Woman alters tradition to keeD faith
By RICHARD WEINS
Of the Emerald
The third woman ever ordained as a rabbi, Laura Gel
ler, addressed a predominately Jewish student audience in
the EMU Forum Room Monday. She discussed the histori
cal and modern place of women in Judaism in the final
segment of the University YWCA Women/Speak series.
Jewish history is based on a legal system that our
forefathers and foremothers thought was divinely or
dained, Geller said. Traditionally, men were obligated to
keep all Jewish commandments, such as praying, while
women weren’t. Women were permitted to pray, but
weren t obligated to, so they didn’t do it in formal ways As a
result, women were left with taking care of the family and
raising children, but weren’t responsible for religious ex
periences.”
A sexual 'schism” developed, according to Geller, in
which men lived spiritual lives in synagogues while women
lived more “physical” lives in their homes.
I'man heir to a tradition that offers me a role that isn’t
satisfactory for me. So what do I do with this history?
Some women give up on Judaism and move to another
faith. But I could nomore give up my Judaism than I could
give up my womanhood.”
Geller chose instead to work within the system,
searching for ways to change Judaism so men and women
would be treated equally. Many Jewish rituals are ‘ emo
tionally labeled masculine, but woman could also do them.
There is nothing particularly masculine about bar mitzvah
an acknowledgement that a boy has come to spiritual
maturity.”
Although there is now a female equivalent to bar mitz
vah in the reform and reconstruction movements of
Judaism, the advent of adolescence usually brings more
rejection than acceptance to Jewish girls.
"Mothers traditionally slap their daughters when their
first period begins. By slapping the child, you're scaring
away the evil eye,’ which makes them impure.”
The concept of impurity haunts women into adulthood.
Geller said ”A woman can’t touch the Torah because she
might be on her period and therefore impure.”
Jewish women also desire a ceremony to welcome
baby girls to the covenant — an honor currently reserved
for boys.
‘Some people want a uniquely female ceremony and
some want the same ceremony used for boys — except for
circumcision. It s all an open question. We must be willing
to explore different alternatives.
"When lacking alternatives, women should try the
things that have been labeled masculine — start doing stuff
men do. For some women, that feels good. For others, that
feels weird.”
She said a major step forward for the feminist move
ment in Judaism would be accomplished by “radically rede
fining our image of God, who, by definition, can’t be mas
culine. God transcends masculinity or femininity, and we
were made in God’s image. All of us have some sense of
androgeny, both maleness and femaleness.”
Geller is chaplain of the University of Southern
California's Jewish student organization and one of six
ordained women rabbis in the world.
The “kosher vegetarian” encountered little opposition
in her effort to be ordained, although some fellow students
at Hebrew Union College in New York failed to take her
seriously.
"They thought I was either there to get married or to
prove the point that women could become rabbis. Even
now, a lot of people have trouble calling me rabbi.’ ”
Things are not all rosy for the feminist movement in
Judaism. No women have been ordained into the conser
vative movement, and in their prayers, Jewish men still say
Thank you God, for not making me a woman." Geller feels
that a major test for the female rabbis will come when they
have served long enough to be qualified for advancement.
"Many congregations will welcome us, and may even
hire us as associate rabbis. But we may have a lot of trouble
moving from our present positions to being hired as head
rabbis of congregations that are still male-oriented.”
Photo by Carolyn Beavar
Rabbi Laura Geller
(Continued from Page 6)
PSAF and SALSC
uii uampus, dUUUl tio blu
dents belong to the SALSC.
The RSB did initiate the original
SASC, Romanoff says, by putting
out a call, back in February for a
support organization for the libera
tion struggle.
SALSC maintains coherence
through a set of slogans, adopted
by committee consensus, rather
than through organized party af
filiation.
“Our political unity is crystalized
in the slogans,” says Romanoff.
“Vicotry to the Peoples of
southern Africa,” “Down with
apartheid and minority rule,”
“U.S. out of southern Africa," and
"State Board: Dump the southern
Africa stocks, now,” are the cur
rent official slogans — printed on
SALSC leaflets and chanted at
demonstrations.
Romanoff says PSAF and
SALSC don’t agree politically and
the difference lies in how each
group “sees winning things.”
Romanoff believes students
must play a vanguard role and
oMLoo auempis 10 gainer student
support through visible action.
While education is important —
SALSC has sponsored films and
lectures on southern Africa — ac
tion is essential, Romanoff says.
‘The way you get things done isn't
by writing letters to your con
gressman."
And you can't wait until
everyone is ready before
you demonstrate, she continues.
“You can’t start out with 5,000
people,” Romanoff says. “To
gather a broad base of support
you have to start small.”
Despite small turnouts at
SALSC-sponsored demonstra
tions and rallies, Romanoff be
lieves support has been growing
— both “symbolic and real mater
ial support,” in the form of partici
pation in southern Africa work.
Divestment is the main focus of
the group’s activities, but SASC
wasn’t started just to dump the
stocks. The group’s first crusade
— and one it hopes to spend more
time on in the future — was to
Keep recruiters from corporations
with interests in Southern Africa
off campus.
Like PSAF, SALSC lists the
State Board divestment vote as
one of the group’s triumphs, but
Romanoff says the State Board,
rather than being persuaded by
the testimony was pressured by
the numbers of people who
showed up at the meeting.
The State Board’s decision
was, Romanoff says, "not a mat
ter of tactics, but a matter of forc
ing them to sacrifice their own in
terests.”
Terri Dach believes there is no
way of persuading them by using
logic, because it would be illogical
for them to divest stocks that are
making a profit. "Finally, when it
comes down to it, you just have to
say WE WANT THIS.”
That's what happened when
SALSC member's and about 30
other students marched to the
chancellor’s office last month. And
the group doesn’t feel the de
monstration was misdirected or
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mistimed.
“We got tired of waiting," Dach
says, “We needed answers now,
not after the attorney general’s
decision.”
Romanoff is optimistic about
the future of the movement. “I
think the stocks are going to be
divested; the students will
triumph. She says, “Two or three
other universities have already
begun the divestment process."
But meanwhile, the struggle
continues and PSAF and SALSC
continue their labors indepen
dently of each other. There is a
communications system between
the two groups, but both say they
will probably not work together to
any great extent.
“We have established rela
tions,” Postol says, "If we re going
to do something we inform them
and vice versa, but because of
former problems we re somewhat
leery of getting involved.”
Romanoff agrees. “We don’t
see having a combined group
ever but we don’t see stabbing
them in the back. After all we re
wnrkinn fnr tho camo thinn ”
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