements throughout Jewish history for rejecting the basic teachings Judaism.
Also in the fall of 2015, the Rabbinical Council of America passed a resolution stating, "RCA members with positions in Orthodox institutions may not ordain women into Orthodox rabbis, regardless of degree used, or hire or ratify a woman's recruitment. the position of rabbins in Orthodox institutions, or possible titles that imply rabbinical ordination for use by Limudei Kodesh teachers in Orthodox institutions. "
Also in 2015, Jennie Rosenfeld became the first female Orthodox spiritual advisor in Israel. (In particular, he became a spiritual advisor, also called manhiga ruchanit, for the Euphrates community.)
In 2016, it was announced that Ephraim Mirvis created ma'ayan work in which women would become Jewish legal advisers in the field of family purity and as adult educators in the Orthodox synagogue. It requires a part-time training course for 18 months, which is the first course in the UK. On August 23, 2016, Karmit Feintuch became the first woman in Jerusalem, Israel, employed as a Modern Orthodox "rabbanite" and served as a spiritual leader.
By 2017, the Orthodox Society adopted a policy that forbids women to serve as pastors, from holding titles such as "rabbis", or from performing the function of the common scholar even without a title, in his congregation in the United States.
Women's prayer group
Separate Jewish women groups are the norms agreed upon among the Jews of the Middle Ages. The Kol Bo provides, in law for Tisha B'Av:
- And they pronounce the disastrous there for about a quarter of a night, the people in their synagogue and the women in their synagogue. And also during the day the men uttered their own self and the woman herself, until about a third of the day had passed.
In Germany, in the 12th and 13th centuries, women's prayer groups were led by women. Rabbi Eliezer of Worms, in elegy for his wife Dulca, praised him for teaching other women how to pray and decorate prayers with music. The tombstone Urania of Worms, who died in 1275, contains an inscription "singing piyyutim for women with a musical voice". At the Nurnberg Memorial Book, one Richenza was inscribed as "the female prayer leader".
Orthodox women have recently begun holding organized women's groups of prayer organized in the 1970s. Although there is no Orthodox legal authority that agrees that women can form a ministry for the purpose of regular ministry, the women in this group read prayers and study the Torah. A number of leaders from all segments of Orthodox Judaism have commented on this issue, but have had little, though grown, impact on Haredi and Sephardi Judaism. However, the emergence of this phenomenon has ensnared Orthodox Modern Judaism in the debate that continues to this day. There are three schools of thought on this issue:
- The most restrictive view, held by some rabbis, provides that all women's prayer groups are forbidden by halakha (Jewish law).
- A more liberal, permissive view holds that women's prayer groups may be compatible with halakha, but only if they do not carry out full worship (ie, excluding certain parts of the service known as devmarm shebikedusha requiring minyan), and only if the service is motivated spiritually and sincerely, as is usually the case; they can not be penalized if they are inspired by the desire to revolt against halakha . The people in this group included Rabbi Avraham Elkana Shapiro, former Chief Rabbi of England Immanuel Jakobovits, and Rabbi Avi Weiss. This is the view that is generally followed.
- The third view argues in favor of receiving women's calls to the Torah in a mixed service, and leading certain parts of the service that do not require the minyan, under certain conditions.
In 2013, the Orthodox Israeli Orthodox ritual organization Beit Hillel issued a halachic ruling that allowed women, for the first time, to recite Kaddish's prayers in remembrance of their deceased parents.
Woman as a witness
Traditionally, women were generally not allowed to serve as witnesses in the Orthodox Beit Din (rabbin court), although they were recently allowed to serve as toanot (advocate) in the court. This limitation has exceptions that require exploration under rabbinic law, since the role of women in society and the obligations of religious groups under external civil law has been the target of increased supervision lately.
