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Traditionalist
Outlook of Women’s Role in Judaism
In the last three decades, Judaism has seen a radical shift in
the view of the role of women in the practice of their
religion. Traditionalists espouse the viewpoint that Judaism
provides for the equality of men and women and have gone as
far as compiling a responsa (She'elot u-Teshuvot) more like a
Frequently Asked Questions that deal with decisions and
rulings promulgated by interpreters and decision makers of
Jewish law concerning rites that directly address religious
needs and the ground-breaking participation of women in the
areas of concern. Quite a number of the response that
specifically deals with the role of women in Jewish law have
been meticulously reviewed and endorsed by the Committee on
Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS). The particular areas of
concern covered by responsa that halakhically justify women's
involvement and participation in synagogue rituals and
services are:
the right to read the Torah (ba'al kriah) in public
joining in the minyan
being called to the Torah (aliyah)
serving as (shalich tzibbur) an arbiter or cantor
serving as a (posek) rabbi and halakhic decisor
wearing a tallit and tefillin
The ultimate decision on the actual role of women resides with
the congregational rabbi who has the final say on whether the
specific rulings are adopted or not. There is however
Conservative congregations that are more democratic than
others and are open to the participation of women based on the
responsa.
Despite the acceptance of the equality of men and women in
Judaism, there are other areas where distinctions remain and
rules strictly observed:
* A child can only be Jewish if the mother is Jewish; if
the father is Jewish father but the mother is not, then the
child is not born Jewish.
* Women cannot become legal witnesses despite the
pronouncement of the CJLS that they may do so. To make the
necessary adjust without contravening the views of some Jewish
sects, the prevalent Conservative solution in the area of
weddings is to use a wedding document with provisions for the
signature of four witnesses: two men and two women.
* The CJLS is very vocal in asserting that daughters of
Kohanim (those who are direct descendants of Aaron – priests)
and Leviym (descendants of Levi who perform important roles in
the Temple such as singing Psalms on services, doing
construction and maintenance work for the Temple, serving as
guards and performing other services including serving as
teachers and judges, and maintaining cities of refuge in
Biblical times) regardless of their marital status should be
given the proper respect and deference based on their own
lineage and not of their husband’s.
* Women are allowed and can perform Pidyon Haben is a
Jewish ritual where a firstborn son by natural means is
redeemed from a Kohen to release him from his obligation to
serve in the Temple. Nowadays, the ceremony is still observed
by Orthodox and Conservative Jews but not by the Reform Jews.
This ceremony is one of the rarest Jewish ceremonies; the
firstborn must be a boy, born naturally and not by caesarian
section, with the mother not having had a history of previous
miscarriage and requires that neither parent must be a kohen
or a Levi. This ceremony is even rarer as it is not performed
in Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism, which have abolished
the status of Kohen and special religious ceremonies involving
them.
* Although Conservative Judaism prohibits performing
Pidyon Ha-Bat on a newborn daughter they state that the ritual
of Simchat Bat should be performed instead to indicate the
special status of a new born daughter. However, there are two
opposing views on the subject within Conservative Judaism as
Rabbi Mayer Rabinowitz states that it is permissible because "banav"
in Numbers 66:23 does not mean necessarily mean sons but
actually children; that even if the role of the Kohen is to
serve as the medium for God's blessing to Israel or to pray
for Israel to be blessed then the bat kohen possesses the
correct and acceptable sanctity of parental lineage to do the
same and with the continuous development of the ritual since
Temple times, there is no reason to stop.
* Nesiat Kapayim (Priestly Blessing), again there is two
opposing opinions on the performance of the Priestly Blessing.
Although the CJLS affirms that women of priestly descent may
benefit from the rights of Kehunah, the Torah explicitly
excludes them from performing the duties and rituals of the
Kohanim in the Temple.
Source:
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