Jewfem Blog

As a parent, I love the holiday of Sukkot, which begins Friday night. It’s a great family time – lots of al fresco dining, sleeping
outdoors, enjoying fresh air, singing, cooking favorite foods, and experiencing a welcome escape from the weightiness of an
excessively material life. There’s nothing like spending eight days inside four walls of canvas to remind us of the value of simplicity.
As a woman, though, I find Sukkot to be one of the most difficult holidays we’ve got. It is laden with messages about gender
differences and where women truly belong, and these messages seem to intensify each year.

"Reut: The Center for Modern Jewish Marriage" is currently recruiting engaged couples for our Fall 2009 group seminar for engaged couples. It's a wonderful eight-week program in Jerusalem, organized by my dear friend Rabbi Haviva Ner David, that promises to be both enjoyable and informative and extremely helpful for starting off a marriage on the right feet. For more information, see their website at www.reutcenter.org. Please pass on this information to any engaged couples you may know or anyone you thinkmay know couples engaged to be married in the coming months. For more information, you can write to Haviva directly, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Kolech is offering a series of educational and empowerment programs to address the changing needs andinterests women of all ages -- and sometimes even men. Take a look – you may be surprised to find out that other people are interested in exploring the same issues that you are!

Kolech is offering a series of educational and empowerment programs to address the changing needs and interests women of all ages -- and sometimes even men. Take a look – you may be surprised to find out that other people are interested in exploring the same issues that you are!

I wrote a blog about the language that is used in the Orthodox world to punish women for perceived religious "weakness", and it's posted on the Forward Sisterhood. Here's a teaser: I had a jarring conversation with a young woman last week. In a discussion about the challenges women face in Orthodoxy, she turned to me with a cheeky smile and declared, “I am not a feminist.” She described her perceptions of Shira Hadasha, the pioneering partnership synagogue in Jerusalem where men and women share certain roles in leading services and reading from Torah, mechitzah [partition] and all. “I went there once and I was not impressed with the women,” she said, by way of explaining her aversion to feminism. “I came on time, but the other women came whenever they felt like it. They just weren’t committed. That’s why I’m not a feminist – because the women are not serious.” “Serious” and “committed” are of course euphemisms for “Orthodox.” The ones who may come late to shul are “the feminists,” and obviously not Orthodox. READ THE REST ON THE FORWARD SISTERHOOD

The New York-based Forward newspaper made the following exciting announcement: Based on our popular Sisterhood blog, the Forward unveils a new Web magazine, devoted to the issuesimpacting Jewish women of all ages, denominations and political ideologies. Join the conversation here,and send ideas and comments to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

I have never heard a rendition of Netane Tokef, that dramatic apex of the Rosh Hashana service, quite like this one. Officially, in order to abide the strictest rules of halakha the hazzan was Avi Gilboa, a professor of music therapy from an incredibly talented musical family who has a soft, gentle voice and practiced skill. Only Avi said the formal blessings and technically the congregation only answered “amen” to him, the man. In practice, Avi was joined in harmony by his wife, Tzurit, an incredible soprano who, I was astounded to learn, has no formal musical training yet sings with a precision, range, and purity of sound, reminiscent of Linda Ronstadt’s rendition of Mabel’s high-pitched aria in the Pirates of Penzance. It’s that kind of singing to the skies, reaching those glorious places in the musical heavens, the kind of singing that leaves your knees weak. Together, Avi and Tzurit stood at the bimah, he on the men’s side of the partition and she on the woman’s side, and led the distinctive mussaf service with such sweet, joyous, melodic harmony expressing the soulfulness of the service that simply took my breath away.

My prayers for this  coming year are that all the captured soldiers will be returned home, that there will be peace in Israel, that Israel's enemies will lose their strength and power, that the corrupt will be forced to leave goverment and will be replaced by leaders with a Divine spirit, and that there will be justice and compassion in Israel and in the rest of this world. All of that is, of course, more likely to happen if women are seen, heard and, appreciated, given the voice and power that they/we need in order to make this world a safer, better environment for all living creatures. Let us see the women this year, let this be a year in which women and all those who are invisible and ignored in society find their rightful deserved place with dignity, and let us all work to alleviate human suffering. Shana Tova, Elana

Michal S., who has been waiting for her get since her husband disappeared, is finally receiving her freedom. She was recently notified that her husband was located in North America and gave a get by messenger to a local rabbi. She is now waiting for the get to be transferred to her in Israel. With God's help, Michal will be a free woman by Rosh Hashana! To find out more, go to the Mavoi Satum website or check out the Mavoi Satum Rosh Hashana newsletter.

Naomi Wolf – the feminist Jewish author of the bestselling landmark book, “The Beauty Myth,” which brazenlyexposes how the multi-billion dollar beauty industry manipulates women’s entire sense of self – is gorgeous. For two decades now, the brilliant and outspoken Wolf has decried cosmetics, plastic-surgery and hair removal businesses while appearing, let’s just say, well made-up. She’s a bit of an enigma that way – lipstick feminism decrying lipstick. I suppose all writers really do write about our own lives, whether or not we have fully escaped those societal traps we wish to unveil. Or maybe Wolf simply reminds us to look past the packaging and focus on the message. Nevertheless, Naomi Wolf’s paradoxical stance has recently gotten her into some trouble. Read the rest of this post at the Forward Sisterhood Blog