Thursday, June 19, 2008
Egalitarianism Run Amok?
I receive the Conservative magazine Voices of Conservatism/Masorti Judaism. In the Spring issue, there was a article on trying to get youth to wear and feel comfortable with tefillin. The main thrust of the article appeared to be getting girls comfortable with wearing tefillin. Clearly, from the tone of the article, the girls were reluctant and uncomfortable with wearing tefillin. While they may have sort of accepted it before their teen years, once they hit adolescence, they did not want to wear them. Feminist that I am, I cannot blame the girls and young women for their reluctance. Tefillin are very masculine in appearance. There was an almost militant tone to the article in trying to get girls to wear tefillin. This doesn't speak to me of egalitarianism.
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4 comments:
Militant egalitarianism... Yes, I think I'm familiar.
I belong to a Conservative Shul. Our Rabbi literally wrote the book on Tefillin (Martin Sandberg). He's a bit left wing, which is a little out of synch with much of our congregation, but he does make a valid point on the egalitarianism our shul professes.
If we are to be truly egalitarian then both men and women should accept the same ritual responsibilities... If being called to the bima and being counted in the Minyan is expected, then wearing a head-coveing, tallit and laying tefillin should be expected too.
I'm a bit more forgiving, but with no halachic justification for my tolerance.
That's a valid point. I did a google search and it seems women were expected to wear tefillin after the Shulchan Arukh was written, women were forbidden to wear tefillin:
The duty of laying tefillin rests upon males after the age of thirteen years and one day. Women are exempt from the obligation, as are also slaves and minors. Early Jewish law codes allow women to take on the obligation of wearing tefillin (Rambam, Rashba, Rashi, Rabbenu Tam), but this custom was generally discouraged. Over time the discouragement changed into active exclusion, especially amongst Ashkenazim: Later codes of Jewish law such as the Shulhan Arukh eventually forbade women from wearing tefillin at all. Traditional Sephardi authorities who permitted - and encouraged - women's use of tefillin after the Shulhan Arukh were the 18th Century chief rabbis of Jerusalem R. Yisrael Ya'aqob Alghazi and his son R. Yomtob Alghazi.
Modern Orthodox Judaism holds that it is permissible for women to wear tefillin, but generally discourage it. Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism allow women to wear tefillin. Many in Conservative Judaism encourage this practice.
The same source says that before the Diaspora, tefillin were worn all day. I wonder how it came about because were not obligated to do those mitzvot which have have a time requirement led to women being forbidden to do them.
Frumsatire wanted to find out if he meet his obligation for the Megilla of Ruth when he attended a shul and a woman read it. He was surprised and has numerous links about various halacha.
Forcing women to don T'flin is like forcing a man to take maternity leave. There are differences between men and women.
The other day I was speaking to a woman who is extremely active in Israel's Masorati Judaism. She told me of a fantastic learning event she had been involved with, women only. I found that terribly ironic and told her so. It's so interesting to see how the most committed and dedicated of the Masorati Jews (like American Conservative) feel more comfortable in certain gender-segregated frameworks.
batya,
I've noticed that tendency in my congregation. During oneg, the women and men are usually clustered in separate groups and it is the same in committee meetings: the men sit together as do the women.
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