Rabbi Mordecai Tendler's recent case, the first rabbi to be released from the Rabbinical Council of America after allegations of sexual harassment, illustrates the importance of clarification of the Orthodox halakha in this area. Rabbi Tendler claims that the tradition of putting aside the testimony of women should force RCA to ignore the allegations. He argues that since a woman's testimony is unacceptable in the Rabbinical court, there are no valid witnesses against her, and therefore, the case for her expulsion should be discarded for lack of evidence. In an important decision for the capacity of Orthodox women for legal self-protection under Jewish law, Haredi Rabbi Benzion Wosner, writing on behalf of Sheitet Levi Beit Din (Rabbinical Court) Monsey, New York, identified cases of sexual harassment fall under the class of exceptions to the traditional exemption, where "even children or women" have not only the right but the obligation to testify, and are reliable by the rabbinic court as legitimate witnesses:
- Friendly in Choshen Mishpat (Siman 35, 14) provides that in cases where only women are gathered or in cases where only women can testify (in which case the alleged abuse occurs behind closed doors) they can and certainly must testify. (Tereshas Hadeshen Siman 353 and Agek Perek 10, Yochasin)
- This is also a verdict from Maharik, Radvaz, and Mahar "i from Minz.Even they are Poskim who usually do not rely on female witnesses, they will surely agree that in our case... where there is much evidence that this Rabbi is in violation of the Torah, so even children or girls can certainly be eyewitnesses, as Chasam Sofer points out in his book sefer (monograph) (Orach Chaim T 'shuvah 11)
The Rabbinical Council of America, while initially relying on its own investigation, chose to rely on Halakhic rules from Rabbin Haredi's body as the authorities in the situation.
Orthodox approached to change
The leaders of the Haredi community have been persistent in their resistance to change in the role of women, arguing that women's religious and social barriers, as dictated by traditional Jewish texts, have no time limit, and are unaffected by contemporary social change. Many also argue that giving traditional male roles to women will only reduce the ability of women and men to lead a truly fulfilling life. Haredim also occasionally accepted the argument for liberalization as in reality derived from antagonism towards Jewish law and conviction in general, arguing that preserving faith requires resistance to secular and "non-Jew" ideas.
Modern Orthodox Judaism, particularly in the more liberal variant, tends to see proposed changes in the role of women on a particular case-by-case basis, focusing on arguments about the religious and legal roles of particular prayer, ritual, and activity. individually. Such arguments tend to focus on cases where the Talmud and other traditional sources express many or more liberal views, especially where the role of women in the past can be spelled out more broadly than in more recent times. Feminist advocates in the Orthodox school tend to remain in the process of traditional legal arguments, seeking a gradualist approach, and avoiding the great arguments against such religious traditions. Nevertheless, the growing Orthodox feminist movement sought to overcome gender inequality.
Agunot
Agunot (Hebrew: "chained woman") is a woman who wants to divorce their husband, but her husband refuses to give them a divorce contract ("get"). The word can also refer to women whose husbands disappear and may or may not die. In Orthodox Judaism, only a man can serve "get". To prevent the occurrence of the first type, many Jewish couples sign a prenuptial agreement designed to force husbands to serve or be reported to a Jewish court.
Conservative Judaism
Although the position of Conservative Judaism against women is initially slightly different from that of the Orthodox, it has in recent years minimized legal and ritual differences between men and women. The Jewish Law and Standards Committee (CJLS) of the Rabbinis Assembly has approved a number of decisions and responses on this topic. It provides women's active participation in such areas as:
- Openly reading Torah ( ba'al kriah )
- Calculated as part of minyan
- Called for aliyah to read Torah
- Serve as cantor ( shaliach tzibbur )
- Serve as a rabbi and halakhic decisor ( posek - a referee in matters of religious law)
- Wearing tallit and tefillin
A rabbi may or may not decide to make certain decisions for the congregation; thus, some Conservative congregations will be more or less egalitarian than others. However, there are other areas where legal differences persist between men and women, including:
- Matrilineal descent. The son of a Jewish mother was born a Jew; the son of a Jewish father was born a Jew if and only if his mother was a Jew.
- Pidyon Ha-Bat, a proposed ceremony based on the biblical redemption of the eldest son of the newborn (Pidyon Ha-Ben). CJLS has stated that this special ceremony should not be performed. Other ceremonies, such as Simchat Bat (welcoming a newborn baby), should be used to mark the special status of a newborn daughter. [CJLS teshuvah by Rabbi Gerald C. Skolnik, 1993]
A Conservative Jew includes a clause that places husbands and wives on a more equal footing when it comes to marriage and divorce laws within halacha .
CJLS recently reaffirmed the obligation of Conservative women to observe niddah (sexual abstinence during and after menstruation) and immersion (ritual immersion) after menstruation, although it liberalizes certain details. Such practices, while the requirements of Conservative Judaism, are not widely observed among the Conservative laity.
Conservative position change
Prior to 1973, Conservative Judaism had a more limited role for women and was more akin to today's modern Orthodoxy, with changes to issues including mixed seats, synagogue corporate leadership, and allowing women to be summoned to the Torah. In 1973, CJLS of the Rabbin Assembly voted, without giving an opinion, that women could count in a minute. There is a special commission appointed by the Conservative movement to study the issue of female ordination as a rabbi, who met between 1977 and 1978, and made up of eleven men and three women; the woman is Marian Siner Gordon, a lawyer, Rivkah Harris, an asyriologist, and Francine Klagsbrun, a writer. In 1983, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTSA) faculty voted, also without the accompanying opinion, to ordain women as rabbis and as cantons. Paula Hyman, among others, took part in the voting as a member of the JTS faculty.
