ARZA

By Anat Hoffman

Talk radio is very popular in Israel. Animated debates on every topic under the sun fill the airwaves every day. One station, Kol BaRama, a station with a large Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) listenership, has the practice of not allowing women to speak on air. They say this is to respect the feelings of all who tune in to hear them. We, at IRAC, have been saying for two years that it is simply illegal and immoral to silence a woman’s voice on publically funded airwaves. After months of debate, it seems Israel’s politicians are starting to agree with us, and not just about this one case, but also about gender segregation in general.

Our struggle against gender segregation and the exclusion of women has taken many forms. We have fought this phenomenon in the courts, and thanks to our Supreme Court victory, coercing women to sit in the back of public buses was declared illegal. We have fought segregation in the streets, in public transportation, public services, and in shared spaces, such as cemeteries and health clinics. Through our Freedom Rider program, our volunteer riders have helped desegregate thousands of individual bus rides. Finally, we fight segregation by lobbying the Knesset and government ministries.

We have worked hard for years to try to convince the government that this is a serious problem that needs their attention. It is fundamentally unjust to force women out of sight and to deny them access to public services simply because of one group’s extreme interpretation of modesty.

Last week, a report was published by a ministerial commission from the Justice Ministry that accepts nearly all of IRAC’s recommendations relating to gender segregation in public transportation, public services, and the public sphere. The report also includes important recommendations on improving enforcement methods against gender segregation. Israel’s Attorney General, Yehuda Weinstein, has said he will adopt the recommendations of the ministerial commission.

This is a great victory. Within six months, the practice of women faxing their questions to Kol BaRama to have them read on the air by a man will end and they must enable women’s voices to be heard without restriction. They will also be obligated to hire female broadcasters.  Female mourners will no longer be prevented from eulogizing their deceased loved ones and segregation will end at official ceremonies held under the auspices of the state (except for religious services).

To read a summary of the ministerial committee’s recommendations click here.  

We are thrilled to see this kind of progress, but if we have learned anything about gender segregation it is that as soon as we turn our heads it returns and often worse than before. We will continue to work with the government to keep them aware of the problem and we will hold the Attorney General to his word that gender segregation in the public sphere must end.

Anat Hoffman is Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center and Chairwoman of Women of the Wall

By Rabbi Stacey Blank

I am back…after a few month hiatus.  A short explanation of what happened: As my readers may know, last summer I started working at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem.  Along the way, I became involved in young children/ family Shabbat programming  (Among other things, I have been living a long-time dream of mine and found others who share this vision – monthly Shabbat morning excursions into nature all within 20 minutes drive of Jerusalem where we learn about the land of Israel from ancient to modern times, enjoy G-d’s creation, and have a short Shabbat service/story accompanied by guitar).  From January to May, I worked with JTS education students in Jerusalem for the semester.  And out of the blue, a congregation more or less in the Jerusalem area in a picturesque and lovely little town called Tzur Hadassah was looking for a rabbi.  I couldn’t pass up the opportunity as I truly love this work (as I love the other jobs I have too)

So, as my load becomes a bit lighter, now I’ve come up for air.  And following the plea of a friend, “Can you please start writing your blogs again??!!”  I’m back to share my thoughts on this amazing, dynamic, vibrant, land in which I live.  As the vintner Avi Yehuda that my father and I visited a month ago in the moshav of Shoresh (and bought a number of bottles of wine from him) put it – this lovely land and people of Israel are “gravelly” (mechuspas) – meaning a little rough, but full of rich texture.

Everyone is talking about the Women of the Wall. I have thoughts on it but would like to formulate them more carefully than for a spontaneous blog post.  But what I want to share in a way relates to this.

Oftentimes, people view the dynamic in Israel as a war or at least a struggle that is full of tension and sometimes gets ugly.  It makes people sometimes say, “Why even bother to care about Israel since it doesn’t represent me and my Jewish values at all?”  I think this view is misguided, of course.  Because of all the beautiful and wonderful and inspirational things about Israel and what it represents for the Jewish people, we (all Jews around the world) need to be involved and help it along the way, each of us in our own way.  I often struggle about what my “battles” ought to be.  When do I give up my family life for a greater cause?  When do I sacrifice precious work time(for which I need to support myself and my family) for a demonstration.  What am I willing to lose sleep over?  And so on.

And then there are the moments in my work when I believe, though it is small and doesn’t make the evening news, this is significant and part of the bigger picture.

My example this week is of our Tikkun Leil Shavuot (our late night study in honor of the giving of the Torah on this holiday) in Tzur Hadassah this year.  To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect.  This is a tiny town where 30 people at any event is considered to be a huge turnout.  Our theme was “The Meaning of Torah Today” in honor of our campaign that we are now kicking off to funding the reparation of our Torah scrolls (that survived the Holocaust, one written in Poland in the 1920s and one written in Holland in the 1700s)  I taught about “Reading from the Torah, Studying Torah, and Being Torah”, Rabbi Ofer Shabbat Beit-HaLachmi taught about his vision for reinterpreting mitzvot, and Rabbi Mira Hovav taught about the challenge of being a link in the chain of transmission from generation to generation as seen through the eyes of a S.Y. Agnon story.

