Elana Sztokman

When a pagan came to Hillel and demanded to be taught the entire Torah on one foot, Hillel did not kick him out but said simply, "What you do not want others to do to you, do not do to others. The rest is commentary." Hillel was not being cute, flippant, or evasive, but stating a profound truth that reflects the essence of the Divine. According to religion scholar Karen Armstrong, whose books include The History of God, The Spiral Staircase, and twenty other must-reads on religion, history and society, all religions of the world have at their core this truth: that to reach God, one must live a compassionate life -- proactively, passionately, and profoundly. Compassion is not weakness, nor is it passive or ambivalent. Compassion is powerful, activist, and potentially world-changing. Here in this inspiring and provocative video, this former nun who once swore off religion argues that religion can bring world peace. She articulates more than any rabbi I have ever heard the most profound spiritual truths of the universe. Karen Armstrong: Charter for Compassion Read the rest of this entry →

Ever since Sara Hurwitz was given the role and title of “Spiritual Leader” at Rabbi Avi Weiss’ Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, the Orthodox world is abuzz over the prospect of women’s rabbinic ordination. Of course, as I wrote weeks ago, this is not exactly historic, since there already are at least two women who received Orthodox ordination – Rabbi Haviva Ner David and Rabbi Mimi Feigelson – but it is still news. The public display involved followed by the public debate may yet hasten the welcome arrival of the messiah – or at the very least the onslaught of Orthodox women rabbis. Read the rest of this entry →

Apparently I started World War III this week over women’s head covering. Aliza Hausman, an amazing young Dominican Jewish writer who blogs about race, religion and life at Jewminicana, has recently been describing the physical and emotional tribulations of head cover. Her traumas focus on her debilitating pain, headaches, and mostly her "big hair". Many of her writings also focus on the need to fit in with "regular" -- read, non-convert -- Orthodox Jews. Her depictions of uniform, superficial, judgmental Orthodox life should give pause to those interested in religious Jewish practice. So I commented to her post and made the radical suggestion that maybe she shouldn't cover her hair. And, then all hell broke loose. Read the rest of this entry →

I love Lilo and Stitch. Despite Disney’s troubling track record when it comes to issues of gender and multiculturalism, in this movie, the animators seem to have broken their own patterns not only by enchantingly capturing the Hawaiian music and atmosphere, but also by the way they depict the main character. Lilo is the rare example of a female heroine who is short, plump, awkward, doll-hating, untrendy, opinionated and even angry (!) – yet, she is treated with an adoring respect and compassion by certain key figures she comes into contact with. It’s the kind of setting that gives comfort to those of us who were not, shall we say, typical ‘girls’ growing up. It has the potential to be, on some level, almost healing for girls (and women) who tend not to fit societal expectations. Read the rest of this entry →

I have my own Moshe Katzav story. When Katzav, then Israel President, visited Australia in March 2005, and I was working at JNF in the Israeli-professional hub of Beth Weizmann, I was asked to join the local support staff for the President for those few days. At the time it was a big thrill, and of course all of Jewish Australia was abuzz over the impending Israeli presidential visit Down Under.

Well, I had an even greater thrill when one of Katsav’s senior staffers came into the back room and said, “The President would like a massage. Does anyone know a good massage therapist?” Well, I knew one! My husband, Jacob, was working as a massage therapist – and is a die-hard Zionist who would undoubtedly jump at the opportunity to serve the State of Israel in whatever manner happens to be available.

The massage required some logistical maneuvers: Katzav was staying in the city and was giving his big speech to the community on Saturday night (a speech which turned out to be a dud – he was thereafter noted for being an exceptionally boring orator, and that was before the three hour flop we witnessed last week). So anyway, Jacob had to rush to the city as soon as Shabbat was over in order to get the president’s massage in before the Big Speech. Jacob prepared his stuff on Friday, and the second Shabbat was out, he grabbed his table and jumped into the car. Within five minutes, however, the call came. “Forget the massage,” the senior staffer said. “The President does not get massages from men. Only from women.”

Read the rest of this entry →

My friend Helen Varney, who is writing a doctoral dissertation on breast cancer and body image among Orthodox Jewish women, herself a breast cancer survivor living outside of Melbourne, wrote this provocative review of Helen Garner's, The Spare Room, that raises important issues about cancer, care, women's relationships, and death:

Limpid prose, a tautly-told tale – this is a compellingly readable novel. I devoured it in a day, and wasn’t surprised that it won in the fiction category of the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. But it’s also a book that troubled me.

Read the rest of this entry →

The revelation by freshman Likud MK Zipi Hotovely that she will not shake hands with men has created a stir in the Israeli media, and generated a heated debate over what constitutes feminism. Veteran Israeli journalist Nahum Barnea, who discovered her practice when he innocently held out his hand when he met her for an interview, called her practice "surprising" and "condescending" in his column in yesterday's Yediot Ahronot. "She left my hand hanging," he said. Moreover, Barnea took issue with her self-description as a feminist saying that if this is religious feminism, then this is a feminist movement that has not quite "arrived." Hotovely, in her own defense, wrote a column in today's Ynet Read the rest of this entry →

My dear friend Dr. Chaya Gorsetman, who recently lost her father, has begun to chronicle some of her experiences as a woman in synagogue since becoming a mourner, and new devotee of regular minyan: Read the rest of this entry →

One of the greatest moments in my son's educational life may not have happened had he been in a co-ed class. It was the day he brought his baby sister in for show and tell. I've been thinking about this story since reading today's New York Times article on single-sex education. The debate over single-sex versus co-ed education, which has a new significance since becoming legal in the public educational system in America, is particularly charged in the Orthodox Jewish world. Read the rest of this entry →

Queen Esther Revealing her True Identity, Mosaic Portrait Lilian Broca, http://mosaicartsource.files.wordpress.com

Purim is undoubtedly a woman's holiday. Not only is the holiday based on one of the few biblical tales in which a woman is the national heroine -- in one of only two biblical books named for women -- and in fact our only religious holiday named for a woman, the holiday itself has also been on the frontier of advancing women's position in Judaism. I am referring of course to women reading megillah, an event that constitutes one of the first areas of ritual practice that opened up to women. Talmudic exegesis puts women's megillah reading clearly in the realm of the "permissible", and even Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef -- not usually known for his sensitivity to women's needs -- surprisingly announced this week that it is permitted for a woman to read even on behalf of men! He added that women may also write a scroll, another of the many jobs generally reserved for men in Yosef's community (along with, say, being a Knesset member), though Yosef added sardonically that if a woman were to write a Scroll of Esther, he doubts anyone would buy it. Read the rest of this entry →