In 2002, CJLS adapted a responsum by Rabbi David Fine, Women and Minyan , which provided the official legal basis for women who counted in minyan and explained the current Conservative approach to the role of women in prayer. This Responsum states that although Jewish women do not traditionally have the same duties as men, Conservative women, as a collective whole, voluntarily do so. Because of this joint effort, Fine Responsum states that Conservative women are eligible to serve as agents and decision-makers for others. Responsum also states that traditional minded people and individual women can opt out without being perceived by the Conservative movement as sin. By adopting this responsum, the CJLS finds itself in a position to justify the Jewish law considered for its egalitarian practice, without having to rely on inconclusive arguments, belittling the importance of religious communities and priests, asking individual intrusive questions, rejecting the halakhic tradition, i>, or women's labels follow traditional practices as sinners.
In 2006, the CJLS adopted three responses to the niddah problem, which reaffirmed the obligation of Conservative women to abstain from sexual intercourse during and after menstruation and to drown in the mikvah before resumption, while liberalizing the observation requirements including shortening the duration of the niddah Period, the lifting of contact restrictions non-sexual during the niddah, and reduces the circumstances in which the spots and similar conditions will mandate abstinence.
In all cases, continuing the Orthodox approach is also upheld as an option. The individual Conservative rabbis and synagogues are not required to adopt these changes, and a small number do not adopt any of them.
A conservative approach to change
Prior to 1973, Conservative approaches to change were generally individualized, per case by case. Between 1973 and 2002, the Conservative movement adapted changes through its official organization, but without expressing a clear opinion. Since 2002, the Conservative movement has united around a comprehensive approach to the role of women in Jewish law.
In 1973, 1983, and 1993, rabbis and individual professors issued six main opinions that influenced changes in the Conservative approach, the first Sigal, the second, Blumenthal, Rabinowitz, and Roth responsa, and the Hauptman article. These opinions seek to provide a major shift in the public role of women through a single comprehensive legal justification. Most of these opinions base their position on the argument that Jewish women are always, or have become, legally obliged to do the same mitzvot as men and do it the same way.
The first Sigal and Blumenthal responses were considered by the CJLS as part of his decision on the role of prayer in 1973. They argued that women always had the same duties as men. The first Sigal Regum uses the Talmud's general prayer obligations and examples of cases where women are traditionally required to say certain prayers and deduce from them a public prayer obligation identical to that of a male. The Blumenthal responsum is extrapolated from a minority authority that a minyan can be established with nine men and one woman in an emergency. The Jewish Law and Standards Committee (CJLS) refused to adopt either the responsum. Rabbi Siegel reported to the rabbinical Assembly membership that many in the CJLS, while approving the results, found an inconclusive argument.
The Rabinowitz, Roth, and the two Sigal responsas were considered by the JTSA faculty as part of his decision to ordain a woman as a rabbi in 1983. Rabbinowitz's response ruled out the obligation problem, arguing that there was no longer a religious need for community representation. in prayer and therefore there is no need to decide whether a woman can serve kosher as one. CJLS feels that an argument potentially damaging the value of community and pastor is inconclusive: "We should not be afraid to admit that the function of clergy is to help our people relate to saints." Roth and the two Sigal responses accept that traditionally time-bound mitzvot is traditionally optional for women, but argues that women in modern times can change their traditional roles. Roth Responsum argues that women individually can voluntarily take on the same duties as men, and that women who do so (eg, pray three times a day on a regular basis) can count in minions and serve as agents. Therefore, JTSA requires female rabbinical students who want to train as rabbis to personally obligate themselves, but the synagogue rabbis, who do not want to investigate the religiosity of individuals, find it impractical. The second Regal Sigal calls for an unfounded, or rabbinical edict, which will serve as halakhic ERA, excluding all non-egalitarian provisions in law or, alternatively, a new approach to a halakhic interpretation independent of the legal precedent. The CJLS, which does not want to use intrusive approaches or rejects traditional legal processes as the basis for action, does not adopt well and lets the JTS faculty vote unexplained.
