The following are numbers from a recently released poll from the Israel Democracy Institute. (HT Tomer Persico on FB) The results can be found here in English (HT Benjamin of Tudela), and in Hebrew here. They are from a poll conducted in April, before the most recent prayer service by Women of the Wall at the [...]
There’s a new blog on the web by Debby Koren, VaTashar Devora, which is described as “A blog about halakha, women and Judaism, Jewish family law, agunot.” After much urging and encouragement from my “fans” and friends, I am launching my blog, VaTashar Devora – ותשר דבורה (Judges 5,1). My primary focus is to discuss [...]
Another interesting book has recently been published, Elizabeth Shanks Alexander’s Gender and Timebound Commandments in Judaism. The rule that exempts women from rituals that need to be performed at specific times (so-called timebound, positive commandments) has served for centuries to stabilize Jewish gender. It has provided a rationale for women’s centrality at home and their [...]
The ultra-Orthodox newspaper Ba-Kehillah (In the Community) has a policy of not including pictures of women, but this one shows how sick and disturbing this policy is. (HT) The picture is from this (Hebrew) Ynet article.
Vered Noam recently wrote an article in Hebrew about women and Jewish law in the Israeli National-Religious community. The article, which I wrote about here, caused quite a large amount of discussion. You can read the responses (H) that were published in Musaf Shabbat of Makor Rishon, or some of the close to seven hundred [...]
A few years ago I wrote about an unmarried teacher in an Israeli religious Ulpana who was fired because she became pregnant through IVF. The court case has just ended and she was awarded 180,000 NIS (app. $48,000). The court said that firing the teacher violated the law against discrimination in the work place. Update: [...]
Next Thursday in Jerusalem there will be a day-long seminar on Women in Jewish Law at Machon Schechter. מכון שכטר למדעי היהדות מזמין אתכם ליום עיון על מעמד האשה בהלכה לרגל הופעת ספרו של פרופ׳ דוד גולינקין ולזכרו של הרב נח גולינקין ז״ל במלאת עשר שנים למותו ביום חמישי, כ״ה אדר תשע״ג 7/3/13 בין השעות [...]
Vered Noam published an article [PDF] (Hebrew, as are all of the links.) in this past shabbat’s issue of Musaf Shabbat that is causing quite a bit of discussion in the blogosphere and social media. Noam challenges the current status of women in Orthodox Judaism and calls for change.
Ynet has an article (H) about Beit Morasha’s Advanced Halakhah Program for Women. It is a very serious program that does not limit itself to questions about Tohorat ha-Mishpaḥah and is sure to have an influence on the modern religious community in Israel. The curriculum can be found here.
A recent article in the NYT on prayer at the Kotel included the followed statement. Jewish law requires only men to pray daily, though many women have taken on the obligation voluntarily. This statement is simply incorrect. While there are disagreements about the extant and frequency of a woman’s obligation to pray, almost every Jewish [...]
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