Israel – Chaya Baker was ordained as a rabbi. Tamar Saar has read from the Torah, the Jewish holy scroll. Anat Hoffman demands that women be allowed to pray as men do at a key Jerusalem holy site.
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Depending on whom you ask, these women are either pioneers or provocateurs.
They are part of the liberal Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism, which allow women to perform rituals typically reserved for men under Orthodox Judaism, the dominant form of Judaism in Israel. They say they are exercising egalitarian worship, which runs counter to the traditions of Israel’s Orthodox establishment.
The Reform and Conservative movements are marginal in Israel, where the Orthodox establishment rules many aspects of life, like marriage, divorce and burials, and they have struggled to make inroads here. The Orthodox rabbinate has refused to recognize their rulings, conversions or ceremonies as religiously valid. Under Orthodox tradition, women can’t become rabbis, nor can they perform a number of rituals men do.
The liberal denominations make up the majority of Jews in the United States,
the world’s second largest Jewish community. What has emerged is a growing rift between the world’s two largest Jewish communities, which often disagree about religious affairs.
Baker became ordained as a rabbi in 2007. She performs many of the same duties a male rabbi would, such as holding prayer services, counselling congregants and leading study groups. But because of her affiliation to the Conservative movement, she is limited in the ceremonies she can perform. For example, the unions of the couples she marries are not recognized in Israel. They must have a second ceremony either with an Orthodox rabbi in Israel or travel abroad to marry.
Baker, 35, said many Israelis have become alienated by the Orthodox grip on many aspects of society and that the more liberal streams offer a Judaism that jibes with a modern Israeli’s outlook. She said she sees a growing recognition in Israeli society of the more marginal streams, and with that, a greater role for women in Judaism.
“People are changing their concepts of gender roles within Judaism,” Baker said.
Saar is one of the few 12-year-old Israeli girls who are having bat mitzvah ceremonies as boys do. In this rite of passage marking the transition from childhood to adulthood, they study a particular portion of the Torah and read from it during the ceremony.
Saar wore an orange dress accented with a white and orange-pink prayer shawl she made herself as she recited the biblical passage in front of nearly 100 family members and friends in May. Tamar’s two older sisters also had Reform bat mitzvah ceremonies like hers, and she said more girls in Israel should, too.
“Girls make up half of the world’s population, and it is stupid that men are worth more, because we are exactly like them,” Saar said.
Jewish women in the US, Canada, Australia, Britain and elsewhere have had total equality for fifty years, in welcoming Jewish communities. If frum communities want to keep these women and their families out, they will either form their own shuls or leave Judaism forever. Why is Israel so backward in this respect?
They do not worship like “men”. They worship like heathens. Men worship like Angels.
Their not provocateurs. Their despicable evil low lifes!
The answer of course is to follow halachah. There is no real source that would prohibit a woman from performing a wedding (or for that matter getting semichah as an orthodox rabbi). The *witnesses* have to be observant Jewish males, not the mesader kidushin.
While this is not a hashkafah we would choose for ourselves nor would we want this for our daughters, its time to stop fighting and demonstrating and leave them alone if thats the derech they choose. We will not bring one yid closer to torahdik yiddeshkeit by screaming at them, calling them shiksa, or treating them as dreche. Either leave them be or engage in positive outreach in ways that respect their choices but encourage them to explorer the real ways of daas torah.
“She performs many of the same duties a male rabbi would, such as holding prayer services”. I was unaware until reading this that a rabbi holds prayer services. My rabbi davens with our minyon, and at times davens for the amud. All we need to daven is a minyon of men. Unlike the xians we don’t need a member of the clergy to pray as a congregation.
From what I’ve read the majority of students studying to be members of the clergy at the American reform and conservative seminaries are women which concerns the leaders of these faiths. They apparantly want some women, but not too many to lead their flocks.
I wonder if the men in the picture are able to learn the blat of Gemara they are looking at. Maybe she is explaining to them the difficult sugya they came to her to explain?
While halacha is extremely generous and kind to all, the concept of “equality” is not consistent with halacha. Torah defines specific roles for all, including kohanim, leviim, yisraelim, gerim, goyim, men, women, adults, and ketanim. HKB”H knows better than the greatest thinkers of world history what is better for us. We may desire that which is intended for the role of another, but to alter halacha to fit that ideology is unacceptable. One cannot modernize Torah to become politically correct. One is using brilliance if successful at modifying politics to be Torah consistent.
Hillel existed during the latter years of the second Beis Hamikdosh, and was one of the leaders of that generation. However, he was not eligible to serve as the Kohain Gadol in the Beis Hamikdosh. He could not enter those areas of the Beis Hamikdosh that were restricted to anyone who was not a kohain. Fair? According to the Torah, yes. Equality has zero impact on the roles the Torah assigns.
What a shame that some feel they are authorized to modify Torah.
The Bas Kol warns us daily that, “Woe is to those for the belittling and shaming of the Torah .”
Sooner or later the ultra Orthodox have to learn they don’t have a monopoly of how other Yidden daven.
The main problem is that these imbeciles will soon do chipu and kedishins. That’s where our headaches begin. The rest of their non sense is irrelevant. I could care less if they wear tefillen or jump in the lake.
They have equal rights. Rights to be trusted by G-d. But what they are really demanding is that they have more power. That is not an equal right. That is a fraud.
A Reform Rabbi?
REFORMers just don’t get it!!
