The role of women in Judaism is determined by the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Oral Law (the corpus of rabbinic literature), by custom, and by cultural factors. Although the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic literature mention various female role models, religious law treats women differently in various circumstances. According to a 2017 study by the

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and th ...

, women are slightly more numerous among worldwide Jewish population (52%).

Gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most culture ...

has a bearing on familial lines: In traditional Judaism, Jewishness is passed down through the mother, although the father's name is used to describe sons and daughters in the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

, e. g., "Dinah, daughter of Jacob". The status of Levi is only given to a Jewish male descended patrilineally from Levi; likewise a Kohen descends from Aharon, the first Kohen. A Bat-Kohen or Bat-Levi has that status from her Jewish father with the corresponding HaKohen/HaLevi title.

Biblical times

Compared to men, relatively few women are mentioned in the Bible by name and role. Those who are mentioned include the Matriarchs

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pio ...

, Rebecca, Rachel, and

Leah Leah ''La'ya;'' from (; ) appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son ...

;

Miriam Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The ...

the prophetess; Deborah the Judge; Huldah the prophetess;

Abigail Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death ( 1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later ma ...

, who married

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

; Rahab; and the Persian Jewish queen Esther. A common phenomenon in the Bible is the pivotal role that women take in subverting man-made power structures. The result is often a more just outcome than what would have taken place under ordinary circumstances. Today, many of them are considered foundational by feminists because of the insights they provide into the lives of Jewish women during those times, albeit as notable examples of women who broke the male dominance of historical documentation of the time compared to the poor documentation of most women's lives. According to Jewish tradition, a covenant was formed between the Israelites and the God of

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

at Mount Sinai. The Torah relates that both Israelite men and Israelite women were present at Sinai; however, the covenant was worded in such a way that it bound men to act upon its requirements and to ensure that the members of their household (wives, children, and slaves) met these requirements as well. In this sense, the covenant bound women as well, though indirectly. Hauptman, Judith. "Women". ''Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary''. Ed. David L. Lieber. The Jewish Publication Society, 2001. 1356-1359. Marriage and family law in biblical times favored men over women. For example, a husband could divorce a wife if he chose to, but a wife could not divorce a husband without his consent. The practice of

levirate marriage Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow. Levirate marriage has been practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage (i.e. marriage ou ...

applied to widows of childless deceased husbands, not to widowers of childless deceased wives; though, if either he or she did not consent to the marriage, a different ceremony called ''

chalitza ''Halizah'' (or ''chalitzah''; he, חליצה) is, under the Hebrew Bible, biblical system of levirate marriage known as ''yibbum'', the process by which a childless widow and a brother of her deceased husband may avoid the duty to marry. The p ...

'' is done instead, which basically involves the widow's removing her brother-in-law's shoe, spitting in front of him, and proclaiming, "This is what happens to someone who will not build his brother's house!" Laws concerning the loss of female virginity have no male equivalent. Many of these laws, such as levirate marriage, are no longer practiced in Judaism (chalitzah is practiced in lieu of levirate marriage). These and other gender differences found in the Torah suggest that biblical society viewed continuity, property, and family unity as paramount; however, they also suggest that women were subordinate to men during biblical times. Men were required to perform some specific obligations for their wives, but these often reinforced the gendered roles in the culture of the time. These included the provision of clothing, food, and sexual relations to their wives. Women also had a role in ritual life. Women (as well as men) were required to make a pilgrimage to the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...

once a year (men each of the three main festivals if they could) and offer the

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

. They would also do so on special occasions in their lives such as giving a ''todah'' ("thanksgiving") offering after childbirth. Hence, they participated in many of the major public religious roles that non-

Levitical Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew de ...

men could, albeit less often and on a somewhat smaller and generally more discreet scale. According to Jewish tradition, Michal, the daughter of

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

and

's first wife, accepted the commandments of

tefillin Tefillin (; Modern Hebrew language, Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazim, Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Te ...

and

tzitzit ''Tzitzit'' ( he, ''ṣīṣīṯ'', ; plural ''ṣīṣiyyōṯ'', Ashkenazi: '; and Samaritan: ') are specially knotted ritual fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and today by observant Jews and Samaritans. are usual ...

although these requirements applied only to men. Many of the mitzvot that applied to men applied to women as well; however, women were usually exempt from positive time-bound commandments (requirements to perform duty at a specific time, as opposed to requirements to perform duty at any time or requirements to abstain from an act). There are two prominent theories about why this is: pragmatism (because the role of women in household duties consumes their time) and spirituality (because according to some traditions, "women have superior inherent spiritual wisdom", known as bina, that makes them less dependent than men on the performance of timely religious practices to retain a strong spiritual connection to God). Women depended on men economically. Women generally did not own property except in the rare case of inheriting land from a father who did not bear sons. Even "in such cases, women would be required to remarry within the tribe so as not to reduce its land holdings".

Talmudic times

Women are required by '' halacha'' to carry out all negative ''

mitzvot In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...

'' (i. e., commandments that prohibit activities such as " Thou shalt not commit adultery"), but they are excused from doing most time-bound, positive ''mitzvot'' (i. e., commandments that prescribe ritual action that must be done at certain times such as hearing a shofar on

Rosh Hashanah Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , ...

). A woman would not, however, be prohibited from doing a ''mitzvah'' from which she was excused. ''Halacha'' also provided women with some material and emotional protections related to marriage, and divorce that most non-Jewish women did not enjoy during the first millennium of the Common Era. The penal and civil law of the time treated men and women equally. There is evidence that, at least among the elite, women were educated in the Bible and in ''halacha''. The daughter of a scholar was considered a good prospect for marriage in part because of her education. There are stories in the Talmud about women whose husbands died or were exiled and yet were still able to educate their children because of their own level of learning. Classical Jewish rabbinical literature contains quotes that may be seen as both laudatory and derogatory of women. The Talmud states that: * Greater is the reward to be given by the All-Mighty to the (righteous) women than to (righteous) men * Ten measures of speech descended to the world; women took nine * Women are ''light on raw knowledge'' – i. e., they possess more intuition * A man without a wife lives without joy, blessing, and good; a man should love his wife as himself and respect her more than himself *When Rav Yosef b. Hiyya heard his mother's footsteps he would say: ''Let me arise before the approach of the

divine presence Divine presence, presence of God, Inner God, or simply presence is a concept in religion, spirituality, and theology that deals with the ability of God to be " present" with human beings. According to some types of monotheism God is omnipresen ...

'' * Israel was redeemed from Egypt by virtue of its (Israel) righteous women * A man must be careful never to speak slightingly to his wife because women are prone to tears and sensitive to wrong * Women have greater faith than men * Women have greater powers of discernment * Women are especially tenderhearted While few women are mentioned by name in rabbinic literature, and none are known to have authored a rabbinic work, those who are mentioned are portrayed as having a strong influence on their husbands. Occasionally they have a public persona. Examples are Bruriah, the wife of the Tanna

Rabbi Meir Rabbi Meir ( he, רַבִּי מֵאִיר) was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishnah. He was considered one of the greatest of the Tannaim of the fourth generation (139-163). He is the third most frequently mentioned sage in the Mis ...

; Rachel, wife of Rabbi Akiva; and Yalta, the wife of Rabbi Nachman. Eleazar ben Arach's wife

Ima Shalom Ima Shalom (1st century CE) is one of the few women who are named and quoted in the Talmud. She was the wife of Eliezer ben Hurcanus, a prominent Mishnaic sage, and the sister of Rabban Gamaliel II of Yavneh, the first person to lead the Sanhedrin ...

counseled her husband in assuming leadership over the

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin ( Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , '' synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as " rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temp ...

. When Eleazar ben Arach was asked to assume the role of '' Nasi'' ("Prince" or President of the

), he replied that he must first take counsel with his wife, which he did.

