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Jewish feminism AI simulator
(@Jewish feminism_simulator)
Hub AI
Jewish feminism AI simulator
(@Jewish feminism_simulator)
Jewish feminism
Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to make the religious, legal, and social status of Jewish women equal to that of Jewish men in Judaism. Feminist movements, with varying approaches and successes, have opened up within all major branches of the Jewish religion.
In its modern form, the Jewish feminist movement can be traced to the early 1970s in the United States. According to Judith Plaskow, the main grievances of early Jewish feminists were women's exclusion from the all-male prayer group or minyan, women's exemption from positive time-bound mitzvot (mitzvot meaning the 613 commandments given in the Torah at Mount Sinai and the seven rabbinic commandments instituted later, for a total of 620), and women's inability to function as witnesses and to initiate divorce in Jewish religious courts.
According to historian Paula Hyman, two articles published in the 1970s were trailblazers in analyzing the status of Jewish women using feminism: "The Unfreedom of Jewish Women", published in 1970 in the Jewish Spectator by its editor, Trude Weiss-Rosmarin, and an article by Rachel Adler, then an Orthodox Jew and currently a professor at the Reform seminary Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, called "The Jew Who Wasn't There: Halacha and the Jewish Woman", published in 1971 in Davka. Also, in 1973, the first [American] National Jewish Women's Conference was held, in New York City; Blu Greenberg gave its opening address.
There are many variations of feminist theology within Jewish communities, and it has not been formalized. In general, Jewish feminist theology considers "central Jewish categories, themes, and modes of expression." Ronit Irshai noted "one of the most conspicuous attributes of Jewish feminist theology is the belief, held by most of its advocates, that the repair can come from within, and that the main effort is to propose a theological structure that does so."
The feminist theological movement originated in the secular feminism of the 1960s and 1970s. An early theological topic to be discussed, starting in the 1970s, was God language. In 1979, Rita Gross published her previously circulating article arguing that the Jewish lack of female imagery for God is the " ultimate symbol of the degradation of Jewish women." Judith Plaskow explained this by positing that the hierarchal relationship between God and humanity, along with the masculine terms used for God and feminine for humanity, led to a "causal connection between the conception of God and the patriarchal social structure." Plaskow called for a new religious language, including female "God-talk," which included creating a new religious memory, ceremonies, liturgy, and Midrash that could lead to new conceptions of the divine. A contrasting immanent theological theory, expressed by Tamar Ross, is that of "cumulative revelation," which claims revelation is " an ongoing and cumulative process, a gradual and dynamic development of the original Torah, such that the Torah’s ultimate meaning is revealed only over the course of time," that adds to knowledge.
A major inspiration for many Jewish feminist theologians was Raphael Patai's book The Hebrew Goddess, which contributed to knowledge about Jewish conceptions of a feminist divine in ancient and medieval tradition.
In 1976, Naomi Janowitz and Margaret Wenig, then undergraduates at Brown University, expressed this concept by writing Siddur Nashim. Later liturgists have further experimented with female God language. They use terms like Shekhinah, a feminine aspect of Judaism taken from mysticism, Rahmana, meaning "mother of wombs," "Yah," and "ein hahayim." Jewish feminist theology also considers female or gender-neutral metaphors for God. Neil Gillman notes that Jewish feminists, "reject... the king metaphor because of its hierarchical associations, and the paternal metaphor because it excludes their distinctive female experience. The world has changed, and so must our divine images."
By the 1990s, the Reform and Reconstructionist movements included feminist liturgy and God language in their siddurim. The Jewish Renewal movement uses Shekhinah to identify God.
Jewish feminism
Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to make the religious, legal, and social status of Jewish women equal to that of Jewish men in Judaism. Feminist movements, with varying approaches and successes, have opened up within all major branches of the Jewish religion.
In its modern form, the Jewish feminist movement can be traced to the early 1970s in the United States. According to Judith Plaskow, the main grievances of early Jewish feminists were women's exclusion from the all-male prayer group or minyan, women's exemption from positive time-bound mitzvot (mitzvot meaning the 613 commandments given in the Torah at Mount Sinai and the seven rabbinic commandments instituted later, for a total of 620), and women's inability to function as witnesses and to initiate divorce in Jewish religious courts.
According to historian Paula Hyman, two articles published in the 1970s were trailblazers in analyzing the status of Jewish women using feminism: "The Unfreedom of Jewish Women", published in 1970 in the Jewish Spectator by its editor, Trude Weiss-Rosmarin, and an article by Rachel Adler, then an Orthodox Jew and currently a professor at the Reform seminary Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, called "The Jew Who Wasn't There: Halacha and the Jewish Woman", published in 1971 in Davka. Also, in 1973, the first [American] National Jewish Women's Conference was held, in New York City; Blu Greenberg gave its opening address.
There are many variations of feminist theology within Jewish communities, and it has not been formalized. In general, Jewish feminist theology considers "central Jewish categories, themes, and modes of expression." Ronit Irshai noted "one of the most conspicuous attributes of Jewish feminist theology is the belief, held by most of its advocates, that the repair can come from within, and that the main effort is to propose a theological structure that does so."
The feminist theological movement originated in the secular feminism of the 1960s and 1970s. An early theological topic to be discussed, starting in the 1970s, was God language. In 1979, Rita Gross published her previously circulating article arguing that the Jewish lack of female imagery for God is the " ultimate symbol of the degradation of Jewish women." Judith Plaskow explained this by positing that the hierarchal relationship between God and humanity, along with the masculine terms used for God and feminine for humanity, led to a "causal connection between the conception of God and the patriarchal social structure." Plaskow called for a new religious language, including female "God-talk," which included creating a new religious memory, ceremonies, liturgy, and Midrash that could lead to new conceptions of the divine. A contrasting immanent theological theory, expressed by Tamar Ross, is that of "cumulative revelation," which claims revelation is " an ongoing and cumulative process, a gradual and dynamic development of the original Torah, such that the Torah’s ultimate meaning is revealed only over the course of time," that adds to knowledge.
A major inspiration for many Jewish feminist theologians was Raphael Patai's book The Hebrew Goddess, which contributed to knowledge about Jewish conceptions of a feminist divine in ancient and medieval tradition.
In 1976, Naomi Janowitz and Margaret Wenig, then undergraduates at Brown University, expressed this concept by writing Siddur Nashim. Later liturgists have further experimented with female God language. They use terms like Shekhinah, a feminine aspect of Judaism taken from mysticism, Rahmana, meaning "mother of wombs," "Yah," and "ein hahayim." Jewish feminist theology also considers female or gender-neutral metaphors for God. Neil Gillman notes that Jewish feminists, "reject... the king metaphor because of its hierarchical associations, and the paternal metaphor because it excludes their distinctive female experience. The world has changed, and so must our divine images."
By the 1990s, the Reform and Reconstructionist movements included feminist liturgy and God language in their siddurim. The Jewish Renewal movement uses Shekhinah to identify God.