Chapter 6
THE WOMAN IN REFORM JUDAISM
Facing or Avoiding the Issues
As we define Reform Judaism for ourselves at the beginning of the twenty-first century, egalitarianism is one of its principles. We treat men and women alike; we accord equal opportunities to each gender and see the religious value of their acts in an equal fashion. We usually state that this has been a guiding principle from the beginning of the Reform movement. Is that really so? How important was feminism in early Reform Judaism ? How did this express itself in halakhic discussions among the various Reform leaders? These questions need to be answered; in doing so, however, we shall see them as a reflection of the broader gender issues that have faced us and as one example of halakhic renewal and creativity when the traditional interpretations could no longer serve Judaism or the Jewish people.
Our views of gender have changed dramatically in the last two centuries and it was impossible to accommodate these views and their philosophical underpinnings within the framework of Jewish tradition. In this area and in some others we have reached the same impass as did Judaism two thousand years ago when it was successfully reconstructed by the Pharisees . Biblical Judaism
Notes for this section begin on page 147