Middle Ages

Since Jews were seen as second-class citizens in the Christian and Muslim world (legally known in the Muslim world as

dhimmi ' ( ar, ذمي ', , collectively ''/'' "the people of the covenant") or () is a historical term for non-Muslims living in an Islamic state with legal protection. The word literally means "protected person", referring to the state's obligatio ...

), it was even harder for Jewish women to establish their own status.

Avraham Grossman Avraham Grossman (Hebrew: אברהם גרוסמן; born: March 10, 1936) is a professor emeritus in the Jewish history department in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Recipient of 2003 Israel Prize for his contributions to Jewish history. Bio ...

argues in his book, ''Pious and Rebellious: Jewish Women in Medieval Europe'', that three factors affected how Jewish women were perceived by the society around them: "the biblical and Talmudic heritage; the situation in the non-Jewish society within which the Jews lived and functioned; and the economic status of the Jews, including the woman's role in supporting the family." Grossman uses all three factors to argue that women's status overall during this period actually rose. During the Middle Ages, there was a conflict between Judaism's lofty religious expectations of women and the reality of society in which these Jewish women lived; this is similar to the lives of Christian women in the same period. This prompted the

kabbalistic Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

work ''Sefer Hakanah'' to demand that women fulfill the ''

'' in a way that would be equal to men.Ben-Sasson, H. H. "Spiritual and Social Creativity." ''A History of the Jewish People''. Ed. Ben-Sasson. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1976. 612–627. Print. There is evidence that in some communities of

Ashkenaz Ashkenaz ( he, ''ʾAškənāz'') in the Hebrew Bible is one of the descendants of Noah. Ashkenaz is the first son of Gomer, and a Japhetic patriarch in the Table of Nations. In rabbinic literature, the descendants of Ashkenaz were first associa ...

in the 15th century, the wife of the rabbi wore ''

'' just like her husband.

Religious life

Religious developments during the medieval period included relaxation on prohibitions against teaching women

, and the rise of women's prayer groups. One place that women participated in Jewish practices publicly was the

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

. Women probably learned how to read the liturgy in Hebrew. According to John Bowker, traditionally, Jewish " men and women pray separately. This goes back to ancient times when women could go only as far as the second court of the Temple." In most synagogues, the women were given their own section, most likely a balcony; some synagogues had a separate building.Grossman, 181. Separation from the men was created by the Rabbis in the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

and the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

. The reasoning behind the Halacha was that a woman and her body would distract men and give them impure thoughts during prayer. Due to this rabbinical interpretation, scholars have seen the women's role in the synagogue as limited and sometimes even non-existent. However, recent research has shown that women actually had a larger role in the synagogue and the community at large. Women usually attended synagogue, for example, on the

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stori ...

and the holidays. Depending on the location of the women in the synagogue, they may have followed the same service as the men or they conducted their own services. Since the synagogues were large, there would be a designated woman who would be able to follow the cantor and repeat the prayers aloud for the women. Women had always attended services on Shabbat and holidays, but beginning in the eleventh century, women became more involved in the synagogue and its rituals. Women sitting separately from the men became a norm in synagogues around the beginning of the thirteenth century. Women, however, did much more than pray in the synagogue. One of the main jobs for women was to beautify the building. There are

Torah ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron ha- ...

curtains and

covers that women sewed and survive today. The synagogue was a communal place for both men and women where worship, learning and community activities occurred. The rise and increasing popularity of

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

, which emphasized the

shechinah Shekhinah, also spelled Shechinah ( Hebrew: שְׁכִינָה ''Šəḵīnā'', Tiberian: ''Šăḵīnā'') is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God, as it were, in a pla ...

and female aspects of the divine presence and human-divine relationship, and which saw marriage as a holy covenant between partners rather than just a civil contract, had great influence. Kabbalists explained the phenomenon of menstruation as expressions of the demonic or sinful character of the menstruant. These changes were accompanied by increased pietistic strictures, including greater requirements for modest dress, and greater strictures during the period of menstruation. At the same time, there was a rise in philosophical and midrashic interpretations depicting women in a negative light, emphasizing a duality between matter and spirit in which femininity was associated, negatively, with earth and matter. The gentile society was also seen as a negative influence on the Jewish community. For example, it seems that Jews would analyze the modesty of their non-Jewish neighbors before officially moving into a new community because they knew that their children would be influenced by the local gentiles. After the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, women became virtually the only source of Jewish ritual and tradition in the Catholic world in a phenomenon known as crypto-Judaism. Crypto-Jewish women would slaughter their own animals and made sure to keep as many of the Jewish dietary laws and life cycle rituals as possible without raising suspicion. Occasionally, these women were prosecuted by

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

officials for suspicious behavior such as lighting candles to honor the Sabbath or refusing to eat pork when it was offered to them. The Inquisition targeted crypto-Jewish women at least as much as it targeted crypto-Jewish men because women were accused of perpetuating Jewish tradition while men were merely permitting their wives and daughters to organize the household in this manner.

Domestic life

Brooklyn Museum - Jewish Marriage Certificate - overall

Marriage, domestic violence and divorce are all topics discussed by Jewish sages of the Medieval world. Marriage is an important institution in Judaism (see

Marriage in Judaism Marriage in Judaism is the documentation of a contract between a Jewish man and a Jewish woman in which God is involved. In Judaism, a marriage can end either because of a divorce document given by the man to his wife, or by the death of eit ...

). The sages of this period discussed this topic at length. The wife and mother in Hebrew, is called "akeret habayit," which in English translation means "mainstay of the house." In traditional and Orthodox Judaism the ''akeret habayit'', or woman of the house, tends to the family and household duties.

Rabbeinu Gershom Gershom ben Judah, (c. 960 -1040) best known as Rabbeinu Gershom ( he, רבנו גרשום, "Our teacher Gershom") and also commonly known to scholars of Judaism by the title ''Rabbeinu Gershom Me'Or Hagolah'' ("Our teacher Gershom the light of the ...

instituted a rabbinic decree ( Takkanah) prohibiting

polygyny Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women. Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any ...

among Ashkenazic Jews. At the time,

Sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

and

Mizrahi Jews Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained ...

did not recognize the validity of the ban. The rabbis instituted legal methods to enable women to petition a rabbinical court to compel a divorce.

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

ruled that a woman who found her husband "repugnant" could ask a court to compel a divorce by flogging the recalcitrant husband "because she is not like a captive, to be subjected to intercourse with one who is hateful to her". Furthermore, Maimonides ruled that a woman may "consider herself as divorced and remarry" if her husband became absent for three years or more. This was to prevent women married to traveling merchants from becoming an

agunah An ''agunah'' ( he, עגונה, plural: agunot (); literally "anchored" or "chained") is a Jewish woman who is stuck in her religious marriage as determined by ''halakha'' (Jewish law). The classic case of this is a man who has left on a journey ...

if the husband never returned. The rabbis also instituted and tightened prohibitions on domestic violence. Rabbi Peretz ben Elijah ruled, "The cry of the daughters of our people has been heard concerning the sons of Israel who raise their hands to strike their wives. Yet who has given a husband the authority to beat his wife?" Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg ruled that, "For it is the way of the Gentiles to behave thus, but Heaven forbid that any Jew should do so. And one who beats his wife is to be excommunicated and banned and beaten." Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg also ruled that a battered wife could petition a rabbinical court to compel a husband to grant a divorce, with a monetary fine owed to her on top of the regular

ketubah A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, ...

money. These rulings occurred in the midst of societies where wife-beating was legally sanctioned and routine.