In 1993, Professor Judith Hauptman of JTS published an influential paper stating that women have historically always been required in prayer, using more detailed arguments than Blumenthal and Sigal's first response. This paper shows that women who follow traditional practices fail to meet their obligations. Rabbi Roth argues that Conservative Judaism should think twice before adopting a point of view that labeled its most traditional and often most committed member of sinners. The problem is again dropped.
In 2002, CJLS returned to the issue of justifying its actions on the status of women, and adopting a single authoritative approach, the Fine Responsum, as a definitive Conservative halakha on issues of women's roles. This Responsum states that although Jewish women do not traditionally have the same duties as men, Conservative women, as a collective whole, voluntarily do so. Because of this joint effort, Fine Responsum states that Conservative women are eligible to serve as agents and decision-makers for others. Responsum also states that traditional minded people and individual women can opt out without being perceived by the Conservative movement as sin. By adopting this Responsum, CJLS finds itself in a position to justify the Jewish law considered for its egalitarian practice, without having to rely on potentially unconvincing arguments, undermining the religious significance of communities and pastors, asking individual intrusive questions, rejecting the tradition of halakhic , or women's labels follow traditional practices as sinners.
Reform of Judaism
The Reformation of Judaism believes in the equality of men and women. The Reformation movement rejected the idea that halakha (Jewish law) was the only legitimate form of Jewish decision-making, and declared that Jews could and should consider their conscience and the ethical principles inherent in Jewish tradition when deciding on appropriate action. There is widespread consensus among Reform Jews that the traditional distinction between the roles of men and women contradicts the deeper ethical principles of Judaism. This has enabled the Reform community to allow women to perform many rituals traditionally devoted to men, such as:
- Openly reading Torah ( ba'al kriah )
- Be part of minyan
- Called for aliyah to read Torah
- Serves as a singer ( shalich tzibbur )
- Serve as a rabbi and halakhic decisor ( posek )
- Wearing tallit and tefillin
Concerns about intermarriage marriage have also influenced the Jewish position of the Reformation on gender. In 1983, the American Rabbis Conference passed a resolution ignoring the need for a formal conversion for anyone with at least one Jewish parent who has committed an affirmative Jewish identity. This departs from a traditional position that necessitates the official conversion to Judaism for children without Jewish motherhood. The 1983 resolution of the American Reform movement has had mixed acceptance in the Reform Jewish community outside the United States. Most notably, the Israeli Movement for Progressive Judaism has rejected patrilineal descent and requires formal conversion for anyone without a Jewish mother. Also, a common Orthodox, Traditional, Conservative and Bet Din Reformation formed in Denver, Colorado to promote uniform standards for conversion to Judaism was dissolved in 1983, because of the Reformation's resolution. However, by 2015 the majority of the British Reform Council, Rabbis, endorsed a position paper proposing "that Jewish, patrilineally Jewish people, can be accepted into the Jewish community and confirmed as Jew through an individual process". The British Reform Council of Rabbis declared that the rabbi "would be able to take a local decision - ratified by Beit Din - which affirms Jewish status".
The liberal prayer book tends to increasingly avoid specific male words and pronouns, seeking that all references to God in translation are made in a gender-neutral language. For example, the British Liberal movement Siddur Lev Chadash (1995) did so, as did the British Forms of Prayer (2008) Movement of the Reformation. In Mishkan T'filah, the American Reformed Jewish prayer book was released in 2007, the reference to God as "Him" was removed, and every time the name of the Jewish forefathers was given names (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), so did the matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.) By 2015, the prayer book of the High Holy Jewish Reformation of Mishkan HaNefesh is released; it was meant as a friend to Mishkan T'filah. This includes the High Holy Days version of prayer, Avinu Malkeinu, which refers to God as "Loving Father" and "Loving Mother". Another important change is to replace the line from the previous prayer of the Reformation Movement, "Gates of Repentance", which mentions the joy of a special bride, with the line "rejoice with a couple under chuppah [wedding canopy]", and add a third, non-gender option to the way worshipers are called to the Torah, offering "mibeit", Hebrew for "from home", in addition to the traditional "son" or "daughter".
In 2008, Stacy Offner became the first female vice president of the Union for Reform Judaism, a position he held for two years. In 2015, Daryl Messinger became the first female head of the Union.
Reform approaches to change
The Reformation of Judaism generally states that the differences between the roles of men and women in traditional Jewish law are irrelevant to modern conditions and do not apply today. Thus, there is no need to develop legal arguments analogous to those made in the Orthodox and Conservative movements.
