The flagship institution of Torah U’madah, YU faces constant scrutiny from the broader Orthodox community. YU typically responds to such scrutiny by adopting cautious policies toward many of today’s controversial halachic and hashkafic issues. Many of those issues revolve around women’s roles in the mainstream Orthodox fold. For example, YU students who attend the Limmud Conference, an initiative sponsored by the Limmud organization to bring a diverse group of Jews together, are not allowed to attend its partnership minyan. The partnership minyan movement, though relatively recent, is quickly gaining popularity in many modern Orthodox circles, especially on college campuses. On November 15th, I, along with seven other Yeshiva University students, attended the first Intercollegiate Partnership Minyan Shabbaton at the University of Pennsylvania.
The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, most predominantly known as JOFA, defines Partnership Minyan as one that is “both committed to maintaining halachic standards and practices and also committed to including women in ritual leadership roles to the fullest extent possible within the boundaries of Jewish Law.” Although women are not counted toward a minyan in the traditional sense, the service will not begin until ten men and ten women are present. Immediately, this requirement demonstrates the inherent respect and importance that the minyan has for women’s attendance. Additionally, women lead the parts of services such as Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday night and Psukai D’Zimra on Shabbat day, which are not considered dvarim sheb’kdushah. The Kabbalat Shabbat at the Penn hosted Shabbaton was a beautiful and spiritually uplifting experience, with neither side of the mechitza overpowering the other.
Attendees of partnership minyanim attend for a number of reasons. Some simply find the service to be more enjoyable because of the additional singing. Others, however, believe the new services to represent a more significant break. Gavriel Brown (YC ’14) expressed his concerns. “Some see the minyanim as fundamental to their Judaism and look to these minyanim as their community. I think the latter represents a self-inflicted break with the mainstream and can justifiably seem threatening to modern Orthodox communities,” said Brown.
However, it was abundantly clear to any participant on the Shabbaton that the movement’s purpose is not to subvert Orthodox norms. It stems from the pure intentions of those individuals who feel that their religious needs are not being met by traditional Orthodox minyanim.
Raphi Ozarowski (YC’ 15) reflected on the Shabbaton, “I definitely admire what the movement claims as its values, goals such as the maximum ritual inclusion of women within the bounds of halacha and an inspirational and accessible prayer service for all.”
On the women’s side during a conventional minyan, Kriyat HaTorah can be an unpleasant part of the services. Avigayil Bachrach (SCW 15’) expresses, “I generally avoid Kriyat Hatorah whenever possible.” Such feelings are quite common. Partnership minyanim acknowledge this problem, and adjust the protocol accordingly to rectify this feeling. Women are able to read from the Torah, receive aliyot and act as a gabait.
Although the idea of including women in Kriyat HaTorah may be seen as progressive and untraditional, it gives women an opportunity to become involved in an area of tefilah where they often feel marginalized. For example, on the Shabbaton I was given my first aliya. Knowledge of my imminent role in the service motivated me to pay closer attention. I was finally let in on an experience which, despite my years spent at Jewish day schools and camps, had been inaccessible to me.
Upon further discussion with my peers at the conference, I realized I was not alone. The majority of women who grow up “frum” know very little about the intricacies of Kriyat Hatorah. Regardless of whether one agrees with the ideology of partnership minyanim, this should be disconcerting. Women are sectioned off and excluded from the service, coming to shul as members of the audience and not as participants.
There are Rabbis who have written and spoken as opponents of the movement, claiming that it is antithetical to tradition. However, attendees of partnership movements would argue just the opposite: it is an attempt to unlock the tradition and make it accessible to all.
Raphi Ozarowski continues his response to the Shabbaton by adding a final note about the minyanim: “It only begs the bigger question of how we are supposed to grapple with a halachic system… Attempting for partial egalitarianism in our philosophy of halacha feels like a bit of a cop-out.”
Many members of the Shabbaton shared this frustration. However, halacha is an integral aspect of the movement, and although the movement does not solve every situation where halacha and our instinctual egalitarian values conflict, it is definitely a positive start to a longer journey.