Federation's Jewish Entrepreneurs Network is for you! Are you a business owner? Under 45? "Women weren't running services, but they were leaders of communi- ties," she says. "But women have to nurture that tradition because it has- n't been developed much in the past few centuries." New Rituals, Old Ideas The results of this recent nurturing are ceremonies that are free and loose, for young and old women, in and outside of the synagogue and with no set model, Myers says. A ceremony might include a potluck, lighting candles, Torah readings, rituals with singing and prayers and projects drawing from old and new ideas. Popular Rosh Chodesh gatherings for women today, for example, origi- nated in ancient times, Myers says. "It was a woman's holiday, given to women as a reward for their piety." Not all these ceremonies are for women only. Just as family and friends gather for a boy's brit milah (ritual circumcision), new rituals bring people together to honor new- born girls in baby-naming cere- monies or to mark lifecycle events. Orthodox professor Norma Baumel Joseph of the religion department at Concordia University in Montreal emphasizes that the many changes in the Orthodox world are not all a result of femi- nism. But a most important factor of change, she says, "is the incredible growth of learning, of Jewish women studying Jewish texts and of Jewish institutions." She notes the increased participa- tion of women in ritual practices — from prayers to rituals that focus on women's lifecycle celebrations. More women say Kaddish, Joseph says. In Israel, she adds, women have rabbi- like functions, and women are being certified by the chief rabbinate as experts in special spheres of Jewish knowledge. But as another conference partici- pant, Shuly Rubin Schwartz, who studies women of Conservative Judaism, writes, "The (Conservative) movement opened the door to egali- tarianism in the 1970-1980s. However, this marked the beginning, not the end, of the search for true and lasting equality. "Women still fill only a small per- centage of top leadership positions, and recruiting the best women into the rabbinate remains a challenge," says Schwartz, professor of American Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary. She sees important future chal- lenges like how the movement will reconcile its commitment to Halachah (Jewish law) with its -ambivalent attitude toward women's obligations in such mitzvot as tallit and tefillin. 'Attention to these challenges will help to consolidate the gains of the past while moving toward a more vital future," she writes. The conference's keynoter, anthro- pologist Riv-Ellen Prell, will discuss "American Jewish Women: A Social and Cultural Vanguard," 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 4, at Congregation Shaarey Zedek-B'nai Israel Center, West Bloomfield. Prell, a professor at the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, is sponsored by the annual Pearl A. and George M. Zeltzer lecture on Women and Judaism. Conference sessions are co-spon- sored with the Jewish Theological Seminary of America-Great Lakes Region and the Women's Studies and newly created Religious Studies Programs at WSU. Funding is also provided by the Chaim, Fanny, Louis, Benjamin and Anne Florence Kaufman Trust. ❑ The Conference on the Changing Role of Women in American Jewish Religious Life, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday, May 5, at McGregor Memorial Conference Center, WSU in Detroit. $50, includes lunch. For information, call Cohn-Haddow Center: (313) 577-2679. Woman's World Hosts Merchants Congregation Shaarey Zedek's Sisterhood's annual fund-raiser, Woman's World, will be Wednesday, May 7. The day-long event will focus on Israeli vendors and will feature an luncheon fashion show. Tickets, which include a continental breakfast, luncheon and fashion show, begin at $45. For information call Karen Katz, (248) 357-5544. We offer confidential resource groups, philanthropic opportunities, and fabulous speakers. Looking for an opportunity to speak confidentially with other business owners? For more information, visit the Federation website: www.thisisfederation.orgjjen Or contact Kari Alterman at the Federation, 248-203-1470 or email: alterman@jfmd.org Scott Eisenberg/Amherst Capital Robb Lippitt/ePrize Co-Chairs COMMITTEE Jeffrey Camiener/EfficientEngineering Mark Lichtman/Zenacomp Andrew Goldberg/Lipson, Neilson, Cole, Seltzer and Garin, P.C. Michael Redisch/Humatal Stephen Greenwald/US Check Cashing Scott Stern/BIG Productions Scott Harris/Revolution Dance Wear Paul Silverman/Silverman Custom Homes ANOTHEA MOM 01 Federation's Community Outreach & Education Department This is Federation Jewish Feciontion cf ,..:Ce.unOctolt Visit us online: www.thisisfederation.org 0000000000 ** ***STAIRWAY LIFTS** * * * THE CAREFREE WAY TO CLIMB STAIRS When you're disabled, or just not able to move around as freely as you once could, stairs can be a real problem. But there is a simple answer. The powered stairway lift. Easily installed to fit curved or straight stairs. They give you back the ability to move around your own home. Folds back-gets in nobody's way. CALL OR STOP BY. FOR A FREE DEMONSTRATION ACTON RENTAL & SALES LARRY ARONOFF A (313) 891-6500 I love my StairWay Lift! It takes me up and down the stairs with the push of a but- ton. Call for details! 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