Women in Orthodox Judaism
Zaret Bullones
Women’s and Gender Studies 398
Professor DeLuca
February 19, 2013
Women In Orthodoxy In scrutinizing religion, religious customs and holy texts, one finds the struggle to find the women’s roles to be as fulfilling and empowering as those to men’s. Orthodox Judaism is no exception, with many struggles being addressed in Norma Baumel Joseph’s Women In Orthodoxy. In her writing, she speaks of the roots of how women gained the knowledge and position they have now through education, the power or prayer and their struggle to find a place where they can pray, founding women’s prayer groups and legal issues such as the right to pray and read the Talmud by the wall. Such obstacles are contrasted by a string of positivity in being an Orthodox woman in Rachel’s Daughters: Newly Orthodox Jewish Women written by Debora R. Kaufman. Kaufman interviews several hundreds of women converts and women responded that coming back to such a patriarchal has actually allowed them to become more in touch with their bodies. Patti Moscovitz’s The Minyan: A Tapestry of Jewish Life, she speaks of the prayer traditions as a group for Jewish women and their experiences. Through these readings one can only see the complexities and depth to the lives and practices of Orthodox Jewish women. Norma Baumel Joseph’s Women in Orthodoxy begins by stating “ Both insiders and outsiders acknowledge that Orthodoxy does not welcome change (Prell 181)” This idea is explored in her texts. This is perhaps the biggest struggle that women see in Orthodox Judaism. She goes on to say that women struggle to break out of some problematic traditions and beliefs because it challenges the traditional system in which they live in. Such changes that would seem to improve the status of women in their religious context would not occur because the decisions are made solely in reasoning with the law and legal precedents and not on the beliefs of making anyone particularly comfortable in contemporary
Women’s and Gender Studies 398
Professor DeLuca
February 19, 2013
Women In Orthodoxy In scrutinizing religion, religious customs and holy texts, one finds the struggle to find the women’s roles to be as fulfilling and empowering as those to men’s. Orthodox Judaism is no exception, with many struggles being addressed in Norma Baumel Joseph’s Women In Orthodoxy. In her writing, she speaks of the roots of how women gained the knowledge and position they have now through education, the power or prayer and their struggle to find a place where they can pray, founding women’s prayer groups and legal issues such as the right to pray and read the Talmud by the wall. Such obstacles are contrasted by a string of positivity in being an Orthodox woman in Rachel’s Daughters: Newly Orthodox Jewish Women written by Debora R. Kaufman. Kaufman interviews several hundreds of women converts and women responded that coming back to such a patriarchal has actually allowed them to become more in touch with their bodies. Patti Moscovitz’s The Minyan: A Tapestry of Jewish Life, she speaks of the prayer traditions as a group for Jewish women and their experiences. Through these readings one can only see the complexities and depth to the lives and practices of Orthodox Jewish women. Norma Baumel Joseph’s Women in Orthodoxy begins by stating “ Both insiders and outsiders acknowledge that Orthodoxy does not welcome change (Prell 181)” This idea is explored in her texts. This is perhaps the biggest struggle that women see in Orthodox Judaism. She goes on to say that women struggle to break out of some problematic traditions and beliefs because it challenges the traditional system in which they live in. Such changes that would seem to improve the status of women in their religious context would not occur because the decisions are made solely in reasoning with the law and legal precedents and not on the beliefs of making anyone particularly comfortable in contemporary