QUAESTIO - Social Sciences Division - UCLA

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Grumbles and Growls: Feminist Theory of Judaism, 1971-1985 flatly rejects theology as a means of Jewish discourse 16 gives space to others to conceptualize God in the Jewish feminist context. “Notes” does address problems intrinsic to Jewish tradition, despite its anti-theological thrust. While steeped in immutable notions of justice, Ozick laments, the Torah lacks one pivotal axiom to purge misogyny from history, a single commandment to complete the Covenant. “There is no mighty ‘thou shalt not lessen the humanity of women!’ to echo downward from age to age,” 17 she thunders. “In one remarkable instance only there is lacking the cleansing force of ‘Thou shalt not,’ and the abuses of society are permitted to have their way almost unchecked by Torah.” 18 Ozick’s argument is generally interpreted as a sociological and not a biblical critique. 19 For her the problem is rabbinic interpretation and not the Torah own mistaken theological thrust. The rabbis have misinterpreted divine directive, inculcating women’s subordination. However, the author ultimately seems conflicted about the role of patriarchy in the Torah’s very axioms. In rendering the biblical text incomplete, her criticism seems to branch in two directions. Ozick the sociological reformer might be equally characterized 16 Ozick, 122. 17 Ozick, 149. 18 Ozick, 146. 19 Susannah Heschel, ed. On Being a Jewish Feminist: A Reader (New York: Schocken Books, 1995), 115. 103
Quaestio as a theological revolutionary. Is the Torah the problem? Ozick appears conflicted. As she voiced her concerns, Jewish feminism expanded its scope and began to encompass more traditional religious forms. The culmination of a decade of writing and introspection, Blu Greenberg’s 1981 treatise On Women and Judaism: A View from Tradition moves the conversation from specific halakhic critiques to a broader appraisal of the halakhic process. Rabbis have for millennia adapted Judaism to contemporary circumstances, and now must be no exception, she argues. The book appeared well before Plaskow, Adler, or Ross published their completed theological formulations. Yet, while it is not a work of theology per se, On Women and Judaism paved the way for theology to come, by elucidating that halakha could adapt to feminist concerns. Judaism, she conveys, can be made safe for women: “[t]hroughout the centuries, Judaism generated revolutionary ethical teachings. Why will it not incorporate the lessons of feminism?” Although the argument is largely undeveloped, Greenberg begins a conversation about feminism within the context of tradition. She calls for a halakhic way into feminist discourse. Following the publication of Greenberg’s foundational work, feminists made gains and encountered backlash. In 1983, the Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative movement voted to 104
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Introduction QUAESTIO THE UNDERGRAD
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Quaestio is the undergraduate histo
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Introduction EDITOR’S NOTE It is
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Introduction Paul Klee, Angles Novu
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Colonial Influences on Traditional
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Freemasonry: A Hybrid of Past and P
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QUAESTIO - Social Sciences Division - UCLA

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