Traditional Jewish Feminism: There are Two Sides, part 1

One of the strange things about this progressive movement is that its adherents are, ironically, more orthodox in their world view than the Orthodox world they are challenging.

Anytime any criticism is leveled at the “traditional Jewish feminist� movement, the criticisms are frequently dismissed because Judaism has changed in the past, so Judaism can change now. Judaism has evolved throughout history, so too Judaism can evolve now. The only obstacle recognized is Jewish Law – and the answer of “change� and “evolution� are considered not only sufficient, but a carte blanche.

In fact, traditional Jewish feminism suffers from blatant internal inconsistencies that have nothing to do with Jewish law per se, and these internal inconsistencies are rarely explored or exploited. Most shocking perhaps, even the ultra-Orthodox leaders such as Rabbi Shafran rarely take off the gloves, but prefer to politely admonish these women to stay within the confines of normative Jewish law.

Why are these women being coddled?

I concede that there are many other problems in the world, more threatening to the world generally and Jews specifically, and that it may seem a bit strange that I would feel a need to focus on traditional Jewish feminism as a source of complaint, bitterness, and debate. Additionally, I am not particularly religious.

So why should I care?

Some of the problems with the traditional Jewish feminists are merely extensions of those in the general world, as acutely displayed with the attempted lynching of Harvard president Larry Summers, who barely escaped with his career but for a triple Soviet style apology and a $50 million dollar ransom.

But as deplorable as the case against that hapless schlemiel might have been – the goal of egalitarianism in western society is hardly a foreign goal (at least in theory) to western civilization. It is only the means being taken and attempted that are so acutely problematic.

But in the traditional Jewish world, such goals become more absurd, as it is a civilization that is quite contrary to such goals. At times, this is hinted at and acknowledged in the language of traditional Jewish feminist leaders – language that studiously avoids demands for true egalitarianism.

But even with these additional weaknesses, part of my draw to wage debate is inspired not only by some of my own contentious interactions with traditional Jewish Feminism, but strangely enough, with poetry slams.

As a college student, I used to go to poetry slams at the Nuyorican Poets Café, and later, at a bar in Washington, DC. What I saw were not people interested in saying what was really on their mind, but performers afraid to alienate the multi-cultural audience and the judges randomly selected from the audience. What generally transpired were attacks on republicans, and appeals for ever-greater liberalism. A typical guarantee of a high scoring performer was to recite a poem condemning Giuliani as “fascist� and “racist�.

But my dissatisfaction was not that the performers were consistently rewarded for a leftist stance – it was that the performers seemed frequently afraid to say anything at all.

Unbeknownst to me, others had the same or similar concerns. Faceboy, and then Reverend Jen, began slams without the conformist inducing scoring. Black began poetry slams within the protective enclaves of their own communities, which later transferred to the HBO show, Def Poetry Jams.

In 1997, at the suggestion of Martin Kaminer who liked my idea, and under the institutional umbrella of the Partnership for Jewish and its leader at the time, Rabbi David Gedzelman, I began Jewish Poetry Slams in the basement of the Cornelia Street Cafe.

They went really well for awhile. And I learned that you can speak more freely within your own community, and say what is on your mind with less fear.

It is for this reason as well that I am interested in grappling with traditional Jewish feminism specifically, and not feminism or affirmative action generally. In the Jewish community, I can still be called insensitive, but I can’t be silenced with charges of racism. I can’t be silenced by threats of fainting. Such attempts can be made, but in the end, it is the Jewish community I am a part of, and I have a right to have opinions contrary to Jewish feminists. Most of the Jewish community will recognize that.

The last reason is that Jewish culture is not merely liberal or conservative, feminist or patriarchal.

Rather, as any page of the Talmud will corroborate, it is dialectic.

It is this dialectic that has been ignored. A pseudo-dialectic is recognized only – one of feminism vs. the most stringent interpretation of Jewish law. That is to say, ultra-Orthodox reactionaries – and ultra-Orthodox reactionaries only - are considered the opposition.

But there are other - greater - problems with traditional Jewish feminism than normative Jewish law.

They are frequently ahistorical. They are not, in fact, demanding egalitarianism, and have no coherent final goal. They are ludicrously selective in their choices of “gender issues�. They employ what Midge Decter calls the same/different model. They are victimologists.

It is neither a religious movement nor a secular one. It is neither feminist nor Orthodox. It is provincial. The fact that it is based in the U.S. does not change that.

No consideration is even contemplated that social change of an ancient culture in favor (or submission) to the norms of the modern, dominant one may have costs and repurcussions. With this particular brand of social revolution, no potential costs are foreseen. Rather, any and all proposed changes are deemed absolutely free of cost.

I am a man, who therefore doesn’t “know what it’s like� to be “a second class citizen�.

I am relatively secular, when these issues are considered to be religious ones.

I am, as far as I can tell, a lone voice (remember, I am coming from a secular perspective, not a frummie one), against a movement replete with institutions dedicated to its cause.

I am poor, while these women are wealthy, and their movements well funded.

Though I have a strong Jewish educational background, unlike these women, I did not attend nor do I currently attend, an ivy league school.

I have been blogging for a little over a week.

Never the less, I intend – on some level - to restore the dialectic.

This is fair warning.