Education

Jewish women had a limited education. They were taught to read, write, run a household. They were also given some education in religious law that was essential to their daily lives, such as keeping

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

. Both Christian and Jewish girls were educated in the home. Although Christian girls may have had a male or female tutor, most Jewish girls had a female tutor. Higher learning was uncommon for women. (See Female Education in the Medieval Period). There are more sources of education for Jewish women living in Muslim-controlled lands. For example, Middle Eastern Jewry had an abundance of female literates. Many women gained enough education to help their husbands out in business or even run their own. Jewish women seem to have lent money to Christian women throughout Europe. Women were also copyists,

midwives A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; c ...

, spinners, and weavers.Steinberg, 160.

Views on the education of women

From certain contexts of the Mishnah and Talmud it can be derived that women should not study Mishnah. There were female Tannaitic Torah jurists such as Rabbi Meir's wife, Rabbi Meir's daughter, and the daughter of Haninah ben Teradion Haninah's daughter is again mentioned as a sage in the non-Talmud 3rd-century text Tractate Semahot verse 12:13. Rabbi Meir's wife is credited with teaching him how to understand some verses from Isaiah. In the Mishnah there is also a reference to certain women teaching men the Torah from behind a curtain, so that no man would be offended. A ''yeshiva'', or school for Talmudic studies, is an "exclusively masculine environment" because of absence of women from these studies. ;Maimonides

tended to elevate the status of women above that which was common for the Middle Ages. For example, Maimonides permitted women to study Torah despite the fact that other contemporary and preceding legal opinions of his time did not. ;Haim Yosef David Azulai, AKA 'The Hida' The Hida wrote that women should study the Mishnah only if they want to. According to the Hida, the prohibition of teaching women does not apply to a motivated woman or girl. His response to detractors was that indeed, in truth, there is a prohibition against teaching Mishnah to any student—male or female—who one knows is not properly prepared and motivated. ;Yisrael Meir Kagan One of the most important Ashkenazi rabbanim of the past century, Yisrael Meir Kagan, known popularly as the "Chofetz Chaim", favored Torah education for girls to counteract the French "finishing schools" prevalent in his day for the daughters of the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. Th ...

. ;Joseph Soloveitchik Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik taught that all religious Ashkenazi Jews, with the exception of hardline Hasidim, not merely should, or solely if they show motivation, but must teach their female children Gemarah like the boy school children: "The halakha prohibiting Torah study for women is not indiscriminate or all-encompassing. ... 'If ever circumstances dictate that study of Torah sh-Ba'al Peh is necessary to provide a firm foundation for faith, such study becomes obligatory and obviously lies beyond the pale of any prohibition.' Undoubtedly, the Rav's prescription was more far-reaching than that of the Hafets Hayim and others. But the difference in magnitude should not obscure their fundamental agreement n changing the attitudes Halachically"

Present day

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses o ...

is based on gendered understandings of Jewish practice (i.e., that there are different roles for men and women in religious life). This reflects the view that all are created ''unique'' rather than ''equal''. This emphasizes the view that everyone is created with a specialized, unique role in the world. There are different opinions among Orthodox Jews concerning these differences. Most claim that men and women have complementary yet different roles in religious life resulting in different religious obligations. For example, women are not burdened with time-bound

. Others believe that some of these differences are not a reflection of religious law, but rather of cultural, social, and historical causes. In the area of education, women were historically exempted from any study beyond an understanding of the practical aspects of

and the rules necessary for running a Jewish household; both of which they have an obligation to learn. Until the twentieth century, women were often discouraged from learning

and other advanced Jewish texts. In the past 100 years, Orthodox Jewish education for women has advanced tremendously. This is most embodied in the development of the Bais Yaakov system. There have been many areas in which Orthodox women have been working toward change within religious life over the past 20 years: promoting advanced women's learning and scholarship, promoting women's ritual inclusion in synagogue, promoting women's communal and religious leadership, and more. Women have been advancing change despite often vocal opposition by rabbinic leaders. Some Orthodox rabbis try to discount changes by claiming that women are motivated by sociological reason rather than "true" religious motivation. For example, Orthodox, Haredi, and

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism ( Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...

rabbis discourage women from wearing a

kippah A , , or , plural ), also called ''yarmulke'' (, ; yi, יאַרמלקע, link=no, , german: Jarmulke, pl, Jarmułka or ''koppel'' ( yi, קאפל ) is a brimless cap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish males to fulfill the ...

tallit A tallit ''talit'' in Modern Hebrew; ''tālēt'' in Sephardic Hebrew and Ladino; ''tallis'' in Ashkenazic Hebrew and Yiddish. Mish. pl. טליות ''telayot''; Heb. pl. טליתות ''tallitot'' , Yidd. pl. טליתים ''talleisim''. is a f ...

, or

. In most Orthodox synagogues, women are not entitled to deliver divrei Torah-brief discourses generally on the weekly Torah portion-after or between services; shiurim are typically limited to men, as well. Furthermore, many Orthodox synagogues have physical barriers (known as '' mechitzot'') dividing the left and right sides of the synagogue (rather than the usual division between the main floor and large balconies), with the women's section on one side, and the men's section on the other. Technically, a ''mechitzah'' of over four feet or so (ten handbreadths) suffices, even if the men can see the women, though it is not preferable. The mechitza serves to enhance the quality of prayer by ensuring that men are not distracted by the opposite sex. A typical ''mechitzah'' consists of wheeled wooden panels, often topped with one-way glass to allow women to view the

Torah reading Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting th ...

Rules of modesty

Although Judaism prescribes modesty for both men and women, the importance of modesty in dress and conduct is particularly stressed among women and girls in Orthodox society. Most Orthodox women only wear skirts, and avoid wearing trousers, and most married Orthodox women cover their hair with a scarf (''

tichel According to halacha (Jewish law), married Jewish women are expected to cover their hair when in the presence of men other than their husband or close family members. Such covering is common practice nowadays among Orthodox Jewish women. Differ ...

''), snood, hat, beret, or wig.

Rules of family purity

In accordance with Jewish Law, Orthodox Jewish women refrain from bodily contact with their husbands while they are menstruating, and for a period of 7 clean days after menstruating, and after the birth of a child. The Israeli Rabbinate has recently approved women acting as ''yoatzot'',

halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

advisers on sensitive personal matters such as

family purity Niddah (or nidah; he, נִדָּה), in traditional Judaism, describes a woman who has experienced a uterine discharge of blood (most commonly during menstruation), or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requir ...

Modern Orthodox Judaism

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, a leader of profound influence in modern Orthodoxy in the United States, discouraged women from serving as presidents of synagogues or any other official positions of leadership, from performing other

(commandments) traditionally performed by males exclusively, such as wearing a

. A minor reason argued for why only men wear tefillin is that the tefillin help keep men from thinking impure thoughts. Women are thought not to need help with this. Soloveitchik wrote that while women do not lack the capability to perform such acts, there is no ''mesorah'' (Jewish tradition) that permits it. In making his decision, he relied upon Jewish oral law, including a

mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

in Chulin 2a and a Beit Yoseph in the Tur Yoreh Deah stating that a woman can perform a specific official communal service for her own needs, but not those of others. Women's issues garnered more interest with the advent of

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. Many Modern Orthodox Jewish women and Modern Orthodox rabbis sought to provide greater and more advanced Jewish education for women. Since most Modern Orthodox women attend college, and many receive advanced degrees in a variety of fields, Modern Orthodox communities promote women's secular education. A few Modern Orthodox Synagogues have women serving as clergy, including

Gilah Kletenik Gilah Kletenik is an academic and rabbi. Career Kletenik is a Starr Fellow at Harvard University. She has written about Jewish Studies and other topics. Previously she was a congregational scholar at the Modern Orthodox Congregation Kehilath ...

Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun (KJ or CKJ) is a Modern Orthodox synagogue, located on East 85th Street on the Upper East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The synagogue was founded in 1872. The synagogue is closely affiliated with t ...