Reconstructionist Judaism
The equality of women and men is a central principle and characteristic of Reconstruction Judaism. From the beginning, the Jewish Reconstructionist ritual allowed men and women to pray together - a decision based on egalitarian philosophy. It is on this basis that Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan calls for full equality between women and men, despite the difficulties that clearly reconcile this attitude with the norms of traditional Jewish practice. The Reconstructionist movement ordained rabbis from the beginning. In 1968, women were accepted into the Reconstruction of the Rabbinical College, under the leadership of Ira Eisenstein. Female rabbi The first reconstructed ordained Sandy Eisenberg Sasso served as rabbi from the Manhattan Reconstructionist Session in 1976, and gained the pulpit in 1977 at the Beth El Zedeck trial in Indianapolis. Sandy Eisenberg Sasso was accepted without further debate or controversy. In 2005, 24 of the 106 movement synagogues in the US had women as senior assistants or helpers. In 2013 Rabbi Deborah Waxman was elected President of the Reconstruction of Rabbinical College. As President, he is believed to be the first woman and the first lesbian to lead the Jewish union, and the first female rabbi and the first lesbian to lead the Jewish seminary; Rabbinical University Reconstruction is a congregation and seminary alliance.
The Reconstructionist community began to include women in minyan and allowed them to come to the Torah for aliyot. They also continued to practice bat mitzvah. Reconstructionist Judaism also allows women to perform other traditional male tasks, such as serving as a witness, leading a service, reading the general Torah, and wearing ritual prayer suits such as kippot and tallitot. The female reconstruction rabbi has been instrumental in the creation of rituals, stories, and music that have begun to give women experience as a voice in Judaism. Much of the focus is on rituals for life cycle events. New ceremonies have been created for birth, marriage, divorce, conversion, weaning, and the beginning of menarche and menopause. The overall Reconstructionist Movement has been committed to creating liturgy that is in line with gender equality and the celebration of women's lives. Another major step: the Federation of Reconstruction Congress has also developed educational programs that teach full acceptance of lesbians, as well as rituals that affirm lesbian relationships. Reconstructionist rabbis presided over same-sex marriage ceremonies. Reconstructionist Judaism also allows LGBT men and women to be openly ordained as rabbis and offices.
Some prominent members of the Reconstructionist community have focused on issues such as domestic violence. Others devote energy to help women gain divorce rights in traditional Jewish communities. Many have spoken about the right of Jewish women to pray hard and read from the Torah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the Women of the Wall group.
When the role of women in religion changes, there may also be a changed role for men. With their defense of patrilineal descent in the 1970s, the Rabbinical Reconstruction Association supported the principle that a man responsible for raising a Jewish child could pass on Judaism to the next generation as well as a woman. All children receiving Jewish education are considered Jews in Reconstructionist Judaism regardless of the gender of their Jewish parents.
Jewish Renewal
Jewish renewal is a recent movement in Judaism that seeks to revive modern Judaism with Kabbalistic practices, Hasid, music and meditation; he described himself as "a worldwide transdenomination movement based on the prophetic and mystical tradition of Judaism". The Jewish Reform Movement ordains women and men as rabbis and offices. Lynn Gottlieb became the first female rabbi in Jewish Renewal in 1981, and Avitall Gerstetter, who lives in Germany, became the first female singer in Jewish Renewal (and first female singer in Germany) in 2002. In 2009 and 2012 respectively, OHALAH (Rabbi Association for Jewish Renewal) issues a council and resolution statement supporting the Wall Woman. The OHALAH Principle's statement states in part, "Our local community will embody egalitarian and inclusive values, manifested in various leadership and decision-making structures, ensuring that women and men are complete and equal partners in every aspect of our communal Jews. life." In 2014, OHALAH issued a council resolution stating that, "Therefore, it can be decided that: OHYAH supports the obedience of the Women's History Month, International Women's Day, and Women's Equality Day: OHALAH condemns all types of sexism; and all the generations to come, and OHALAH supports equality regardless of gender. "Also in 2014, ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal issued a statement stating," ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal supports the obedience of the Women's History Month, International Women's Day , and the Day of Women's Equality, condemn all kinds of sexism, commit to gender equality, now and in all generations to come, and support equality of rights regardless of sex, in recognition and loyalty to the view that we are all created in Fig. Divine. "
Humanistic Judaism
Humanitarian Judaism is a movement within Judaism that offers a non-theistic alternative in contemporary Jewish life. It ordained men and women as rabbis, and the first rabbi was a woman, Tamara Kolton, who was ordained in 1999. Her first singer was also a woman, Deborah Davis, ordained in 2001; Nevertheless, Humanistic Judaism has since stopped the Cantonese assignment. The Society for Humanistic Judaism men
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