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BOOKS

Book tells women : you have a choice
on how observant you wish to be

BY HEIDI PRESS
Local News Editor

Jewish women no longer have
to be relegated to the kitchen to
participate in ritual/holiday ob-
servance, unless, of course, they
want to be.
In fact, a woman can become
more of a participant in Jewish
life by instituting her own cere-
monies to mark particular rites of
passage.
According to Susan Weidman
Schneider, founder of Lilith mag-
azine and author of Jewish and
Female: Choices and Changes in
Our Lives Today, these are among
the options open to contemporary
Jewish women. -
Published by Simon and Schus-
ter, Jewish and Female is a
guidebook for Jewish women, first
offering information about
women's involvement in Jewish
life and secondly as an adviser on
-how Jewish women can become
more active in what is tradi-
tionally a male-dominated do-
main — Jewish ritual.
The book, illustrated with
drawings and photographs, takes
a feminist tone, since, of course,
its author is the editor of the -
pioneering Jewish feminist mag-
azine, Lilith, and a leader in the
feminist movement. However,

what it offers are not radical
(reactionary?) changes to turn
around the whole Jewish way of
observance, but practical ways in
which women can make more
meaningful for themselves the
basic traditions in Judaism.
For example, Schneider looks at
the ceremonies. surrounding" the
birth of a Jewish boy and a Jewish
girl. Traditionally, there is a lot of
pomp and festivity surrounding
the birth of a Jewish boy — usu-
ally occasioned by the brit milah.
But what about the Jewish
daughter, Schneider asks. Isn't
her birth equally the time for cel-
ebration?
The answer according to
Schneider is yes. But aside from
the traditional naming ceremony
in the synagogue, what festivity
surrounds the Jewish daughter's
entry into the world? Usually
nothing. However, Schneider says
that that doesn't have to be the
case.
She refers to couples who have
found ways to attach a special
significance to the birth of a
daughter where no specific ritual
in Jewish tradition exists. On the
birth of her daughter, Yael, a
prayer was created espousing the

Outreach to Jewish women
aim of 'Jewish and Female'

Editor's note: Susan Weid-
man Schneider will speak at
the Jewish Book Fair at 8 p.m.
Monday at the Jewish Com-
munity Center on "Jewish
Women and Jewish Men: How
the Women's Movement Has
Changed Our Lives Together."
Owing to her role at "infor-
mation central," the editor's
desk at the pioneering feminist
magazine, Lilith, Susan
Weidman Schneider decided to
share her wealth of knowledge
about agencies equipped to
handle women's issues by writ-
ing a book.
In a telephone interview
with The Jewish News this
week, Schneider said that
many of the same questions for
resources from women came to
her office and were asked of her
during her speaking
engagements around the coun-
try. She compiled the book as
an outreach tool so that many
more women can have access to
these resources.
In a nutshell, Schneider's
Jewish and Female serves as a
networking directory as well
as a guide for Jewish women to
the many options open to them
in Jewish life and practice. It
was the knowledge of the
existence of these options that
inspired her to write the book.
"I wanted to celebrate the
many options we have helped
to create for ourselves in
Judaism. My mission is to say
to women there's room for you
as well."
The boor advances manyi
ideas on how women can in-
crease their participation in
Jewish ritual practice. Some

differ radically from tradition.
But, says Schneider, the book
has been well received on
many fronts.
"There is a great deal of ac-
ceptance from the Reform and
Conservative rabbinate," she
said, adding that the response
from Orthodox women has
been "quite positive." A Con-
servative Jew, Schneider says
that her own congregation was
"receptive ideologically."
She talked about what she
called one of the book's strong
points.
"One of the book's strengths
is that it can look at (Jewish)
practices across the religious
spectrum. There is room for
expanding options for women."
The former teacher, book
editor and critic, Schneider
says she comes from a "fairly
typical Jewish home." Since
the 1970s, she has taken up the
mantle as a spokeswoman on
women's issues.
Schneider contends that
feminism has been beneficial
to Jewish women. She gave no
specific examples, but said that
"the general atmosphere ex-
panded opportunities for all
women. In Judaism there are
the seeds for change. There are
parallels between feminism
and Judaism at its purest. That
is encouraging to Jewish
feminists."
Is there a message that she's
trying to convey? Putting it
simply, there's a place for
feminism in Judaism.
"It is in fact possible to
reconcile Judaism and
feminism. Feminism is good
for the Jews."

Friday, November 9, 1984 3

wishes and dreams for the child as
well as the hopes that she will
carry the qualities of her Biblical
"foremothers." In another in-
stance, a group of women rabbis
created a ceremony which they
called Brit Rechitza, wherein the
feet of the newborn girl are
washed.
" 'Water. Washing. Welcoming
. . . Someone remembered that
when Abraham was recovering
from his circumcision, he was vis-
ited by three angels of the Lord
who promised him that his seed
would continue and that Sarah
would have a son. Abraham
greeted these strangers with the
gracious Middle Eastern sign of
hospitality — he gave them water
to. wash their feet. What better
way, then, for us to welcome our
new members in the family of
people and the family of Jews?
Feet washing is gentle, loving,
and ancient. The ritual grew, as
you can see, organically and
communally. The end product is
not as important in itself as the
fact that the process of creating
Judaism is far from over.' "
In addition to examples and
suggestions on how women can
become more ritually active,
Schneider talks about changes
benefitting women in Jewish life,
particularly since the advent .of
the feminist movement, specifi-
cally the decision by the Jewish
Theological Seminary (Conserva-
tive) to admit women for' ordina-
tion.
The book also serves as a net-
working directory and provides a
comprehensive one at its end.
Schneider drops in a little sar-
casm from time to time in her well
written and well organized work,
but what she offers is not to be
taken lightly. Too, she knows the
limitations of the ideas she ad-
vances and that there may be
roadblocks, so that even though
the book weighs heavily as a
feminist manual, the reader has
the opportunity to look at both
sides of the question at hand.
Certainly there will be those
who will challenge the book, tra-
ditional Jews, the rabbinate,
other women. Some will argue
that you don't change a 5,000-
plus-year-old tradition. Others
will challenge on Halachic
grounds.
But there is one point on which
no one in Jewish life should argue,
that Schneider is encouraging
Jewish women to be more active
in Jewish life, in practice. In a
time of growing divorce and inter-
faith marriage rates, of single-
parent families, and other exter-
nal pressures affecting the Jewish
family, isn't it refreshing that
someone is saying something pos-
itive about being Jewish, by
encouraging women to "go for it?"
Des-pite its heavily feminist
orientation, one should not avoid
it for that reason. Nor should it be
read as A: feminist manifesto. In-
stead, it-houlcl be read for educa-
tion puKposes, for its message:
Jewish women have a choice on
how Jewishly observant they
wish to be, and that they should
take advantage of the opportunity
to make that choice.
.x
,

a

THE
1984 B'NAI B'RITH INTERNATIONAL
GREAT AMERICAN TRADITIONS
AWARD DINNER

HONORING

DAVID
HANDLEMAN

BERNARD M.
FAUBER

C.E.O.
Kmart CORPORATION

C.E.O.
HANDLEMAN COMPANY

on
Wednesday, the Fifth of December 1984
at
Six O'clock in the Evening

THE WESTIN HOTEL

Renaissance Center, Detroit, Michigan

General Chairman

ALAN E. SCHWARTZ

B'nai B'rith Foundation

NATHAN D. RUBENSTEIN

Detroit Chairman

Honorary Chairman

LOUIS WEBER

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