. In 2013,

Yeshivat Maharat Yeshivat Maharat is a Jewish educational institution in The Bronx, New York, which was the first Open Orthodox yeshiva in North America to ordain women. The word ''Maharat'' () is a Hebrew acronym for phrase ''manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit Toranit' ...

, located in the United States, became the first Orthodox institution to consecrate female clergy. The graduates of Yeshivat Maharat did not call themselves "rabbis". The title they were given is "maharat". However, in 2015, Yaffa Epstein was ordained as Rabba by Yeshivat Maharat. Also in 2015, Lila Kagedan was ordained as Rabbi by that same organization, making her their first graduate to take the title "Rabbi". In 2013,

Malka Schaps Mary Elizabeth Schaps (; born August 6, 1948), also known as Malka Elisheva Schaps, is an Israeli-American mathematician. She is Professor of Mathematics and Dean of the Faculty of Exact Sciences at Bar Ilan University. She received her Ph.D. from ...

became the first female Haredi dean at an Israeli university when she was appointed dean of Bar Ilan University's Faculty of Exact Sciences. Also in 2013, the first class of female halachic advisers trained to practice in the US graduated; they graduated from the North American branch of

Nishmat Nishmat ( he, נִשְׁמַת or 'the soul of every living thing') is a Jewish prayer that is recited during Pesukei D'Zimrah between the Song of the Sea and Yishtabach on Shabbat and Yom Tov. It is also recited during the Passover seder. Sh ...

's yoetzet halacha program in a ceremony at Congregation Sheartith Israel, Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in Manhattan, and

SAR High School Salanter Akiba Riverdale High School (SAR High School) is an Open Orthodox Jewish day school located in Riverdale, New York City. It was founded in 2003 by Rabbi Naftali (Tully) Harcsztark. The school is affiliated with SAR Academy, which is a ...

in Riverdale, New York, began allowing girls to wrap tefillin during Shacharit-morning prayer in an all-female prayer group; it is probably the first Modern Orthodox high school in the U.S. to do so. In 2014, the first-ever book of halachic decisions written by women who were ordained to serve as poskot (Idit Bartov and Anat Novoselsky) was published. The women were ordained by the municipal chief rabbi of Efrat, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, after completing

Midreshet Lindenbaum Midreshet Lindenbaum (), originally named Michlelet Bruria, is a midrasha in Talpiot, Jerusalem. It counts among its alumnae many of the teachers at Matan, Nishmat, Pardes and other women's and co-ed yeshivas in Israel and abroad. History Mich ...

women's college's five-year ordination course in advanced studies in Jewish law, as well as passing examinations equivalent to the rabbinate's requirement for men. In 2010, Sara Hurwitz became the first woman to ordained as a "Rabba", or female equivalent of a rabbi, when she started serving as an "Open Orthodox" spiritual leader at Riverdale, Bronx, New York On June 10, 2015, Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy and

Rahel Berkovits Rahel may refer to: * Rachel, a biblical figure * Rahel Varnhagen Rahel Antonie Friederike Varnhagen () (née Levin, later Robert; 19 May 1771 – 7 March 1833) was a German writer who hosted one of the most prominent salons in Europe during th ...

became the first two women to be ordained as Modern Orthodox Jewish Rabbas in Israel. In June 2015, Lila Kagedan was ordained by

and in keeping with newer policies, was given the freedom to choose her own title, and she chose to be addressed as "Rabbi". She officially became the first female Modern Orthodox rabbi in the United States of America when the Modern Orthodox Mount Freedom Jewish Center in Randolph, New Jersey hired her as a spiritual leader in January 2016. As of 2019, Kagedan is working as the rabbi at Walnut Street Synagogue. In the fall of 2015, the

Agudath Israel of America Agudath Israel of America ( he, אגודת ישראל באמריקה) (also called Agudah) is an American organization that represents Haredi Orthodox Jews. It is loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel. Agudah seeks to ...

denounced moves to ordain women, and went even further, declaring

, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah,

Open Orthodoxy Open Orthodoxy is a Jewish religious movement with increased emphasis on intellectual openness and a more expansive role for women. The term was coined in 1997 by Avi Weiss, who views ''halakha'' (Jewish law) as permitting more flexibility than t ...

, and other affiliated entities to be similar to other dissident movements throughout Jewish history in having rejected basic tenets of Judaism. Also in the fall of 2015, the Rabbinical Council of America passed a resolution which states, "RCA members with positions in Orthodox institutions may not ordain women into the Orthodox rabbinate, regardless of the title used; or hire or ratify the hiring of a woman into a rabbinic position at an Orthodox institution; or allow a title implying rabbinic ordination to be used by a teacher of Limudei Kodesh in an Orthodox institution." Also in 2015,

Jennie Rosenfeld Dr Jennie Rosenfeld is the first woman in the history of modern-day Israel to be appointed as the spiritual leader of an Orthodox Jewish community. She was appointed by Orthodox Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Shlomo Riskin (born May 28, 1940) is an Ortho ...

became the first female Orthodox spiritual advisor in Israel. (Specifically, she became the spiritual advisor, also called manhiga ruchanit, for the community of Efrat.) In 2016, it was announced that Ephraim Mirvis created the job of ma'ayan by which women would be advisers on Jewish law in the area of family purity and as adult educators in Orthodox synagogues. This requires a part-time training course for 18 months, which is the first such course in the United Kingdom. On August 23, 2016, Karmit Feintuch became the first woman in Jerusalem, Israel, to be hired as a Modern Orthodox "rabbanit" and serve as a spiritual leader. In 2017, the Orthodox Union adopted a policy banning women from serving as clergy, from holding titles such as "rabbi", or from doing common clergy functions even without a title, in its congregations in the United States.

Women's prayer groups

Separate Jewish women's prayer groups were a sanctioned custom among German Jews in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. The ''Kol Bo'' provides, in the laws for

Tisha B'Av Tisha B'Av ( he, תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב ''Tīšʿā Bəʾāv''; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism, on which a number of disasters in Jewish history occurred, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian ...

: :And they recite dirges there for about a quarter of the night, the men in their synagogue and the women in their synagogue. And likewise during the day the men recite dirges by themselves and the women by themselves, until about a third of the day has passed. Sefer Seder Tefillot Hanaschim

In Germany, in the 12th and 13th centuries, women's prayer groups were led by female cantors. Rabbi Eliezer of Worms, in his elegy for his wife Dulca, praised her for teaching the other women how to pray and embellishing the prayer with music. The gravestone of Urania of Worms, who died in 1275, contains the inscription "who sang ''piyyutim'' for the women with musical voice". In the Nurnberg Memorial Book, one Richenza was inscribed with the title "prayer leader of the women". Orthodox women more recently began holding organized women's ''tefila'' (prayer) groups beginning in the 1970s. While all Orthodox legal authorities agree that women are prohibited from forming a ''

minyan In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( he, מניין \ מִנְיָן ''mīnyān'' , lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Ju ...

'' (prayer quorum) for the purpose of regular services, women in these groups have read the prayers and study Torah. A number of leaders from all segments of Orthodox Judaism have commented on this issue, but it has had a little, although growing, impact on Haredi and Sephardi Judaism. However, the emergence of this phenomenon has enmeshed

Modern Orthodox Judaism Modern Orthodox Judaism (also Modern Orthodox or Modern Orthodoxy) is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law with the secular, modern world. Modern Orthodoxy draws on sever ...

in a debate which still continues today. There are three schools of thought on this issue: * The most restrictive view, held by a few rabbis, rules that all women's prayer groups are absolutely forbidden by ''

halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

'' (Jewish law). * A more liberal, permissive view maintains that women's prayer groups can be compatible with halakha, but only if they do not carry out a full prayer service (i. e., do not include certain parts of the service known as ''devarim shebikedusha'' that require a

; for example the recital of Kaddish or reading from the Torah), and only if services are spiritually and sincerely motivated, as is usually the case; they cannot be sanctioned if they are inspired by a desire to rebel against ''halakha''. People in this group include Rabbi Avraham Elkana Shapiro, former British Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits, and Rabbi

Avi Weiss Avraham Haim Yosef (Avi) haCohen Weiss ( he, אברהם חיים יוסף הכהן ווייס; born June 24, 1944) is an American Open Orthodox ordained rabbi, author, teacher, lecturer, and activist who led the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in Th ...