Sometime in the mid 1800’s some whackadoodles, Jews who were tired and/or ashamed of Judaism (today we call them self-hating Jews) decided to Reformulate the Jewish religion so that it would be more to their liking. First they did away with Jewish tradition. Then they threw out Halacha along with the Torah. Then some decided that you don’t have to believe in G-D. Then they made up their own religion of social “justice” based on their misinterpretation of “Tikun Olam” and they called their newly formulated religion “Reform Judaism”. Every year the self proclaimed leaders of this phony group get together at a ‘convention’ to decide what new laws will be enacted and what old laws will be tweaked so that it conforms to their way of doing business…….Oh, I mean religion.
Unfortunately, the Reform leaders – men, women and transvestites alike, who call themselves Rabbi’s, lie to their followers & congregants. They tell them that “G-d didn’t write the Torah, men & women wrote the Bible” & “Those stories from the Torah are fables” & “You don’t have to eat only kosher or observe Shabbos – Those are old laws.”
Reform is not Judaism.
So men and women are exactly the same huh? True we should be treated equal but we aren’t exactly the same!!! We’re not the same physically emotionally and… Gasp!… Believe it or not spiritually either. Anyone from within genuine classically Judaism knows women aren’t second class. Period. It’s simply not true. We are different and as such have different expressions in religion. It’s only if your whole outlook is from western culture where women are treated as sex symbols for the most part then you think wait a minute Jewish women don’t walk around like we do it must be bc they’re oppressed!! Why should a man look amazing in a suit all covered but his wife look very indecent?? Are women’s body temperature so much different that they need to expose more??
Therefore we treat women with REAL respect and follow what the Torah tells us not cultures in vogue. These women (even if they are sincere) are deviating from that way. As such they have left Torah Judaism and have began their own religion that follows things similar to Judaism. In no way however is it Judaism. You can’t say I follow Judaism however only what I accept of it or change to my liking. That is a form of subterfuge.
It is a know fact there is not 4 generation of reform Jews. The just get lost into the nations. Reform keep changing because they are still trying to have an audience. They allowed children from men be called Jews. They have mix marriage; go thing for loosing the Jewish people. The conservative allowed driving on SHabbos but it has not keep their shuls full. It is funny but the Sefardi say the shul that I don’t go to is orthodox. The Temini also don’t believe in the reform or conservative nonsense. They want to be call religious but they are not. They want to start trouble to give credence to their movement but no matter what they do there is no credence. In Eretz Yisrael on the whole they don’t buy into their nonsense
The more attention they are given,the more power they receive.
Ignore them as they ignore Halacha and they will disappear.
Why are you giving them recognition and featuring them on your web site!
Modern Orthodox ChelmiTe
TORAH IS A FAITH IN ONE G-D
ONE LAW AS MOSES BROUGHT DOWN TO THE NATION,
G-DS SPECIAL PEOPLE.
she is not of a ‘faith’ of that law,
she and they are a ‘denomination’ in an abomination,
being what they call deformed and conservatively deformed.
as what is excepted as a universal label,
calling them a ‘denomination’,
is an insult to OUR FAITH IN HASHEM….
AND ‘TO’ HASHEM.
ONE G-D, ONE LAW.
woman have their role to play
men have their role to play
separately and
TOGETHER
in making us
”’ONE NATION YISRAEL”’.
AM YISRAEL CHAI
AMEN
Who, exactly, are they worshiping? Does G-d enter into their equation? What is HIS requirement of them? They are flaunting Him in their “worship”.
Screaming at these women and men and calling them names does no good. It just strengthens their resolve to continue their silliness. The fact is, the Orthodox world, led by the political rabbis in Israel and the Hareidi rioters, have failed completely to inspire people like these to follow a traditional Jewish path. Instead of showing it to be a way of peace and spirituality and fulfillment, they presented a picture of intolerance and greed. That has turned off MILLIONS of Jews around the world who would have been open to a different, kinder and more attractive message.
To say that “the fact that woman are not as important than men is stupid” shows that their movement is rooted in a profound lack of self worth. The problem is them. They have no self worth that they are creating a new religion that is simply an expression of what they think Judaism should be. Judaism is all about practicing the will of Hashem. When a person or group desires to project their own sense of right and wrong, it no longer is the will of Hashem, is a different religion altogether, and will create nothing but damage in the world. What these people need is an authentic Jewish education and to discover that they have inherent self worth. Only then will they become truly “enlightened” to the truth and be able to serve Hashem.
How sad is it that the twelve year old has been indoctrinated to believe that drunk wit holds men as worth more than women. As always the judaism that they criticize bears little resemblance to the one we practice.
Just ignore these women.They are doing this to get attention.Nothing that we can say will ever change their minds.It’s better to look the other way and ask Hash-m to
forgive their ignorance.Besides Reform is not Judaism.Who cares what they do???
The more we acknowledge their behavior that more they will continue their path.
Silence from us is worth a million words.Let’s remind ourselves who we are and fighting this silly war is beneath us and will only cause harm to our spirit.
No woman wants or needs to be or feel second class. There is one Torah and we all need to adhere to it because there is also only one Judaism. We have enough enemies who hate us all equally, so this bringing attention to ourselves in such a negative light, is just harming us all . I applaud women who want to pray. This however smacks of women’s feminism as much as a desire to connect to Hashem. I do not see it as a positive to have the world focus on their so called “suppression” of WOW’s praying. The Torah says we ARE our brothers keeper, so we do care. However, we cannot ever display actions that are degrading, such as spitting or throwing stones or yelling, and that is where I agree with the wow, that you cannot force a person to do what you want by harassment. I find the WOW to not be liberating but rather humiliating, but no one wins when harsh words or unbecoming acts are used to promote religion. WOW are harming Israel’s image, but the response should not be ugly.