February 2013

Living the Legacy of Jewish Feminism

Dear Friends,

As a rabbi, part of my role in our community is to be a connection to our Jewish past, to remind us of where we came from so that we can better understand where we are going. Yet sometimes, my own rootedness in the present makes it hard for me to imagine how different things used to be even 50 years ago. This past week, I had the blessing of being reminded of what I see as Judaism’s somewhat miraculous capacity to grow and evolve with the times. I want to share with you some of these ideas, which I hope to discuss with you in the coming weeks.

This year, the annual Winter Seminar at Hebrew College (my rabbinical school) focused on feminism and Judaism, I had the privilege of attending much of the week. I expected for the seminar to talk about women’s expanding opportunities in Judaism, how a century ago women were not counted in a minyan (prayer quorum of 10 people), were not allowed on the bima, and certainly were not permitted to lead prayer or serve as rabbis. What I didn’t expect was to learn, from Dr. Judith Rosenbaum, Dr. Judith Plaskow, and others, was how the various versions of Jewish feminism not only transformed women’s roles, but have also transformed the nature of many Jewish communities as a whole. Before feminism, Jewish community was more hierarchical. Only one generation ago, when my mother grew up, the rabbi stood in robes on a high bima, and the robed cantor and synagogue president sat on stage in regal chairs. Many synagogues had assigned seating, with more affluent members reserved for the front.

When women began to ask for more rights in society, they not only sought the same leadership roles as men, but worked to create less hierarchical institutions in general. Because of their influence, congregations like ours emerged where many people share leadership, where the rabbi is no longer seen as closer to God, but rather as a teacher, pastor, organizer, and, to use a feminine image, as a midwife of the community members’ spiritual journeys.

The transformation did not stop on the interpersonal level. Not only did feminism influence Jewish communities in how people relate to each other, but it also changed the way that we think about God. Until my parents’ generation and even after, most people thought of God as an all-powerful and all-knowing deity, often pictured as a wise old man with a beard. As women began to tell their stories and encourage other people on the margins to do the same, people began to imagine God differently, too.

If we are each in God’s image, they thought, then a part of God must look like each of us, including women, including vulnerable children, etc. In the wake of the Holocaust, which destroyed many people’s faith in an all- powerful God who intervenes in history, the imagine of a vulnerable God who cries for God’s children’s suffering fit better for many people.

Further, women led people to imagine God less as a transcendent external force, and more as an imminent internal force, the holy spark within us, the love between us, the interconnected ground of all being. They also imagined “God as a verb,” as the holy actions of loving, growing, and acting compassionately that we manifest in the world through our deeds. These ideas weren’t completely new, but gained strength as feminist- influenced Jewish communities resonated with them more and more.

Here at Sha’arei Shalom, we welcome people of many different backgrounds and beliefs. In our new Torah study program, we are entering into conversation with the Torah, letting its voice speak to us and finding our voice in the centuries-long dialogue. I believe we owe a great debt to the Jewish feminist movement(s), which have made it more possible for communities like ours to welcome diversity, make every voice count, and all members feel that they are created in the image of the Divine.

Warm regards, Rabbi Margie