. This is the generally followed view. * A third view argues in favor of the acceptability of calling women to the Torah in mixed services, and leading certain parts of the service which do not require a

, under certain conditions. In 2013, the Israeli Orthodox rabbinical organization Beit Hillel issued a halachic ruling which allows women, for the first time, to say the Kaddish prayer in memory of their deceased parents.

Women as witnesses

Traditionally, women are not generally permitted to serve as witnesses in an Orthodox Beit Din ( rabbinical court), although they have recently been permitted to serve as ''

toanot ''Toanot Rabbaniyot'', or ''Toanot'' ( he, טוענות רבניות, "Women Rabbinical Advocates"), refer to women who serve as legal advocates and representatives within the traditional Jewish courts of law. ''Toanot'' typically argue cases on be ...

'' (advocates) in those courts. Women are also permitted to provide evidence under oath, and their statements are considered to be fully credible in ritual matters. The exclusion of women as witnesses has exceptions which have required exploration under rabbinic law, as the role of women in society and the obligations of religious groups under external civil law have been subject to increasing recent scrutiny. The recent case of Rabbi

Mordecai Tendler Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed. Biblical ac ...

, the first rabbi to be expelled from the Rabbinical Council of America following allegations of sexual harassment, illustrated the importance of clarification of Orthodox

in this area. Rabbi Tendler claimed that the tradition of exclusion of women's testimony should compel the RCA to disregard the allegations. He argued that since the testimony of a woman could not be admitted in Rabbinical court, there were no valid witnesses against him, and hence, the case for his expulsion had to be thrown out for lack of evidence. In a ruling of importance for Orthodox women's capacity for legal self-protection under

Jewish law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

, Haredi Rabbi Benzion Wosner, writing on behalf of the ''Shevet Levi'' Beit Din (Rabbinical court) of Monsey, New York, identified sexual harassment cases as coming under a class of exceptions to the traditional exclusion, under which "even children or women" have not only a right, but an obligation, to testify, and can be relied upon by a rabbinical court as valid witnesses: :The Ramah in Choshen Mishpat (Siman 35, 14) rules that in a case where only women congregate, or in a case where only women could possibly testify (in this case, the alleged harassment occurred behind closed doors), they can, and should, certainly testify. (Terumas Hadeshen Siman 353 and Agudah Perek 10, Yochasin) :This is also the ruling of the Maharik, Radvaz, and the Mahar"i of Minz. Even those Poskim that would normally not rely on women witnesses, they would certainly agree that in our case ... where there is ample evidence that this Rabbi violated

precepts, then even children or women can certainly be kosher as witnesses, as the Chasam Sofer pointed out in his ''sefer'' (monograph) (Orach Chaim T'shuvah 11) The Rabbinical Council of America, while initially relying on its own investigation, chose to rely on the Halakhic ruling of the Haredi Rabbinical body as authoritative in the situation.

Orthodox approaches to change

Leaders of the Haredi community have been steadfast in their opposition to a change in the role of women, arguing that the religious and social constraints on women, as dictated by traditional Jewish texts, are timeless, and are not affected by contemporary social change. Many also argue that giving traditionally male roles to women will only detract from both women's and men's ability to lead truly fulfilling lives. Haredim have also sometimes perceived arguments for liberalization as in reality stemming from antagonism to Jewish law and beliefs generally, arguing that preserving faith requires resisting secular and "un-Jewish" ideas. Modern Orthodox Judaism, particularly in its more liberal variants, has tended to look at proposed changes in the role of women on a specific, case-by-case basis, focusing on arguments regarding the religious and legal role of specific prayers, rituals and activities individually. Such arguments have tended to focus on cases where the Talmud and other traditional sources express multiple or more liberal viewpoints, particularly where the role of women in the past was arguably broader than in more recent times. Feminist advocates within Orthodoxy have tended to stay within the traditional legal process of argumentation, seeking a gradualist approach, and avoiding wholesale arguments against the religious tradition as such. Nevertheless, a growing Orthodox feminist movement seeks to address gender inequalities.

Agunot

Agunot (Hebrew: "chained women") are women who wish to divorce their husbands, but whose husbands refuse to give them a divorce contract (a "get"). The word can also refer to a woman whose husband disappeared and may or may not be dead. In Orthodox Judaism, only a man is able to serve a "get". In order to prevent the occurrence of the first type, many Jewish couples sign a prenuptial agreement designed to force the husband to serve a get or else be reported to the Jewish court.

Conservative Judaism

Although the position of

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generati ...

toward women originally differed little from the Orthodox position, it has in recent years minimized legal and ritual differences between men and women. The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) of the Rabbinical Assembly has approved a number of decisions and

responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars ...

on this topic. These provide for women's active participation in areas such as: *Publicly reading the

(''ba'al kriah'') *Being counted as part of a ''minyan'' *Being called for an ''aliyah'' to read the Torah *Serving as a cantor (''shaliach tzibbur'') *Serving as

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

and halakhic decisor (''posek'' - an arbiter in matters of religious law) *Wearing a ''

'' and ''

'' A rabbi may or may not decide to adopt particular rulings for the congregation; thus, some Conservative congregations will be more or less egalitarian than others. However, there are other areas where legal differences remain between men and women, including: * Matrilineal descent. The child of a Jewish mother is born Jewish; the child of a Jewish father is born Jewish if and only if the mother is Jewish. *Pidyon Ha-Bat, a proposed ceremony based on the biblical redemption of the eldest newborn son ( Pidyon Ha-Ben). The CJLS has stated that this particular ceremony should not be performed. Other ceremonies, such as a '' Simchat Bat'' (welcoming a newborn daughter), should instead be used to mark the special status of a new born daughter.

JLS teshuvah by Rabbi Gerald C. Skolnik, 1993 JLS (an initialism of Jack the Lad Swing) are an English boyband, which consists of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill, originally formed by Williams. They initially signed to Tracklacers production company Ne ...

A Conservative Jewish '' ketuba'' includes a clause that puts a husband and wife on more equal footing when it comes to marriage and divorce law within ''halacha''.Raphael, Marc Lee. ''Profiles in American Judaism: The Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and Reconstructionist Traditions in Historical Perspective''. San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1984. p. 110 The CJLS recently reaffirmed the obligation of Conservative women to observe '' niddah'' (sexual abstinence during and after menstruation) and '' mikvah'' (ritual immersion) following menstruation, although somewhat liberalizing certain details. Such practices, while requirements of Conservative Judaism, are not widely observed among Conservative laity.

Changes in the Conservative position

Prior to 1973, Conservative Judaism had more limited roles for women and was more similar to current Orthodoxy. However, there were some notable changes in favor of expanded roles for women in Conservative Judaism prior to 1973. In 1946, the new Silverman siddur changed the traditional words of thanking God for "not making me a woman", instead using words thanking God for "making me a free person." In 1955, the CJLS of the Rabbinical Assembly issued a decision that allowed women to have an aliyah at Torah-readings services. In 1973, the CJLS of the Rabbinical Assembly voted, without issuing an opinion, that women could count in a

. There was a special commission appointed by the Conservative movement to study the issue of ordaining women as rabbis, which met between 1977 and 1978, and consisted of eleven men and three women; the women were Marian Siner Gordon, an attorney, Rivkah Harris, an

Assyriologist Assyriology (from Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logia'') is the archaeological, anthropological, and linguistic study of Assyria and the rest of ancient Mesopotamia (a region that encompassed what is now modern Iraq, northeastern Syria, sout ...