Needless to say, it was a very interesting evening in terms of content.  We finished at 2 a.m. – and everyone stayed till the end!

But equally as important for me were the participants.

Among the participating congregants: a psychologist, hi-tech manager, US Federation executive, therapist for victims of terror, accountant, a third generation owner of a Jerusalem furniture company, and a children’s educator, a regular participant in the congregation’s study group, .

Among the visitors: a Secular Rabbi who lives in town, a young immigrant from Argentina who is beginning the process of conversion and her husband, two young ultra-Orthodox men from Ramat Beit Shemesh (I heard a rumor they are considering leaving their community) and a few unknown people from the town who quietly listened throughout the night.

Not only that, but the vast majority of the participants are native Israelis – people who came to Reform Judaism through meeting it in Tzur Hadassah.  They want to learn and to take an active part in the discussion and say where our ancient sources meet them today.  They want their larger community to be open and pluralistic and a place where they can be both modern and Jewish.  They want a home where they can come celebrate the holidays, their life cycle events, and receive support as a family together, in a way that makes them feel at home.  They want to be social justice activists that take part in repairing the world.

For me, this is my field of action.  Here in Tzur Hadassah, and everyday communities like it, the future of the State of Israel is being written.

Rabbi Stacey Blank is spiritual leader of Kehilat Tzur Hadassah, in the Jerusalem area, and also works at Hebrew Union College (HUC) in Jerusalem

By Barbara Kavadias

The past year has seen an increase in tension – and even violence – at the Kotel or Western Wall, one of Judaism’s holiest sites. Last Friday, progressive Jews worldwide were disturbed to learn of protests and near-rioting as the Women of the Wall came to pray for Rosh Chodesh at the Kotel.

On one hand, it is encouraging that the municipal and district court in Israel both recently ruled that nothing should bar women from praying out loud and wearing a tallit (prayer shawl) or tefillin (phylacteries) at the wall. On the other hand, it was deeply disturbing to see some ultra-Orthodox Jews so distraught about this ruling that they felt compelled to scream, spit, blow whistles, and throw rocks at other Jews as they prayed. We progressive Jews may have won a battle, but at what cost?

One of the things that make Judaism so interesting and engaging is how connected modern-day life is to our history – and it is the Torah connects us. The Western Wall, this locus of rancor, is a retaining wall, erected under King Herod around 19BCE as a means of expanding the building area in order to make the Second Temple grander and in keeping with other temples of the time. This Wednesday, we’ll celebrate the holiday of Shavuot, when we celebrate the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and in this week’s Torah portion, Naso (“Lift Up,” Numbers 4:21-7:89), we read about the dedication of the Mishkan, or Tabernacle, the tent that held the tablets as we traveled in the desert. Some of these same passages in Numbers are also read during Hanukkah, when we focus on the re-dedication of the Temple, the permanent dwelling place of the tablets. This brings us back to modern times and the remnants of what once held the Temple – the Kotel.

Part of what seems to upset our co-religionists so much is their view that the act of women praying “like men” is a perversion, a “making crooked” of the Torah. If we look at this week’s Torah portion, though, we see that women’s prayer is not only not a perversion but actually the way it’s supposed to be. In Exodus 19:7-8, Moses brings a message from God to the people Israel. The Torah then tells us, “All the people answered as one, saying, ‘All that Adonai has spoken, we will do!’” It does not say that only the men answered; it says “all the people” answered. As the reading continues, it teaches that all the people stood at Mount Sinai, all the people heard, saw, and experienced the revelation, and all of the people agreed to the covenant with God.

This week’s Torah portion, Parashah Naso, is a very long portion with many themes, all connected to the Mishkan. The focus is on its dedication, service there, and protection of the sanctity of the community in the desert to maintain the people’s ability to provide for the Divine Presence. Throughout the portion, it is clear that the actions of both men and women matter to the sanctity of the camp. For example:

• Numbers 5:1-4 tells of removing those who become physically impure in order to maintain the sanctity of the camp, instructing the people to remove “male and female alike.”
• Verses 5-9 outline what to do when “men or women individually commit any wrong toward a fellow human being” and how they shall make restitution.
• Numbers 6:1-21 go into the laws of nazir, individuals who dedicate themselves to God: “[If] any men or women explicitly utter a Nazirite’s vow, to set themselves apart for Adonai,…” As these individuals end their term, they bring offerings (including their hair) to mark their service. The Torah makes no distinction between the offerings or requirements for male or female Nazirites. Just as both men and women are needed to protect the sanctity of the camp, so are both men and women able to dedicate themselves to God and to make sacrifices.

