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12
FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 1989
Rachel
Continued from Page 5
how they relate to each other.
From there the first national
conference, "And Sarah
Laughed," with keynoter
Detroiter Esther Broner,
came into being.
When Zeff and other con-
ference planners presented a
report on that conference to
the American Association of
Higher Education in Wash-
ington and more than 200
educators from state univer-
sities jammed the session, it
revealed a need for address-
ing this spiritual vacuum on
campus and prompted them
to carry on with this second
conference.
The study of the matriarchs
in these conferences is design-
ed to fill the void of biblical il-
literacy, Zeff said. "Biblical
scriptural study is a new
thing for many Christians,
especially Catholics who only
began to really study the text
after the Second Vatican
Council," She recently guest-
taught a religion class and
said the students found it
"amazing" that one can look
at the text and pick apart and
question the story.
The strongest feminine
models are in the Torah, she
added.
Rachel's story will be told to
the conference participants
by Marjorie Saulson, who will
chant several prayers from
that Torah portion and then
translate into English. She
will also chant a reference to
Rachel from Jeremiah, and
sing a song written after the
Six-Day War when Rachel's
Tomb in Bethlehem was
liberated. The chorus of that
song contains a direct
reference to Jeremiah.
"I plan to explain cantilla-
tion and give some
background on the chant,"
Saulson said. "I'll cover what
constitutes Hebrew scripture
and the characteristics of
scripture — the gift the scrip-
tures give us of the concept of
God as loving and just, the
concept of honest weights and
measures, of love thy
neighbor as thyself, the 23rd
Psalm, and how much certain
passages mean to us, even
those who are not particular-
ly religious.
"Many Christians do not
realize that these concepts
they think of strictly in Chris-
tian terms actually came
from the Hebrew Bible."
Another point Saulson
plans to stress is the impor-
tance of taking care of which
translation one is using if one
is not reading the text in the
original Hebrew, because dif-
ferent interpretations color
the translations. She said
that just as Christians use
the text as proof of Jesus'
coming, she has been told by
a Muslim of a text he felt pro-
ved Mohammed's coming.
Tikva Frymer-Kensky,
formerly of Ann Arbor, will
present the session, "Rachel
Imenu: The Myth of Mother
Rachel." She is presently
director and professor of
biblical studies of the
Reconstructionist Biblical
College, and was a keynote
speaker at last year's
conference.
Former Detroiter Esti
Pastor will lead one of the 15
concurrent sessions, entitled:
"Rachel, Psychological
Aspects on Feminism and
Family."
Metal sculptor Suzanne
Benton has created a special
Rachel mask for her dance
performance. Native
American healer Celia Perez
Booth and Thea Bowman,
who was featured on "60
Minutes" several years ago,
will also give presentations.
Social justice issues will be
explored by Geneva Smither-
man and Rev. Sandra Ed-
wards will discuss women in
the pulpit.
Many films will be
highlighted, including a new
film, The Fruit of Her Hands,
a re-enactment of the lives of
famous Jewish women over
the ages; a repeat of last
year's film by Esther Broner
Miriam's Daughters Now —
featuring ceremonies such as
a feminist seder, a naming
ceremony for a girl and a
tashlich ceremony filmed at
the Hudson River. Other
films include one on South
African women opposed to
Apartheid; From Sun Up,
about African women
organizing to support
themselves and their families
both monetarily and
spiritually without men,
because that is how their
culture works; Small Hap-
piness, a focus on Chinese
women taken from the saying
that when a boy is born it is
a great happiness, when a girl
is born it is a small happiness,
and Courage to Care, Sister
Carol Rittner's award-
winning film about the
righteous gentiles.
More than 120 registrations
from across the country have
been received so • far. At-
tendees are not just from
academia, Zeff said.
Psychologists, those in social
service who work with
families, battered women and -
substance abusers will also
attend. Students may attend
at no charge, and scholarships
are available.
"This is not a religious con-
ference," said Zeff. "We are
looking at images of women
in their traditions and the
political and social justice
issues involved."
—
❑