, and Francine Klagsbrun, a writer. In 1983, the

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...

(JTSA) faculty voted, also without accompanying opinion, to ordain women as rabbis and as cantors.

Paula Hyman Paula Hyman (September 30, 1946 – December 15, 2011) was a social historian and the Lucy Moses Professor of Modern Jewish History at Yale University. She served as the president of the American Academy for Jewish Research from 2004 to 2008. Sh ...

, among others, took part in the vote as a member of the JTS faculty. In 2002, the CJLS adapted a responsum by Rabbi David Fine, ''Women and the Minyan'', which provides an official religious-law foundation for women counting in a minyan and explains the current Conservative approach to the role of women in prayer. This responsum holds that although Jewish women do not traditionally have the same obligations as men, Conservative women have, as a collective whole, voluntarily undertaken them. Because of this collective undertaking, the Fine responsum holds that Conservative women are eligible to serve as agents and decision-makers for others. The responsum also holds that traditionally minded communities and individual women can opt out without being regarded by the Conservative movement as sinning. By adopting this responsum, the CJLS found itself in a position to provide a considered Jewish-law justification for its egalitarian practices, without having to rely on potentially unconvincing arguments, undermine the religious importance of community and clergy, ask individual women intrusive questions, repudiate the ''halakhic'' tradition, or label women following traditional practices as sinners. In 2006, the CJLS adopted three

on the subject of niddah, which reaffirmed an obligation of Conservative women to abstain from sexual relations during and following

menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of ...

and to immerse in a mikvah prior to resumption, while liberalizing observance requirements including shortening the length of the niddah period, lifting restrictions on non-sexual contact during niddah, and reducing the circumstances under which spotting and similar conditions would mandate abstinence.Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz, Mikveh and the Sanctity of Family Relations, Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Rabbinical Assembly, December 6, 2006
Rabbi Susan Grossman, MIKVEH AND THE SANCTITY OF BEING CREATED HUMAN, Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Rabbinical Assembly, December 6, 2006
Rabbi Avram Reisner, OBSERVING NIDDAH IN OUR DAY: AN INQUIRY ON THE STATUS OF PURITY AND THE PROHIBITION OF SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH A MENSTRUANT, Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Rabbinical Assembly, December 6, 2006
Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz, RESHAPING THE LAWS OF FAMILY PURITY FOR THE MODERN WORLD, Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Rabbinical Assembly, December 6, 2006
In all cases, continuing the Orthodox approach was also upheld as an option. Individual Conservative rabbis and synagogues are not required to adopt any of these changes, and a small number have adopted none of them.

Conservative approaches to change

Prior to 1973, Conservative approaches to change were generally on an individual, case-by-case basis. Between 1973 and 2002, the Conservative movement adapted changes through its official organizations, but without issuing explanatory opinions. Since 2002, the Conservative movement has coalesced around a single across-the board approach to the role of women in Jewish law. In 1973, 1983, and 1993, individual rabbis and professors issued six major opinions which influenced change in the Conservative approach, the first and second Sigal, Blumenthal, Rabinowitz, and

Roth Roth may refer to: Places Germany * Roth (district), in Bavaria, Germany ** Roth, Bavaria, capital of that district ** Roth (electoral district), a federal electoral district * Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany: ** Roth an der Our, in the district ...

responsa, and the Hauptman article. These opinions sought to provide for a wholesale shift in women's public roles through a single, comprehensive legal justification. Most such opinions based their positions on an argument that Jewish women always were, or have become, legally obligated to perform the same ''mitzvot'' as men and to do so in the same manner. The first Sigal and the Blumenthal responsa were considered by the CJLS as part of its decision on prayer roles in 1973. They argued that women have always had the same obligations as men. The first Sigal responsum used the Talmud's general prayer obligation and examples of cases in which women were traditionally obligated to say specific prayers and inferred from them a public prayer obligation identical to that of men. The Blumenthal responsum extrapolated from a minority authority that a ''minyan'' could be formed with nine men and one woman in an emergency. The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) declined to adopt either responsum. Rabbi Siegel reported to the Rabbinical Assembly membership that many on the CJLS, while agreeing with the result, found the arguments unconvincing. The Rabinowitz,

, and second Sigal responsa were considered by the JTSA faculty as part of its decision to ordain women as rabbis in 1983. The Rabbinowitz responsum sidestepped the issue of obligation, arguing that there is no longer a religious need for a community representative in prayer and hence there is no need to decide whether a woman can ''halakhically'' serve as one. The CJLS felt that an argument potentially undermining the value of community and clergy was unconvincing: "We should not be afraid to recognize that the function of clergy is to help our people connect with the holy." The Roth and second Sigal responsa accepted that time-bound ''mitzvot'' were traditionally optional for women, but argued that women in modern times could change their traditional roles. The Roth responsum argued that women could individually voluntarily assume the same obligations as men, and that women who do so (e. g., pray three times a day regularly) could count in a ''minyan'' and serve as agents. The JTSA accordingly required female rabbinical students wishing to train as rabbis to personally obligate themselves, but synagogue rabbis, unwilling to inquire into individual religiosity, found it impractical. The second Sigal responsum called for a ''takkanah'', or rabbinical edict, "that would serve as a ''halakhic'' ERA", overruling all non-egalitarian provisions in law or, in the alternative, a new approach to ''halakhic'' interpretation independent of legal precedents. The CJLS, unwilling to use either an intrusive approach or a repudiation of the traditional legal process as bases for action, did not adopt either and let the JTS faculty vote stand unexplained. In 1993, Professor Judith Hauptman of JTS issued an influential paper arguing that women had historically always been obligated in prayer, using more detailed arguments than the Blumenthal and first Sigal responsa. The paper suggested that women who followed traditional practices were failing to meet their obligations. Rabbi Roth argued that Conservative Judaism should think twice before adopting a viewpoint labeling its most traditional and often most committed members as sinners. The issue was again dropped. In 2002, the CJLS returned to the issue of justifying its actions regarding women's status, and adopted a single authoritative approach, the Fine responsum, as the definitive Conservative

on role-of-women issues. This responsum holds that although Jewish women do not traditionally have the same obligations as men, Conservative women have, as a collective whole, voluntarily undertaken them. Because of this collective undertaking, the Fine responsum holds that Conservative women are eligible to serve as agents and decision-makers for others. The Responsum also holds that traditionally minded communities and individual women can opt out without being regarded by the Conservative movement as sinning. By adopting this Responsum, the CJLS found itself in a position to provide a considered Jewish-law justification for its egalitarian practices, without having to rely on potentially unconvincing arguments, undermine the religious importance of community and clergy, ask individual women intrusive questions, repudiate the ''halakhic'' tradition, or label women following traditional practices as sinners.

Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

believes in the equality of men and women. The Reform movement rejects the idea that

(Jewish law) is the sole legitimate form of Jewish decision making, and holds that Jews can and must consider their conscience and ethical principles inherent in the Jewish tradition when deciding upon a right course of action. There is widespread consensus among Reform Jews that traditional distinctions between the role of men and women are antithetical to the deeper ethical principles of Judaism. This has enabled Reform communities to allow women to perform many rituals traditionally reserved for men, such as: *Publicly reading the Torah (''ba'al kriah'') *Being part of the ''minyan'' *Being called for an ''aliyah'' to read the Torah *Serving as a cantor (''shalich tzibbur'') *Serving as

and halakhic decisor (''posek'') *Wearing a ''tallit'' and ''tefillin'' Concerns about intermarriage have also influenced the Reform Jewish position on gender. In 1983, the

Central Conference of American Rabbis The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada. The CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the worl ...

passed a resolution waiving the need for formal conversion for anyone with at least one Jewish parent who has made affirmative acts of Jewish identity. This departed from the traditional position requiring formal

conversion to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. ...

for children without a

Jewish mother Stereotypes of Jews are generalized representations of Jews, often caricatured and of a prejudiced and antisemitic nature. Common objects, phrases and traditions which are used to emphasize or ridicule Jewishness include bagels, the complaining ...

