Shira Hadasha

Kehillat Shira Hadasha in Jerusalem was founded in 2001 by a group of Jerusalem residents, including Tova Hartman. Its website describes its purpose as the creation of "a religious community that embraces our commitment to halakha, tefillah and feminism" in response to "the growing need of many religious women and men to readdress the role of women in the synagogue." [ [http://www.geocities.com/shira_hadasha Website of Kehillat Shira Hadasha ("original website")] ]

It was the first Jewish congregation to implement an opinion by Modern Orthodox Rabbi Mendel Shapiro [Mendel Shapiro, [http://www.edah.org/backend/JournalArticle/1_2_shapiro.pdf "Qeri’at ha-Torah by Women: A Halakhic Analysis"] (Edah 1:2, 2001) (pdf) ] , which was subsequently supported by Bar-Ilan University Talmud Professor Rabbi Daniel Sperber [Daniel Sperber, [http://www.edah.org/backend/JournalArticle/3_2_Sperber.pdf "Congregational Dignity and Human Dignity: Women and Public Torah Reading”] (Edah 3:2, 2002) (pdf)] , that Jewish law permits women to be called to and read from the Torah on Shabbat in services with men under certain conditions, and hence was the first Partnership Minyan.

The congregation combines a traditional liturgy with certain prayer leadership opportunities for women, including Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday nights; and "Pesukei DeZimra", removing and replacing the Torah in the Ark, and Torah reading on Saturday mornings. A mechitza separating men and women runs down the middle of the room.

Parts of the service requiring a minyan do not begin until both 10 men and 10 women are present. Shira Hadasha's prayer service format has been copied by around 20 congregations in Israel, the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia.

Controversy

A number of Orthodox rabbis have publicly disagreed with Shira Hadasha's mode of worship. Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, chief rabbi of Ramat Gan and a prominent religious Zionist rabbi, has ruled that “people should not pray in this synagogue.” Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba has stated that “anyone who is truly God-fearing will not join in such a minyan since this is how the breaking of Jewish tradition begins. Today they do this, and in the future the result will be women and men praying completely together.” [ [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3262945,00.html "Battle over women's right to pray", Y-Net News, August 14, 2006] ]

ee also

* Partnership Minyan
* Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance
* Jewish feminism
* Role of women in Judaism
* Tova Hartman
* Mendel Shapiro
* Daniel Sperber
* MigdalOr

Footnotes

References

*Ross, Tamar. "Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism". Brandeis University Press, 2004, pp. 97-98; 179-183. ISBN 978-1-58465-390-5
* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467866508&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Barbera Sofer, "The Human Spirit: Who's afraid of Shira Hadasha?" "The Jerusalem Post", February 1, 2007]

External links

* [http://www.shirahd.org.il Shira Hadasha website]
* [http://www.shirahadasha.com Information about Shira Hadasha style prayer groups]
* [http://shira.org.au Shira Hadasha Melbourne]
* [http://www.geocities.com/shira_hadasha Shira Hadasha original website]
* [http://www.jofa.org/social.php/ritual/synagogue/partnershipm JOFA partnership minyanim (with minyan links list)]
* [http://www.jofa.org/social.php/ritual/synagogue/mixedtorahre JOFA Mixed Torah Reading Articles]

Further reading

* Gidon Rothstein, [http://traditiononline.org/news/article.cfm?id=100780 "Women’s Aliyyot in Contemporary Synagogues."] "Tradition" 39:2, Summer 2005.
* Eliav Shochetman. "Sinay" 135-136 (2005), pp.271-336
* Tova Hartman, "Feminism Encounters Traditional Judaism: Resistance and Accommodation". Brandeis University Press, 2007. ISBN 1-58465-658-1.
* Alan Haber, [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1203847473915&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull "Egalitarian minyanim? Not authentic. Not Orthodox"] , "The Jerusalem Post", February 27, 2008.