Women, like men, stood at Sinai to receive the Torah. If women can make sacrifices, and if prayer is a substitute for sacrifices post-Temple, then clearly, women cannot be excluded from prayer. If women can dedicate themselves to God the same as men, then clearly women must be able to pray the same way, too. If anything, the way we pray – out loud – was started by a woman, Hannah. Hannah, who was childless, went to a Shiloh sanctuary, where she wept and prayed for a son (I Samuel 1:1-28). A priest in the sanctuary had never seen anyone pray like Hannah did, and he accuses Hannah of being drunk. Her prayers were answered when she became mother to Samuel, a nazir from birth due to Hannah’s vow.

Liberal Jews believe that both men and women can and should be able to access all forms of prayer and service. Increasingly, we see a growth in this belief among the modern Orthodox, as well, evidenced by the recent graduation of the first class of Jewish women given the title of maharat (short for Manhiga Hilchatit Ruchanit Toranit, leader in Jewish law, spirituality and Torah) and the growth of congregations that have a mechizta (partition) but allow women to serve as prayer leaders and Torah readers. Though the ultra-Orthodox, unfortunately, have a very different perspective, it’s vital that we provide for the sanctity of prayer at the Kotel and allow all people to pray.

Natan Sharansky’s proposed compromise – which will create an extension of the Kotel to the whole western face of the Wall and create two equally sized prayer areas – is the best solution. Last week’s violence at the wall demonstrates the urgent need for change – and now is the time to focus on making it happen. Contact ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America, if you want to help.

Barbara Kavadias is the acting executive director of ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America.

By Loree B. Resnik

By Resa and Stanley Davids

The distance between Rome and Jerusalem (according to Wikipedia) can be calculated as 2307 kilometers, or 1434 miles, or 1246 nautical miles.  In 1862, Moses Hess saw those distances quite differently.  Though Hess’ name may not be familiar to most of us today, he nevertheless played a significant role in the evolution of geo-politics in the 20th century.  On the universal side, Hess was a friend of Karl Marx and was influential in the shaping of the Marxian approach to dialectical materialism.  He also helped bring Engels to embrace Communism. Read more…

By Bill Hess

After repeatedly bouncing off the seemingly impenetrable wall of the arcane, exceedingly accurate and lengthily described laws that open the third book of Torah, Vayikra/Leviticus, it is not difficult to understand why legions of rabbis and learned teachers flee from dissertations thereon. And to develop a Zionist theme from the sacrifices, much less a Reform Zionist theme, only adds to the assignment. This is not to say that there is much in Leviticus on which to develop sermons, drashot, etc., just not so much in these verses. Blood, yes, a variety of sacrifices without blood, yes; but those little side ventures that prompt discussion just are not there in the opening chapters of Vayikra.

Upon further reflection, however, and such matters as devrei tora require much further reflection, there is the glimmer of a theme, even a Zionist one, coupled with the teaching of a late beloved, teacher, Rabbi and friend. The aim is to tie the two together by the end into a synthesis that is rational, Reform and Zionist.

Read more…

By Marlene Dodinval

Chicago has lots of sports teams:  the Bulls, Blackhawks, Bears, Wolves, Fire and of course the Cubs and the White Sox.  Each team and sport has fans with varying levels of commitment and with different means of expressing their support.  Some attend games once or twice a year, others have season tickets. Some feel wearing an occasional cap or jersey for their team is a significant expression of support, while others have flags flying from their homes or entire basement rooms decked out in team regalia.  And, indeed, there is often rivalry between fans over which team is the quintessential Chicago team.  But, as Chicagoans we recognize there is room and respect for them all.  So, when Chicago-area ARZA leaders met with Roey Gilad, the new Consul General to the Midwest for Israel, ARZA’s Central District President, Steve Sukenik, presented him with a mishloach manot gift basket that included souvenirs from all our Chicago teams. It was a fun but important metaphor to start our discussion about ARZA’s mission for promoting religious pluralism and supporting our communities in Israel.

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By Rabbi Jackie Mates-Muchin

Praying with the Women of the Wall is a very unique experience. On Rosh Chodesh Adar, I joined 200 other people packed into the very back part of the women’s section with a dozen men standing on chairs on the men’s side in order to participate in the service. Most of it was prayed silently with a few prayers sung all together. During Hallel, the part of the service where we sing special praises on Rosh Chodesh and other holidays, half of the woman joined in a circle and started to dance.

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By Didi Gilbert

Though Parshat T’rumah provides instructions regarding the building of the Mishkan – the Tabernacle and the Aron HaKodesh, the container in which the Torah is to be kept and revered, the lessons to be derived from this parasha are much broader. Moses informs the people that they are each expected to make a gift to the building of this special place and Holy Ark. Like many such acts of giving that are asked or required of us over a lifetime, there are many ways of giving. In T’rumah, the lesson imparted is to give something of deep personal value for a purpose that is in fact, greater than one’s self and by so doing, to act both for the benefit of the individual and the community.

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