Charismatic Female Religious Leadership
In today’s issue of Mekor Rishon there is an article describing a large women’s prayer service for the fast of the 17th of Tammuz. What I found interesting about the article was that it presented a different model of women’s religious leadership than is familiar to many liberal religious Jews. The organizer of the event, Rebbetzin Yemimah Mizrahi, seems like an example of a charismatic religious leader who is addressing the modern challenges of being a religious woman and presenting an alternative type of experiential and learning model. See here for a report of her critique of Kolech. The following really caught my attention. (p. 9)
Translation:
Q: As one who well knows the females of the sector, what advice are you able to give them?
A: “Start to move you couch potatoes!” she laughed. “The only thing that gives a woman strength to survive is to be happy and to move her body. Do something physical, dance, movement, and Yoga. Stop sitting all day in front of the laptop or across from the chocolate cake which mommy made. The daughters of Zelofhad moved their bodies. (Here come some cute word plays on the Hebrew names of the daughters of Zelofhad.- MM) Hoglah moved around, Tirzah shook up, Milkah walked, Mahlah got things moving, and Noa quivered. (I am sure that someone else could translate this sentence better. – MM) From them it is possible to learn about optimism and success. Five daughters of Zelofhad, who were important righteous women, did not marry until an older age since they didn’t agree to compromise on a spouse. The youngest married at the age of forty and the oldest at the age of sixty. They were full of optimism, they didn’t compromise, and in the end they succeeded. Start to move yourselves. That is what brings joy to the body.”
Go girl!!
July 13th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
That woman’s comment is nearly the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. Sure, why not, advise all the girls to wait until 40 or 60 to marry, and not to compromise. Brilliant.
You think we have a singles epidemic now?? Wait till they start listening to this lady.
July 19th, 2009 at 10:07 am
“moving around” is only part of what makes a woman happy. “Charismatic” is an important trait, but there is a limit on what charismatic can accomplish in terms of leadership, without the intellectual and scholarly brilliance.
Also,
“compromise” makes no one happy.