sempozyum_bildiri_kitabi

The Orthodox discourse is grounded on the observance of halakha (Jewish law). In order to
introduce change into the Orthodox tradition, one must first be able to prove that the proposed
change is in line with halakha. Deep familiarity with the religious texts, primarily Talmud and
subsequent rabbinic writings, and with the process by which they are applied, is essential in this
respect. Historically, women were excluded from the religious study of these texts which was a
central part of their religious world. As Safrai (2007, p. 63) points out, from a feminist perspective the
significance of this exclusion means that women were not only denied information, power and
leadership, but were also ‘‘left lacking the skills needed for essential Jewish experiences, leaving
them rootless, culturally meagre, and at the mercy of male commentators.’’ 10
Ester Kreitman explores these issues in her novel “Brilliants”, published in 1944 in London. This
novel investigates women and men’s social roles as objects, not subjects, in the Hassidic community
in both Poland and the emigrants’ community. The story is written from the perspective of Gedaliah
Berman, a ruthless man, rapacious and morally unscrupulous in his business dealings. He comes from
a Hassidic family in Poland and tradition plays an important role in his family life.
However, “Brilliants” is an important voice in the discussion on women’s loneliness inside a
community created by men for men. Kreytman looked into the generations of women from the XIX
and XX century. Different characters living in different periods of time suffered from the same form
of male oppression. Finally, Granddaughters and daughters of Hassidic women slowly but surely tried
to step out from the orthodox way of life. In “Briliants”, Kreitman investigates the relations between
an orthodox mother from the small shtetl living in Netherlands and her modern daughter Jeannette,
who grew up in Antwerp. Jeanette is a young girl in many ways different to Deborah. The vital
difference is that we observe her when she is about to get married and soon after when she has an
abortion. In the early part of the XX century, women writers, particularly in Weimar Germany were
using fiction as a forum for discussing issues of women’s liberation: female sexuality, free love,
contraception and abortion. In her presentation of all these issues, Kreitman proves herself worthy of
inclusion in the category of an early feminist writer. She does not explicitly campaign for legislation
but in a brief conversation between Jeanette and her mother we see that Kreitman’s opinion was
clearly in disagreement with the general statement of Jewish culture.
Ester Kreitman herself is an enigmatic and elusive figure. The principal non‐fictional sources of
information about her are the memoirs of her male relatives (brothers and son). It’s very interesting
that literary critics often see Deborah as Kreitman’s autobiography but do not with Jeannett in
“Brilliants”.
To what extent can Esther Kreytman's writing be investigated as a useful resource to her
biography? It’s a difficult question, regardless of obvious parallels. But there is no doubt that Ester
Kreytman is unusual among Yiddish female writers. While many wrote poetry, she dedicated herself
to story writing. Unfortunately she didn’t garner much appreciation from her audience at the time of
publishing her novels and short stories. She was successful however in opening doors to female lives
in the orthodox Jewish community. I strongly believe that the result of my research will help to prove
that her novels are a great resource into women’s lives in the male society of the Hassidim, in Poland
in XIX and XX century.
Ester Kreitman chose for herself an active form of protest against the oppression of orthodoxy.
Why did none of her literary characters make the same choice? Perhaps because in modern
Ortodoxy there is a place for women.
Kreytman perhaps wanted to show that through some of the feminist changes taking hold within
modern Orthodoxy at the beginning of the XX century there is a positive chance can take place in the
Orthodox community. A wider perspective of the web of resistance among women in conservative
religious traditions was created. Much of this progress was later destroyed by the Nazis during the
Holcaust, and today new women in different Hassidic communities continue to fight, to learn; to
discover how to change their own world.