. The 1983 resolution of the American Reform movement has had a mixed reception in Reform Jewish communities outside of the United States. Most notably, the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism has rejected patrilineal descent and requires formal conversion for anyone without a Jewish mother. As well, a joint Orthodox, Traditional, Conservative and Reform Bet Din formed in Denver, Colorado to promote uniform standards for conversion to Judaism was dissolved in 1983, due to that Reform resolution. However, in 2015 the majority of Britain's Assembly of Reform Rabbis voted in favor of a position paper proposing "that individuals who live a Jewish life, and who are patrilineally Jewish, can be welcomed into the Jewish community and confirmed as Jewish through an individual process". Britain's Assembly of Reform Rabbis stated that rabbis "would be able to take local decisions – ratified by the Beit Din – confirming Jewish status". Liberal prayerbooks tend increasingly to avoid male-specific words and pronouns, seeking that all references to God in translations be made in gender-neutral language. For example, the UK Liberal movement's ''Siddur Lev Chadash'' (1995) does so, as does the UK Reform Movement's ''Forms of Prayer'' (2008). In Mishkan T'filah, the American Reform Jewish prayer book released in 2007, references to God as "He" have been removed, and whenever Jewish patriarchs are named (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), so also are the matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.) In 2015 the Reform Jewish High Holy Days prayer book Mishkan HaNefesh was released; it is intended as a companion to Mishkan T'filah. It includes a version of the High Holy Days prayer Avinu Malkeinu that refers to God as both "Loving Father" and "Compassionate Mother". Other notable changes are replacing a line from the Reform movement's earlier prayerbook, "Gates of Repentance", that mentioned the joy of a bride and groom specifically, with the line "rejoicing with couples under the chuppah edding canopy, and adding a third, non-gendered option to the way worshippers are called to the Torah, offering "mibeit", Hebrew for "from the house of", in addition to the traditional "son of" or "daughter of". In 2008, Stacy Offner became the first female vice president of the

Union for Reform Judaism The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms establishe ...

, a position she held for two years.Rabbi Offner
, Union for Reform Judaism website. Retrieved 2011-11-05. In 2015, Daryl Messinger became the first female chair of the Union.

Reform approaches to change

Reform Judaism generally holds that the various differences between the roles of men and women in traditional Jewish law are not relevant to modern conditions and not applicable today. Accordingly, there has been no need to develop legal arguments analogous to those made within the Orthodox and Conservative movements.

Reconstructionist Judaism

The equality of women and men is a central tenet and hallmark of

Reconstructionist Judaism Reconstructionist Judaism is a Jewish movement that views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization rather than a religion, based on concepts developed by Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983). The movement originated as a semi-organized stream w ...

. From the beginning, Reconstructionist Jewish ritual allowed men and women to pray together—a decision based on egalitarian philosophy. It was on this basis that Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan called for the full equality of women and men, despite the obvious difficulties reconciling this stance with norms of traditional Jewish practice. The Reconstructionist Movement ordained women rabbis from the start. In 1968, women were accepted into the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, under the leadership of Ira Eisenstein. The first ordained female Reconstructionist rabbi, Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, served as rabbi of the Manhattan Reconstructionist Congregation in 1976, and gained a pulpit in 1977 at Beth El Zedeck congregation in Indianapolis. Sandy Eisenberg Sasso was accepted without debate or subsequent controversy. In 2005, 24 out of the movement's 106 synagogues in the US had women as senior or assistant rabbis. In 2013 Rabbi

Deborah Waxman Deborah Waxman is an American rabbi and the president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism (the merged organization of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and Jewish Reconstructionist Communities). Waxman was inaugurated as the president of ...

was elected as the President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.Reconstructionists Pick First Woman, Lesbian As Denominational Leader
''The Jewish Week''] As the President, she is believed to be the first woman and first lesbian to lead a Jewish congregational union, and the first female rabbi and first lesbian to lead a Jewish seminary; the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College is both a congregational union and a seminary. The Reconstructionist Community began including women in the

and allowing them to come up to the

for Aliyah (Torah), aliyot. They also continued the practice of bat mitzvah. Reconstructionist Judaism also allowed women to perform other traditional male tasks, such as serving as witnesses, leading services, public Torah reading, and wearing ritual prayer garments like kippot and tallitot. Female Reconstructionist rabbis have been instrumental in the creation of rituals, stories, and music that have begun to give women's experience a voice in Judaism. Most of the focus has been on rituals for life-cycle events. New ceremonies have been created for births, weddings, divorces, conversions, weaning, and the onset of menarche and menopause. The Reconstructionist movement as a whole has been committed to creating liturgy that is in consonance with gender equality and the celebration of women's lives. Another major step: The Federation of Reconstructionist Congregations has also developed educational programs that teach the full acceptance of lesbians, as well as rituals that affirm lesbian relationships. Reconstructionist rabbis officiate at same-sex weddings. Reconstructionist Judaism also allows openly

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

men and women to be ordained as rabbis and cantors. Several prominent members of the Reconstructionist community have focused on issues like domestic violence. Others have devoted energy to helping women gain the right of divorce in traditional Jewish communities. Many have spoken out for the right of Jewish women to pray aloud and read from the Torah at the

Western Wall The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط ...

in Jerusalem, particularly members of the Women of the Wall group. When the roles of women in religion change, there may also be changed roles for men. With their acceptance of patrilineal descent in 1979, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association supported the principle that a man can pass Judaism on to the next generation as well as a woman.

Jewish Renewal

Jewish Renewal Jewish Renewal () is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with Kabbalistic, Hasidic, and musical practices. Specifically, it seeks to reintroduce the "ancient Judaic traditions of mysticism and meditation, ...

is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with

Kabbalistic Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

al and meditative practices; it describes itself as "a worldwide, transdenominational movement grounded in Judaism's prophetic and mystical traditions". The Jewish Renewal movement ordains women as well as men as rabbis and cantors.

Lynn Gottlieb Lynn Gottlieb (born April 12, 1949, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) is an American rabbi in the Jewish Renewal movement. In 1974, she founded the now-defunct feminist theater troupe Bat Kol. In 1981, she became the first woman ordained as a rabbi in ...

became the first female rabbi in Jewish Renewal in 1981, and Avitall Gerstetter, who lives in Germany, became the first female cantor in Jewish Renewal (and the first female cantor in Germany) in 2002. In 2009 and 2012 respectively, OHALAH (Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal) issued a board statement and a resolution supporting Women of the Wall. The Statement of Principles of OHALAH states in part, "Our local communities will embody egalitarian and inclusive values, manifested in a variety of leadership and decision-making structures, ensuring that women and men are full and equal partners in every aspect of our communal Jewish life." In 2014 OHALAH issued a board resolution stating in part, "Therefore, be it resolved that: OHALAH supports the observance of Women's History Month,

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wo ...

, and

Women's Equality Day Nancy Pelosi, Anna Eshoo, Barbara Lee">Anna_Eshoo.html" ;"title="Nancy Pelosi, Anna Eshoo">Nancy Pelosi, Anna Eshoo, Barbara Lee and Jackie Speier on the 96th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, when women won the right to v ...

; OHALAH condemns all types of sexism; OHALAH is committed to gender equality, now and in all generations to come; and OHALAH supports equal rights regardless of gender." Also in 2014, ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal issued a statement stating, "ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal supports the observance of Women's History Month, International Women's Day, and Women's Equality Day, condemns all types of sexism, is committed to gender equality, now and in all generations to come, and supports equal rights regardless of gender, in recognition and allegiance to the view that we are all equally created in the Divine Image."

