The Status of Women in Jewish Law: Responsa
- by Rabbi David Golinkin Schechter Institute, 300 pages.
Women in Jewish law never ceases to be a sexy subject.
It's only lazy purveyors of the Jewish scene who glibly
repeat the convenient claims that "nothing ever changes,"
that "women are second-class citizens in Judaism"
and that "Judaism is discriminatory."
Of course, contradictions and intellectual difficulties
remain, particularly where the expectations of modernity
and the traditional status of Jewish women converge.
However, the past 25 years has produced an incredible amount
of research, analysis and practical innovation that has
helped change the spiritual and halachic lives of Jewish
women.
The impact of these changes has cut across all streams
of Judaism. The ordination of women rabbis, the unearthing
of Jewish women's history, the discovery and re-discovery
of prayers written by Jewish women, the development of new
rituals to celebrate Jewish women's life-cycle events, the
rigorous study of Talmud by Orthodox women, and the recent
establishment of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance are
all signs of a vibrant community of scholars committed to
engaging the issue of women in Judaism.
Rabbi David Golinkin's, The Status of Women in Jewish
Law: Responsa brings together his articles published
between 1987 and 2000 - an important body of work that has
been a major contribution to the development of the Conservative
movement's position on the halachic issues affecting women.
Relevant responsa have been updated.
As the president and rector of the Schechter Institute
of Jewish Studies, the director of its Center for Women
in Jewish Law and the chair of the Va'ad Halacha
(Law Committee) of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel, Golinkin
is, he says, "asked about this topic more than any
other."
In this collection, Golinkin outlines the Conservative
position on 10 key areas affecting women:
* women and tefillin
* women in the minyan and as shlihot tzibbur (prayer leaders)
* baruch shepatrani for a bat/bar mitzva (a father's ceremonial
statement that he is no longer responsible for the sins
of a son or daughter)
* aliyot for women
* the participation of women in funerals
* women and the mourner's kaddish
* the active participation of women in the marriage ceremony
* women as halachic authorities
* the mehitza in the synagogue
* the ordination of women as rabbis, including holding public
office, studying and teaching Torah, positive time-bound
commandments, judging, and giving testimony.
READERS WILL no doubt be attracted to the specific issues
that interest them most, and they will find in each Hebrew
chapter a comprehensive review of how the question has been
treated in the Talmud, how related issues have emerged historically
and sociologically, how various poskim have ruled
on the issue, Golinkin's summary comments on these rulings
and finally, the practical application of the Conservative
position (halacha lema'aser).
Each chapter concludes with its own bibliography that
provides an excellent springboard for future study.
Conservative Judaism fully embraces halacha, but does
not necessarily adhere to Orthodoxy's interpretation of
that same halacha. For instance, the rulings here are in
keeping with the movement's desire to maximize the participation
of women in ritual.
Given that almost half of American Jewry is affiliated
to the movement, I'm wondering why the book was not published
in English as well. The 50-page English summary does not
do justice to the painstaking research and sources used
in the Hebrew version.
For example, the English summaries use the generic term
"some rabbis say…" whereas the Hebrew section
indicates which rabbi said what and where.This is especially
true in the first chapter where Golinkin outlines nine different
approaches to understanding the status of women in Jewish
law. His 38-page Hebrew chapter ranges from the normative
Orthodoxy of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein to the feminist theology
of Judith Plaskow.
I have never seen such a succinct and non-judgemental
review of the various positions. And readers will be able
to identify the tradition they feel most comfortable with.
The English section summarizes these nine approaches in
a page and a quarter. So, with a trusty English-Hebrew dictionary
by your side, it would be well worth ploughing through the
challenging and thoughtful Hebrew analysis.
The reviewer, who lives in London and is a regular contributor
to the Jerusalem Post, is the author of Straight Talk (Ktav).
