Women in Judaism

A female IDF soldier-officer praying at the Judaism sacred site of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel

Women in Judaism have affected the course of Judaism over millenia. Their role is reflected in the Hebrew Bible, the Oral Law (the corpus of rabbinic literature), by custom, and by cultural factors. Although the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic literature present various female role models, religious law treats women in specific ways. According to a 2017 study by the Pew Research Center, women account for 52% of the worldwide Jewish population.[1]

Gender has a bearing on familial lines: in traditional Rabbinic Judaism, Jewish affiliation is passed down through the mother, although the father's name is used to describe sons and daughters in the Torah[2] and in traditional Hebrew names, e. g., "Dinah, daughter of Jacob".

A growing movement advocates for increased inclusion of women in positions such as rabbis, cantors, and communal leaders.[3] This challenges historic practices. Perspectives on women's roles evolved over time due to discussion and reinterpretation of religious texts.[4]

Levi status (patrilineal descent from the tribe of Levi) is given only to a Jewish male descended patrilineally from Levi;[5] likewise a Kohen descends from Aharon, the first Kohen. Bat-Kohens and Bat-Levis inherit that status from their Jewish father with the corresponding title HaKohen/HaLevi.

  1. ^ "The Gender Gap in Religion Around the World". Pew Research Center. 22 March 2016.
  2. ^ Bowker, John (2021-10-12). World Religions: The Great Faiths Explored and Explained. National Geographic Books. pp. 121, 131. ISBN 978-0-7440-3475-2.
  3. ^ Lerner, Anne Lapidus (1977). ""Who Hast Not Made Me a Man": The Movement for Equal Rights for Women in American Jewry". The American Jewish Year Book. 77: 3–38. ISSN 0065-8987. JSTOR 23605350.
  4. ^ Roded, Ruth (2015). "Jewish and Islamic Religious Feminist Exegesis of the Sacred Books: Adam, Woman and Gender". Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues (29): 56–80. doi:10.2979/nashim.29.56. ISSN 0793-8934. JSTOR 10.2979/nashim.29.56. S2CID 155932131.
  5. ^ "Medical Definition of Levite". Retrieved 2017-02-19.