Humanistic Judaism

Humanistic Judaism Humanistic Judaism ( ''Yahadut Humanistit'') is a Jewish movement that offers a nontheistic alternative to contemporary branches of Judaism. It defines Judaism as the cultural and historical experience of the Jewish people rather than a relig ...

is a movement in Judaism that offers a non-theistic alternative in contemporary Jewish life. It ordains both men and women as rabbis, and its first rabbi was a woman, Tamara Kolton, who was ordained in 1999. Its first cantor was also a woman, Deborah Davis, ordained in 2001; however, Humanistic Judaism has since stopped ordaining cantors. The Society for Humanistic Judaism issued a statement in 1996 stating in part, "We affirm that a woman has the moral right and should have the continuing legal right to decide whether or not to terminate a pregnancy in accordance with her own ethical standards. Because a decision to terminate a pregnancy carries serious, irreversible consequences, it is one to be made with great care and with keen awareness of the complex psychological, emotional, and ethical implications." They also issued a statement in 2011 condemning the then-recent passage of the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" by the U.S. House of Representatives, which they called "a direct attack on a women's right to choose". In 2012, they issued a resolution opposing conscience clauses that allow religious-affiliated institutions to be exempt from generally applicable requirements mandating reproductive healthcare services to individuals or employees. In 2013 they issued a resolution stating in part, "Therefore, be it resolved that: The Society for Humanistic Judaism wholeheartedly supports the observance of

on August 26 to commemorate the anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allowing women to vote; The Society condemns gender discrimination in all its forms, including restriction of rights, limited access to education, violence, and subjugation; and The Society commits itself to maintain vigilance and speak out in the fight to bring gender equality to our generation and to the generations that follow."

Women as "sofrot" (scribes)

Sofrot is the feminine plural of Sofer. A Sopher, Sopher, Sofer STaM, or Sofer ST"M (Heb: "scribe", סופר סת״ם) is a Jewish scribe who is able and entitled to transcribe Torah scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot, and other religious writings. (ST"M, סת״ם, is an abbreviation for Sefer Torahs, Tefillin, and Mezuzot. The masculine plural of sofer is "sofrim" סופרים). Forming the basis for the discussion of women becoming sofrot, Talmud Gittin 45b states: "Sifrei Torah, tefillin, and mezuzot written by a heretic, a star-worshipper, a slave, a woman, a minor, a Cuthean, or an apostate Jew, are unfit for ritual use." The rulings on Mezuzah and

Tefillin Tefillin (; Modern Hebrew language, Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazim, Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Te ...

are virtually undisputed among those who hold to the Talmudic Law. As Arba'ah Turim does not include women in its list of those ineligible to write Sifrei Torah, some see this as proof that women are permitted to write a Torah scroll. However today, virtually all Orthodox (both Modern and Ultra) authorities contest the idea that a woman is permitted to write a Sefer Torah. Yet women are permitted to inscribe

Ketubot A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, ...

(marriage contracts), STaM not intended for ritual use, and other writings of Sofrut beyond simple STaM. In 2003, Canadian Aviel Barclay became the world's first known traditionally trained female sofer. In 2007 Jen Taylor Friedman, a British woman, became the first female sofer to scribe a Sefer Torah. In 2010 the first Sefer Torah scribed by a group of women (six female sofers, who were from Brazil, Canada, Israel, and the United States) was completed; this was known as the

Women's Torah Project The Women's Torah Project (WTP) was an initiative to have the first Torah scroll scribed entirely by women. The project began in 2003 and was completed in Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is ...

. Also, not just any man may write a Sefer Torah; they should ideally be written by a "G-d-fearing person" who knows at least the first layer of meanings, some of them hidden, in the Torah. From October 2010 until spring 2011, Julie Seltzer, one of the female sofers from the Women's Torah Project, scribed a Sefer Torah as part of an exhibition at the

Contemporary Jewish Museum The Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) is a non-collecting museum at 736 Mission Street at Yerba Buena Lane in the South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The museum, which was founded in 1984, is located in the historic ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. This makes her the first American female sofer to scribe a Sefer Torah; Julie Seltzer was born in Philadelphia and is non-denominationally Jewish. From spring 2011 until August 2012 she scribed another Sefer Torah, this time for the Reform congregation Beth Israel in San Diego. Seltzer was taught mostly by Jen Taylor Friedman. On September 22, 2013,

Congregation Beth Elohim Congregation Beth Elohim ( he, בֵּית אֱלֹהִים), also known as the Garfield Temple and the Eighth Avenue Temple, is a Reform Jewish congregation located at 274 Garfield Place and Eighth Avenue, in the Park Slope neighborhood of ...

of New York dedicated a new Torah, which members of Beth Elohim said was the first Torah in New York City to be completed by a woman. The Torah was scribed by Linda Coppleson. As of 2014, there are an estimated 50 female sofers in the world.

References

External links

General
Chabad.org: The Jewish Woman

Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance

Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse

Na'amat USA

Orthodox Union: The Women's Initiative

Yeshiva University - Stern College for Women
Publications
Lilith Magazine
a Jewish feminist journal
''Women in Judaism''
on online peer-reviewed journal covering women in Judaism, with a special emphasis on history, but also including book reviews and fiction. Particular issues
"Wuhsha the Broker: Jewish Women in the Medieval Economy", Jewish History Lecture by Dr. Henry Abramson

"Rachel, Wife of Akiva: Women in Ancient Israel", Video Lecture by Dr. Henry Abramson

"Gluckel of Hameln: Jewish Women in the 17th Century", Video Lecture by Dr. Henry Abramson

Spots of Light: Women in the Holocaust
an online exhibition by

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

The Kiddushin Variations
A Directory of Halakhic Possibilities For A More Egalitarian Kiddushin Ritual.

from the Jewish Virtual Library

Bryna Levy, ''

Jewish Action ''Jewish Action'' is an American Orthodox Jewish magazine published by the Orthodox Union. The magazine generally presents a Modern Orthodox viewpoint, and covers "topics of interest to an international Orthodox Jewish audience... ncludingarticle ...

'', Winter 1998, 59 (2). * *
"Women and Prayer: An Attempt to Dispel Some Fallacies"
Judith Hauptman, ''Judaism'' 42 (1993): 94-103. * , Fine, David. Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly (Conservative), 2002

* , ''

'', Winter 2004.
"Women and Minyan"
, ''

Tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

'', 1988. Summary of Orthodox arguments regarding women counting in minyan for certain purposes
"Women's Prayer Services Theory and Practice"
, ''

'', 1998. Summary of Orthodox arguments for and against women's prayer groups
Elissa Strauss, ''Women Who Write Torah, A New Generation of Female Scribes Makes History''. ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', November 19, 2010.

(French) Harvey, Claire. Femmes et judaïsme - Des femmes veulent changer la loi juive concernant le divorce, ''Le Devoir'', 24 April 2010.

''Mordecai Kaplan'', Jewish Women's Archive, 2005

* ttp://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/reconstructionist-judaism-in-united-states ''Reconstructionist Judaism in the United States'', ''Jewish Women's archive'', 2005
Who is a Reconstructionist Jew? ''Jewish Virtuel Library'', 2001.

Biblical times

Talmudic times

Middle Ages

Religious life

Domestic life

Education

Views on the education of women

Present day

Orthodox Judaism

Rules of modesty

Rules of family purity

Modern Orthodox Judaism

Women's prayer groups

Women as witnesses

Orthodox approaches to change

Agunot

Conservative Judaism

Changes in the Conservative position

Conservative approaches to change

Reform Judaism

Reform approaches to change

Reconstructionist Judaism

Jewish Renewal

Humanistic Judaism

Women as "sofrot" (scribes)

See also

References

External links

Further reading

Middle Ages

Orthodox Judaism and women